Squawkman

I still don't get how many (if not most) of the posters here believe the age factor is the major argument against Viking for a young couple. I did a Canada trip on our own in the 1970s BC (Before Children) which included long train rides which was the only "socialization" we really had (conversing with fellow train riders). We made friends with an older gentleman who invited us to a BBQ at his house in Touro. Maybe others our age then would have preferred meeting people our own age, but we thought it was a fascinating way to learn about Nova Scotia.

A Med cruise is a wonderful way to introduce Europe to your fiancé. I went to Europe on a 3 week land tour for my first honeymoon when I was 24 in 1974. Ironically, we befriended and hung out with older couples as we found them to be more interested in the cultures and tours as opposed to getting drunk every night. I would suggest Iconic Western Mediterranean as it covers a lot of ground in a week. We liked all of the included tours, and recommend Herculaneum which is optional but not expensive. We also added (and enjoyed very much) the Ultimate Tuscany post cruise extension where we ate and hung out primarily with a young couple that didn’t seem to mind being with folks their parent’s age.

That’s BS. Every flight I booked in the past 6+ cruises appeared on MVJ with plain old Viking air. Currently, there are three on MVJ. All are good, so I didn’t need to consider changing any of the three.

We didn’t get one for our April VO.

The bigger danger was when masks became optional on TA flights in the beginning of April. When the captain announced that, it was like he encouraged people not to mask. If you follow Covid related threads here on CC you’ll see the increase in quarantined cruisers in April and May.

They are included in the fare regardless of whether or not you have the SS beverage package.

These are even more necessary these days if you have to quarantine in a European hotel.

I disagree - there are many moving parts to dealing with Covid. Everyone impacted will have an opinion, but procedures will vary in different countries, etc. US airlines don’t mask on transatlantic flights and I believe that is a major factor. We have friends who did a 16 day transatlantic on Princess where masking wasn’t enforced and testing only done before disembarkation. They wound up having to quarantine in London a total of 2 weeks. I prefer Viking’s testing. Regardless, there will be a risk for at least the next few months - and possibly more testing (we had every other day on our Douro cruise last November - with zero positives).

One more thing: if a future cruise is booked within 14 days of disembarkation, there’s an additional perk of $200pp shipboard credit. This applies to river and ocean cruises, but not to any cruise already booked on board.

If booked within 1 year of disembarkation from another cruise, $200pp. If more than 1 year, $100pp.

Although our booking document for our August VO indicates a date to book the restaurant, it can’t be done on MVJ as we did on our April VO.

I was also not eligible for a free PCR test from CVS in April although I was last November. Don’t know why, but Quest took my insurance and I got a free test there. BTW, I think you mean Medicare - not Medicaid.

Nope - we have friends who are first time Viking cruisers. They booked 2 cruises for 2023 and got a 6 month PIF for the later cruise.