cruising denise

I am so happy to see my ship friends cashing in on LCR! Miss you guys! The Lindas - and Cathy-Linda! and Clay-Linda. And is that Debbie-Linda I see way in back? and Holly-Linda?Hi to everyone - we have been home for one week now, and happy to be home, but miss all our friends on the ship! And hi to Clayton-Linda - he is always fun to have around, too! Enjoy the rest of the trip!

Haha, sorry I shouldn't have responded to your earlier post till I finished reading through the rest of the posts. Thanks so much for all this info, not for us as we are okay now, but for everyone else, especially anyone who is still fighting this issue. Really happy you were persistent enough to find this person. It is astonishing to me that a company as big as Viking does not have established policies and procedures with which the right people are acquainted. Sometimes it feels like they are playing telephone using paper cups and string....

We were able to use our credits because we did the overland 2-night 3-day safari which soaked them all up. However, the issue really was never resolved in that they never honored the request to change the cancelled Sri Lanka credits from "nonrefundable" to "refundable". I'm not fighting any more because we're okay since we used them on the safari. But it still upsets me just on the principle of it. I'd be very interested in hearing whether you got your issue resolved. I think we emailed offline if I remember. We are now off the ship in CapeTown for 5 days before heading home, with plans for every day, so prob won't be checking email too much. But I am interested in hearing what happened for you.

Just wanted to bid farewell to my Viking Sky traveling partners, some of whom I have been in communication with since fall of 2022 (when we booked this adventure!). @Penspack Debbie: you know who I'm talking about!!! Eddie and I are disembarking in Cape Town on April 8th, where we will spend five days exploring, then heading home on April 13th. Although we have made this decision and feel confident it is the right one for us given our own situation, those of you who stay on will have a wonderful adventure ahead of you and I will be following these posts to see what happens! It is bittersweet, this saying goodbye after embarking on Dec 20th, which right now seems eons ago! To those of you who we first met in person in Ft Lauderdale prior to embarking - we have a special connection, and to those of you who embarked in LA, it has been an amazing journey. Despite the missed ports and changed itinerary, in the end, it has been incredible, and we have been places, met people (passengers, crew and residents of the many ports we've visited) and seen things we never in our lives would have seen otherwise. We are truly blessed to have undertaken this journey, and don't regret it for a second. Thank you to all who have shared this with us, who have helped make our adventure more fun and enriching, and Godspeed for fair winds and great adventures ahead of you. You will always be in our memories.

Clay, thanks for posting this. We have heard this very sad news, too. Mark has been an absolutely wonderful entertainer. The number of songs he has added to his repertoire during our time with him has been incredible. We, too, wish him all the best for a speedy recovery and ability to return to music soon.

So not true, Steve!!!! I will always remember you and your spreadsheets fondly! You saved us many hours of work!

Haha I guess I should have thought of consulting Mr Google! 😁

I would love to know how to contact Torstein's office. If you can share any info with me offline at: denisedld@att.net I would really appreciate it. It is sad that this company, to whom I was prepared to be loyal for the rest of my cruising life, has been raising these doubts about how well we will be treated from a business perspective, and whether or not I should remain a loyal customer. But glad you two are enjoying your time in Mauritius! Looks lovely! See you soon!

I apologize for the very negative tone of my recent posts. Everything I have said here is true. We will wait and see how this ultimately all plays out before final decisions about sailing again with Viking, though it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth that we have to fight for things that should obviously be right. However I really apologize for giving the impression that it has completely spoiled our World Cruise. Despite all the twists and turns it has been the trip of a lifetime and we are so glad we decided to do it. We have been places, seen things and met people we never otherwise would have a chance to do. It really has been a wonderful, lifechanging experience and people who are considering next year's should not turn away solely based on these bad experiences. I also stand by my statement that the ships are lovely and the crews are great. But they should take very careful note of what some of us are going through from a business practices standpoint. Be aware and protect themselves as much as possible. Keep printouts of everything especially as you go signing up for shore excursions, using credits / cash / cc.

The shoreside team is not helpful. And that is putting it nicely. I agree with you, make as much noise as you need to while you are on the ship. It is sad that such a fine company has come to this. I have to wonder if Mr. Hagen is aware of all of this.

