Price includes air. But do they offer credit if we do our own?

[dcsam]

We have options getting to and from the cruise port (San Juan), so we don't need to utilize their 'free air'. Is an air credit offered if we don't use their air?

Thank you.

[JamesD263]

I think NO! I asked for a deviation to leave New York three days after we arrived and they refused my request. I then told them I would be forced to arrange my own air and would they give me credit for the "free air" that they advertised. I got no help at all from Viking. I have taken many river cruises on Viking but no more. This increased the cost of my cruise by over $1000!

So much for customer service or loyalty.

[dcsam]

So, it's a 'use it or lose it' package deal? Still awaiting to hear back from Viking on this. We have our own options to get to and from the port, so would we prefer arranging our own air, if possible.

[Viking Cruises]

Dear dcsam,

 

Thank you for reaching out. We are happy to respond to your inquiry.

 

Our air promotions are only valid when air is purchased through Viking. A credit will not be issued should you wish to decline Viking Air and arrange transportation on your own.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate you understanding our position.

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

So, it's a 'use it or lose it' package deal? Still awaiting to hear back from Viking on this. We have our own options to get to and from the port, so would we prefer arranging our own air, if possible.

[Jassy]

Dear dcsam,

 

Thank you for reaching out. We are happy to respond to your inquiry.

 

Our air promotions are only valid when air is purchased through Viking. A credit will not be issued should you wish to decline Viking Air and arrange transportation on your own.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate you understanding our position.

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

My goodness, Viking's policy is harsh! We like to make our own travel arrangements and have always received credits from other cruise lines when we opted out of their included air programs. Sadly, this Viking policy is yet another reason why we will not be sailing with them any time in the foreseeable future. :( A pity, because their ships look lovely.

[OMW]

Viking's policy on this is ridiculous. We are booked on one of the West Indies cruises in November and have opted to make our own arrangements as I certainly don't want to be at the mercy of Viking's travel department. After reading many of the routing horror stories I am confident we made the right decision. My airlines, my dates, my times, my seats.

 

That being said it is pretty lame that Viking does not offer a credit if passengers choose not to take their "free" air. I italicized free as that is what Viking calls it, but let's call it what it really is...included in the price we are paying. There is a clear and concrete cost to them to book air. If passengers choose not to use their included air then a credit should be issued. It even shows up as a line item on their final invoice with a cost attached to it (then credited/zeroed out)! We talked to at least four supervisors and got nowhere with any of them. They have definitely been taking a lot of flak for this as they were ready for whatever we threw at them.

 

Now...doing the math between this particular cruise and others like it we still found this to be a relative value so we did book even though we do have a bit of a bad taste in our mouths. It's not going to stop us from enjoying the cruise at all. It will definitely be a consideration for future cruises if the policy does not change...as in Viking will no longer be considered. Lots of choices out there. Then again if the cruise is spectacular...:p

 

just my $.02 worth.

[bzv143]

My TA told me no refund if we choose not to use Viking's air. I was surprised. I also heard online here about a $50 pp charge for having Viking book flights that we would prefer and seats we want (?). We are frequent fliers with numerous airlines and want to put in our FF numbers to get mileage credit and then to choose our seats. Possible?

[Peregrina651]

My TA told me no refund if we choose not to use Viking's air. I was surprised. I also heard online here about a $50 pp charge for having Viking book flights that we would prefer and seats we want (?). We are frequent fliers with numerous airlines and want to put in our FF numbers to get mileage credit and then to choose our seats. Possible?

 

First, a general comment. The Viking Air policy is uniform across all of its itineraries and not just this particular itinerary. Air is always offered separately from the cruise itself (it is not built into the cruise fare) and prices vary anywhere from $0 to deeply discounted to market price depending on many factors. Viking may currently be offering free airfare on this itinerary at this time but it does not mean that it will always be offering free air on this itinerary. There is no credit against your cruise fare if you choose not to do your air arrangements through Viking no matter which itinerary you choose.

 

Now to answer the question. Yes, Viking offers something called AirPlus ($50pp), which allows you to tailor your flights. It does not give you unlimited choice but it does allow you to choose among the flights that Viking is able to procure. Tell Viking what your FF numbers are but keep in mind that not all classes of fares are eligible to earn FF miles (read the small print of your FF plan and by class of fare I mean the letters that the airlines assign to the fares such as "Y" or "K"). You cannot talk to the Viking Air department without paying the AirPlus fee and if you are working with a TA, the TA must make the call.

 

In your decision making, you should balance the $0 air fare versus spending real dollars to get a couple of hundred FF miles or using FF miles to pay for the flight. Using the free air fare might not add to your FF miles but spending real money to get a small number of miles might not be the right decision either.

 

Personally, don't turn your nose up at the free airfare offer until you have done your homework. Many times you can get the same flights from Viking that you are about to pay for out of your own pocket. Accept the air offer when you book your cruise knowing that until the flights are actually ticketed you can cancel them.

 

......

[bzv143]

 

In your decision making, you should balance the $0 air fare versus spending real dollars to get a couple of hundred FF miles or using FF miles to pay for the flight. Using the free air fare might not add to your FF miles but spending real money to get a small number of miles might not be the right decision either.

