Lookingforfacts

Post 1 OP said cruisline was MSC. Post 37 she said cruise was out of NYC. Does MSC cruise out of NYC?

Insurance companies aren't going to cover cancellation for a noncovered reason unless cancellation for any reason was purchased.

OP didn't list cruise date. It may be too late. Contacting the cruise line is, would have been, the way to go. A long shot. If you're very lucky the ship might have been overbooked. Might ask for part of the fare as a credit for future cruise.

Europeans in general don't understand the American fascination. They consider it a fairy tale. The guides only mention it because that's what the American clients want. For an example the AmaSonata CD Veronica, confided she forced her mom, from Prague, to watch the DVD last year. Lol.

They have a point. The movie was fictionalized. In the movie the Trapp family skied over the alps into Switzerland. They actually took the train to Italy, made their way to London then boat to USA.

Anyone who cares can Google other differences.

I enjoyed the movie. It is more like a fairy tale then a biography.

Some people are egalitarian purist.

This isn't what Uniworld seems to be doing. That's the fear some posters have, exaggerating to make my point. Look at ocean lines. Many people believe the food in the up charge restaurants aren't even as good as the food which was served in the main dining room 10 (20?) years ago. Most NCL passengers get a cheap booze plan. Posters complain the variety, and quality, of the wines by the glass took a big hit when wine by the glass were given for free.

The issue isn't so much current up charges for uniworld as much as what the future may bring.

Here's are examples of the kind of posts on Viking food I have found on the internet:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/viking-cruises-woodland-hills-2?start=40

 

These posts corroborate all that goldenrod has posted here and more.

Not really.

OP didn't like the food

Viking reached out to him

Gave him some extras. Offered him a voucher for a future cruise. Not clear if it was for a free cruise,large discount or small discount.

Complaints on Yelp mention lack of response, or poor response, by Viking to a variety of service issues.

There were a few complaints about norovirus. That's not what the OP was complaining about. A few didn't like the food. Seems like about as many liked the food.

Far too few reviews on Yelp to be meaningful.

You're right, I added an extra 0. JMO Total number of berths and average fare is an educated guess. Number of passengers who pay in full more then 12 months before departure maybe no so educated. Do you have any hard figures? 20 to 80% is some range.

Nevertheless I agree with your conclusion. Paying in full even 6 months in advance isn't a great idea. Paying a year, or more, is looking for trouble.

I've never booked a river cruise. I know the deposits say they're non-refundable but I wasn't sure if that was enforced. Asking for money that early sounds like an attempt for cheap financing. Reduce borrowing.

 

I admit that my number of 50% of 52 week forward sales being paid in full is an educated guess (but I highly doubt that the number is lower than 20% and doubt that it is higher than 80%. I stand by an estimate that Viking is holding somewhere between several hundred million and several billion dollars of unearned revenue.

I agree with your conclusion. No way I'd prepay a cruise 12 months (or more) in advance. Not sure I'm completely comfortable with 6 months. 60 or even 90 days a credit card charge back, if necessary, is relatively easy. The iIssue isn't just default. Something changes to affect bookings in 2018 and Viking's cash flow could be dramatically impacted. All the expenses and relatively low revenue. The cruise experience could be negatively impacted prior to default. Included tours could become a joke. Food could be downgraded. Cruises cancelled and consolidated.

However, Moody's notes that the level of customer deposits well exceeds Viking's level of cash balances.

That said the Moody's report you cited is more then a year old.

You think between 20-80% of the passengers prepaid at least 12 months in advance. Several hundred million could be 300 million. Several billion dollars of unearned revenue could be 3 billion. 300 million to 3 billion is a big range. 100X

I agree with your concerns and issues. I think your numbers are out of thin air. We don't know how many customers book how many months in advance. We don't know how many customers pay when asked and how many ask for better terms.

