Tor: COVID is really behind us...

[rbslos18]

"Hagen's remarks echo comments earlier this week from Delta Air Lines chief executive officer Ed Bastian, who said, as Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, that the pandemic crisis, as far as the travel industry is concerned, is over."

https://fortune.com/2022/03/19/viking-cruises-longships-france-seine-river/

[duquephart]

If I was selling travel I'd be saying that too.

[downsmead]

If it is behind us, then why is Viking still doing daily testing on board. In general current covid infections are similar to a cold, but we are not tested for the common cold, nor are people quarantined for a cold.

[SailorPaulH]

I am seeing the updated elimination of requirement for masks and quarantine in room after embarkation test in my MVJ with a 3/17/2022 "Important Pre-Departure Information- Travel Requirements' document. The last line is interesting .... how to interpret?

 

'This document will be updated to reflect requirements for the countries along your journey effective on April 1.'

 

The countries along my journey don't require testing, so this suggests - to me - that more relaxations (of testing) could be on the way!?

[basenji56]

3 hours ago, downsmead said:

If it is behind us, then why is Viking still doing daily testing on board. In general current covid infections are similar to a cold, but we are not tested for the common cold, nor are people quarantined for a cold.

Don’t forget that we are paying for all of that testing in our cruise price. Three or four shots are required to cruise but they are still treating Covid cases like it has a 1-2 percent infection fatality rate like they told us in March 2020. 

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, basenji56 said:

Don’t forget that we are paying for all of that testing in our cruise price. Three or four shots are required to cruise but they are still treating Covid cases like it has a 1-2 percent infection fatality rate like they told us in March 2020. 

Yes, just imagine if they tested daily for the common cold and if you got unlucky, you got kicked off the ship and vacation over.  Of course, common cold people do have symptoms.

My concern is that Viking is trying to satisfy both sets of passengers and winds up satisfying neither, since they are still doing daily testing and finding people who have no symptoms but test positive. 

So in essence, to me it seems like removing masks but keeping daily testing is like increasing the odds for people to get removed from the ship without any symptoms.   So in reality it is worse than before.

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, SailorPaulH said:

 

The countries along my journey don't require testing, so this suggests - to me - that more relaxations (of testing) could be on the way!?

That's not at all what I get out reading the cited statement. While some countries have required a test within a short time prior to a port call the daily testing of all  cruise passengers was never a requirement of countries being visited, it was solely a Viking requirement. 

 

Countries can't eliminate something they never required. This ball is in Viking's court and always has been.

Edited March 21, 2022 by njhorseman

[CCWineLover]

37 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

That's not at all what I get out reading the cited statement. While some countries have required a test within a short time prior to a port call the daily testing of all  cruise passengers was never a requirement of countries being visited, it was solely a Viking requirement. 

 

Countries can't eliminate something they never required. This ball is in Viking's court and always has been.

Yes agreed.  What is happening now is a Viking requirement (daily testing).  Whether good or bad, it is their decision - and passengers can choose whether to use Viking or not.  We love Viking.  My point is that the current "in-between" condition that Viking is doing actually is making things more probable of having passengers removed from the ship on their voyages.  (No Masks but Yes Daily Testing)

[basenji56]

I love both Viking and Oceania. But Oceania doesn’t require daily testing and doesn’t require full payment a year in advance so I plan to prefer Oceania. 

[duquephart]

47 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I love both Viking and Oceania. But Oceania doesn’t require daily testing and doesn’t require full payment a year in advance so I plan to prefer Oceania. 

 

Mant say the food is a notch better as well. But. got tp be some downsides: Casinos? Photographers? Kids? Etc?

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

 

Mant say the food is a notch better as well. But. got tp be some downsides: Casinos? Photographers? Kids? Etc?

Oceania has small casinos (often empty), but no photographers.  As for kids, they are few and far between.  Most likely times are during holidays and in beach port areas, and even then/there they ae not many.

Edited March 21, 2022 by 1985rz1

[basenji56]

2 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Oceania has small casinos (often empty), but no photographers.  As for kids, they are few and far between.  Most likely times are during holidays and in beach port areas, and even then/there they ae not many.

I agree. The downside is that the Viking spa is excellent and free. Food is definitely better on O. Entertainment is also very good on O. 

[LisaDee]

On 3/21/2022 at 4:46 PM, basenji56 said:

I love both Viking and Oceania. But Oceania doesn’t require daily testing and doesn’t require full payment a year in advance so I plan to prefer Oceania. 

We plan to check out Oceania for our future bookings.  I’m not a fan of the daily testing (mostly due to the fear of being asymptomatic and testing positive and being put off the ship but as just stated in another thread, I enjoy my privacy and the freedom in the morning to sleep as late as I want and not have to answer the door to provide my sample.)

[basenji56]

7 hours ago, LisaDee said:

We plan to check out Oceania for our future bookings.  I’m not a fan of the daily testing (mostly due to the fear of being asymptomatic and testing positive and being put off the ship but as just stated in another thread, I enjoy my privacy and the freedom in the morning to sleep as late as I want and not have to answer the door to provide my sample.)

Also, don’t forget the contact tracing devices on Viking. You can be negative but get put in quarantine if you were a close contact with someone who tested positive 

It seems that Viking is better for people who want maximum protection and Oceania is better if you are willing to accept a higher level of risk. 

 

[CurlerRob]

5 hours ago, basenji56 said:

Also, don’t forget the contact tracing devices on Viking. You can be negative but get put in quarantine if you were a close contact with someone who tested positive 

 

This is not currently correct - from the Viking FAQ this morning:

 

"What happens if I am confirmed to be a close contact with a guest who tests positive?

