Viking in General

[Mark_T]

As my Business Accountant wife notices a company that requires payment so far in advance displays all the symptoms of a company that has a severe cash flow problem.

 

I'm sure your wife would also agree that a business should try to get paid as early as it can to reduce financing costs ... :)

 

Viking vary their payment terms across different markets, if they can get paid earlier in North America than they can in Europe it can only be good for their cash-flow.

 

I'm sure your wife would also agree that there are many other signs of a business with a severe cash-flow problem, things like a lack of investment in infrastructure for example, hardly something that Viking could be accused of failing to do ...

Edited June 1, 2014 by Mark_T

[Ozjohnno]

I'm sure your wife would also agree that a business should try to get paid as early as it can to reduce financing costs ... :)

 

Viking vary their payment terms across different markets, if they can get paid earlier in North America than they can in Europe it can only be good for their cash-flow.

 

I'm sure your wife would also agree that there are many other signs of a business with a severe cash-flow problem, things like a lack of investment in infrastructure for example, hardly something that Viking could be accused of failing to do ...

 

Suffice to say my wife had a number of things she wanted to reply with but as she said your defence of Vikings marketing and payment practices are still symptomatic of cash flow problems. If you need cash today to pay for your investments from last year then that's a cash flow problem.

[pinotlover]

The food on Viking is good, however very Americanized. When the boat is in port, for the day, I tend to not return to the boat for lunch but enjoy a local restaurant with local food. The time other passengers spend being shuttled back and forth and standing around in a lunch line, is spent by my wife and I enjoying the places, and food, that I paid to visit. When you look at the lunch menu, one could say they're in LA, NYC, but probably not Vienna. Some people like that comfort of familiarity, while others find it boring. Most cruises have schedules that included cruising during the lunch hour, thus require lunch aboard, so why not break the monotony and have lunch ashore when the opportunity exists?

[pinotlover]

Viking cruises only carry so many passengers. In some cases, the numbers can be small, such as in Portugal. The ships sell out quickly and Viking is smart to demand payment early on. This way they get truly interested customers.

 

Cruise ships, that allow for full payment much closer to sailing, all suffer from constantly having to resale cabins. For many people, making a $150/person deposit, and locking up a stateroom on a cruise ship 15-18 months out, is CHUMP change. The cruse lines allow cruisers a generous cancellation policy and many take advantage of the situation. I know of people that regularly book 4-6 cruises(including river boat) per year, locking up staterooms and cruises, while only planning on deciding which (perhaps) two they will do later. Cruises will show completely sold out, and then a bevy of rooms will suddenly appear, as the cruise lines scramble to refill the cancellations. Viking's policy mostly eliminates this practice, by requiring full payment full early on. Smart business, imo.

[CPT Trips]

The food on Viking is good, however very Americanized. When the boat is in port, for the day, I tend to not return to the boat for lunch but enjoy a local restaurant with local food. The time other passengers spend being shuttled back and forth and standing around in a lunch line, is spent by my wife and I enjoying the places, and food, that I paid to visit. When you look at the lunch menu, one could say they're in LA, NYC, but probably not Vienna. Some people like that comfort of familiarity, while others find it boring. Most cruises have schedules that included cruising during the lunch hour, thus require lunch aboard, so why not break the monotony and have lunch ashore when the opportunity exists?

 

This is good advice for any cruise line! You won't get choucroute or tart flambé on any river ship . . .

[Host Jazzbeau]

This is good advice for any cruise line! You won't get choucroute or tart flambé on any river ship . . .

 

But you can get it in the new Tastes restaurant on Crystal Serenity [not a river ship, but a cruise line!]

[CPT Trips]

But you can get it in the new Tastes restaurant on Crystal Serenity [not a river ship, but a cruise line!]

 

Ahh! Love the apples to spargel comparisons. :p:rolleyes:

[Host Jazzbeau]

Ahh! Love the apples to spargel comparisons. :p:rolleyes:

 

I thought you might be pleased to know that you can get Tarte flambé on a ship, especially since you did say "any cruise line."

[pinotlover]

You won't get it on Viking, and you definitely won't get it for lunch!

I always wondered why they want to feed their guests the same whether in France, Moscow, or Amsterdam. Do the majority of travelers really want American food regardless of where they travel?

[jiminyC_fan]

If food is your main goal on a vacation then perhaps a land vacation would be much better for you. We were pleased with the selections of food on the Viking cruise. It was geared towards the country we visited. Americanized? Hmmm, guess I didn't notice. I agree to eat off the ship when possible for the true taste. Mass food from a ships galley will never match up to the real deal on any given cruise line, ocean or river.

[CPT Trips]

You won't get it on Viking, and you definitely won't get it for lunch!

