Sapphire_07

We were just on the Sea July 18th - 27th.  Condition of the ship was just fine.  

On 6/28/2022 at 2:06 PM, Squawkman said:

Regarding Ultimate Tuscany - unless things have changed since Covid, everything is included (tours, meals, etc.) and there really is no time to do anything on your own.

I’m doing this pre-extension in two weeks.  Everything is still included (meals and tours.)

19 hours ago, snookie1 said:

Thank you so much Sapphire 07.  I can see clearly what I need, and that I can at least start on some of it now.  Helps keep my stress level down if I do things a little at a time!

You’re welcome!  Just keep in mind the requirements can often change.  If I see any updated changes to Argentina and/or Chile prior to my departure in July, I’ll post the updates here.
 

4 hours ago, snookie1 said:

All talk here is of requirements in Europe, which is certainly interesting.  We will be traveling to South America in December on Viking; am wondering if anyone knows about the regulations in Chile or Argentina.  I read a little yesterday, but it just confused me!

This is the current Additional Country-Specific Travel Requirements in my portal for my upcoming Mediterranean cruise in July.  Argentina and Chile are included. 

https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/14-PreCruiseRequirement-All-US_CAN_UK_AU_NZ.pdf

This is what is in the section Before You Go for my upcoming Mediterranean cruise in July.  VeriFLY is not required for my trip.  Select US/CAN destinations still require it.

I’m traveling next month to the Mediterranean.  The VeriFLY button is no longer showing up in my portal.  I assume it’s no longer required (at least for my journey.)

This info is posted in the Explore Safely section related to VeriFLY:

19 hours ago, villager13 said:

We are going out of Vancouver on the Viking Orion and that is a ship that they are still requiring pre-testing for. ☹️

Sorry about that.  🙁

2 hours ago, Mira28 said:

It is my understanding that Viking will no longer require pre embarkation COVID testing as of today (6/12/22)unless the country (or countries) to which they are going requires it. Is this just a rumor? I hope not!

 

It’s true.

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/why-viking/health-and-safety/health-and-safety-program.html

45 minutes ago, bbtondo said:

Friends of mine just returned from a Viking River cruise.  They said they got tested for the first 3 days and then nothing until they had to fly home to the US.  So....  Everyone that is happy with Viking testing everyday on Ocean, would you take a Viking River cruise that only tests first three days?  I would imagine that everyone that is happy being tested every day and being kept safe, would not be OK on Viking River.  

 

 

 

Could it be people are more apt to test positive within the first three days of boarding the ship as opposed to later on in their journey?   But why the difference in testing between river and ocean?

1 hour ago, coachma said:

Garry - let me add my thanks for the wonderful commentary and photos of your world adventure. Like many others, I looked forward to reading your latest post every day. And am in awe of your dedication and perseverance to keep your many fans updated for 163 days straight!

 

Safe travels home to you both - and in related news, we leave this afternoon for our Empires of the Mediterranean cruise - a much, much shorter adventure!

I’m doing Empires of the Mediterranean in July.   Enjoy your cruise!

So very sorry to hear this news.  Wishing Arlona a speedy recovery and hope you remain negative.  We’re about to embark in July to the Mediterranean.  This is my greatest fear….

Thank you all.  Good to know it’s not just me. 

MVJ not working.   First received a message they were updating my account and to try back later.  Now received this message..

Please note that we are currently experiencing a higher than normal volume of traffic on My Viking Journey. We are aware of the situation and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.

Anybody else having a problem?

4 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Or you can have payment taken out of a bank account and get the 3.3% discount.

Thank you!

13 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Book the shore-ex on MVJ. Once you select the tours head to checkout and they will apply the cost from your vouchers, or OBC (if applicable to shore-ex). Any outstanding balance will be charged to a credit card.

 

Please remember, when selecting shore-ex and placing in your cart, they are not actually confirmed until you complete the checkout process. On longer cruise, some pax have selected tours and by the time they went to the checkout, some tours were sold out.

Thank you!  

I received a message via the portal that bookings are now available for our trip in July, but when I went to book they weren’t yet available.  When booking excursions using vouchers, do I book through MVJ or do I need to contact a Viking agent to do so?  Any help is appreciated.  

99 days to go.  Venice to Athens with pre-extension in Tuscany.  

2 hours ago, Eggtuary said:

Thanks for this suggestion!  We have booked with Viator. Now I am thinking we may come out ahead vs what we had booked through Viking. We get two full hours in Sagrada Famiilia, versus fitting it in among a handful of locations scheduled on the Viking tour. And there will be a max of 9 people on our Viator tour. So thanks again!

Wonderful news!  Enjoy the tour! 

