What do you think of the new Covid-19 Health Program for all Viking Ships?

[mkerner]

Looks like a pretty solid policy.  What are your thoughts?

[JM0115]

3 minutes ago, mkerner said:

Looks like a pretty solid policy.  What are your thoughts?

I believe that Viking will set the example to the industry for what to do. The guidelines are what I expected from them and I think it is a solid policy. 

[What was that?]

OK. I just read thru all that and it looks good. I can't imagine what it has cost - and will cost - for them to do all this. It will be a challenge for all of us to try and find any weaknesses and/or loopholes in the process Tor describes, and I am sure Viking will appreciate hearing about them from us.

Here is a quick link to Tor's video on the Viking website.

[The Other Tom]

I think it's a good policy, although I'm still concerned about excursions.  You can't control people who aren't on the ship.

[Heidi13]

53 minutes ago, The Other Tom said:

I think it's a good policy, although I'm still concerned about excursions.  You can't control people who aren't on the ship.

 

I suspect that his statement, "Only Viking shore excursions will be offered while in port." really means that if you wish to disembark, you must be booked on a Viking Shore-ex. No independent travels or private tour permitted ashore.

 

Management of this is fairly easy, as they can enter everyone booked on a Shore-ex into the gangway system. If not booked on a shore-ex and you try to go ashore the system will alarm.

 

This is consistent with crew members assigned to In-Port Manning.

[Jim Avery]

As much as we have loved our time on Viking we will not be traveling with these conditions.  Pay thousands of dollars to be tested every day?  Go only in "safety bubble" excursions?  That's not travel to us.  When it gets to unfettered travel we will have all the shots and be ready to go.  Till then, I am putting in new windows......🍹

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, The Other Tom said:

I think it's a good policy, although I'm still concerned about excursions.  You can't control people who aren't on the ship.

My biggest concern as well. Still so many uncontrollable variables The onbaord protocol sounds really good and I do believe, as has been said, that Viking will probably lead the way as far as the most advanced means of effecting covid precautions. It is encouraging. 

[OnTheJourney]

19 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

That's not travel to us.  When it gets to unfettered travel we will have all the shots and be ready to go.  Till then, I am putting in new windows......🍹

 

LOL...as always....tell it like it is Jim!! I can relate totally. As I mentioned in a previous reply, I'm surely impressed with the protocol, but also can see and agree with your side of it....how relaxing will all this feel? Does it cease to become the relatively carefree type of experience that got us all into cruising in the first place? See how things play out during the next few months. He promised a rebooking of the chairman's cruise - truly sorta hope it's not on April 1!!!  For one thing, does Viking REALLY want to start sailing on April Fool's Day?!?!?!   (BTW...we also put in new windows - started right before the pandemic hit and finished the remaining over the summer. Good luck with it...)

Edited December 9, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[mkerner]

What I read appears to imply if one of two persons in a cabin get Covid they will be quaratined.  What happens to the other person, especially if one is sent home?  DO both people have to quarantine?  Let's see how this is answered.

[OnTheJourney]

Thing is....there are so many potential scenarios that, even if they can easily be addressed on paper or in a video, it isn't quite the same when in the actual situation. Unlike a few other lines, I don't believe Viking has ever had to deal with a single covid case. While I trust them, I'd hate to be on one of the first few sailings when it all resumes. Like anywhere, one of the biggest concerns is asymptomatic spread. 

Edited December 9, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Jim Avery]

And is COVID the only disease out there? OMG, what did we ever do with other sickness?

[rbslos18]

I’m very, very impressed. The protocol is outstanding. But I will wait for the vaccine to be widespread before cruising. The protocol reflects the very best of what we know today. But COVID is seems to evolve and mutate right under our nose.The problem, as seen with SeaDream, is how do you know everyone embarking is truly virus free without a pre-cruise quarantine? It sometimes takes an infected person several days before testing positive. And once someone tests positive and needs a ventilator, I can see the ship needing  an emergency stop to save a life.

 

I give Viking an A. I have even more confidence in the company. As much as I miss cruising, I’ll wait until December, 2021 when 70% of people should be vaccinated.

Bob

[Islandbc]

On the "World Horizons 2022" cruise, there are 11 ports where the ship will be docked for 2-3 days.  Just wondering if there will be more Viking excursions added.  If guests can only have access to the one included tour, which is generally a few hours on a bus, and a limited number of optional tours, the majority of time will be spent on the boat.  

Hopefully there are plans in the works to enhance the experience of this cruise.

