It was so long since we had cruised. When we saw the chance to go on a fully vaccinated cruise with exceptional health protocols, we jumped at it and we made it a back-to-back, starting in Malta, cruising the Adriatic, Montenegro and Croatia, then back to Malta, the Greek Islands, and returning to Malta to fly home.

On board, we were tested every day, including when we boarded. Viking has an onboard lab. Each night, the room steward left tubes in our room. Each morning, we had to spit in the tubes and put them outside our door. There was also a daily temperature check. On tours, we weren't allowed to enter any stores or buy anything and no one could venture off on their own. We all felt very sorry for the merchants who looked at us hopefully from customer-free stores.

We had to be masked at all times except when eating, drinking, in the pool or working out. Our ears hurt from the masks. Read more