viking air

[CCJack]

I accidentally posted this under river cruise ports, so I am re-posting here...

 

 

We booked a Viking cruise through a TA. The air fare through Viking is $595 so we bought that. TA says we can upgrade to custom air (air plus) for $50 to have more control over our flights. I think it is worth $50 for that. However, my TA also said that they could add an "add collect" surcharge with the custom air in addition to the $50. This is if they (Viking) cannot negotiate the flights you want for $595, then they charge you the difference. TA also said this "add collect" charge rarely happens - they can usually do it for the $50 only. So I don't really understand. Flights form the U.S. to Europe can easily be more than $1000 and I don't want to pay an extra $500, it is worth $50 but not $500. Has anyone had experience with this? I booked without the air plus for now but TA said we can add that later. We are more than a year out and cannot book flights now anyway.

[patrickmoran]

We haved used Viking Air for our 3 river cruises. We have never used Air Plus. The flights assigned worked well. Of course the air was free for 2 and $100 pp for 1 cruise. Great deals!

I don't think you have to decide on Air Plus now. I believe you can opt for it when you get your flight schedule.

Edited January 24, 2017 by patrickmoran

[tjb19841987]

We used Air Plus for our November '16 cruise and were happy with the included options provided. We booked a flight that carried no additional fee beyond the $50 pp. For our November '17 cruise, we didn't love the options that were offered without an additional charge-- long layovers, undesirably early departures, etc. We selected a non-stop flight Viking was offering for an additional $168 pp. To us, that seemed worth it.

[MikeyB]

You do not opt for it when you get your flight schedule. By then, it is to late.

 

You don't disclose your location, so I cannot guess as to the number of flights that might be available.

I took the Air Plus because I wanted to lock down the flight earlier than 75 days from sailing.

I looked at expedia to see who was flying and when and then contacted Viking. MY first choice was going to be a small upcharge. I said no. MY second choice was just as good and there was no upcharge.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. But for $50 pp I would take it and ask Viking when would be the earliest you could call to make the air arrangements.

[CCJack]

thanks for the advice. I think we will go ahead and pay the $50 for air plus. We are leaving from Detroit, so likely they will book us on Delta or Air France.

 

I just wanted to make sure we don't pay $50 to have the "benefit" of paying $1500 instead of $595 in a worst case scenario. I would guess that even if you pay the $50 you could always revert back to the standard $595 already paid and get whatever they book you on (understanding you don't get the $50 back.)

 

I would also like to upgrade to economy comfort and I think I would have better chance to do that if we book 300 days in advance rather than 30 days.

[Bill'sBride]

Sorry for the late reply, but here us my experience. I have booked 3 times with Air Plus, and glad I do it that way. When I call to book I tell them exactly what flights I want (I research what works best for me, and I always prefer KLM or Air France). They tell you on the phone when you give them your preferred flights if they are within the cost you paid.

 

 

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[zitsky]

I've used Viking Air twice, last year and this year. Both times I've paid the $50 to hand pick flights. Last year I wanted to go with United which would have meant more segments. Viking actually found better flights on American with fewer connections so it worked out well. This year Viking picked a flight with a short connection, so I purposely asked them for different flights with longer connections. I actually prefer that. And Viking came back and gave us the flights we wanted.

[knoxclone]

I think Viking Air works well if you are leaving from major hub or flying one of their contracted airlines.

 

However, in my experience, for both of our cruises, we were unable to take advantage of any of the air promotions unless we we would accept multiple connections - before we ever got close to crossing over the Atlantic...or unless we paid the United upcharge of $595 pp =$200 deviation fee+50 pp Viking Air plus fee :(

 

So we opted to booked air separately and actually got better connections and a slightly lower fare.

[alexkrn46]

We have paid the $50 and told Viking Air our preference, never been denied. We have done this three different trips. Our daughter who does not live near a major hub had to make 2-3 connections, but they were the flights she choose. We feel it is best $50 you can spend.

[zitsky]

I did get denied on one of my choices, but I picked something else which I was happy with. Seems like leaving from BUD is so complicated.

[$hip$hape]

We haved used Viking Air for our 3 river cruises. We have never used Air Plus.

The flights assigned worked well. Of course the air was free for 2 and $100 pp for 1 cruise. Great deals!

I don't think you have to decide on Air Plus now. I believe you can opt for it when you get your flight schedule.

 

I think Viking Air works well if you are leaving from major hub or flying one of their contracted airlines.

