re: Anyone cancelling their out of country trips right now?

Going to Cabo in June. No plans to cancel as of now.

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Several of us are on a business trip to Russia next week. The trip is still on.

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Heh, trip cancelled. Russia is quarantining people for 2 weeks on coming in to Moscow, if they are from about 8 different countries. The US is not one yet but probably will be by the time we were supposed to go. Nobody felt like getting stuck in a Russian quarantine.

Canceled my Spain trip for March. Non-essential travel advisory by the government and would probably just get worse. Sucks. Heading to the Caribbean instead.

Wondering if Skeeter left on Tuesday and is now stuck in a hotel. The Italians aren’t messing around: you must fill out a document with destination and purpose to board a train right now....and tourism is not an allowed reason to travel.

Some of the continued flights to Italy are scheduled because of outbound demand. Tourists are still streaming out of the country.

Italy just announced that beginning tomorrow, all stores except for groceries and pharmacies will be closed.

I would be booking flights and travel like crazy right now if I didn't have young kids to worry about being either stranded from, or traveling with them through this somewhat chaos.

I do have 7 pre-planned and booked flights coming up now until end of April... with the whole fam. Whoops.

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tduecen

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where have you booked to travel to this summer?

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600 RT

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Must be basic economy or economy? I haven't seen premium/business class deals to anywhere.

Well bag our cruise in April. We weren't going to go anyway and this probably works out for the best. Great response and customer service from Viking.

11MAR2020

Following is an important message from Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen, who has also recorded a video version that can be viewed here.

Dear Viking Guests,

Since we started Viking nearly 23 years ago, we have always cared first and foremost about our guests and our employees. I feel we have become one large Viking family of 500,000 guests each year and 10,000 employees. Since day one, it has been our mission to create experiences for our guests that focus on the destination and allow them to explore the world in comfort. This has always been Viking’s ambition and will remain so.

I am sure you recognize that COVID-19 has made travel exceedingly complicated. An increasing number of ports, including Venice, Monte Carlo and Bergen, have temporarily closed to cruise ships; major attractions such as the Vatican and other museums have been closed; and some countries are imposing restrictions on public gatherings and visitors.

In recent days we have had an experience where a river cruise guest in Southeast Asia was exposed to COVID-19 while in transit on an international airline. While this guest is not exhibiting symptoms, she has been placed in quarantine. Separately, the remaining 28 guests will also be quarantined.

I am writing today because the situation has now become such that operating as a travel company involves significant risks of quarantines or medical detentions, which could diminish the travel experiences for which our guests have been planning. As a private company with strong finances, we do not have to worry about quarterly profit expectations – and that flexibility allows us the ability to do what is best for our guests and our employees, as we have always done.

Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations of our river and ocean vessels embarking from March 12 to April 30, 2020 – at which time we believe Viking will be in a better place to provide the experiences our guests expect and deserve. This is a decision we made with a heavy heart, but with present circumstances what they are, we are unable to deliver the high-quality Viking experience for which we are known.

For those guests whose cruise falls within this window of suspended operations, we are offering the choice of a Future Cruise Voucher valued at 125% of all monies paid to Viking or a refund equal to the amount paid. Guests will have 24 months to use their Future Cruise Voucher to make a new reservation on any river, ocean or expedition cruise. For additional flexibility, if you are unable to use your voucher, we will automatically send you a refund equal to the original amount paid to Viking after the voucher expires. These Future Cruise Vouchers will also be fully transferable.

Rest assured, our reservations team is currently in the process of issuing Future Cruise Vouchers of 125% of all monies paid to Viking. However, if you would prefer the alternative please call Viking at 1-833-900-0951 or contact your Travel Agent by March 25, 2020.

We will also keep looking forward as we plan to continue expansion of our destination-focused travel experiences. In addition to our many award-winning river and ocean cruises, in early 2022 we will launch our expedition journeys to the Arctic and Antarctica, as well as North America’s Great Lakes. And, at the beginning of April 2020, we will announce our newest river voyages closer to home, in America’s heartland.

We will stand by our guests, employees and partners in these challenging times and hope that they in turn will stand by us.

Sincerely yours,
Viking Cruises

Torstein Hagen
Chairman