LindaS272

21 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

Regarding the crew being vaccinated part, I still haven’t seen any direct confirmation from Viking. So far, Viking just said the crew will be tested everyday.

 

I’d definitely feel more comfortable if the crew are also vaccinated. 

Not true. Viking HAS said that staff and crew will be vaccinated. You’ll have to search either here on Cruise Critic or the Viking website, or Tor’s interviews to find it. But it was announced.

6 hours ago, Hockeyump said:

The point regarding CDC  as I understand it, is that whatever they say, Viking are not bound by it.  I am in the UK and have no interest in what statements CDC make.  There is little point in getting excited by what they say as at the end of the day what Viking says is all that matters.

Sure—that’s fine. But I was getting tired of the continual denigrations of the CDC.

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Yes, Viking consulted with the United States CDC, while formulating their Health & Safety Policy, which was published back in December. At that time, they still had plans to operate ships in US Waters. However, with the latest frequent changes being promulgated by the US CDC, I highly doubt Viking is paying much attention, since no ships are expected in US waters.

 

In the Marine Industry, when dealing with a plethora of International Regs and requirements that are changing due to COVID, you tend to focus on the ones that are relevant. With limited shore resouces and an exceptionally high workload, they have other priorities, such as Bermuda, which is being widely discussed extensively on another thread.

 

Viking requires 100% pax fully vaccinated, but the US CDC only requires 95%. That would indicate Viking will operate at a higher standard than the US CDC requires for ships operating in US Waters. I note, other cruise lines will require a higher standard than the US CDC. The Viking COVID Policy (Ver 1) has a number of other requirements that are of a higher standard than the US CDC.

 

In the Marine Industry, most of the top owners have policies & procedures requiring a higher standard than Govt requirements.

 

 

I object to your continual denigration of the CDC. It was a recent news article that quoted a Viking management representative that Viking is currently consulting with the CDC as well as equivalents in other countries. Yes, Viking has opted to require 100% vaccinations, which is a tighter standard than the CDC’s and does not represent that the CDC is derelict in its recommendations. 

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Please don't be swayed by the latest change from the United States CDC, as they have zero jurisdiction on any of Viking's Welcome Back cruises. Viking must adhere to the health standards of their Flag State (Norway) and the countries visited. Viking's has a vastly superior Health & Safety Program, compared to the US CDC standards.

 It doesn’t matter that the CDC has no “jurisdiction” over Viking. Dealing with Covid protocols is a collaborative effort and Viking is also consulting with the CDC. It’s simply not true that the CDC has “lower” standards.

In the spirit of cruising in Iceland, will these qualify? (Hubby found this link tonight when Googling “Iceland, trousers, jeans”).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nábrók

I found it hysterical! Enjoy!

Be sure to read the Ritual section. 😉 

26 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

This was our experience, too. I think some black “jeans” are dark enough that it’s hard to tell they’re not slacks. I’m not really sure what the distinction is at that point, to tell you the truth. 
 

But this is one of those subjects that some people here feel very strongly about, so if one wants to be on the safe side, best to interpret the rule broadly and wear dressy slacks. Or at least don’t mention that you might do otherwise on these boards. 😉

Sure—pants—I meant to say “pants” 😉 

2 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Yes, “nice” jeans are acceptable in the dining rooms in the evening. I think what they’re after here is not allowing blue denim jeans like you might wear to the ball game or on an outside work detail :-). On our last cruise in SA ending in March 2020, I sometimes wore a black pair of dressy “jeans” with a nice tunic, shawl & sandals, and a bit of jewelry. If you are dressed up, you are fine.

 

On our 2019 cruises, it sometimes depended on the receptionist doing the seating—not for the outfit I just described, but more for men. I saw several let in in sweat pants and jeans—other times, they were told they had to change. I never saw them turn a woman away, but I never saw a woman under dressed!

I reiterate what I said about actual practice, Peregrina. The spirit of the “dress code” is that people should dress up and look nice, not like slackers. Most people follow the spirit of the request—and some are asked to change if they do not.

7 hours ago, Balticsailor said:

This is our first Viking Cruise.  Does anyone know if "nice" jeans (not blue, rather dressy) are acceptable in the dining rooms in the evening?  

Yes, “nice” jeans are acceptable in the dining rooms in the evening. I think what they’re after here is not allowing blue denim jeans like you might wear to the ball game or on an outside work detail :-). On our last cruise in SA ending in March 2020, I sometimes wore a black pair of dressy “jeans” with a nice tunic, shawl & sandals, and a bit of jewelry. If you are dressed up, you are fine.

On our 2019 cruises, it sometimes depended on the receptionist doing the seating—not for the outfit I just described, but more for men. I saw several let in in sweat pants and jeans—other times, they were told they had to change. I never saw them turn a woman away, but I never saw a woman under dressed!

28 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

This is great information, but at present these guidelines are not applicable on any of the Viking ships, which are not operating in US Territorial Waters. The US CDC guidelines only apply to ships operating in US Territorial Waters, regardless of the pax nationalities.

