viking---unbelievable and even worse

[gowilk]

After cruising for 30 years more or less and on 6 lines and 16 or 17 cruises, we decided to venture onto Viking for a european river cruise, we had missed keukenhopf at peak twice so timing was critical in this case. we booked a cruise, that with air, cost over 13 thousand which was a lot but not a record for us.

 

Then after my deposit is down i found out that i had to pay it all 9 months in advance... wow is all i could say but i broke the amex out and choked it all down. So now i'm 13 thousand out of pocket but hoping that it would be worth it in the end.

 

suddenly yesterday i get an email out of the blue from my travel agent "they have canceled your cruise and you have 30 days to rebook". I call my agent who spends an inordinate amount of time confirming that this is true but all Viking wants to do is resell me on a different cruise. NOT INTERESTED i say and after about the 5th time my travel agent understands and tells them i want a refund and compensation for the money they've had all this time (3 months) for nothing. He relays that not only do i get no compensation, i get no refund for 3 or 4 weeks WOW.

 

I tell my wife and she is somewhere between incredulous and upset and insists i must have got it wrong, so I dial Viking and give her the phone. it boils down to:

 

- we still don't know if the ship is actually canceled or they double booked the cabin or they just decided to charter it out.

- Viking "generously" agreed not to charge us a cancellation penalty!!!! yes that's what they said.

- Viking agreed to move us to another ship for no price increase... again their words not mine.

- After we declined their "GENEROUS" offer, she said she would try to expedite our refund but even expediting a refund takes two days for a "DECISION".

 

Only bright spot in this travesty is they could've waited till two days before we were due to leave or something... no matter what however we don't do business this way and Viking is now dead to us but HOW DO WE STOP THE MAILERS EVERY 3 DAYS???

[xpcdoojk]

junk mail, just toss in the trash/recycle pile.

 

jc

[Shorex]

... no matter what however we don't do business this way and Viking is now dead to us but HOW DO WE STOP THE MAILERS EVERY 3 DAYS???

 

From what I've read on this board, you can't. However, were I in your situation I might go to my Viking profile and change my address to ....

an abandoned building or ... use your imagination.;)

[twinkletoes4445]

After cruising for 30 years more or less and on 6 lines and 16 or 17 cruises, we decided to venture onto Viking for a european river cruise, we had missed keukenhopf at peak twice so timing was critical in this case. we booked a cruise, that with air, cost over 13 thousand which was a lot but not a record for us.

 

Then after my deposit is down i found out that i had to pay it all 9 months in advance... wow is all i could say but i broke the amex out and choked it all down. So now i'm 13 thousand out of pocket but hoping that it would be worth it in the end.

 

suddenly yesterday i get an email out of the blue from my travel agent "they have canceled your cruise and you have 30 days to rebook". I call my agent who spends an inordinate amount of time confirming that this is true but all Viking wants to do is resell me on a different cruise. NOT INTERESTED i say and after about the 5th time my travel agent understands and tells them i want a refund and compensation for the money they've had all this time (3 months) for nothing. He relays that not only do i get no compensation, i get no refund for 3 or 4 weeks WOW.

 

I tell my wife and she is somewhere between incredulous and upset and insists i must have got it wrong, so I dial Viking and give her the phone. it boils down to:

 

- we still don't know if the ship is actually canceled or they double booked the cabin or they just decided to charter it out.

- Viking "generously" agreed not to charge us a cancellation penalty!!!! yes that's what they said.

- Viking agreed to move us to another ship for no price increase... again their words not mine.

- After we declined their "GENEROUS" offer, she said she would try to expedite our refund but even expediting a refund takes two days for a "DECISION".

 

Only bright spot in this travesty is they could've waited till two days before we were due to leave or something... no matter what however we don't do business this way and Viking is now dead to us but HOW DO WE STOP THE MAILERS EVERY 3 DAYS???

 

I don't blame you for being unhappy. I hope it all works out for you. There's no way we'd book with any cruise line that requires full payment up front. They really have you over a barrel. We personally wouldn't cruise Viking if they gave us a free trip. I hope you find a cruise that works for you. There's a lot of great river cruise lines out there. We prefer Uniworld, but there are several others that I'd also check out.

 

How generous of Viking to not to charge you a cancellation penalty. I don't know what those people are thinking at times. They do not excel in PR! I guess I'd give them a couple of days, but if they didn't refund the entire amount, I'd call AMEX. They are wonderful to work with.

 

Before we travel, I Google whatever the name of the place or ship and problems, just to see what pops up. It startling sometimes.

 

I'd call Viking and tell them to quit sending material to you. Or just toss it in the trash.

Edited October 23, 2015 by twinkletoes4445

[twinkletoes4445]

From what I've read on this board, you can't. However, were I in your situation I might go to my Viking profile and change my address to ....

an abandoned building or ... use your imagination.;)

 

That's a great idea!

