Covid-19

The good news is that neither Dail nor I have it as of yesterday’s test results. Neither does anyone else on the ship. The bad news is that the coronavirus came aboard as an uninvited guest. Four passengers who tested positive on Thursday were removed from the ship to a hotel in Vienna.

This was after they adamantly refused to exit by walking the plank.

It’s not a joking matter, of course. I’ve been very impressed by Viking’s Covid protocols that keep us safe. When we came aboard at 3:00 pm on March 30 as soon as we checked in we went to our stateroom and gave saliva samples. Not to put too fine a point on it we spit carefully into a small plastic test tube then screwed on a tight-fitting blue cap. This is our morning routine when we wake. Here’s what the sample kit looks like. Once completed, we drop it in a slot in the dark, highly-polished wood reception desk.

Shipboard protocol is to wear a mask when moving around the ship, only removing it when seated to eat or drink. Almost everyone on board complies willingly. Pre-cruise we all had to submit proof of vaccination through an app called EZFly. We carry copies of our CDC vax card with us at all times when we are ashore.

All passengers and crew observe social distancing when aboard, too. The only place we’ve had to show our credentials was at the historic coffee shop Cafe Sacher in Vienna, Austria.

We had to wait in Queue on the sidewalk outside the cafe. The Two women on the other side of the glass have gained entrance to the sanctum sanctorum and are waiting for the hostess to check their vax credentials before being seated. Of course, it was snowing and windy on the streets of Vienna/Wien that afternoon.

So there you have it—a small detour from descriptions of the cities we’ve visited. We docked at Linz, Austria around 3 am this morning (Monday, April 4). I’m behind on my posts but my excuse is varying internet speeds. It’s not possible to work online when the WiFi is poky.

Auf wiedersehen!