Maybe the intent is discourage bookings on spec. I don't know the answer...could a customer booking now for 2017 be more likely to keep a reservation then a customer booking now for 2018? I guess if you really thought the 2 for 1 was legit and ending you might. Viking 2 for 1 pricing seems like jewelry pricing at department stores like Macy's. Never even available for sale at "list price".

TravelerThom--Interesting post. Sort of a good point. Too many numbers out of thin air. We don't really know how early the typical Viking customer books.. We have no idea how many people pay in full at booking. How many people ask for different terms. How quick TAs are to offer alternate terms. You didn't mention the 3.3% discount for paying via echeck. That removes a layer of customer protection. Many cruise west passengers fell into that trap.

The other side of the issue. Allianz is one of the larger travel insurers. They're not in business to lose money.

Viking River and Ocean cruises are still on the list of covered suppliers (as of April 28, 2017)

https://partner.allianztravelinsurance.com/Documents/Library/uploadedfiles/CoveredSuppliers/Covered%20Supplier%20List.pdf

They may have access to financial information as opposed to mere speculation.

I agree with your conclusion. I wouldn't book Viking without travel insurance which covers financial default. I notice a number of the River Cruise lines aren't included on Allianzs list, including this months contest sponsor.

Sounds like NCL gave you the wrong reason. Is 3rd pax free available? If so keep looking for a fare sale then rebook. I'm not sure if 3rd and 4th free comes back.

You booked directly with NCL. Can't you just cancel and rebook? Did you book with a promotion, 3rd pax free, that's not currently available?

Do a test booking and see if you can book 3 in the cabin and get the same promotion.

Carnival sells a 12 pack of bottled water, 16.9 onces bottles, for 4.50. That's​ the equivalent of $18 for 24 1 liter bottles.

In what world can you compare case lot pricing against individual bottle pricing?

Carnival decided not to excessively profit due restrictions on bringing water on board. NCL not as much.

Ultimate Beverage package doesn't include bottled water. Other cruise lines include bottled water in less expensive packages. Call it cheap booze plan.

Passengers who have a medical need for water not available on ship, vitamin or high pH for example, can contact NCL about getting an exception.

Inferno has a 19% score on rotten tomatoes and Passengers 31%.Glad you enjoyed the movies. Calling either great is a stretch. Not just critics, audience score for both movies was low.

People at or near their credit card limit should call and ask to have their credit card limit increased. If the answer is no explain you're going on vacation and you expect hotels, car rentals and cruise lines may be putting temporary holds on your credit line. Ask if you can get the limit increased on a temporary basis. If that fails follow the suggestion of the PP and make a cash deposit for your cruise incidentals.

Let's do the math. Assume a 7 night cruise, 2 passengers in the cabin with stops at 4 ports. Consider nightly value of the "freebie"

Shore Excursion $25 per passenger per port is $100/7 $14.30 /night

Internet $125 for the week for the cabin. $8.90 /night/pax

cheap booze plan Assume consumption of only 3 adult drinks with a cost of $10 each (inclusive of service charge) That's $30 -$14 service fee= 16/night

Specialty Dining Not sure how to judge. Assume value of $33 /meal (in excess of service fee you pay) or 14/night

Conclusion: 3 drinks at $10 each might be one specialty cocktail and 2 glasses of wine or beer. Maybe not even that. Even a light drinker will do well with the cheap booze plan.

Shore Excursions You can almost always book a private excursion for at least $25 less the the NCL price, excluding Great Stirrup Cay. NCL is merely reducing their profit on the excursion from obscene to a more reasonable markup.

Specialty Dining--A waste if you're happy with the included dining experiences, otherwise offers value.

Internet offers the lowest value. Only makes sense if you don't drink and don't care about specialty dining.

EXCEPTIONS: 4 people in a cabin....3 and 4 free, if offered, might be better.

One person in the cabin. Shore excursions and internet are per cabin. Value doubles. Is a single passenger likely to drink more or less?

I have mixed thoughts about any of the City Passes. Theoretically you'll save some money. The reality is you'll wind up doing something you don't care about because it's free and skipping something because it's not included. My experience, not NYC, buying the pass was a (small) mistake.

