nancyshaw

this does not give a preview of the new itins for various ships , coming out in November...

With new itineraries being available for booking coming up soon, does anyone know if we can have a preview of them before booking day.

we are new to VO...what is the most sought after dining venue?

our experience has been that if you have an agent , VO will speak to the agent only...

we were given a flight that caused us to miss the first day of the cruise...called V and was told only our agent could get that changed...

called our agent...she could do nothing to change it...

then called V again and they were not happy to do it...but ultimately changed it to a flight that gets us in after 3 pm...still had to send it to the agent and then to us...

it was quite a run around and stressful....

Airlines do not open flights for booking until 300 days prior to flight departure. Even then not all flight are listed, it might be better to wait until a few weeks after 300 day mark AND remember to count based on your return date not your departure date so that everything you want to book will be available.

thank you so much for this advice....

our second cruise with VO is in march of 2020...I will soon call and pay the 50pp...seems well worth it...especially if we can have a direct flight....

We have all seat assignments except for the most important one...the one that gets us from Miami to San Juan...if we miss that, we will arrive very late. The plane shows it is oversold.

This is a carib cruise for this Feb and air was free. A promo no doubt.

Thank you everyone. Our air was included with the price.

I totally agree, you want to get onto the ship as soon as possible, not lose a day as it may be in our case.

The reason I posted the topic is that we are new to Viking O and really did not know how the $50pp works. Yes ignorance is not an excuse.

What happened is that we didnt pay it and found ourselves on a flight that causes us to miss the first day of our cruise. The ship is in port overnight but still why would we miss the first day when there were plenty of other flights available. We are baffled why Viking Air would consider this flight, but it is the cheapest.

Because we dealt with an agent , we could not speak directly to Viking Air. It all became a nighmare.

We managed to get a Viking manager to help us with the air department to get us onto a better flight but because it is now late and these flights have been available for a while, we find ourselves without seats for a connecting flight and if we dont get on it, we will still get on the ship by midnight and miss the first day.

A lesson learned here. For our 2020 cruise we will definitely spend the $50 pp and get a start of 300 days to get our flight instead of 75.

Perhaps others here who are also new , can benefit from our mistake.

My understanding is that the Air Plus fee allows you to have input in the selection of your flights. There may be an additional charge if you select flights that are not within the "catalog price" (I think that is what the agent called them.). Viking has agreements with certain airlines, and when you book, there is a set charge for the air portion. If you want a flight that is above that amount, you pay the difference.

 

With three cruises so far, we have paid for the Air Plus each time. When flights are posted in advance of our cruise, around 300 days out, I use Expedia to see which flight would be my first choice. Then I call Viking Air, and present them with my preference. So far, we have gotten my first choice each time, without any additional fee.

 

I do spend a fair bit of time on research, as we live within driving distance of three airports, two of which are major international hubs. Usually I can find a satisfactory choice at a reasonable price at one of them.

yes that makes a lot of sense to me and to be able to select the best option , is certainly worth the fee...

nope dont need a day later or a day earlier....

so is the $50 pp a way to chose direct flights, better times without paying more for flights...or does the $50pp gives you the "privilege" to pay for more expensive flights?

we dont need deviation, dont need business class, dont need better seats..but would love to have better times and of course direct flights....paying $50 pp for that is well worth it, if I have it right..

Im sure it is in the info but thought I would ask here...

can anyone tell me why it is a good idea to pay the $50, if you are NOT going in a day ahead or staying longer after the cruise?

To the OP.

As you can probably tell by now, you will get very little support here from posters.

I think you may have genuinely wanted to advise others to do their research before booking this experience. You have done that. Thank you.

We were very loyal Celeb cruisers. The last 3 cruises have taught us that Celebrity has become very class divisive. What we enjoyed when there were no suites is no more. Now to get the same quality we used to get, you have to book a suite. If you are not willing to do that you have to settle for less.

Instead of paying for suites, we have decided to do more upscale lines that include so much more such as tours and flights and paying comparable rates. Yes we also cancelled our Edge cruise for February and opted for a Viking O experience.

It’s a different mindset for me. I’m used to $200 per person deposit and balance due 90 days before the cruise on Celebrity. Sometimes they even have $25 pp deposit!

But it sounds like “you get what you pay for”. I’m willing to pay 6 months ahead for what I hope will be an excellent cruise on Viking. Now I have to decide which of the Caribbean itineraries and when in 2019 to go.

After 15 days of cold, rain and windy weather in Alaska in late May, we have decided our next cruise will be in the Caribbean.

