Live! Viking Venus : Western Med Escape Oct 12-18

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Hi, not sure if you'll see this, but were you able to serve yourself from the buffet on your cruise? On my cruise in late August, the crew served everything in the World Cafe, but my understanding is that this has changed. 

[Azulann]

20 hours ago, Cruise Critic Chris said:

Hi, not sure if you'll see this, but were you able to serve yourself from the buffet on your cruise? On my cruise in late August, the crew served everything in the World Cafe, but my understanding is that this has changed. 

NO it had not changed,  you could not  serve yourself at the World Cafe on my cruise in Oct. I found it not a problem at all. Even when you are having them fix you a salad , you point or say ingredients and they put it on your plate.  The the passengers were around 400 people it is easier to walk around the  buffet without a long line.

There is a line though at the ice cream gelato station each day!

Edited November 3, 2021 by Azulann

[Sleep7]

Hi Azulann!

I just saw this thread now.

I loved your review!!

So glad you had such a wonderful time.

We are leaving soon for our first Viking Ocean and your posts made me even more excited.

Welcome home!

[Azulann]

26 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

Hi Azulann!

I just saw this thread now.

I loved your review!!

So glad you had such a wonderful time.

We are leaving soon for our first Viking Ocean and your posts made me even more excited.

Welcome home!

Thank you.What cruise are you doing and when?

 Enjoy  every day of it and relax  and let the crew take care of you .

Cheers!

Patti

[Sleep7]

👋We are going on the Viking Sky - 7 days.. Barcelona to Rome.

Can't wait.. and yes.. hope to relax and enjoy every moment.

I plan to write a "door to door" trip report when I get home.😊

[Azulann]

1 minute ago, Sleep7 said:

👋We are going on the Viking Sky - 7 days.. Barcelona to Rome.

Can't wait.. and yes.. hope to relax and enjoy every moment.

I plan to write a "door to door" trip report when I get home.😊

I love trip reports ! Look forward to it.

[safeman]

I really enjoyed your postings Azulann! You'll love your next cruise to Alaska! We did that itinerary on the Orion in 2019! It was great! Loved the Orion. We also booked another cruise when we are winding up our Alaskan cruise. Unfortunately it was to be in January 2021 from New Zealand (Auckland) to Sidney. We cancelled it over a year ago and rebooked it on the Viking Venus next July from Bergen to London. The itinerary is called the British Isles Explorer. I'm crossing my fingers that the State Department changes the travel advisory for Norway and the UK by then. Right now they are at Level 4 "Do Not Travel" because of COVID. I see that Italy and Spain are Level 3 - Reconsider Travel. Does anyone know if any cruises are docking in the UK and Norway now? How hard and fast are the travel bans?

[kcpvwill]

Perhaps this might become a new thread as the live western med is now over.  We don’t all have the same rules.  Eg UK, US and places we visit like Norway all have their own rules and terminology which is confusing.  
We have 8 weeks of Viking cruising throughout 2022 ( all postponed from 2020 and 2021) Northern Lights, Into Midnight Sun, British Isles Explorer and Paris to the Swiss Alps (river) and we are keeping a watchful eye on the rules for UK and countries we visit.  
Happy cruising all!  

[JeriGail]

9 hours ago, safeman said:

I'm crossing my fingers that the State Department changes the travel advisory for Norway and the UK by then. Right now they are at Level 4 "Do Not Travel" because of COVID. I see that Italy and Spain are Level 3 - Reconsider Travel.

As far as I know the CDC's COVID levels are recommendations only - NOT travel bans.  For level 4 countries, the CDC says:

 

Avoid travel to these destinations. If you must travel to these destinations, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel.

 

All air passengers coming to the US must have a negative COVID test before boarding the flight, no matter where they've traveled.

[Heidi13]

10 hours ago, safeman said:

I really enjoyed your postings Azulann! You'll love your next cruise to Alaska! We did that itinerary on the Orion in 2019! It was great! Loved the Orion. We also booked another cruise when we are winding up our Alaskan cruise. Unfortunately it was to be in January 2021 from New Zealand (Auckland) to Sidney. We cancelled it over a year ago and rebooked it on the Viking Venus next July from Bergen to London. The itinerary is called the British Isles Explorer. I'm crossing my fingers that the State Department changes the travel advisory for Norway and the UK by then. Right now they are at Level 4 "Do Not Travel" because of COVID. I see that Italy and Spain are Level 3 - Reconsider Travel. Does anyone know if any cruises are docking in the UK and Norway now? How hard and fast are the travel bans?

 

The US CDC travel advisories are only applicable to US citizens and their conditional sail orders are only applicable in US Territorial Waters. 

 

Being November, the UK cruise season is long since over, due to the potential for inclement weather, but cruise ships still call at UK ports year round. Rather than sailing itineraries around UK or N Europe, they now sail to the Meddy & Caribbean. Southampton is a year-round cruise port.

[safeman]

56 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

As far as I know the CDC's COVID levels are recommendations only - NOT travel bans.  For level 4 countries, the CDC says:

 

Avoid travel to these destinations. If you must travel to these destinations, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel.

 

All air passengers coming to the US must have a negative COVID test before boarding the flight, no matter where they've traveled.

That's great to know JeriGail. But Norway itself has restrictions to enter. Essentially you need a digital certificate that is recognized by the EU and Schengen countries. They won't accept the paper CDC certificate. I don't believe that USA citizens can obtain the digital certificate. I think that USA citizens can travel to the UK.

[safeman]

6 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The US CDC travel advisories are only applicable to US citizens and their conditional sail orders are only applicable in US Territorial Waters. 

 

Being November, the UK cruise season is long since over, due to the potential for inclement weather, but cruise ships still call at UK ports year round. Rather than sailing itineraries around UK or N Europe, they now sail to the Meddy & Caribbean. Southampton is a year-round cruise port.

Hi Heidi. I was referring to the State Department website for the UK and Norway. Their rules probably are similar to the CDC and don't prohibit travel. Like everything else these advisories and such change daily. We are booked for the cruising season in the UK next July so we're good that way. 

[safeman]

Here's the latest information on developing a digital certificate that a US citizen can use to travel to European countries who require a digital certificate that is compatible with the EU certificate. "However, the recent reopening of US borders for tourism brings hope that safe travel corridors and COVID certificate equivalence may be established soon." Keeping my fingers crossed🤞