 

Since Viking are operating in mostly EU, UK/Territories and Iceland, they are required to meet the requirements of those CDC's or equivalent organisations. 

Doesn’t matter if they’re not applicable. Viking has said they are conferring with the CDC as well as equivalents in the countries where they will be cruising. Viking will want to be cruising out of the U.S. as soon as they are able and are conferring with the CDC both to influence them, I suspect, as well as work to meet their requirements when they can begin cruising in the U.S.

2 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Yes, maybe half of the scheduled cruises get there.  Problem is that ships must anchor in the outer harbor.  Depending on the wind direction, going into and out of a tender from the ship in the choppy seas could be dangerous.  If the outer harbor is protected from the wind direction, the wind can be blowing directly into the inner harbor with the seas building at the tender dock.  Both are dicey situations.  In SA Puerto Montt could also be a missed port depending on the wind direction and if docking or anchoring.  

We were on this Santiago to BA cruise ending Mar. 15, 2020, just as the airport was closing in BA! We made it into the Falklands and the penguin colony was absolutely the highlight of the trip. Didn’t make it into Puerto Madryn however so had four days at sea—during which Viking announced cruises were shutting down. Got out of BA just in time and made it home by various re-routings of our flights but Viking was superb on scheduling everything for us.

47 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

I have only once seen the Explorer’s Lounge anywhere close to full-that was the midnight party when we passed Gilbraltar. Next most was when they held a music trivia events there on our Asian cruise. But even then it was probably only 50% full. 

But these are SUCH different times—and with all the pent up demand (and the drinks being mixed in THIS Explorer’s Lounge), I think there will be a LOT of people camped out there on ship. 😉 

4 hours ago, JM0115 said:

We have been to Iceland once and saw no puffins! My wife calls them imaginary birds :). I hope you have better luck!

I’m remembering our TA cruise in Sept. 2019 from Bergen to Montreal. Many port talks showed pictures of puffins but I didn’t see even one. I think they’d all flown the coop by that point. But to echo Clay, they are real and my favorite northern climes bird. Have seen them on a Kenai Fjords tour in Alaska; Fingal’s Cave off Iona & Mull in Scotland; Skellig Michael off the Ring of Kerry in Ireland; and various spots in Newfoundland. 🙂 

2 hours ago, MikeyB said:

Has anyone looked at the options for getting from the airport to the cruise pier.  It appears to be a very short distance.  Perhaps I can roller skate it.  Hope it's down hill!

As long as you’re masked and socially distanced! 😉

1 hour ago, MSEm said:

We will be ending a cruise in Bergen in April 2022.  We would like to take the train from Bergen to Oslo. (the Viking Post trip is full)  How far from the cruise terminal to the train station?

Any suggestion on Hotels in Oslo? Any other information would be helpful in planning.

Thanks for all of the great post on the site.

We have not done the train into or out of Bergen, but we can recommend a hotel in Oslo: Hotel Christiania Teater. About two blocks from the subway, across from a park, next to the aforesaid theater. 
 

We ended up in Oslo by happenstance; had planned to fly into Bergen the night before our TA cruise. But IcelandAir changed our flight out of Reykjavik to leave an hour before we arrived from Seattle! Viking Air made swift arrangements to fly us into Oslo that day instead, and then another flight the next day to Bergen for the cruise. We found Hotel Christiania Teater and especially enjoyed their impressive and funky breakfast buffet.

17 minutes ago, EJLobster said:

I haven't looked into the geography yet-  would it be possible to see the volocano- ? certainly not an included option- close enough to port/airport to see either before or after??

Currently, the covid.is website says that while waiting for your PCR test result, you can’t go to see the volcano. If you’re coming in a day or two early, you apparently could after getting a negative test.

17 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Do not get me started on the Viking and the lack of communication over the last month. It is inexcusable and it has been Viking's weak point from the get-go.

 

 

There should have been regular communication from corporate to all guests explaining why shorex were late and what would happen when they were posted.

 

I could go on and on -- but I won't.

 

It comes down to that I don't believe anything that that is said or reported said by any Viking customer service agents.

Thanks for the clarification, Peregrina. I thought you had given up on Viking—sure sounded like it to me at the time!

Clay, I vaguely remember something about this on our Nov. 2019 SE Asia cruise on the Orion. I think somebody from the CC M&M said they were going to participate in one in the Wintergarden during tea time, but being an English tea lover, I didn’t pay much attention. I believe I saw them doing this during tea time later on—I think it may be “on request” or may depend on a staff member who knows an Asian tea ceremony.

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

I was taking a look at MVJ this evening and read something in the description of the Winter Garden that I hadn’t noticed before. Thinking maybe it was a change due to new post pandemic cruising, I used the WayBack machine and discovered the same text was used in August of 2019. 
 

Anybody ever attended (or heard of) a “calming tea ceremony” taking place on board? It’s never been offered on the TAs we’ve done. It sounds like it could be done on Japanese cruises. We did the Far Eastern Discovery Cruise (with several port calls in very southern Japan) and it wasn’t part of our schedule so not sure when else they might do it. 