1 hour ago, Eggtuary said:

Day 8 - Rome

 

This was a long day!  Had to be on the buses by 7:45, and it took almost 2 hours to make it to the city (including one restroom break along the way).  I was surprised how busy Rome was, given that we were there on a Monday, and others have posted that Rome was shockingly quiet even just a few weeks ago.  Still, the crowds were certainly tolerable. 

 

We spent a good bit of time in the Coliseum, which was fascinating.  I was thankful they had an elevator that some of the passengers used.  Though we're among the younger folks on this cruise, my wife has some occasional knee issues that have been acting up on this trip.  Today was much easier on her body than yesterday in Pompeii was ... except at lunch, when we ate in the basement of some restaurant.  The food was okay, but nothing to write home about.  The rest of the day the walking was flat and on even pavement, so even though we spent a good number of hours on our feet, it wasn't horrible.  

 

Dinner was at The Restaurant tonight.  I couldn't decide between two entrees, so I asked for a half portion of each.  That is a really handy option for those of us who like variety!

 

My wife and I are really enjoying the heck out of our fellow passengers.  Sure, there's the occasional grouch, or someone who is just a bit too self-important.  But the vast majority of folks we've met are really down-to-earth and seem to enjoy meeting others as much as we do!  It's especially easy to connect when we see the same people on multiple excursions, but even folks we've met for the first time at a nearby table at dinner make for wonderful conversation.  

 

We came back to a letter in our room with a bit of disappointing news:  

 

We regret to inform you that unfortunately our local tour operator has advised us that the venue "La Sagrada Familia" has not been able to provide us with tickets for our ticket reservation to this venue on April 8, 2022.  Due to this we have to cancel some of our booked guests from this excursion.

 

That's a bummer, as La Sagrada Familia was one of the things I was most looking forward to.  Viking did provide in the letter some info about how to try to book on our own, but I can't seem to get tickets through either the church's official website, or their app.  It doesn't say they're out of tickets, but I get an error message every time.  Looking at reviews of the app, this is apparently a common problem.  We'll try calling tomorrow, while we're on our way to Tuscany.  If we get tickets and can explore Barcelona on our own, maybe that will actually work better than a guided tour.  

 

Tomorrow - "Cooking In a Tuscan Castle!"

Just a suggestion....Viator may be an option to get tickets for La Sagrada Familia.  
 

Thank you for the wonderful and detailed report!  Sounds like you truly enjoyed yourselves.  👍

Looks like Bermuda is offering passengers from Viking Cruises and Royal Caribbean extended stays at certain hotels on the island.

Bermuda welcomes passengers of Viking Ocean Cruises and Royal Caribbean International to extend their vacation – and save up to 30% on a hotel stay* in Bermuda. Visitors staying on island before or after their cruise can enjoy special rates from these idyllic hotels and resorts.

https://www.gotobermuda.com/promotion/sea-more-stay-cruise-hotel-offers

On 3/10/2021 at 9:15 AM, Cienfuegos said:

I will be interested to see how the daily testing of passengers makes out.

 

Viking Ocean couldn't get some people to wash their hands before entering the World Cafe. Even with a staff member asking. How will they convince these folks to have a tube shoved up their nose every 24 hours?

I thought the testing done on the ship will be via saliva as opposed to the nasal swab?  

18 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

a couple of things to note...

 

There are two different dates in play in this conversation:

• the first date is when Viking loads the shorex in so that they can be viewed by all pax; while the aim for 120 days it could be earlier and it could be later. IMHO, don't worry about this one until it gets to be around 90 days (unless you are in an Explorer's Suite)
• the second is when booking opens for your category, which is a fixed date. If it isn't on MVJ, you will find it on your Viking Guest Statement (which you should have received from Viking or your TA when you first booked with updates every time you make a payment).

Also, there are two different versions of MVJ being used right now because they are in the process of rolling out an update. They are not the same. You may read something about MVJ and go to find the feature and not be able to find it because the person who made the statement is on a different version of MVJ. Example: On the old version, the shorex page will tell you the target date for loading in shorex and once they are loaded in, when you click on a given excursion, it will give you a countdown until booking. I don't have the new version, so I can't tell you what it does says. This may be very confusing until all of the accounts are upgraded.

 

 

I have the new version of MVJ.

My cruise begins on July 9, 2021.  MVJ shows my excursions will be available for bookings on April 23, 2021.

1 hour ago, CHuntMD said:

New Tor's vid just came out on Viking.TV

 

https://viking.tv/episode/tors-corner-may

 

 

“In this video message to our guests Chairman Torstein Hagen shares some company updates and initiatives, including the extension of Viking’s temporary suspension of operations through August 31, 2020.”