 

However, in my experience, for both of our cruises, we were unable to take advantage of any of the air promotions

unless we we would accept multiple connections - before we ever got close to crossing over the Atlantic...or unless we paid the

United upcharge of $595 pp =$200 deviation fee

+50 pp Viking Air plus fee :(

 

So we opted to booked air separately and actually got better connections and a slightly lower fare.

I'm following this thread since we have a another Viking Cruise October, 2017.

I think giving 50 extra bucks to Viking is a scam.

For our last Viking Cruise, we took the flights offered, then followed them closely.

As Soon As Possible, I upgraded WITH DELTA AIRLINES to gain better seats.(Soon after, all the best seats were taken).

Yes, if you do nothing, you may end up with "seats in the back of the bus"(plane).

Viking does NOT care: they only guarantee that you will have a seat on the plane.

More later.:)

Edited January 30, 2017 by $hip$hape

[zitsky]

I'm following this thread since we have a another Viking Cruise October, 2017.

I think giving 50 extra bucks to Viking is a scam.

For our last Viking Cruise, we took the flights offered, then followed them closely.

As Soon As Possible, I upgraded WITH DELTA AIRLINES to gain better seats.(Soon after, all the best seats were taken).

Yes, if you do nothing, you may end up with "seats in the back of the bus"(plane).

Viking does NOT care: they only guarantee that you will have a seat on the plane.

More later.:)

 

Did you upgrade to Comfort Plus or Business class?

 

Look at it this way... if you get a discount of $1,000 on your flight, as we did from our TA, paying $50 per person to choose flights isn't a bad deal. I know we got a discount b/c I called Viking directly and compared prices.

[$hip$hape]

Did you upgrade to Comfort Plus or Business class?

 

Look at it this way... if you get a discount of $1,000 on your flight, as we did from our TA, paying $50 per person to choose flights isn't a bad deal.

I know we got a discount b/c I called Viking directly and compared prices.

 

From Delta's advertisement...

"Find the upgraded experience you’re looking for in Delta Comfort+"

We did Delta's Comfort Plus and were happy with our choice.

 

I'm saying, do some investigating.

Everyone's case may be different.:)

[Bruin Steve]

We (just a few minutes ago) booked a Viking River Cruise on the Danube for July 2018...

In speaking to my TA, when the subject of air came up, I decided to just roll the dice and go with whatever Viking comes up with.

 

We cruised once before with Viking--in China...and we just let them pick the flights that time...and did fairly well. We live near LAX, so that, of course, makes things a bit simpler. Viking came up with flights for us that went nonstop LAX-Beijing on the way there, then Hong Kong-Beijing, short layover, then Beijing-LAX...all at very good times.

 

I asked my TA if it may get a bit more complicated going from LAX to Prague and back to LAX from Bucharest as I don't know of too many direct flights between those cities. I am accustomed to making one stop--usually JFK or Heathrow, maybe Frankfurt, to go to places in Europe but was afraid of getting one of those schedules where you make 3 intermediate stops and it takes about 48 hours with lengthy layovers. My TA assured me that Viking has every incentive NOT to do that...They want to get you to the ship and keep you happy...

 

So, not sure I am really going to do much better finding flights on my own, I'll go with whatever Viking finds...We'll relax when we get there...

[goldenrod]

We usually use our air miles to fly business but it's not always easy, and usually long layovers so we opted for Viking Air on this trip flying business class we fly to Amsterdam from Phoenix and back to Phoenix from Bucharest the flights are on Delta with very short layovers. Because we have a suite booked on Viking the Business class round trip is $1995 per person, I priced out the flights if we booked it ourselves and it was almost $9000 per person, so that's a savings of $14,000 very pleased! We leave in April.

PS that also includes all transfers from Viking.

 

 

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Edited February 2, 2017 by goldenrod

[zitsky]

We usually use our air miles to fly business but it's not always easy, and usually long layovers so we opted for Viking Air on this trip flying business class we fly to Amsterdam from Phoenix and back to Phoenix from Bucharest the flights are on Delta with very short layovers. Because we have a suite booked on Viking the Business class round trip is $1995 per person, I priced out the flights if we booked it ourselves and it was almost $9000 per person, so that's a savings of $14,000 very pleased! We leave in April.

PS that also includes all transfers from Viking.

 

It's really tempting to pay for business class. I enjoy it but my partner has convinced me to fly in coach the last few trips. It would be $4,000 for both of us. That's money we can spend on the trip itself. Oh well. I sure do miss sitting at the front of the plane.