And indeed, why were they able to refund (as refundable) the portion of the Luxor tour that they "shuffled" to nonrefundable in December, two+ months after we applied all our nonrefundable credits? It is really inexplicable.

Cruise Critic is also social media for a lot of cruisers. Personally I don't have a FaceBook account but I give permission here for anyone who does, to copy any of my posts and alert people on FaceBook. If I were you, I would be troubled. What itinerary are they selling you? Are they assuming that the MidEast troubles will be resolved? One would hope so, but it does not appear that this go-round of war will be resolved any time soon. If I were you, I'd be asking now what your recourse is if the planned itinerary cannot occur. And be VERY wary of how any pre-boarding nonrefundable credits get applied. Keep hard copies of everything. We have cruised with Viking since 2018 and have completed four cruises so far (not including this). In addition, we had three booked which got cancelled: 1. due to pandemic 2. due to pandemic-related supply chain issues (Mississippi River Cruise - ship was not completed in time) and 3. Russia's war against Ukraine (Moscow to St Petersburg River Cruise). In every case, they treated us very fairly and probably stepped up before any of the other cruise lines to refund every last penny, or give us the choice of 125% of FCC. They also treated their crew very well from what I have heard. They did the right thing all around. This is why we are now so shocked to be treated this way. There has been a sea change in the management of this company, from very honorable and doing the right thing, to well, how do I put it....kind of sleazy???? I NEVER expected this from Viking in my wildest dreams. And as I said before, I love the ships, the crew are great, but this may be the tipping point for us.

@Pappri But I do encourage you to take this up with Sam. This behavior on Viking's part is really unacceptable business practice. The only other thing I am aware of is that they have instituted a policy stating that overland excursions are nonrefundable. I can understand this, as they are making commitments for flights and such which may end up being nonrefundable for Viking. But this was not the case back in Nov/Dec when I booked the Sri Lanka overland.

Yes, we are having the identical issue. I think you may be thinking of Danushka, who is in Guest Services and reports to Sam. I'm also working with Sam on the identical issue. We used up our $4K in preboarding credits on Sept 14th booking our shorex. I have the printout showing which excursions were paid by credits. Late Nov/early Dec, they offered the Sri Lanka overland safari for $1799/each. We gulped but said "it will be our only time in Sri Lanka - let's do it". Paid for it by credit card, which is clearly on our CC statement. Final printout of shorex before boarding shows that they had "switched" the credit from the many excursions we paid in Sept, to this very expensive one, with the balance put onto the Luxor excursion (which we had also paid by CC in Dec). I didn't pay this much mind at the time. We have received back to our CC all the cancelled shorex including Luxor (for which they had "switched" a few hundred from our cc to nonrefundable credits - though we paid the whole thing by cc). Once we got notice that the Sri Lanka safari was being reduced from two to one safaris due to the itinerary change, but from $1799 we would only receive a $200 credit, we cancelled it. And assumed it would be refunded as a refundable credit which would ultimately end up on our cc. No such luck. It's still sitting there as a $3398 nonrefundable credit. In our case, we plan to apply it to the African safari we're doing but I'm still fighting it. If something hiccups with the African safari and let's say Viking has to cancel, I'm still left with a large nonrefundable balance. And we're disembarking in Cape Town so no time to spend it even if I could. I have worked with Aman (Financial Officer who sits right by the Guest Services desk) and Sam. First answer back from LA was that they could not make it into refundable. These preboarding credits get "shuffled" by their "system" onto other excursions than what you actually intended. These are the actual words that Aman relayed to me, which he had been told by the idiots in LA corporate. "Shuffled". I escalated back to Sam (waited until after Singapore since I knew they had a lot on their hands then), who got the same answer back again. It is a "system" problem. They can't do it but they will contact me after I get home (and my $3400 nonrefundable credit is wiped off the face of the earth). No go - I pushed back to Sam, who has escalated to the Director of whatever incompetent department in LA this is. I have not heard back yet but I suspect my next action will have to be the CC dispute. Probably a total waste of time in my case since I am hoping the African safari does happen in which case the credit will get used. But now it is a matter of principle for me. And I agree about loyalty to Viking. They are losing mine with these shenanigans. I have two more cruises booked with Viking. We invited two friends to come along on the first one, and three are joining us for the second one. But if this is how they treat us, I will not be booking with Viking any more. Which is a shame because as so many have pointed out, I love the onboard experience. We are also upset about the difference in treatment compared to Neptune although we paid the same amount as we would have on Neptune. There is no question that in several places they got preferential docking locations. They also had a world cruise with same passengers all the way after LA; we did not. No disrespect to those who purchased segments. We've made friends with some of them and wished that some of them had been on for the whole time. But it is a different vibe. And most importantly, we were explicitly told when we decided to purchase this cruise that after LA, no segments would be sold - people would be on together all the way through. They should have been more truthful about the fact that segmentation was probably always on the table. They were not.