[YoungDubFan]

gowilk - I'm sorry you had this experience happen to you. Please look at the other river cruise companies (Uniworld, Avalon, AMA Waterways, Tauck, Scenic, Vantage to name a few). There are many other choices, providing various levels of exclusions from all inclusive to more ala carte. If you want a tulip time cruise, you may still find some availability. Also, most of these companies don't require final payment until 60-120 days before your trip.

 

Good luck with your planning. At least you found out about Viking and their questionable business practices before you sail. If you don't get a refund within a few weeks, contact AmEx directly.

[G.M.T.]

Why not Vikings own address.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Now that's funny! :D

 

So sorry that this happened to you. I can't imagine how upset and disappointed you two must be. I guess any cruise line can cancel but it's the way they handle it that makes me mad. Viking isn't known for good customer service and this only reinforces that.

 

You might try another cruise line. I can recommend Avalon and Tauck both very highly.

[jklc123]

Why not Vikings own address.

 

Ha! Fabulous idea!

[Hydrokitty]

Ha! Fabulous idea!

 

I love all the creative ways of "recycling" unwanted travel brochures!! gowilk might I suggest Vantage. They have a tulip cruise (who doesn't) that I went on in late April and it was fantastic. Price wise, when you added in the business air, it was about the same for 2 that you paid Viking, but Vantage gives you the option of paying right away or 60-90 days prior to cruise...of course there's a sliding scale of savings. They include all shore excursions, with a few optional excursions, one of which was to Aalsmeer for the flower auction (and I would highly recommend you do that regardless of who you choose)...the boats are lovely, comfortable but not ornate...food is great and wine and beer is included. :D

Edited October 23, 2015 by Hydrokitty

[Viking Cruises]

Dear Gowilk,

 

We gather you have been impacted by a redeployment and are truly sorry for your disappointment.

 

As it appears you have additional questions about the details, we would encourage you to contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. Once we have a bit more information pertaining to your specific booking, we would be happy to arrange an expedited refund and provide additional clarification as needed.

 

Gowilk, we are disappointed you will not be joining us next year, but do look forward to your email.

 

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

 

After cruising for 30 years more or less and on 6 lines and 16 or 17 cruises, we decided to venture onto Viking for a european river cruise, we had missed keukenhopf at peak twice so timing was critical in this case. we booked a cruise, that with air, cost over 13 thousand which was a lot but not a record for us.

 

Then after my deposit is down i found out that i had to pay it all 9 months in advance... wow is all i could say but i broke the amex out and choked it all down. So now i'm 13 thousand out of pocket but hoping that it would be worth it in the end.

 

suddenly yesterday i get an email out of the blue from my travel agent "they have canceled your cruise and you have 30 days to rebook". I call my agent who spends an inordinate amount of time confirming that this is true but all Viking wants to do is resell me on a different cruise. NOT INTERESTED i say and after about the 5th time my travel agent understands and tells them i want a refund and compensation for the money they've had all this time (3 months) for nothing. He relays that not only do i get no compensation, i get no refund for 3 or 4 weeks WOW.

 

I tell my wife and she is somewhere between incredulous and upset and insists i must have got it wrong, so I dial Viking and give her the phone. it boils down to:

 

- we still don't know if the ship is actually canceled or they double booked the cabin or they just decided to charter it out.

- Viking "generously" agreed not to charge us a cancellation penalty!!!! yes that's what they said.

- Viking agreed to move us to another ship for no price increase... again their words not mine.

- After we declined their "GENEROUS" offer, she said she would try to expedite our refund but even expediting a refund takes two days for a "DECISION".

 

Only bright spot in this travesty is they could've waited till two days before we were due to leave or something... no matter what however we don't do business this way and Viking is now dead to us but HOW DO WE STOP THE MAILERS EVERY 3 DAYS???

[Capt_BJ]

AMEN to that!!!!!!!

[Hydrokitty]

well at least we know ONE cruise line is monitoring our posts!!! :D

[CPT Trips]

I don't blame you for being unhappy. I hope it all works out for you. There's no way we'd book with any cruise line that requires full payment up front. They really have you over a barrel. We personally wouldn't cruise Viking if they gave us a free trip. I hope you find a cruise that works for you. There's a lot of great river cruise lines out there. We prefer Uniworld, but there are several others that I'd also check out.

 

How generous of Viking to not to charge you a cancellation penalty. I don't know what those people are thinking at times. They do not excel in PR! I guess I'd give them a couple of days, but if they didn't refund the entire amount, I'd call AMEX. They are wonderful to work with.

 

Before we travel, I Google whatever the name of the place or ship and problems, just to see what pops up. It startling sometimes.

 

I'd call Viking and tell them to quit sending material to you. Or just toss it in the trash.

 

I wouldn't turn down free! :cool:

 

Viking, make me an offer.

[Hydrokitty]

I wouldn't turn down free! :cool:

 

Viking, make me an offer.

 

Me too, for free, I'll swallow my pride!!! :D

[ural guy]

Send Viking an e-mail and they will cancel the mailings in a week or so. I tried it and it worked.