[Barrhead2015]

The policy is as good as it can get under the current conditions. The main risk would be pre cruise travel. Airports with thousands of people, then on to a plane for hours. If the cruise can remain COVID free for the first 7 days then probably one can breath better. 

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Barrhead2015

[Captain_Morgan]

Someone has spent a lot of time and effort to create a very nice graphic which is nothing more than 

'a plan on paper only' which hasn't been trialed and at present serves as nothing more than a means to conjur up confidence from future cruisers (who are currently acting as creditors by way of future cruise deposits).

As has been seen with the likes of SeaDream who claimed to have a robust strategy in place with pre-travel PCR, pre-boarding antigen testing in the port, and of course vastly reduced numbers of persons onboard; none of which could stop an outbreak onboard.  

Also, just recently a cruise to nowhere from Singapore on RCCL has resulted in at least one confirmed case onboard which has caused the cruise to be cancelled despite yet again supposedly robust protocols between the port and the cruise line.

 

It's all well and good to say there are fancy HVAC filters in place and a lab onboard to detect cases, but how much of this will be relatively redundant by the time cruising resumes and a large number of the demographic coveted by Viking will hopefully have been vaccinated?  Furthermore, how many countries will accept the results from this onboard lab as being absolute and without flaw?  We actually heard from some of the crew currentluy onboard Viking Sea who we keep in touch with, especially around the holidays and they said they were in lockdown recently in Trieste for an extended duration due to false-positive cases onboard as found by their onboard testing regime (not the much hyped lab which is obviously only on Star at present), which ironically the Italian health authourites apparently didn't recognize as being valid.

 

Lets be honest with ourselves here, does anyone actually believe Viking (or any other line with a majority North American clientele) will be cruising on 01 April 2021??  When you consider the majority of their passenger base is from the US where there is no apparent slow-down of transmission I find it difficult to imagine that they will be in a position to sail until vaccines are rolled out for a majority of their passenger base.

[duquephart]

Impact on those with cruises booked with FCV? I wonder if Viking will provide cash refunds to those unwilling to sail under these restrictions. I was looking forward to an Alla Tour of St. Petersburg for instance. In at least a few cases third party tours are much nicer/more efficient, and appreciably cheaper, than what Viking offers.

[Aussie Cruise Nuts]

8 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

As much as we have loved our time on Viking we will not be traveling with these conditions.  Pay thousands of dollars to be tested every day?  Go only in "safety bubble" excursions?  That's not travel to us.  When it gets to unfettered travel we will have all the shots and be ready to go.  Till then, I am putting in new windows......🍹

 

 

I’m with you Jim.    Viking are leading the way in the cruise industry response to Covid.    All credit to them.  But we will not cruise under those conditions.  Not the   cruise experience we want for the dollars spent.   We moved our June 2021 cruise out to June 2022 (29 days Barcelona to Istanbul) and note the original 2021 cruise is now cancelled.    

 

With the Covid vaccines starting to roll out, I am more confident a 2022 restart to our  cruising will be more appropriate.     We are independent shore excursion types and would not want to be limited to ship arranged only.   

 

Rod. 

[OnTheJourney]

10 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

And is COVID the only disease out there? OMG, what did we ever do with other sickness?

 

I have it on good word that all that other stuff, like norovirus, etc. will no longer be any problem 😉 

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, Aussie Cruise Nuts said:

With the Covid vaccines starting to roll out, I am more confident a 2022 restart to our  cruising will be more appropriate.  

 

Agree totally. If we didn't have this Chairman's cruise in the works - which is supposed to rescheduled for '21 - I wouldn't plan on booking any cruise for next year. Have a few already for '22-23 and feel optimistic that by then a good bit of this covid crap will have become somewhat of an unpleasant memory. Who knows though. The masking / distancing may be with us for a long time. For the present, handling excursions is a thorny issue. You can bet that the Viking 'bubble' of groups going out will somehow not always stay the way intended....especially with US passengers onboard. Sorry, but I've learned to become, shall we say, less than comfortable with what's happening here as a result of the virus having become so politicized. I mean - irate people taking off their mask and spitting / coughing on someone as retaliation for being told to wear one?  Gimme a break....

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, duquephart said:

I wonder if Viking will provide cash refunds to those unwilling to sail under these restrictions. I was looking forward to an Alla Tour of St. Petersburg for instance. In at least a few cases third party tours are much nicer/more efficient, and appreciably cheaper, than what Viking offers.