 

Personally, don't turn your nose up at the free airfare offer until you have done your homework. Many times you can get the same flights from Viking that you are about to pay for out of your own pocket. Accept the air offer when you book your cruise knowing that until the flights are actually ticketed you can cancel them.

 

......

 

Very informative. Thanks. In no way am I turning up my nose at the free airfare offer. Actually, I thought the pricing I am getting for the West Indies Explorer with free air is quite good currently. :)

If I can ask you one more question: if we opt for the Airfare Plus, can we request to be flown in to San Juan 2 days early rather than day of sailing?

Thanks!

[JennJ99738]

Very informative. Thanks. In no way am I turning up my nose at the free airfare offer. Actually, I thought the pricing I am getting for the West Indies Explorer with free air is quite good currently. :)

If I can ask you one more question: if we opt for the Airfare Plus, can we request to be flown in to San Juan 2 days early rather than day of sailing?

Thanks!

 

From what my TA told me, you can't get "Airfare Plus" with the free air promo. I would have definitely paid to get better scheduling but was told that it wasn't possible. I would love to have confirmation on that directly from Viking, though.

[Peregrina651]

Very informative. Thanks. In no way am I turning up my nose at the free airfare offer. Actually, I thought the pricing I am getting for the West Indies Explorer with free air is quite good currently. :)

If I can ask you one more question: if we opt for the Airfare Plus, can we request to be flown in to San Juan 2 days early rather than day of sailing?

Thanks!

 

 

 

Sorry for the misinformation. I didn't know that AirPlus wasn't available for these promos. There are situations when it isn't available and you should confirm with your TA or booking agent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by Peregrina651

[NeilP57]

Not sure it helps you but when I enquired about discounts for no air deals for UK customers on the Caribbean cruise I have booked, I was offered a £500 per person discount if I booked my own air fare. I turned this down as I cannot get the air fare that low from the UK. Obviously the pricing structures are different for UK customers (gratuities included etc) but thought i would share another example how Viking market the same product to different markets.

 

Neil

[floatplan]

If Viking offers no Credit then I will ALWAYS take their free flights. If I am flying on miles then the free ticket will be my backup plan because stuff happens. If the weather or computer failure cancels my flight the day before I'll still have the free tix for day of.

 

I would urge every one doing their own flights to take the Viking free air as backup tickets. I might even on online check in to make sure Viking gets charged.

 

The ships and cruise offered look like something I would like. The Viking polices stress me, so still have not booked.

[flaminkokid]

Looks like Viking's policy on the "free air" haven't changed. It's a problem for us and why I haven't booked on Viking river cruises. We save up our ff miles so we can go business on long flights. We're in our seventies and still concerned about covid. You can't upgrade to business on Viking "free" air even if you were willing to pay the exorbitant prices to upgrade. The policy is rigid and that's unfortunate. The only river cruise we've taken was on Croisi which I wouldn't hesitate to give one star and one star only. I'd like to book Viking but . . .

[Selion]

59 minutes ago, flaminkokid said:

You can't upgrade to business on Viking "free" air even if you were willing to pay the exorbitant prices to upgrade.

I've seen $999 to $1399 upgrade to prem econ and $2499 to $3599 upgrade to business class with free air promos.  They are not available on all sailing dates though.  I'm guessing the upgrades are capacity based.  Once they are sold out, you are slumming it!

[duquephart]

On 3/20/2016 at 8:29 PM, JamesD263 said:

I think NO! I asked for a deviation to leave New York three days after we arrived and they refused my request. I then told them I would be forced to arrange my own air and would they give me credit for the "free air" that they advertised. I got no help at all from Viking. I have taken many river cruises on Viking but no more. This increased the cost of my cruise by over $1000!

So much for customer service or loyalty.

 

Customer loyalty disappeared about fifty years ago. Been to a car dealer lately?

[flare3192]

We have a cruise with the free included air. We paid for the air plus. Once ticketed we were able to upgrade the ticket to business and I could use miles -- which I did not have enough of -- or cash. The air was ticketed immediately and was on the itinerary I wanted. After that it was under my control and I could pick seats, pay for comfort or business upgrades. But that was done directly with the airline. Originally business was not available but as I watched it it did become available in the airline app and we took advantage of it.

That said I usually prefer to book my own directly. 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, flare3192 said:

We have a cruise with the free included air. We paid for the air plus. Once ticketed we were able to upgrade the ticket to business and I could use miles -- which I did not have enough of -- or cash. The air was ticketed immediately and was on the itinerary I wanted. After that it was under my control and I could pick seats, pay for comfort or business upgrades. But that was done directly with the airline. Originally business was not available but as I watched it it did become available in the airline app and we took advantage of it.

That said I usually prefer to book my own directly. 

 

You were fortunate, as the ability to upgrade with either points or cash depends on the fare class booked. In many cases, the budget fares purchased by cruise lines, with their contracts, are fare classes that do not permit upgrades.

[MVPinBoynton]

We had no problem getting the air removed on our upcoming Northern Lights cruise.  I was able to save money and get better flights than Viking air offered.