Many of the shows available at the TKTS booth are also available, with a discount, for advance purchases. Check travelzoo and broadwaybox.com Be careful, many of the official looking sites will link you to a re seller site. Face value tickets, or discounted with the correct code, are available from ticketmaster (most shows) or www.telecharge.com for other shows.

Lines at the TKTS booth are the longest at opening. Later the line is generally reasonable, maybe 20 minutes.Works if you're already in the Times Square area. A waste of time if you're taking a 20 minute subway ride just to get tickets.

I checked one of the popular online TA, not cruise exclusive. They offered a rate a "deal" without free at sea. Instead you got a $25 (per cabin) onboard credit.

Can you book a flight out of Newark EWR?

Per the State of California it should take about 15 business days from the day they receive your request. More like three weeks, not 6 months.

 

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/Pages/ProcessingTimes.aspx

Says a county office night be quicker.

Airlines do the same thing. A flight from NY to California might stop in Vegas. Some passengers will stay on the plane. Some will get off the plane in Vegas and others will board.

The "bridge document "can also be the license correct??????

Not unless your DL has both your maiden and married names. In other words NOT

An advantage of a passport not needing to locate and bring marriage certificate

There is no luck involved, the regulations allow photocopies to be used. With that said I will say again that it is best to bring the original if at all possible mostly because if you do need to get help from the State Department that is likely what they are going to want to see. But a copy will do in a pinch and many cruises have been saved by a birth certificate being faxed to the port. I know that if faced with the choice of showing up at the port with nothing or showing up with a copy which alternative I would choose.

You're required to comply with cruise line requirements, if they are more restrictive then what's required by the US Gov't. I understand some cruise lines require passports for a closed loop cruise.

NCL doesn't accept home made photocopies:

• State certified U.S. birth certificate(Baptismal paper, hospital certificates of birth, and Puerto Rico birth certificates issued prior to 7/1/10 are not acceptable.)
  

Home made copies might be acceptable under the law but clearly not by NCL. I understand several posters have successfully used home made copies. JMO but anyone who shows up at embarkation with less documentation then required by the cruise line or customs is looking for trouble. It's relatively inexpensive and relatively fast to get a certified copy of your birth certificate. Why go looking for trouble?

I'm pretty sure the 15 drink limit is to stop folks from sharing drinks with passengers who don't have the drink plan. I'm not saying I've never drank fifteen drinks in a day, but I'm pretty sure I spent the next three or four recovering...

ITA

JMO People who have an issue with Carnival's 15 drink limit don't realize it applies only to "adult" beverages, are planning on "sharing" the plan or might have a drinking problem. Regardless the 15 day limit seems reasonable to me.

One is only nickled and dimed if he CHOOSES to spend his nickles and dimes. I'd much rather pay for what I use than subsidize other peoples cruises.

Could you please cite the posts which are suggesting BACK subsidize water at the expense of other passengers?

I've read the opposite. Posters suggesting high prices for bottled water enhancing NCL profits.

I have no issue with ships water. No skin off my back.

Don't compare the cost of buying a case or more of bottled water with the cost of buying a case or more for a week's vacation. Compare it with the cost of buying a case at a retail store. Compare it with what Carnival charges.

Other cruise line drink plans include bottled water and specialty coffees, juuce...Carnival limits you to 15 adult drinks a day. You can still get soda, juice etc.

Do the math. A bloody Mary with breakfast. Two more at the pool before lunch. A drink with lunch. Three more in the afternoon. A couple of glasses of wine with dinner. An after dinner cordial. That leaves 5 more at a bar after dinner. Doesn't sound that unreasonable.

FYI the original itinerary allowed pax to cruise with a birth certificate and license. The new itinerary requires a passport (Cuban for anyone born in Cuba) and a Visa.

Passengers going to Cuba need a passport and Cuban visa. US citizens born in Cuba need a Cuban passport.

NCL changed the itinerary if many sky cruises substituting Havana for Nassau.