Insufficiency of "Included" Excursion Slots

[CelticMutt]

I'm pretty upset with Viking right now. Excursions opened up for our Deluxe Veranda Cabin this AM for our Sept. 4th Mediterranean Odyssey on the Viking Sea and already at 8 AM fully 3 of the "included" excursions were "sold out". This is deplorable! These are not "free" excursions - they are supposed to be included and we paid dearly for them.

"The Highlights of Rome" tour... gone! Really, Viking?! One of the main reasons your clients are taking this cruise is to see Rome and you haven't come close to providing enough availability - not if even the Deluxe Verandas can't get a slot at 8AM the first day of availability.

Oh, and "Marseille On Our Own" closed out as well!? It only involves a damn bus from the ship to the city! You can't schedule an extra bus?

When I called the Viking office to complain I was told there was nothing they could do. Oh c'mon! Yes there is. Schedule some extra availability; there's still plenty of time.

I'm a huge fan of Viking. I've written on CC glowingly of our past two river cruises. So, please Ocean Viking, let's keep the perception positive and fix this!

I'll keep y'all posted.

Slainte!

Bill

[TruJeffie]

It's part of the incentive to book to a higher class of room. Viking does not promise you the excusion of your choice or time of your choice. Simply a slightly larger room is not the only thing you get when you book a more expensive Catagory.

 

I know I choose the P.V class based on the fact I would have a better chance of getting reservations at my preferred time into the restaurants and excursions. Otherwise I could have saved some money and dealt with a slightly smaller room but still with a veranda.

 

I am sure many other people did the same thing as myself for the same reasons and viking is counting on that so that they can run a successful business

[mhb1757]

I'm not so sure that it is so much a tactic to get you to reserve a larger cabin as it is more of the ongoing issues with the shorex booking system. The good news is Viking WILL get you on all of the included excursions. You can email them at the customer service link (tellus@vikingcruises.com) That seems to get the best results. The phone agents seem totally clueless about most issues.

Edited June 29, 2016 by mhb1757

[Viking Cruises]

Dear CelticMutt,

 

We regret to learn of your displeasure and appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

 

Viking does, indeed, guarantee an included tour in each port of call – for all guests, in all stateroom categories. A particular start time may sell out, but the shore excursion, as a whole, will not.

 

While it was initially the name of the included shore excursion in Rome, Highlights of Rome was recently removed and replaced with a new included tour titled, Snapshots of Rome. This tour should be available to book, without charge, on My Viking Journey. If you are unable to view or book this tour, please contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com with your booking information so that we may book your excursion manually.

 

Our records indicate that the Marseille included tour, Marseille On Your Own, is still open and available to book. As this is another included tour, rest assured that space will be available for all guests onboard. Once again, if you have trouble booking on My Viking Journey, please reach out to us directly so we add the tour to your booking or, if necessary, troubleshoot the problem further.

 

CelticMutt, again, we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your loyalty and satisfaction are important to us and we look forward to welcoming you aboard again in September!

 

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

 

I'm pretty upset with Viking right now. Excursions opened up for our Deluxe Veranda Cabin this AM for our Sept. 4th Mediterranean Odyssey on the Viking Sea and already at 8 AM fully 3 of the "included" excursions were "sold out". This is deplorable! These are not "free" excursions - they are supposed to be included and we paid dearly for them.

"The Highlights of Rome" tour... gone! Really, Viking?! One of the main reasons your clients are taking this cruise is to see Rome and you haven't come close to providing enough availability - not if even the Deluxe Verandas can't get a slot at 8AM the first day of availability.

Oh, and "Marseille On Our Own" closed out as well!? It only involves a damn bus from the ship to the city! You can't schedule an extra bus?

When I called the Viking office to complain I was told there was nothing they could do. Oh c'mon! Yes there is. Schedule some extra availability; there's still plenty of time.

I'm a huge fan of Viking. I've written on CC glowingly of our past two river cruises. So, please Ocean Viking, let's keep the perception positive and fix this!

I'll keep y'all posted.

Slainte!

Bill

[Lumpy1509]

The Rome Excursion still shows sold out and there is no included excursion listed for Venice.

[CelticMutt]

Dear CelticMutt,

 

We regret to learn of your displeasure and appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

 

Viking does, indeed, guarantee an included tour in each port of call – for all guests, in all stateroom categories. A particular start time may sell out, but the shore excursion, as a whole, will not.

 

While it was initially the name of the included shore excursion in Rome, Highlights of Rome was recently removed and replaced with a new included tour titled, Snapshots of Rome. This tour should be available to book, without charge, on My Viking Journey. If you are unable to view or book this tour, please contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com with your booking information so that we may book your excursion manually.

