Viking Ocean Mediterranean Travelers

[Judyleach]

We are booked for Oct 17 Med ocean cruise.  If you completed cruise recently were there many Covid cases, how were they handled, were any ports closed, and do you recommend going on the cruise?

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I don't suppose you're on Facebook, but if you are, there are a couple of Viking groups for people cruising on Viking (but not groups sponsored by Viking).  So take a look there if you can. But I can tell you that from what I've read, there have been very few problems.  Sometimes flights have been a little problematic (for example, unexpected changes, and one person who got to Iceland a day late due to the plane being taken out of service the night of her flight).  There have been occasional mentions of minor hiccups such as one person not getting PCR test results in time and having to get an antigen test at their home airport.  In some places ocean or river cruisers have been asked to show their vax proof (card or whatever) to get into a museum or restaurant, but I think that was mostly in Paris, so won't apply to your cruise.  And perhaps those people were touring on their own and not on Viking excursions, so their situation may not apply to you. 

 

Mostly things seem to be operating well.  I think one person reported testing positive when getting to his/her embarkation port, but I haven't heard of anything other than a very occasional positive cruiser, and certainly no quarantines on the ship of negative cruisers as was required a few times in Iceland by Iceland authorities. 

 

People ask a lot about tests to get into various countries, but Viking did a great job of informing us before our Iceland cruise of what we needed to do.  Therefore, as long as you pay attention to what they send, you should have the information you need.  It may not be as early (like now!) as you want it, but things can change so quickly, I understand why they wait until close to departure to provide you the information!  Just be sure you keep up with any changes.  With a Med cruise, you may be going to quite a few different countries.  But I believe I read that Viking will provide you with any particular information you need there - for example, if you need to carry a copy of vax or test proof, wear masks outside or inside, whether cruisers are allowed to "wander" in port or if they have to stay with their excursion group.  

 

Have a wonderful time. 

 

 

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Oh, and I'll keep my eye out for posts about Med ports.  One or two countries or cities did not allow cruisers or at least one cruise line took it off the itinerary (Tallinn perhaps?) but I forget which one(s) they were. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Are you on the Istanbul to Athens cruise?  If so, I can tell you that, in general, ships ARE stopping in most of the places on that itinerary.  I've been watching a site called Marine Traffic as I'm booked on a similar cruise next year on another line and curious about the routes.  Lots of ships are stopping in Rhodes right now, and I've seen some in Athens, Crete (either Heraklion or Chania/Souda Bay) and Kusadasi (Ephesus).  Troy (near Bozcaada Island, Turkey) and Istanbul are question marks.  I haven't seen any ships going there, but that may not mean anything. (Troy/Bozcaada is tiny and Istanbul is far!) 

[Twitchly]

Nobody is going to Israel at the moment. (14-day quarantine required.) Other than that, the Med seems pretty open. 

[Judyleach]

Thanks for the helpful feedback, especially the Facebook groups.  We have decided to cancel under the "risk free plan". The last straw was a few days ago having to agree to Viking policy that you can't walk into port on your own. You must stay with Viking tour guide if you go ashore. We were looking forward to meeting a good friend from Italy at the Livorno port. She was going to take us to a special place in Tuscany.  
 

I'm  really sad since this is our 50th anniversary cruise. We will just book for a different year. We love Viking and it's not their fault but we want the "normal" cruise experience. Thankful they offered

the risk free guarantee!