I agree! 
I approach this issue as if I’m eating in a diner (the salt shaker and the ketchup bottle likely have been used by other customers, but I’m not being served someone’s half-eaten entree!) or as if I’m shopping in a grocery store (a unopened can or a piece of fruit are fine to leave for the taking because they are just like what you encounter at the store, but something that’s been open - just no).
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Yesss!! Mask mandate on planes extended until May 3rd. Great for our upcoming travel plans. 
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for some of us taking a 7+ hour plan ride, not so excited Moreso I was hoping they would drop the test before enter requirement. Just because you take a test a day before, yes, it might catch a few asymptomatic cases, but overall I dont see this stopping cases
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We had no issues sleeping on the plane in surgical masks during a 6 hr red eye flight from Hawaii - twice. Actually, it was great to fly red eye because fewer folks were eating or drinking (or pretending to be) maskless.
Regarding the 24 hr pre-entry test, it is a mixed bag. I don’t think it is of great use.
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I am also hoping for the elimination of the testing before re-entering the US. At least for those of us fully vaxxed and boosted!
We have an international trip planned late May and getting stuck (on the off chance we test positive) would be very stressful due to a major work issue for which my H needs to be present. Several people we know have tested positive prior to their flight and it was a major hassle! As much as we do NOT want to cancel (would be our 6th trip cancelled since 2020) we may not be able to risk it - UGGG.
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That’s what I have been hoping and praying for!!
We are vaxxed and boostered–make the unvaccinated jump through hoops, not those who have taken every possible precaution.
(Then again, if you are not vaccinated, the foreign country may not have let you in to begin with…)
As much of a “hassle” as it may have been, it kept many(!) from possible infection.
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One more week and it would cover my trip too. Maybe…
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It’s unlikely in the next couple of months with infection rates still peaking in many parts of Europe and Asia.
I’ve known a number of friends who got stuck overseas because they tested positive. My son almost got stuck in Spain on his spring break with a group of his friends. They all tested negative the day before their flight but two of them subsequently tested positive when they got back to the campus.
On the positive side, the risk of getting stuck overseas has kept the international airfares low while domestic airfares have been skyrocketing.
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Yea, the CDC has (basically) all of Europe at Level 4 - which is the highest level.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html#travel-1
My niece was positive in Thailand and had to stay an extra 5 days. “luckily” (for her) another member of her travel group also tested positive so she had someone to be with They sent the 3rd member “Miss Negative” home, afraid if she stayed she’d test positive and start the whole cycle over again.
My daughter is going to Europe for 6 weeks. I don’t know if any of the countries would accept self tests or if she’s going to have to keep taking tests as she moves from country to country and back to the US.
Our friends’ kids got stuck in Mexico for another week after testing positive. Of course, it cost them a small fortune - you had to pay what you were told to quarantine, no negotiations.They were suspicious that the lab was sending fake positive test results to keep the local hotel occupancy up. Maybe, maybe not.
My kids used a test that was proctored online. That’s what everyone recommended so as to avoid any “ conflict of interest” from local parties.
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My friend’s brother and his wife got stuck in England last month after testing positive. Fortunately they had a British friend who was away so they stayed at his flat.
Asking the collective hive here.
I put a hold on 2 Viking cruises for October. One on the Rhine, Basel to Amsterdam. The other on the Danube, Budapest to Regensburg.
Never been to either place, never been on a cruise or a river cruise. Price is the same.
Any experiences on Viking? River cruises? This is a whim, I may do neither because I’m very indecisive 
My inlaws love Viking. I believe they’ve done both of those river cruises and enjoyed both. They are leaving next week for an Italy to Greece cruise on Viking.
We’ve looked into them for us but we like to be much more active on excursions and didn’t want to be on a “tour” in those cities. Since Viking is all inclusive, we’d be wasting money or not have the flexibility we want. We decided to save the Viking cruising until we’re older ; )
The other thing I don’t love about Viking is that you have to pay everything in advance. If there is a covid spike, you will just get ship credit back. That’s potentially a long time for a company to have a significant chunk of your $.
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Have you watched any YouTube videos on this topic, for example, “Viking European River Cruises - 6 Key Must-Knows Before You Go,” from the Tips For Travellers series with Gary Bembridge?
That should give you quite a bit of insight.
Actually, I took a quick look at this video and I’m not sure it raises some of the issues I read about in a different one on river cruises – such as, if water levels are low, they might have to dock the boat in one place and bus you to destinations.
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That’s what I’m afraid of, being too young for this sort of trip!
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FWIW, my inlaws started doing these all inclusive cruises in their 70s. From their pictures and such, it looks like they are among their peers on the ships.
(Both are in good shape for their ages but neither can walk super long distances, do lots of stairs, etc…and most of their tours support their level of activity (or lack there of).
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We did the Viking Rhine cruise in 2019, at age 62. We were squarely in the middle, age-wise.
We walked on average 17-20K steps per day. Despite all the great food, I actually LOST 4 pounds due to the exercise!! So they can be quite active. You have an included excursion/walking tour in every port, usually in the AM. In the afternoon you can (a) return to town on your own (or stay there paying for lunch), (b) take an optional excursion (that you pay for), or (c) stay on the ship, chilling out.
A huge difference vs. ocean cruises is the lack of sea days. We had a couple of “sea afternoons”—one on day 2 when we sailed after lunch through the Netherlands on our way to the Rhine, and on the day when we passed through the middle Rhine castle region. That day we were up on the top deck to get a 360 view of all the castles. Others stayed in the lounge, watching through the 2-story floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides of the ship.
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