Viking’s policy is that close contacts who are fully vaccinated do not have to quarantine. This policy is in line with current CDC guidelines. However, a different approach may be required when in a destination, depending on the local situation at the time."

 

You may be thinking of a much earlier situation in Iceland, which was dictated by the port authorities, not Viking. When that happens, it doesn't matter who the cruise line is - they are subject to over-ride by the port.
 

I recognize that it's difficult to keep current given the constantly shifting landscape, but it matters.  🍺🥌

[SailorPaulH]

31 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

This is not currently correct - from the Viking FAQ this morning:

 

"What happens if I am confirmed to be a close contact with a guest who tests positive?

Viking’s policy is that close contacts who are fully vaccinated do not have to quarantine. This policy is in line with current CDC guidelines. However, a different approach may be required when in a destination, depending on the local situation at the time."

 

You may be thinking of a much earlier situation in Iceland, which was dictated by the port authorities, not Viking. When that happens, it doesn't matter who the cruise line is - they are subject to over-ride by the port.
 

I recognize that it's difficult to keep current given the constantly shifting landscape, but it matters.  🍺🥌

 

Based on this change, contact tracing would no longer serve a purpose. All passengers and crew are fully vaccinated, therefore there are no close contacts to quarantine making close contact tracing a redundant exercise. Or am I missing something?

[Heidi13]

11 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

 

Based on this change, contact tracing would no longer serve a purpose. All passengers and crew are fully vaccinated, therefore there are no close contacts to quarantine making close contact tracing a redundant exercise. Or am I missing something?

 

I do not believe the FAQ that Rob posted is a change to Viking policy. It has stated this for many months, possibly even since they resumed sailing.

[CurlerRob]

12 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

 

Based on this change, contact tracing would no longer serve a purpose. All passengers and crew are fully vaccinated, therefore there are no close contacts to quarantine making close contact tracing a redundant exercise. Or am I missing something?

Perhaps a couple of things ...

 

This isn't a recent change - this has been the Viking close contact policy for an extended period of time, if not forever. I didn't mean to imply otherwise, only that the info referenced was not correct.

 

A "close contact" is someone who has been in the proximity of an infected individual (measures vary), and hence may have been infected. The term has nothing to do with vaccination status - vaccination reduces the likelihood of transmission / infection, unfortunately is does not eliminate it. So, you can have "close contacts" irrespective of vaccination status for either party.
 

Finally, different ports may have different definitions and rules for handling close contact. As Heidi13 has pointed out a number of times,  the ship's master is subject to those local rules. So, tracing may not be redundant in the local authority's view - even if we'd like it to be so. 

 

I get that lots of people want testing and tracing to go away, but I simply think that we all need to strive to be accurate here, as so many folks are looking for input.  🍺🥌

[Twitchly]

Is any other cruise line requiring the wearing of contact tracers? 
 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Twitchly said:

Is any other cruise line requiring the wearing of contact tracers? 
 

 

There could be, but I'm not aware of any from any of the publications I have read.

 

Most of them declined to follow Viking standards due to the cost. That's the old standard with way too many shipping companies - "Safety is our first priority (provided it doesn't cost too much)"😟

Edited March 23, 2022 by Heidi13

[CurlerRob]

8 hours ago, Twitchly said:

Is any other cruise line requiring the wearing of contact tracers? 
 

Interesting question. I found the attached article, which talks about  wearables on a few lines as well as the use of video camera analytics for contact tracing on board (that usage was news to me, but highly logical given the technologies available). It also references a Royal Caribbean wearable and one on MSC.

 

Cruise ship contact tracing: How lines are tracking COVID-19 (thepointsguy.com) 

 

The article is older (June 2021) and the only one I found regarding RC was dated October 2021, so it may all be irrelevant at this point. However, it's clear that Viking wasn't alone, at least as of last year.🍺🥌

[Twitchly]

12 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

Interesting question. I found the attached article, which talks about  wearables on a few lines as well as the use of video camera analytics for contact tracing on board (that usage was news to me, but highly logical given the technologies available). It also references a Royal Caribbean wearable and one on MSC.

 

Cruise ship contact tracing: How lines are tracking COVID-19 (thepointsguy.com) 

 

The article is older (June 2021) and the only one I found regarding RC was dated October 2021, so it may all be irrelevant at this point. However, it's clear that Viking wasn't alone, at least as of last year.🍺🥌

Wow. That was … sobering.

[imcpa]

Is any other cruise line requiring the wearing of contact tracers? 

 

Crystal was.  We had them on our Endeavor cruise in January.

[longterm]

On 3/21/2022 at 4:35 PM, duquephart said:

 

Mant say the food is a notch better as well. But. got tp be some downsides: Casinos? Photographers? Kids? Etc?

I love kids, but I don't want to be on a cruise ship with them.

I used to perform with major artists in casinos, spent 3-4 weeks every year in Atlantic City, Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Reno. I hate casinos and I certainly don't want to cruise on a ship with one.

I don't want upcharge photographers shilling for my money.

I'll stick with Viking.

[Let Me Travel!]

I understand that there will be further relaxation of Covid requirements on April 1st and April18th…I can’t wait to see smiling faces! We will of course comply without complaint with any and all requirements, but we (our society) do need to learn to live with this horrid virus…you know, there are elements of the Spanish Flu from the early 1900s in our annual flu shots…I’m looking forward to all of us having the same level of fear of Covid as there is today for the Spanish Flu.

 

I do hope the daily testing will be reduced because there will likely be more asymptomatic or false positives…the daily testing does not make a lot of sense to me since the most recent variant is no more serious than a cold and since everyone has shots it’s likely that few people will become seriously ill…I’ll keep hope alive!