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Can I Purchase Cruise without Air?


harryw
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Does this cruise line offer pcruise only pricing?

Is a credit given for cruise only?

 

Harry

 

Certainly you can do "cruise only" and make your own air arrangements. I'm not sure exactly what you mean about a credit given, but the cruise price is the cruise price. If it is a promotion offering free or discounted air no additional $ will be deducted from the cruise price if you choose to make your own air arrangements.

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I was hoping that the cruise only price would be lower. I have cruised on Oceania regularly and they have lower pricing for cruise only. For example, one European fare

$950 less per person if We booked my own air.

 

 

Harry

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Here in the UK, Viking Ocean's prices include flights-- even long haul.

 

Viking states that if one arranges one's own flights then one must also arrange the necessary transfers.

 

As a solo passenger, for my cruise, I was charged the standard 100% solo supplement, but received a refund of the flight cost that would have been incurred by a second person.

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I was hoping that the cruise only price would be lower. I have cruised on Oceania regularly and they have lower pricing for cruise only. For example, one European fare

$950 less per person if We booked my own air.

 

 

Harry

Unfortunately that's Oceania' policy. Contact Viking as to the cruise you are interested in and they will be able to tell you directly

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I have seen them offer different pricing with and without airfare.

 

We tend to make our own using points and biz class on most cruises. Sometimes a certain "sale" includes airfare and they do not offer a discount. And sometimes it is an add on. From what little I have or know, I do not think there is a firm answer. Call and ask.

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We booked our air separately, as we wanted to do a pre-cruise trip, and not one Viking offered. As someone mentioned, you'll need to arrange your own transfers if you book your own air - really no big deal but nice to know about up front. However, in reality you may NOT have to arrange your own! I was surprised to find out that even though we arranged our air, we could still get Viking transfers in London and Bergen. I don't, however, know if that's the case for all cruises and all situations. We are coming into London and leaving Bergen on embarkation and disembarkation days, but if you're coming into the embarkation city early on your own, or something similar at the end, I'm guessing no transfers are offered.

 

I was told if you purchase transfers (without Viking air) you must purchase them at least 30 days in advance. If you had a travel agent purchase the cruise for you, you need to have the agency book them. The price is very reasonable, but we'll probably just use cabs in each port. Of course, if you use the Viking transfers, there's less toting of luggage around, which is nice.

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The policy regarding the $500 offer has changed. When I first booked Viking Ocean you had the choice of saving $500 on the Viking air package OR deducting that amount from the p.p. cruise fare . We opted for the latter. The next time I wanted to book the only "deal" was to save that amount from the air package. This was quite a substantial change.

 

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The policy regarding the $500 offer has changed. When I first booked Viking Ocean you had the choice of saving $500 on the Viking air package OR deducting that amount from the p.p. cruise fare . We opted for the latter. The next time I wanted to book the only "deal" was to save that amount from the air package. This was quite a substantial change.

 

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The $500 offer you describe was a one-off and not a normal practice for Viking. In the US (packaging is different in other markets), Viking rarely packages cruise and air together; it is cruise fare plus airfare, not cruise including airfare, even when it is free airfare. Their normal pricing scheme is to leave the cruise prices alone (you will rarely see any reductions on the "2-for-1" pricing scheme) while offering varying airfare deals to entice buyers. You can always tell which itineraries aren't selling out when you see deeply discounted air as the sail dates approach.

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  • 2 weeks later...
The policy regarding the $500 offer has changed. When I first booked Viking Ocean you had the choice of saving $500 on the Viking air package OR deducting that amount from the p.p. cruise fare . We opted for the latter. The next time I wanted to book the only "deal" was to save that amount from the air package. This was quite a substantial change.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Forums mobile app

 

Which cruise are you booking. We saw the $500 off air special but was told we could not get a reduction in the cruise price if we did not take air?? Other cruise lines offer this but the person I spoke to at Viking said no??

 

OK read further about changes and it appears that $500 off air is only for air and will not reduce the amount of cruise if you decline it..

Edited by mittenscat23
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Which cruise are you booking. We saw the $500 off air special but was told we could not get a reduction in the cruise price if we did not take air?? Other cruise lines offer this but the person I spoke to at Viking said no??

 

OK read further about changes and it appears that $500 off air is only for air and will not reduce the amount of cruise if you decline it..

 

That's right. Viking prices cabins and airfare separately and Viking does not tend to change the price of cabins but they are constantly changing the airfare deal. The airfare is the hook, not the cabin price. (It's a bit different in the UK).

 

Unless you are within 90 days of sailing, take the airfare deal. Then look for airfare on your own. If you can beat the price and are willing to arrange your own transfers, then you can cancel the airfare portion with no penalties (as long as you do it before ticketing). Also, if you are using Viking air and if available on your itinerary, use Viking Air Plus ($50pp) to choose your flights (not an unlimited choice at the sale price but at least you can get some say in the timing and routing--and yes it is worth the extra hundred).

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We were able to get a good "last minute" deal on our recent Vikings Ocean cruise. It came without air. I happened to ask what the add on was "just in case" it was a really good deal. It was not, which was fine for us. I prefer to search and either find a cheap airfare, or use miles. We usually can find a decent biz/first option. And, since we always go in a few days before and stay a few days after, doing our own airfare helps.

 

How often do they offer the "airfare not included" option? Hard to say. I surely do not know.

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We were able to get a good "last minute" deal on our recent Vikings Ocean cruise. It came without air. I happened to ask what the add on was "just in case" it was a really good deal. It was not, which was fine for us. I prefer to search and either find a cheap airfare, or use miles. We usually can find a decent biz/first option. And, since we always go in a few days before and stay a few days after, doing our own airfare helps.

 

How often do they offer the "airfare not included" option? Hard to say. I surely do not know.

 

I've been following this for a number of years now. In the US and Canada (UK, AU & NZ are different) on Viking, airfare is always priced separately from the cruise itself. Even if the airfare is free, it is not included in the price of the cruise. When they said "without air" that probably meant that either there was no promotion or that they had no seats left to sell and that anyone who booked would be responsible for getting their own airfare--and those kind of promotions are few and far between.

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