Clay Clayton

Come visit, the guest room is available!

I think you almost answered your own question…not everyone lives there!😂

No only one $200 per person. If you book within a year of your last cruise you get a $200 discount, after that it is $100. Link to the page that describes it. https://www.vikingcruises.com/about-us/explorer-society.html You should also be aware of you refer someone and they inform Viking, they get a discount and so do you. When I booked our next cruise a day or two ago, I was surprised to learn I had a $200 referral credit on my account….so that reduced the fare by that amount! Here is a link to that information: https://www.vikingcruises.com/about-us/referral-rewards.html

Correct. I was able to move us to an exit row and pay the upcharge on the airlines app. That was on Cathay Pacific. For the return from Bangkok after our upcoming October cruise, (for which I called and got an email with our flights even though it hasn’t shown up yet on MVJ) I have already moved us on Delta to other coach seats and could move us and pay for exit row seats but I’m hopeful we can use miles or cash to move to Premium Economy and I am unable to do that on the app. I “chatted” with a Delta rep and was told that she couldn’t do it either that the agency (presumably Viking) who bought the ticket would have to do so. So I am waiting impatiently for the flights to appear in MVJ since “they” say you can now do that there. If they aren’t there by tomorrow, I am going to get our TA to work on it. For the outbound which is on Air Canada, I cannot do anything with the seats on their app. So like the return, if it’s not soon on MVJ I will start working another path. Just as an FYI, the flights that we have been “given” are the same flights I would likely have chosen if I was booking directly. We used Air+ once when there were many options and we wanted to be sure to be on American as we both had status on them at the time, which allowed us to upgrade ourselves. If we had of ended up with awful flights for this October then we would have likely added Air+ so we could work with Viking for alternative arrangements.

It’s my understanding and experience the only way to get the six month final payment is to have a cruise booked or be onboard (which they count as having a cruise booked). Be advised that in order to get this six months rather than twelve, you have to get a supervisor’s approval. That happened yesterday when I put a booking on hold for a cruise next July and expected it to have a January final payment date. When it didn’t, our TA had to get the approval when she took over the booking (which we do to get her agency’s onboard credit.) As SantaFe mentions, there has been some inconsistencies lately. We expected final payment for our Oct 22 cruise to be due immediately when we booked it in April 22 but it wasn’t due until July. Others have reported similar. You did get the $200 pp discount for booking within 12 months if disembarking I hope?

She was!

Glad you enjoyed your first Viking cruise. I noted your disappointment at the lack of rack of lamb. Don’t know if they had any of the breakfast lamb chops on board but if they did, I suspect that they would have been happy to serve them to you at dinner. We have found that it’s rare for Viking to say no (at least once on board). Two examples come immediately to mind. We had the most delicious cold pea soup onboard once. On a later cruise we were disappointed when the pea soup offered on the menu turned out to be the usual (albeit tasty) hot split peas soup. The Restaurant Manager must of seen us frowning at each other about it, came over and asked what was wrong. We explained nothing was wrong but how much we loved the cold soup. A few minutes later the chef appears, asks about it as he wasn’t aware of the version. He said he would do some research. The next day he stopped me and said to let him know when we would like it! Similar thing happened when my DMIL was disappointed that grilled lobster wasn’t on the menu. Next day, she was asked which night she wanted her lobster. So the lesson is to be sure and ask. They can’t say yes if you don’t! 😊. Enjoy your first Ocean Cruise!

Add a splash of St. Germaine!

Yeah, in a perfect world, it would head north from Perth and then down the east coast of Africa but I suspect time and pirates keep that from happening. Nikko Cruises who bought the old CMV ship Vasco de Gamma has a pretty great itinerary. It’s 183 days and entry level cabin starts at around $50,000. I haven’t looked to see what is include and what isn’t, but if we are ever able to swing a WC, I suspect (know?) it will be on Viking.

🤞for this route in 2024/25!

Same here! Hoping for 24/25🤞

We got ours about 4-6 weeks before our cruise via an email.

We enjoyed our one PV ($199 pp upgrade on a 12 night cruise) but the sofa, storage space, and pressing aren’t worth the approximately $125 per person per day cost to us. But that’s why they have different categories! 😊

Except when Viking gives you “free” air….then we have trouble saying no….thankfully we have been able to figure out how to fly comfortably in coach when we “have” to. 😂

It appears that Viking’s visa folks have finally realized there is an issue with what WAS on MVJ about Vietnam. Just happened to check this morning and realized it’s different than it was a week or so ago. I’m not sure when it changed but now for those of us on Ocean ships, it now says “the requirements are being confirmed and will be updated”. While not resolved at least it’s an improvement over posting something that is impossible to obtain! Posted below is the original and the updated language paragraph. The yellow highlight is from MVJ-I didn’t add it. Glad I hadn’t paid GenVisa!

😂 I was quickly reviewing the dailies from “your” TA to see how it compares to ours in 2018 (we were a couple of weeks ahead of you as I recall) and between my quick scan, the slight out of focus-ness, and the small size, I read one of them as being a lecture about (sea) drag queens! (Perhaps I’m watching too much Drag Race?🤔)

I don’t know. As another poster mentioned it is typically on your invoice. If you don’t have one, and you booked directly with Viking there is a way to see it in MVJ. If you used a travel agent, you have to request it through them. Either way, it’s a good idea to have it with your just in case there are any issues when you embark. An example being you have received the Silver Spirits package as a perk but the ship doesn’t show it, you can show them on your invoice that you do.

Thanks!

Also trivia each day and occasionally special entertainment in The Living Room in the afternoon. And don’t forget tea!

Last July in Iceland we were unable to book two excursions in MVJ unless there was at least an hour in between. If you’ve been able to book, then I would bet Viking will make it happen.

Well per the embassy, they are only issuing eVisas. The only way to get a multiple entry visa is to have multiple eVisas. This is the issue I have brought to Viking’s attention and as of yet they have not addressed the incorrect direction in MVJ. You might want to reach out to your Viking representative since Vietnam isn’t issuing the visa that Viking says we have to have. Please post if you get any additional information.

You are guaranteed at least the category you booked. A DV4 is a higher category cabin than a DV6. So they got an “upgrade”.

We would have loved to be in Biz or First but since the whole cruise was an impulse purchase that we hadn’t budgeted for we made our own class. 😂

Thanks for the response. Did you get an eVisa or a visa in your passport?

I am pretty sure the answer is no but has anyone paid for (so all you WCers don’t need to read any further!😂) GenVisa and later had a cruise canceled? If so, were you able to get a refund for the cost of GenVisa’s services? They want $300+pp for visas for Vietnam and Cambodia which is more than I want to pay (at least double if I could DIY but Viking isn’t providing the paperwork needed) but I really hate to pay it given the cruise first stops in Japan and those guests are having similar issues in finding out how to get a visa for Japan. Plus Hong Kong where we are to board still currently requires a week of isolation so I’m not convinced the cruise is actually going to go…at least not on its advertised itinerary. Would hate to spend $600 for something I have no use for. TIA