Relaxing Rita

Many thanks for your replies, disappointing news though for some of our group.

It is a 10 years since we have been on this ship and very much looking forward to our Tahiti Cruise. Question : the outside pool on Navigator looks like it only has ladders to get into the pool...is this still the case? Would love there to be stairs! Thank you!

Oh how we wish the same rules applied here is Australia... we have to pay $1000 per person non refundable deposit!! I haven't ever seen the $25 deposit deal here either.

I am very interested in one that is fragrance free, is that possible with Bvlgari? I know other cruise lines provide this but cant remember what happened on our 2019 Marina cruise.

Great advice, thank you both very much for your replies!

Need some help from you.... we will be in Lisbon port from 7am-4pm in September... we have been to Lisbon previously and loved it so now we would like to do a tour to Sintra and back to the ship. We do not have time for an 8 hour tour, has anyone done a shorter one they could recommend? There would be 2-4 of us seniors. Thanks

We boarded in White Bay after one night in Sydney booked independently so there was no shuttle to White Bay for us. The Uber fare was very modest.

We boarded Mars in Sydney on 24 January and we did our RAT in the Viking tent area before boarding, it was very easy as I had the kits in my carryon. There was also another area for those who didn’t have their own tests but there was a cost of about $A40 I think. Don’t worry too much if you can’t do it before, Viking were well staffed and organised at Portside,

I do not think we will get the real, truthful answer ever! Just been upstairs to the Explorer Lounge and some very upset passengers there still as nothing else has been offered to makeup up for what we have lost. I feel very sorry for those who have travelled so far mostly probably on the only trip they will make Downunder.

No mention of hull cleaning, now been informed that we have been bumped from the port, no room for us and no one to do the excursions…. Then another version has been the ecology rules of Wellington does not allow us there…. Oh dear so many stories heard! Would like to know how many other ships have been allowed into Wellington around this time from others cruise lines?

Many thanks for your reply Heidi13, there is a lot to consider from their side too… very well put.

Yes, Harbourside, with. These port cancellations Viking is not in my good books at the moment either. We received no reason why they cancelled Dunedin, but that was cancelled a couple of months ago, so did they forget to book a berth there? No OBC or recompense for that either, they are sure saving a lot of money for not going to these ports and providing the tours, not impressed!

Very good question Harbourside…. I spoke with Guest Services onboard again this morning and Wellington is confirmed as being deleted from our shrinking cruise, again the issue is “operational issue”. She said that our compensation has been noted …. We are a party of 10 and would like some answers from Viking soon. thank you everyone for your input…will update when we know more.

We have boarded Mars in Sydney today ready for our long planned New Zealand Cruise. Check in was standard, every passenger needed proof of negative Covid test, which was different than we were told by Viking but we did our tests in the tent. All good. When we reached our cabin we saw the Daily News and noted that Wellington was no longer listed. We have now checked with guest services who told us this has been a last minute change. Now we have 2 ports cancelled… Dunedin and now Wellington. No refund of port fees has been offered or anything else. We have been told we need to contact Guest Service Main Office in California. Has anyone had any experience like this? Please let us know, we are so very disappointed in the way this has been handled. We have cruised many times on other lines and have been offered an OBC or the like.

Thanks for your reply katlew, I think there is some sort of rule about leaving Australia on a cruise ship, not entering Australia...

Our group of Aussies are boarding Mars next week in Sydney and the information is not clear... is everyone, including Australians, required to have a RAT 24 hours before boarding and show proof of this result at check-in? Thank you

Thank you all for your information, we have 3 cruises booked over the next 18 months so am very interested in your findings. MDH is covered with his credit card insurance but I am not so I looked at many companies and finally decided on Worldcare for our New Zealand cruise in January. I have pre existing medical issues and they have covered them all. 25 days, excess $100 cost just under $900 which was the best I could find. Of course they might not be right for you and as always the reading of the PDS is mind altering!!

Hi John, I used COTA inn 2019 for a Viking Cruise Tokyo-Vancouver. I was very sick with pneumonia on the last few days of the cruise, COTA were great and paid up quickly, I had pre-existing covered which helped a lot. So I can certainly recommend them for how they handled my claim. BTW Viking medical centre was fabulous, every mod con available and staff were exemplary. Always read the PDS as rules may be different now.

I am very interested in this topic.... really look forward to any other information about NAB credit card complimentary travel insurance!!

Thank you very much for your recommendation... I have just gone through the process of getting a quote and it was $400 less that SCTI but I am yet to get to the bottom of the Covid Cover, will go through their PDS today. If anyone has would like to add their comments re WorldCare, that would be great. Thank you CC Members!

Yes... that's good to have that confirmed by someone else... thank you.

Very interested in this post as I am also having problems getting cover for us.... 72 & 75 will pre-existing...I tried 1cover but thought it said it would cover if you got Covid on your trip... meaning not before and you have to cancel? Please check that as I very well could be wrong!