 

Several good points raised. With the whole "risk free guarantee" that they've been offering, presumably the wording is that you can simply decide to not go on a trip penalty-free. https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/risk-free-guarantee.html   I agree with you on excursions, and particularly when it comes to SPB. We used Alla Tours when we were there 5 years ago and absolutely loved it. Traveled around with only 11 others in a small van, and our local guide was fantastic. He seemed to have a knack of getting us into and out of places at times that nearly always beat the crowds. Included some great lunches every day too.  Had some really good Russian beer as well. 🥃 😁

 

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[slewis7]

Viking is working towards a very comprehensive approach.  I will not travel until a vaccine is widely available and is required for cruise passengers and crew.  At that point, how much of Viking’s new requirements and restrictions will be necessary?  I will wait for a more relaxed situation, hopefully by sometime in 2022.

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, Captain_Morgan said:

Lets be honest with ourselves here, does anyone actually believe Viking (or any other line with a majority North American clientele) will be cruising on 01 April 2021??  When you consider the majority of their passenger base is from the US where there is no apparent slow-down of transmission I find it difficult to imagine that they will be in a position to sail until vaccines are rolled out for a majority of their passenger base.

 

CM...good post. Would they seriously want to do a cruise on April Fool's Day anyway ?!?  In theory, as you alluded to, it all sounds good, and surely the video is very polished and professionally done - and makes a good case for the precautions enacted; however, as we move out of the Holiday season and into the New Year, the inevitable Christmas gatherings and who knows what else could have a huge impact on increasing cases. As you say, how far along will we be with the vaccinations? I have to wonder, also, about other countries accepting US passengers with or without requring quarantine pre and/or post-cruise - let alone possible additional quarantining onboard. This alone, to me, is a huge deterrent to any international travel planning until we move farther along with vaccination. 

Edited December 9, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[molymoo]

Their proposed safety protocols seem as comprehensive and well thought out as possible but safety will come at a cost.  We have a July river cruise scheduled and are waiting to see what the situation is before we make a decision to cancel or reschedule. 

 

I can live with the "restrictions" as noted for a river cruise although we had planned some "on our own" activities in some of the ports.  I wonder what they will do with pre and post extensions.  We have a three night pre extension in Paris and it is an "on your own" type with few Viking tour options offered during the stay.  If there are similar restrictions there we would likely prefer cancelling the extension rather than sticking with Viking "panoramic" tours.  

 

We are hopeful that the vaccine situation might allow for the relaxation of some of these mitigation procedures but not optimistic that the vaccine "rollout" won't get screwed up and delayed ... this is the US after all!

[Captain_Morgan]

12 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

CM...good post. Would they seriously want to do a cruise on April Fool's Day anyway ?!?  In theory, as you alluded to, it all sounds good, and surely the video is very polished and professionally done - and makes a good case for the precautions enacted; however, as we move out of the Holiday season and into the New Year, the inevitable Christmas gatherings and who knows what else could have a huge impact on increasing cases. As you say, how far along will we be with the vaccinations?

 

OTJ...thanks, I wasn't trying to be inflammatory as some might think but really I just try to look at things in a pragmatic way as opposed to the 'Viking can do no wrong' lens...

 

As for sailing on April Fool's Day, I agree it would be a bit of a questionable one regardless of whether you're superstitious or not but in all honesty I think this is just another rough date for them to extend the current situation until as its literally so dynamic and changing regularly.

 

I'm of the mind that going through the motions of retro-fitting ships with all the fancy bits and pieces would be fine if you were planning on sailing in the immediate future as they are mitigating measures to try and prevent the illness from taking root; however, when you consider the number of variables involved and the facts that the presumed best practices (testing, etc.) have proven to be no more of a preventive measure than simply not cruising it begs the question why such a huge investment in soon to be obsolete technologies?  

 

I'm not suggesting the vaccine will be a 'silver bullet' but based on the science being shared it sure has shown to be a much better approach with respect to preventing serious illness (i.e. the need to be ventilated) so as much as the efforts are appreciated and the production value high, how does making a video outlining the daily testing, mask wearing, tour bubbles, etc etc etc prevent the spread of illness onboard???  

[The Other Tom]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I suspect that his statement, "Only Viking shore excursions will be offered while in port." really means that if you wish to disembark, you must be booked on a Viking Shore-ex. No independent travels or private tour permitted ashore.

 

Management of this is fairly easy, as they can enter everyone booked on a Shore-ex into the gangway system. If not booked on a shore-ex and you try to go ashore the system will alarm.

 

This is consistent with crew members assigned to In-Port Manning.

Agreed, but it's difficult to control who (or what) you will come into contact with on the excursion.