Oh so happy to hear good news on the Bruce front. It's so sad not to have had a chance to say goodbye or wish him well.

Thanks for the info, Diana. They started selling the segments on the Sky maybe in October or so, once it was apparent they could not sell it out as a World Cruise.

Wow, I'm surprised to hear that Neptune wasn't fully booked with world cruisers. Did you also have segments, as the Sky did? We had sizeable groups disembarking in Sydney, and then new ones embarking in Sydney for the Sydney to Singapore segment.

Clay, you are correct. We are staying on through Cape Town, and Viking was very accommodating in helping us get great business class flights home. We will stay in Cape Town for five days and get to see as much as we can. We will only miss the two African ports which remain after Cape Town, and have seen or plan to see nearly all the remaining ports. I'm surprised that they have included Dakar, as I heard it was removed from some of the other itineraries due to political unrest concerns. It was the long string of sea days which was not of interest to us.

From the Sky: We did embark what I hear to be 30-60 passengers for what was the original Singapore-London segment which was sold on Sky. (The Sky did not sell out the WC - thus sold segments from LA to Sydney, Sydney to Singapore, and Singapore to London.) We've heard that some cancelled out due to the itinerary change, while others are on board now.

Hi! We are getting off the ship for 3 nights in HCM and won't be back on board until Friday. We can try to meet up then but yes, Viking is handling our disembarkation. We have been told it is not yet approved by the port authorities but it is actively being worked. We were informed we would have to have the YF vax, which we now plan to do. They have already switched our flights to the ones we wanted out of Cape Town on Apr. 13th. So far that is what I know. I was told that we should know about approval for disembarkation within the next few days. Keeping fingers crossed as there are no good disembarkation options after that. If we got as far as Morocco there wouldn't be any point in disembarking, and I'm not anxious to leave before CT.

New topic: Cape Town disembarkation. We had decided as of last week to disembark in Cape Town, thus preserving the ports between Singapore and Cape Town, but avoiding the long stretch of sea days coming around the west coast of Africa (and we have another cruise for Morocco in 2026). Viking did a great job arranging our new business class flights. We researched and requested the best flights for us, and they came through within about 12 hours. Our plan is to stay for 5 days and enjoy the local area. However, we just got a call from Guest Services that they are working on the approvals from the local authorities for us, and in order to disembark in Cape Town (even if we are going straight to the airport), we must have the yellow fever vaccine. As we will not be in areas where it is prevalent, we had planned to get the malaria treatment, but not the YF. It appears we will now be getting the YF vax, too. Just an FYI for any others considering Cape Town. It is not clear to me whether this would be required for passengers going on shore excursions, as I see no difference between getting off the ship, touring and getting back on the ship, or getting off the ship and heading straight to the airport. But then again, the rationale for government authorities and regulations is not always apparent to mere mortals like myself...

