Viking Should Be Ashamed

[Edgemere]

We booked Paris and the heart of Normandy using their early booking discount for July of 2016. The airfare shown on their website from Miami was $1695 with a special price of booking early of $695. The website today is still showing a fare of $1695 when round trip non stops are just over $1,000 dollars on Air France or American and for those booking in December a special airfare not of $695 but $400 without utilizing their select air department. We were not advised of the lower airfare before final payment was due in mid December. My tickets with American Airlines even though we have paid in full will not be issued by Viking until 3 weeks before departure which means they could and should easily adjust our fares and credit back the difference.

[Globehoppers]

We booked Paris and the heart of Normandy using their early booking discount for July of 2016. The airfare shown on their website from Miami was $1695 with a special price of booking early of $695. The website today is still showing a fare of $1695 when round trip non stops are just over $1,000 dollars on Air France or American and for those booking in December a special airfare not of $695 but $400 without utilizing their select air department. We were not advised of the lower airfare before final payment was due in mid December. My tickets with American Airlines even though we have paid in full will not be issued by Viking until 3 weeks before departure which means they could and should easily adjust our fares and credit back the difference.

 

Standard Viking Practice.

 

Our one time, and one time only, Viking cruise was similar. They promised lowest air R/T through their air reservations system if made at the time of booking. Quick check of airfares showed that their "discount" was in fact $500 each more than buying directly from the airlines. We did do that cruise since it had a unique itinerary in eastern Europe, but arranged for air direct with the airline. Also be careful of their BOGO half off cruise offers - they increase the basic price so that you wind up paying more than two regular fares. Dealing with Viking corporate was horrible - they continually misinformed and once was told "don't even ask." Ship itself, a "long boat" which is similar to other companies offerings, was nice and crew engaging.

 

Don't hold your breath on a fare "adjustment" from Viking.

[Viking Cruises]

Dear Edgemere,

 

Our apologies for the delayed response. We regret to learn of your dissatisfaction with the pricing of your airfare and Viking’s ticketing process.

 

To clarify, pricing promotions are linked to the timeframe in which a booking is created, not when a final payment is processed.

 

If we understand correctly, you have also located retail tickets below the cost of Viking’s advertised airfare. It is important to remember that Viking has contracts with airlines and ticket prices available to the public often differ from the prices available to Viking.

 

While our promotions do have firm guidelines, we are interested in discussing your concerns further. We would encourage you or your travel agent to contact us directly so that we may review potential options for your specific booking. If you haven’t already made contact with Viking, you are welcome to reach out by email to TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

We look forward to welcoming you aboard in July!

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

 

We booked Paris and the heart of Normandy using their early booking discount for July of 2016. The airfare shown on their website from Miami was $1695 with a special price of booking early of $695. The website today is still showing a fare of $1695 when round trip non stops are just over $1,000 dollars on Air France or American and for those booking in December a special airfare not of $695 but $400 without utilizing their select air department. We were not advised of the lower airfare before final payment was due in mid December. My tickets with American Airlines even though we have paid in full will not be issued by Viking until 3 weeks before departure which means they could and should easily adjust our fares and credit back the difference.

[twinkletoes4445]

I hope you're able to get this worked out.

 

I don't understand why Viking expects full payment so soon. I know this is a different subject, but I wouldn't book with Viking for that reason alone.

[Rosethorn40]

I hope you're able to get this worked out.

 

I don't understand why Viking expects full payment so soon. I know this is a different subject, but I wouldn't book with Viking for that reason alone.

 

I recently (Dec 24th) booked a Viking cruise for November 2017. My final payment due date is June 2017, about 4 and a half months from sailing. I didn't ask for that date, it was given to me. Maybe, Viking is starting to bend on that year out for final payment?

[rothbury]

Rosethorn40, you might want to check your final payment date again. I have booked an October 2017 cruise with Viking and my final payment date is June 2016. Not June 2017. Just saying......

[twinkletoes4445]

I recently (Dec 24th) booked a Viking cruise for November 2017. My final payment due date is June 2017, about 4 and a half months from sailing. I didn't ask for that date, it was given to me. Maybe, Viking is starting to bend on that year out for final payment?

 

They must be bending a bit. 4 1/2 months isn't too bad. A year out is crazy, IMO. :)

[Rosethorn40]

Rosethorn40, you might want to check your final payment date again. I have booked an October 2017 cruise with Viking and my final payment date is June 2016. Not June 2017. Just saying......