Thanks for everyone’s information on timing for final payments. And for how great Viking is!

Yes we are also used to small deposits and final payments much closer to sailing. But it is what it is. It will be our first Viking O experience. I got heavily criticized on the Celeb boards for saying I wanted to try a new line since being so disappointed with the dining on our last 3 Celeb cruises.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Your balance was more that what? And to be paid in 60 days? Is that 60 days after deposit/booking?

I’m just trying to figure out the logistics of booking and paying.

Did you use a travel agent? If so, do TA’s give any perks for booking Viking Ocean thru them?

Thanks.

our deposit was more than 500 and we had to pay the balance before 60 days from sailing....

yes, dont hesitate to ask a TA to offer you some incentives....

I’m so happy I found this thread. My husband and I have been loyal Celebrity cruisers for 15 years, but have become disillusioned with them recently. They are charging more and giving less. We just came back from an Alaska Celebrity land tour and cruise.

I have decided our next cruise will be on a smaller ship, and Viking fits the bill. I appreciate how pleased everyone is with the Viking Ocean experience.

I’m looking at the Caribbean itineraries for sometime next year.

It appears the deposit is $500 per person and the balance is due in 30 days. And there is a $100 pp penalty for cancellation, even months away? Is this correct?

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this very informative thread.

We found ourselves in the same situation. After over 40 cruises with Celebrity, we have had several disappointing cruises.Wonderful itineraries but poor dining experiences in the MDR. The class divisions have also become very obvious. Different dining venues. If you are not in a Suite, you are facing substandard food in MDR.

So we are doing our first Viking O to the Carib next Feb. The Viking Sea, Feb 7. Join us. Our balance was more and to be paid in 60 days. So you must be looking at a promotion.

Prices are scheduled to go up July 1, so that may affect how quickly things are grabbed up in September. If nominally, then no prob, but if outrageously as Celeb has done, then bookings may be slower.

thanks....

any guesses when they come out...I called O, got someone who was mad that I even asked the question....no reason to get mad...just be glad there is interest....

Yes I am sure we will enjoy Viking O. Wish it was not so far away, but family obligations are keeping us home for a while.

nancyshaw -

 

We are an active couple (63/64) that is also taking advantage of doing what we can, while we can. We semi-retired 3 years ago and cruise as often as possible. As long as we have onboard phone & internet we are good to go and can continue our work as needed. We have sailed most all of the mass-market cruise lines as well as the 4 major luxury lines and have pretty much settled with Regent as our cruise home-away-from-home. Each time we board one of their small (480-750 passengers max) ships we meet crew from various previous cruises that greet us like family. And Regent's loyal following means that we'll also likely see others that we've sailed with over the years. Yes, Regent has its share of limited-mobility guests but an amazing number of senior couples and singles that can run circles around some of the younger ones. Would encourage you to join us!

Thank you Kwaj....

We are trying Viking O next after doing over 40 cruises with Celeb. We have tried Azamara and met wonderful people on our first one. The second one, we went with friends and therefore of course were obliged to spend our time with them. That was 9 years ago.

Next we are travelling by ourselves again on the smaller ship, I think the Viking O has only 900 approx.

I really respect you for staying/being active. I love to read, can be compulsive about it, and can see now at 67 that I Don't have the agility I could have had. Another thought, some loved ones of ours were hit with him being diagnosed with Lou Gerigs disease, this for a guy who was active, non-drinker, wholesome lifestyle, close to retirement. So sobering. Makes me want to prod my husb into more or longer cruises!! Am fortunate that he keeps his eye wisely on our spending. For me,cruising is addictive!!

I am an avid reader as well. Do all you can while you can because you never know when you wont be able to. I just dont know how I let so many years go by, waiting for our friends to begin to do the things we enjoy, always hoping that maybe next cruise. Well next cruise would come and there would be no improvement in the level of activity and in most cases things just got worse.

Yoga has helped a great deal to be flexible/agile. In the Galapagos I was able to skip over the boulders like a little goat. It made me feel good that I could still do that. Although we traveled with friends, they did not participate. Makes you wonder, why go to the Galapagos if you are going to stay back on the ship or sit on the beach while all are in the water. But it is what it is.

The take away from all this is dont wait to do things. You will look back and think , why didnt I while I could? What was I waiting for?

We are still looking for others to join us. Our cruise is not till Feb because of family obligations, so it is a long time away. Not sure what I will be able to do by that time, but I try every day to walk, to go to yoga, to stay in shape as best I can.