PRIVATE GUIDE IN BALI: Our two days in Bali were absolutely wonderful and unforgettable, due in large part to the private guide we used, I Komang Sherif Wirayuda (he goes by either Komang or Sherif). His contact info is: SherifWirayuda@gmail.com. WhatsApp # is: +62 813-3709-1370. We highly recommend him. Read more detail below. We had two VERY full days for four of us. He provided an air-conditioned, comfortable SUV, with a driver, so he was able to provide full guide discussion, and constant Q&A to us without worrying about driving. Our itinerary day 1 (ship docked at 11, we met up around 11:30): Visited a family compound, learned about life within the family groups. He explained everything about the compound to us, and gave us as long as we needed to ask questions. We were allowed to take whatever photos we wanted. Artisan workshops: We were allowed to choose two of the following four: batik, silver, woodworking and painting. We chose batik and woodworking. Very interesting and of course an excellent opportunity to buy some truly locally made goods. Tegenungan Waterfall: Touristy but pretty and fun. We didn't spend too long here as it was quite a walk down to the base of the waterfall (and of course then a long walk up), so we admired from the many viewing points along the top. Coffee plantation: We tasted the famous lewak coffee. Had a sampling with 6 types of delicious herbal teas, 6 coffees/cocoas, and Balinese coffee and the lewak coffee. Bought some very good lemongrass tea. Night Safari: This place was a bit hokey and geared to families and little kids but we all had fun. There was a second group of 3 who had connected for the same itinerary with one of Sherif's friends so the 7 of us enjoyed together. Kind of zoo-like but with broader ranges for the animals, but certainly not as big as nature intended. Nonetheless, we had a very good buffet dinner (they even made a special meal for our vegan & gluten-free friends!), followed by a 15-minute fire dance performance, and then the night safari: we all piled into a big cage and got driven through the whole place, where we encountered lions (they were resting!), rhinos, zebras, elephants (we were allowed to feed some of the animals carrots), and then the tigers. Often the tigers jump up on the top of the cage, but they weren't in the mood on our ride. Instead, one walked around in back of our vehicle, while another one rested on a large boulder right next to where we were stopped. We got back to the ship around 9:30, exhausted and exhilarated, ready for shower and sleep before our next day which we planned to start at 7:00. Day 2: Sherif's home compound: Sherif had offered to bring us to his home compound in a smaller village about 1.5 hours away, and we jumped at the chance. So that was stop #1. Rice Terraces - amazing Ubud Monkey Forest: These were the "good" monkeys as Sherif explained. They are kept fed so don't try to steal things (except water bottles) from the tourists. Another amazing experience! Lunch at a very nice place just outside of Ubud Uluwatu Temple - this was quite a drive away from Ubud but well worth it. FYI, the "bad" monkeys who steal things live here. My husband nearly lost his glasses to a monkey who jumped onto his shoulder and tried to grab them off his face. Kecak Sunset Dance - on the temple grounds, a great 45 minute performance as the sun went down over the sea in the background. We returned to the ship about 8:00, after two wonderful and very full days. Although there was quite a bit of driving from place to place, Sherif filled the time with providing so much interesting information. These two days were a highlight of our cruise and we will never forget them. We highly recommend him as a guide.

I know this post is way in the rear view mirror but I just had to chuckle....and think about this: the Viking Sky actually had the SAME berth as the Neptune!!!! (I don't do hashtags but you know which one I'm laughing about!). In seriousness, totally agree that Cairns was a real high point. And Bali did not disappoint at all - exceeded expectations in every way and I hope that you Neptuners all enjoy just as much.

Thanks, Clay, for capturing yesterday so well. It was indeed a very depressing day. It was such a joy to see all our friends who had worked so hard for this performance. They did a wonderful job and I hope I am still onboard when they give their next performance. The Liar's Club gave some much-needed humor, too.

They are also being flexible in where we disembark, should we choose to do so. However, they were clear that they cannot guarantee business class, especially in some of the smaller ports where even international air is limited or unavailable at all. They mentioned the options of disembarking in Bali, HCM or Singapore as the largest cities with most flight options. We assumed that Capetown would probably be large enough to also offer some good air options, and we would miss the long west Africa stretch. But also the Moroccan stretch, in which I am kind of intrigued. Until we see the revised excursions, I don't think we can decide. We also don't know what kind of flight options they will give us if we departed from Capetown, for example, vs Singapore. They did tell us that if we decided to disembark in Singapore or Capetown, we could stay on the ship for the first day in port and disembark the second day. We had already been to most of the Med ports previously, but not all. For us, the middle east was a huge draw and obviously that is off the table completely for the foreseeable future.