Clay, I vaguely remember something about this on our Nov. 2019 SE Asia cruise on the Orion. I think somebody from the CC M&M said they were going to participate in one in the Wintergarden during tea time, but being an English tea lover, I didn’t pay much attention. I believe I saw them doing this during tea time later on—I think it may be “on request” or may depend on a staff member who knows an Asian tea ceremony.

2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

You are wrong.  We have done exactly that twice so far this week alone.  Exactly as I described.  Here's another thing for you to consider.  I have heard various "experts" refer to covid as an "aerosol virus".  In other words a virus carried in droplets small enough to hang in the air for a longer period of time than simple droplets.  So go in your sealed up living room masked up.  Spray your favorite aerosol air freshener.  If you can smell it, your mask is not very effective against aerosol viruses.

Okay, well, you have been exposing yourself and other people unnecessarily if there has not been proper air flow in the restaurant and adequate distance between the tables.

50 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

So you go to a restaurant, at the front door put on a mask, walk 40 or so feet to a table, take off mask for the duration of the meal.  If you are not holding your breath during the meal, you are masking solely for show.  Just one example of the stupidity of bureaucratic mask "rules".

Jim, nobody does that. First off, in our state, we are only recently at 50% capacity in some counties for some restaurants. Social distancing is still in effect and many restaurants are upgrading their ventilation systems for airflow. Most people I know are still not going to restaurants even at the 50% capacity rule. Some are sitting outside where they know there is maximal airflow. Even indoors there are often limits to the amount of time you can spend at the table and who can be at the table—vaccinated, or family members in a bubble. In addition, the staff are wearing masks the whole time, even if vaccinated. I think Viking on these first cruises will have variants of what our state is doing now with regard to dining.

In terms of how this disease is spread there seems to be a large degree of “misunderstanding”—to be charitable. It’s HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS. So mask wearing and social distancing are for public health.

Since no one on these Iceland cruises will be going back and forth to the Continent or other points in Scandinavia, you won’t be experiencing what happened to us after our first Viking ocean cruise in July 2019–but a cautionary tale on Icelandair for the future (unless you want stress, or possibly just adventure :-).
 

We had a fabulous first cruise on the Baltic/St. Petersburg run on Viking Sky with Capt. Olav in July 2019, and then spent five days tooling around Norway on our own. We were scheduled to fly out of Bergen, of course via Reykjavík, and then home to Seattle. Icelandair has a well-honed route from Seattle to Europe with quick turnaround time in Reykjavík of only about an hour—changing planes and offloading your bags to your connecting flight. Works fine when they’re on time, but not so much otherwise, as we discovered. (We had flown with them a few times before this).

Our flight out of Bergen was delayed by an hour (with no explanation of course) and no customer service to help us with our tight connection in Reykjavík. We got off the plane in Iceland and were surprised that they were still going to make us go through passport control instead of as transit passengers. We had to ask the passport agent where our gate would be since there was no info for Icelandair- we had about five minutes to get to the gate. But coming out of  the passport check, a uniformed guy was hustling a bunch of us against a wall and roping off a lane, separating my husband and I. My husband walked ahead across a long hall and they sent me to the left around the corner out of sight of him into a small room for a spot “security check”!

I was livid—to say the least!!! First off, hubby had no idea where I was, our flight was about to take off, and I couldn’t contact him on our phones because they were in flight mode!!!

The security people were clueless and impassive—but fortunately only delayed me for a few minutes. I was able to find DH and we raced to our gate just as they called us as they were closing the doors. His bag made it home to Seattle—mine did not ‘til several days later.

But this certainly colored our view of flying with Icelandair—particularly going and coming from Europe without clear contingencies!

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Thanks for clarifying, as you didn't mention Viking in the initial post.

The original poster asked about the Viking Venus repositioning:

”Any passengers on board?  Haven't been following this so didn't know if it was some sort of repositioning cruise.”

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Sorry, but limited cruising has taken place in Europe for many months:

• Mein Schiff 1 & 2 have been operating in the Canaries for months,
• MSC Grandiosa has been sailing Italy/Malta since August, with a short break in Dec/Jan.
• Hapag-Lloyd Europa 2 operating in the Canaries
• Aidaperia operating in the Canaries since end of March

This article is a summary of all cruises currently operating

 https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24746-here-are-the-cruise-lines-operating-right-now-2.html

 

 

But Viking has not. That was my point.

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Any passengers on board?  Haven't been following this so didn't know if it was some sort of repositioning cruise. Darn....and to think it could have been us back in January. Was looking forward to Gibraltar, having never been to any port that was on the itinerary, except for where the cruise would have ended up in London. 

This is Venus heading up to the UK to do the round England cruises beginning in May. Europe isn’t open for cruises yet—too many cases. Which cruise had Gibraltar as a stop? I don’t remember that one, but would sure like to be on it!