 

You were 100% right. I did double check my invoice, and sure enough it did say 2016, not 2017. I must have heard what I wanted to hear. Anyway I did speak to my Viking rep today, and got my final payment due date push back to December 31, 2016. So not the 4 1/2 months I originally thought, but I can live with 10 months before our sail date.

 

Thanks for pointing that out to me. I might have been a bit surprised when Viking started calling me THIS June, wanting the rest of the money.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Rosethorn40

[GrannyLala]

My DH & I are going on the Viking Gefjon July 1 (Amsterdam - Budapest). We booked in March 2015 for July 2016. Originally we were told our final payment was due June 2015, but when our TA to them that was not acceptable they extended to Dec 2015. Also, we were looking at booking our air direct with the airline, and our TA checked around and found that Viking's deal was a lot better (close to $600 better pp)! There were a few fees because we were extending our stay (but booking our own hotels), choosing our airline, upgrading to economy comfort & early ticketing. We are very pleased with our air purchase through Viking, and will be very likely to explore the air options with them in the future as well!

[cantwaitt]

We were seriously considering a Viking cruise for this July. But, after reading this thread and the threads (and reports from friends of friends) about frequently cancelled cruises due to the water level I think I am going to drop this idea.

 

Traditional cruises don't require final payment until 75 days out, which is reasonable.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We were seriously considering a Viking cruise for this July. But, after reading this thread and the threads (and reports from friends of friends) about frequently cancelled cruises due to the water level I think I am going to drop this idea.

 

Traditional cruises don't require final payment until 75 days out, which is reasonable.

 

Traditional river cruises don't require payment far in advance either. Only Viking. I suggest you read the sticky "New to RIVER CRUISING??? START HERE!!!" -- you will see that there are many different river cruise lines, with a wide variety of experiences available.

[Cyber Kat]

We were seriously considering a Viking cruise for this July. But, after reading this thread and the threads (and reports from friends of friends) about frequently cancelled cruises due to the water level I think I am going to drop this idea.

 

Traditional cruises don't require final payment until 75 days out, which is reasonable.

 

We have a cruise booked with Viking for Aug. I did research before we booked and water levels on the rivers is an issue for all the lines. Viking has a lot of ships and they do a ship swap to get around the problem areas. They have a lot of ships, so they can do this rather than cancel a cruise.

 

I've done a number of ocean cruises, and I'm really looking forward to the whole river cruise experience - even if it includes a ship swap. I'm also prepared for rafting at the docks :D. I'm looking at it as an adventure! Can't wait!

[cantwaitt]

I know what you mean. I was also looking forward to trying a river cruise. But I don't feel like my high end cruise turning into a low end bus tour. We did a number of bus tours 30, 35 years ago (I'm not as old as this reads). Prefer cruises to buses.

 

And it does not seem like the boat swap is as seamless as you seem to suggest based on what I have read on these boards.

 

Ideally I like mixing land experience on my own for cities that are inland with cruises for port cities.

 

I think we are going to put together a two-week eastern European land trip on our own and then do a traditional Med cruise with not too many overlaps ports for us and do something different in the overlap ports.

 

We are going to do the river cruise when we go to Asia, hopefully in a couple of years.

[Host Jazzbeau]

This is where Viking's high profile is giving all other river cruises a bad name. Check back through this forum for 2015 -- AMA never turned a single cruise into a bus trip. Their itinerary changes were never more than an hour or two until the end of the season when Budapest was closed to all ships. There were also other cruise lines that did quite well this season -- but because Viking had so many ships and therefore so many passengers, their troubles made it seem like every cruise line was having problems.

[bubbulz]

This is where Viking's high profile is giving all other river cruises a bad name. Check back through this forum for 2015 -- AMA never turned a single cruise into a bus trip. Their itinerary changes were never more than an hour or two until the end of the season when Budapest was closed to all ships. There were also other cruise lines that did quite well this season -- but because Viking had so many ships and therefore so many passengers, their troubles made it seem like every cruise line was having problems.

 

I agree! On our Uniworld cruise in August, the only (minor) issue was that the pool had to be emptied for a couple of days so we would sit higher in the water, and we had to go more slowly in some areas than we otherwise would have.

[RvrCrzr]

Traditional cruises don't require final payment until 75 days out, which is reasonable.

 

This is starting to change as well. Norwegian just moved from 75 days to 90 days prior. Expecting the others follow suit.

[JVilleGal]

This is starting to change as well. Norwegian just moved from 75 days to 90 days prior. Expecting the others follow suit.

 

 

It beats Viking at 12 to 18 months in advance!