Viking River Cruise - Payment Policy

Trying to navigate through all the River Cruising tips. I currently am interested in the Paris to Zurich Viking River Cruise for July 2019. I was shocked that there was no payment plan! I cannot pay for this a year in advance. So what are my options? I have looked at travel agents but they don’t advertise that cruise. One idea was that I save (set up my own payment plan) and hope that someone cancels? Does that ever happen?

Get yourself a TA, one who will at least try to negotiate the payment date for you but don't expect to get anything better than 6 months before the sail date; asking for it is not a given and you may or may not be able to swing it. Just because a TA doesn't advertise a particular cruise does not mean that they can't sell it; you may need a conversation with the TA before you can determine if they can book you with Viking (as there are certain TAs, we aren't allowed to name names, who do not work with Viking).

See my post relative to Viking’s payment/refund policies here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=56389265#post56389265

See my post relative to Viking’s payment/refund policies here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=56389265#post56389265

Ha! Yep pretty much sums it up 🙄

The vast majority of posts about Viking payment policies indicate that it is easy to get their boilerplate date changed to 6 months out. That was my experience with a Viking Ocean cruise. Still not as good as most other cruise lines (river or ocean), but much better than the initial demand.

Your best option is to book with a different company. Try Avalon, Uniworld or AMA.

 

Vikings requirement for immediate payment is ridiculous. JMHO

All you have to do is ask for a different payment schedule. We have done 2 Viking cruises and have several more booked. We have not paid up front - other than a deposit for any of them.

We are very happy with the Viking product both river and ocean. Completely satisfied customers.

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Trying to navigate through all the River Cruising tips. I currently am interested in the Paris to Zurich Viking River Cruise for July 2019. I was shocked that there was no payment plan! I cannot pay for this a year in advance. So what are my options? I have looked at travel agents but they don’t advertise that cruise. One idea was that I save (set up my own payment plan) and hope that someone cancels? Does that ever happen?

Call Viking, talk to a rep. You have to pay the deposit and the insurance (if you elect to get it), but just tell them when you want to pay the final payment. They will work with you. As far as I know, they don’t do “payment plans” where you pay so much a month. I know some of the mainstream lines do something of that sort, but Viking doesn’t.

Once the deposit is made, your booking is secured. Just set up your own plan for the balance.

I’m not sure which lines you are familiar with, so I’m not sure what you are used to. For all our cruises, we just pay the required deposit, then the balance when due, so I haven’t done any research into other installment plan payment methods.

We have done 1 river cruise and 1 ocean cruise with Viking, and are extremely satisfied with their product. We have several more cruises booked with them - river and ocean. We are considering the Paris to the Swiss Alps itinerary’s seems well, because I have heard wonderful things about it. It sounds marvelous.

Right now we are booked on the Grand European from Budapest to Amsterdam in September, and we are torn between two of their ocean itineraries for our next adventure. I want to do the Mediterranean from Barcelona to Venice, and also the “Into the Midnight Sun” itinerary which sails from London to Bergen, Norway with stops in Scotland, and then cruises up the Norwegian coast to cross the Arctic Circle.

You will find that people either love, or dislike Viking - there doesn’t seem to be much in between. Most of the latter are people who have not cruised with them. They have simply decided for whatever reason that they dislike the line.

IDK there are lines I probably would not sail with, or ships I don’t think I’d care for, but I don’t go around telling others how terrible they are [emoji16] For all I know they could be a perfect fit for that person.

Anyway. Call Viking, tell them you are interested in that cruise. Explain that paying the whole cruise off up front doesn’t work for you, and I’m sure they will work with you. They are more flexible than it might seem. And another tip - if you want the air package (which is where the real deals are - not the 2 for 1 fare), pay the $50 pp for Viking Air Plus so you can pick the flights you want.

If you have any other questions about Viking I’d be glad to answer.

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Viking is up to its old tricks again.

Our Elbe cruise was cancelled due to low water levels - understood.

E mail from Viking indicated a full refund WITHIN 14 business days. That time has passed and there is no refund. Viking agent now claims that due to large number of refunds it will now take up to 21 business days (I'll believe it when the refund is on my CC account).

How difficult is it to wire money back to one's credit card? I am sure they could handle the same amount of transactions in ONE day if it was money coming in instead of going out.

We have decided not to do the River Cruise. We will look into doing one in a few years. I want to see Europe and have more flexibility instead of being on a ship.

This thread should be retired for age. If anyone wishes to address the subject matter, I recommend they start a new thread.