 

Our records indicate that the Marseille included tour, Marseille On Your Own, is still open and available to book. As this is another included tour, rest assured that space will be available for all guests onboard. Once again, if you have trouble booking on My Viking Journey, please reach out to us directly so we add the tour to your booking or, if necessary, troubleshoot the problem further.

 

CelticMutt, again, we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Your loyalty and satisfaction are important to us and we look forward to welcoming you aboard again in September!

 

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

There is no "Snapshots of Rome" currently listed on the available excursions for Rome.

[CelticMutt]

There is no "Snapshots of Rome" currently listed on the available excursions for Rome.

OK; Viking got in touch both by e-mail and v-mail to let me know they had confirmed us on the Snapshots of Rome Tour. Apparently there's a glitch on the excursions web page for Rome, so I'd suggest anyone having problems contact them at TellUs@vikingcruises.com directly. CC postings do carry a bit of influence, no?

Also in answer to the point that Viking uses the limited availability on the tours as an upsell to the better cabin categories, well that still makes me question the term "included". I understand that there may be alternative time slots available for some of the excursions. And we certainly had no problem with availability on the add-on tours that we were willing to pay for. But here's the rub: because I was willing to shell out a couple hundred bucks for a day's "pay-for" tour, I get closed out of an included tour slot. Shouldn't happen!)

What's more, We're traveling with friends who booked excursions 30 days ago (big cabin!). They actually booked this cruise on our reco. But because of this arcane scheduling, 3 of the tour days we have to take our excursions separately because we can't make our schedules match!l

Just venting here in hope that Viking will add some availability. As I said previously, we've really enjoyed our past Viking River cruises and are very much looking forward to this one.

[Lucky Granny]

We had success with re-scheduling once we got on the ship, including fixing the conflict caused by Viking changing our booked included tour to the same time as a booked paid tour. Don't bother calling. We made several calls to no avail and saw eye-rolls when we reported the information we got to the shorex desk onboard.

[dln929]

We had success with re-scheduling once we got on the ship, including fixing the conflict caused by Viking changing our booked included tour to the same time as a booked paid tour. Don't bother calling. We made several calls to no avail and saw eye-rolls when we reported the information we got to the shorex desk onboard.

 

I agree that it's easy to sort everything out after you've just boarded. They're very helpful on the ship and they'll work to get everything right for you.

[CelticMutt]

I think the suggestions to wait until we get on the ship to rectify this situation are probably the way to go. Despite assurances from the "tellus" folks, I still don't see the Snapshots of Rome tour on my itinerary nor on their web site for available Rome excursions.

[Lucky Granny]

As soon as you board, your My Viking Journey calendar will be on the tv in your stateroom. It won't show up on the website. Check there and you may find you don't have to go to the shorex desk.

[Lumpy1509]

I think the suggestions to wait until we get on the ship to rectify this situation are probably the way to go. Despite assurances from the "tellus" folks, I still don't see the Snapshots of Rome tour on my itinerary nor on their web site for available Rome excursions.

 

I had the same situation with our Venice excursion. I was told that they had signed us up for the included excursion but it did not show up on My Calendar. I called back and they sent me a copy of my invoice which shows all the excursions we are signed up for. See if they will send you a copy of your invoice.

 

I wanted to have a hard copy of our excursions when we board. Hope this helps.

[lastlook]

I received a notice via e-mail today that Viking changed and shortened the included walking tour in Venice, that we had booked. It was in our "Calendar" yesterday as I have been checking off and on to make sure nothing disappears, and now it does not show under the old nor the new name despite a phone call that I made to Viking this afternoon.

 

The Viking agent on the phone assured me that the renamed excursion shows in our Calendar on their end, but it still does not show in my Calendar within "My Viking Journey" account this evening. (I've checked several times.) I'm giving it a bit more time as I am thinking it is an IT issue.

 

My sister and her husband are on this cruise with us and they had booked the same walking tour. In their case, the change/update appeared in their Calendar without any problems. They live on the West Coast and we're on the East Coast, but I can't imagine how that would matter in this case as far as updating the excursions in all the Calendars since this is a Viking change and not a change that we made.

[Lumpy1509]

The Venice Excursion is not showing on my calendar either, even though I have a schedule from Viking that shows we are booked.

[lastlook]

The Venice Excursion is not showing on my calendar either, even though I have a schedule from Viking that shows we are booked.

 

Thanks for letting me know that we're not alone - ha ha. I just checked again this a.m. and it is still not there but hopefully will appear eventually.

 

Have a great 4th everyone!

[njbdinaburg@aol.com]

We leave the end of this month for a cruise on the Viking Sea. When the optionals opened up initially there were a few issues. Six weeks out everything at Viking's end was cleared up. All of the optionals are set.

 

Waiting for a trip is the hardest thing. You want to plan. You want to research and know what you are basically going to do. Viking did not post everything three months before our trip. It is frustrating.