 

tellus@vikingrivercruises.com

 

Here's the thread that info is from.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1944249

 

And yes, I would certainly take a free cruise. It would be pretty nice to have enough money to turn that down. :p

Edited October 24, 2015 by ural guy

[cole]

Our motto is (and has been), "any company except Viking" :( It is sad that people who are booking river cruises see all of the beautiful advertisements that Viking puts out, but aren't aware of the repeated bad reviews they receive, particular in the area of customer service.

Cole

[Globe]

Thought this next bit of information was quite interesting regarding the newer area of Viking Ocean Cruises. Was looking at a Norwegian Fjord cruise on one of their vessels for Spring 2017, "supposedly" at a 2 for 1 pricing ( just reminds me of Oceania's regular advertising mode ) and read that in order to get in on this great savings they required deposit by the end of Oct. and full payment by the end of this year...

Now that is a bit much I think for them to have the use of your $$ for a full year and a half before the cruise even takes place!! 👎🏻👎🏻

[sharkster77]

For those who say "anyone but Viking"--

 

Is it possible that they have more complaints is that they have more ships (and passengers) than everyone else combined?

 

Would it be then correct to say that Viking has more satisfied customers as well?

 

We've never river cruised as yet (probably in 2017 or 2018), so I have no horse in this race, just being devil's advocate.

[twinkletoes4445]

I wouldn't turn down free! :cool:

 

Viking, make me an offer.

 

Hydrokitty & CPT Trips

 

 

I would pass on the free trip because our vacation time is too valuable (and limited) to deal with Viking. I'd rather spend money and get what I want, but that's just me. Now, if it were another line offering up a free cruise, the ones that get the great reviews, I'd take them up on it in a nanosecond!!

[twinkletoes4445]

For those who say "anyone but Viking"--

 

Is it possible that they have more complaints is that they have more ships (and passengers) than everyone else combined?

 

Would it be then correct to say that Viking has more satisfied customers as well?

 

We've never river cruised as yet (probably in 2017 or 2018), so I have no horse in this race, just being devil's advocate.

 

I know Viking has passengers that love Viking. So they do have satisfied passengers. I think the problems come up when things go wrong and how Viking handles the problem, or doesn't handle it. I don't recall ever reading negative comments about any of the other cruise lines like I do with Viking. I don't care what line people cruise, that's a personal choice. I am not trying to persuade anyone to "jump ship."

 

It all comes down to how a bad situation is handled and Viking doesn't seem to excel in this area. The pay the total cost of the cruise upfront would stop us from considering Viking. Then add all the other issues ... no thanks. But again, to each his own. I know that a lot of people love Viking. And that's their business. :)

[cole]

For those who say "anyone but Viking"--

 

Is it possible that they have more complaints is that they have more ships (and passengers) than everyone else combined?

 

Would it be then correct to say that Viking has more satisfied customers as well?

 

We've never river cruised as yet (probably in 2017 or 2018), so I have no horse in this race, just being devil's advocate.

 

That's a possibility, but we don't intend on taking a chance, plus refuse to allow a company to use our money a year in advance of a cruise with their requirement that we pay that far in advance. Just playing it safe!;)

Cole

[Cyber Kat]

For those who say "anyone but Viking"--

 

Is it possible that they have more complaints is that they have more ships (and passengers) than everyone else combined?

 

Would it be then correct to say that Viking has more satisfied customers as well?

 

We've never river cruised as yet (probably in 2017 or 2018), so I have no horse in this race, just being devil's advocate.

 

We booked with Viking for Aug 2016. I've read all the comments both negative and positive and it seems to me there are as many people who are happy with them as are not happy. I think you're correct - the volume of business they do generates more complaints. Many of the complaints seem to be from people who didn't do their research - which is something I've noticed happens with a lot of complaints in general. I worked in customer service for many years - I know from complaints! :D

 

I knew about the pay when you book policy (most times - I know people have gotten around it). Of course, I'd rather hold on to the money as long as possible, but it didn't bother us that much.

 

We chose Viking because I like their ships. I like that they are stopping at Kinderdijk - which not all Rhine cruises do. I like that they have a lot of ships to choose from. Not because of glossy ads.

 

We'll see. So far I'm satisfied. I'll come back next Aug and let you know how it went! :)

[Donray]

compensation for the money they've had all this time (3 months) for nothing

 

THAT WOULD BE ABOUT TEN CENTS

[Hydrokitty]

Hydrokitty & CPT Trips

 

 

I would pass on the free trip because our vacation time is too valuable (and limited) to deal with Viking. I'd rather spend money and get what I want, but that's just me. Now, if it were another line offering up a free cruise, the ones that get the great reviews, I'd take them up on it in a nanosecond!!

 

Fair point and if I were working and limited to how much vacation time I had, I would agree....but since I'm no longer working, a bad trip is still a trip and if it's free it's not so bad! You're day will come...hang in there!! :D