I always wondered why they want to feed their guests the same whether in France, Moscow, or Amsterdam. Do the majority of travelers really want American food regardless of where they travel?

 

Yes . . . familiar and comfortable fill the berths

[pinotlover]

CPT;

 

Agree wholeheartedly. I prefaced my comments with Viking food is good, just Americanized. I always find it bizarre when we're travelling to foreign cities of great culinary legend and watch tour buses of Americans unload in front of McDonalds. Comfortable and familiar, but each to his own.

[tml1230]

Someone earlier somewhat compared Viking to Carnival. I just want to add that by no means is it close to Carnival. I have never cruised with Carnival and have no interest in it. I have several ocean cruises under my belt, however. Viking river cruise was superb.

 

 

Jiminy, i agree with you completely….and i have sailed on carnival before…

 

after dozens of ocean cruises we took our first river cruise on viking this spring…when we returned home we booked another one for next spring. it was that good.

PS: i also agreed with your other thoughts….

[jiminyC_fan]

tml, glad to hear we agree. Not much to complain about for sure. Looking forward to another Viking River Cruise!

 

I have to say something funny. We got so tired of foo-foo and European food that we did stop at a McDonald's in one port. McD's never tasted so good, LOL.

[Ship's Wake]

Suffice to say my wife had a number of things she wanted to reply with but as she said your defence of Vikings marketing and payment practices are still symptomatic of cash flow problems. If you need cash today to pay for your investments from last year then that's a cash flow problem.

 

Perhaps yes, perhaps no.

 

It bears noting that it was commonplace in the late 70's and into the 80's for cruises to paid in full more than a year in advance. That was because there was more demand than capacity available and the cruise lines could ask for, and get, advance payment.

 

The ceo of Viking ran Royal Viking cruise line back then, and seems to be employing the same strategy with Viking.

 

Demand for river cruising exceeds existing capacity, even with the rapid increase in new boats coming on line each year.

 

Hopefully this adds some context for why advance full payment is being asked for by Viking.

 

I would not be surprised if other river cruise lines follow along and do the same.

[pinotlover]

We just booked our first Uniworld cruise. Paying in full now, for a cruise next Sept, brought the discounted price of the more inclusive Uniworld cruise down below the cost of the similar Viking tour that we originally planned on taking. Seemed like a no brainer, especially since we would have had to pay in full for the Viking cruise anyway. Had we chosen the Viking Air option, other savings were feasible with Viking, but the air discussion is a different matter, imo. We have never use Viking Air in the past, so didn't really factor it in this time either.

[John99]

Good discussion with very interesting commentary.

 

The full payment requirement by Viking (shortly after booking) don't seem to bother many. As for me it's not a big deal. If I get a good discount by paying early that's even better.

 

Question -- say a couple book a September 2015 cruise this summer which includes cruise fare and cruise air. They make a full payment but in May of 2015 (clearly 100 days before the departure date) someone has a medical problem. They cancel the cruise with Viking and request a refund. What happens?

 

Do you get a cash refund? Or a credit against your credit card?

How long does it take before the refund or credit is issued?

Does Viking issue a voucher for future cruise?

Do other cruise lines (AMA, Avalon, etc.) have a similar refund policy?

 

John

[pinotlover]

It was my belief that Viking doesn't do refunds for the cruise portion, they tell you to buy trip insurance. For the air portion, I believe you can get a refund, IF the ticket has not been booked. If you buy a deviation early on, and the seat is booked, you're SOL, I believe.

[nana541]

Copied directly from the Viking website for US passengers (terms & cond are different based on your country if origin)

 

 

CANCELLATION POLICY

For any cruise/land booking, whether under deposit, partially paid, or paid in full and air-inclusive packages paid in full, the following travel agent- or guest-requested situations are considered cancellations and penalties will apply as noted below: changes to departure date; substitutions of itinerary; substitution of another person for original booked guest(s); or changing to a promotional fare. All cancellations must be in writing. For all air-inclusive packages cancelled after issuance of an airline ticket, the air portion of the refund, if any, will be processed only after the return of airline ticket. The following cancellation charges will be assessed for all written cancellations received prior to departure up to the scheduled time of departure.

 

Cancellation received | Following charges will apply: (Broken out by days before departure)

121 days or more is $100 per person | 120-90 days is 15% of full fare | 89-60 days is 35% of full fare | 59-30 days is 50% of full fare | 29-0 days is 100% of full fare

Full Fare is defined as the full cost of any cruise, land or air component purchased from Viking.

 

REVISIONS/CHANGES

Once a cruise/land booking has a deposit or air is paid in full, all changes are subject to a $30 charge per change. See prior section under Cancellation Policy for additional details on situations which are classified as cancellations rather than changes.

 

 

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