 

Our trip has a number of port changes and for us that made it even more difficult. A month from now we shall be in Norway on the Viking Sea and are looking forward to every day both at sea and in port. :cool:

[CelticMutt]

Just a final update. I've had a number of conversations with a very nice lady from Viking Customer Service and thought I'd post the info and some impressions.

The "Snapshots of Rome" replacement for the "Highlights" tour is only 5.5 hours as opposed to the 10.5 hours on the original. It appears to me to be a re-titled "Relaxing Rome" tour that was originally on the itinerary and has now been taken off. The Viking rep indicated that there might be a "paid for" version of the "Highlights" tour in the works. Huh? I'm reading between the lines here, but I think Viking has realized that they were giving away too much with a 10.5 hour included tour and are regrouping. So don't expect to see a free Highlights tour in the future. And it's not "free", it's actually "no additional expense" - let's be serious here!)

I was also told that we couldn't book a second "included" excursion on the same day even if there's enough time. Again, I question this response because our traveling companions did just that 30 days ago when they booked their own excursions.

Just a closing suggestion for Viking here. When we traveled on the Paul Gauguin last year we were in a similar situation. We were traveling with the same couple at that time and once again, they had a much higher cabin level. But, PG made every effort to make sure that we were able to enjoy the cruise together. Dinner reservations; excursions; hell, their butler even did stuff for us that was way above and beyond. That's a service level to be followed. Not all couples traveling together can afford the same class of stateroom, but they should still be given some level of courteous flexibility in booking. Viking did in fact note that the two reservations were linked, but so far that notation has not been any factor at all.

Pant, pant, pant...OK, I'm done. I'm putting this to bed and hoping like the good folk who have commented suggested, that something can be done on Board. Otherwise, what the hell; we're still going to have a good time!!

Salud!,

Bill

[dln929]

Pant, pant, pant...OK, I'm done. I'm putting this to bed and hoping like the good folk who have commented suggested, that something can be done on Board. Otherwise, what the hell; we're still going to have a good time!!

Salud!,

Bill

 

Bill, you will have a good time! It will all come together and it will be a great cruise. Enjoy yourselves!

[jiminyC_fan]

I think it's sad to think that the only way to get an excursion "fixed" is by standing in a long line with other disgruntled guests immediately after boarding. Not my idea of a fun first day.

[arkansastraveler]

We were just on the Viking Sea. The My Calendar display on TV is nice but often incorrect. The only thing you can trust for excursion information is the packet of tickets in your stateroom you receive on arrival. Exclusions were a dynamic mess.

[Viking Cruises]

Dear arkansastraveler,

 

Welcome home! We hope you found your overall experience aboard Viking Sea to be enjoyable.

 

Your feedback about the shore excursion process, specifically how it reflected on My Calendar, is appreciated and has been documented for future consideration. While it is our intention to make the shore excursion process seamless, we do apologize if it fell short of your expectations.

 

As always, if you would like to review your experience with a Viking representative, we would be happy to hear from you at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

arkansastraveler, we appreciate the opportunity to reply and hope to welcome you aboard again soon!

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

 

We were just on the Viking Sea. The My Calendar display on TV is nice but often incorrect. The only thing you can trust for excursion information is the packet of tickets in your stateroom you receive on arrival. Exclusions were a dynamic mess.

[lastlook]

The Venice Excursion is not showing on my calendar either, even though I have a schedule from Viking that shows we are booked.

 

 

I'm happy to report that the replacement tour finally shows in MVJ Calendar!

[Choochala]

Our first time with Viking and I was wondering about booking the included tours. We are travelling with friends of ours whom we recommended this cruise to and are wondering how to book the tours in tandem. We would like to be on the same tours together and if they get "sold out" early, how can we assure we get on the same tours; do we have to sit side by side and book them simultaneously as soon as we are able to? Seems a bit silly. After reading this thread I'm getting a little worried we won't be able to travel together on the tours as planned.

[Lumpy1509]

I'm happy to report that the replacement tour finally shows in MVJ Calendar!

 

Same here, everything on MVJ is now correct. I printed everything out so that I have a record.

[Lumpy1509]

Our first time with Viking and I was wondering about booking the included tours. We are travelling with friends of ours whom we recommended this cruise to and are wondering how to book the tours in tandem. We would like to be on the same tours together and if they get "sold out" early, how can we assure we get on the same tours; do we have to sit side by side and book them simultaneously as soon as we are able to? Seems a bit silly. After reading this thread I'm getting a little worried we won't be able to travel together on the tours as planned.

 

We are traveling as a party of six. Early on the morning our excursions became available we had a conference call and each booked the excursions on our own computer. We did the call in case one of us could not get the desired time we could all change time. We got every thing we wanted. Good luck!