 

How long are your connections I wonder? I went with long ones on our trip this year. I could have gone through Amsterdam with just 70 minute connection but I decided to change to a different flight.

[purduemom1]

We usually use our air miles to fly business but it's not always easy, and usually long layovers so we opted for Viking Air on this trip flying business class we fly to Amsterdam from Phoenix and back to Phoenix from Bucharest the flights are on Delta with very short layovers. Because we have a suite booked on Viking the Business class round trip is $1995 per person, I priced out the flights if we booked it ourselves and it was almost $9000 per person, so that's a savings of $14,000 very pleased! We leave in April.

PS that also includes all transfers from Viking.

 

 

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That's quite a savings! Delta doesn't operate any flights from Bucharest in April, however. Must be on a code share?

[goldenrod]

That's quite a savings! Delta doesn't operate any flights from Bucharest in April, however. Must be on a code share?

 

 

Yes I think it's KLM to Amsterdam

 

 

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[goldenrod]

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Edited February 2, 2017 by goldenrod

[goldenrod]

It's really tempting to pay for business class. I enjoy it but my partner has convinced me to fly in coach the last few trips. It would be $4,000 for both of us. That's money we can spend on the trip itself. Oh well. I sure do miss sitting at the front of the plane.

 

 

 

How long are your connections I wonder? I went with long ones on our trip this year. I could have gone through Amsterdam with just 70 minute connection but I decided to change to a different flight.

 

 

Going 3 hrs in Heathrow, coming home 2 hrs in Amsterdam and 3 in Minnesota, but we love those business class lounges!

 

 

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[twototravel]

Just had the worst, and most frustrating phone conversation with Viking regarding our upcoming trip in Nov. I was asking when we would have our air reservations (just the reservations not the ticketing) and the woman said they don't even make reservations until 90-75 days out from departure date. Since we got a special air rate with our river cruise, I am not expecting much but I would like to ensure our departure airport is the one closest to our home. The woman said she couldn't even look up our trip to see what our departure airport is listed as without our booking number which I didn't have on hand. I don't remember anyone asking me when I booked about what airport we wanted to depart from. She said she couldn't look it up by our last name, etc. Very strange and absolutely not helpful.

[Bruin Steve]

Just had the worst, and most frustrating phone conversation with Viking regarding our upcoming trip in Nov. I was asking when we would have our air reservations (just the reservations not the ticketing) and the woman said they don't even make reservations until 90-75 days out from departure date. Since we got a special air rate with our river cruise, I am not expecting much but I would like to ensure our departure airport is the one closest to our home. The woman said she couldn't even look up our trip to see what our departure airport is listed as without our booking number which I didn't have on hand. I don't remember anyone asking me when I booked about what airport we wanted to depart from. She said she couldn't look it up by our last name, etc. Very strange and absolutely not helpful.

 

IIRC, Viking's "included" US Gateway airports are:

 

Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, New York, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C.

 

...which would likely mean they would have you flying out of Atlanta or Orlando--if you took their standard deal. If you had requested, say, Jacksonville, I'd assume they would have quoted you the deal price with an "add-on" charge.

 

Did you book this directly with Viking or through a travel agent? When you made the booking, did you not discuss the gateway airport?

 

I think what you should do is either to look at your booking confirmation...mine, for example, clearly states:

 

"Air Arrangements

Air Price: $1,595.00

Air Discount: (1,000.00)

Air Total: $595.00

Economy- Departing 14Jul LAX-PRG

Economy- Returning 28Jul OTP-LAX"

 

Or, if you can't find this, I'd call Viking and ask them what is noted ON MY BOOKING...

NOT what my air arrangements are...Since they don't make the actual arrangements until much closer to the date, you are confusing them by asking it in that way.

BUT, by asking them to merely look up your booking and confirming your departure airport, that is something they should be able to do easily. Yes, you may have to know your booking number when you call. I take it you received some sort of confirmation when you booked, correct?

[twototravel]

IIRC, Viking's "included" US Gateway airports are:

 

Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, New York, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C.

 

...which would likely mean they would have you flying out of Atlanta or Orlando--if you took their standard deal. If you had requested, say, Jacksonville, I'd assume they would have quoted you the deal price with an "add-on" charge.

 

Did you book this directly with Viking or through a travel agent? When you made the booking, did you not discuss the gateway airport?

 

I think what you should do is either to look at your booking confirmation...mine, for example, clearly states:

 

"Air Arrangements

Air Price: $1,595.00

Air Discount: (1,000.00)

Air Total: $595.00

Economy- Departing 14Jul LAX-PRG

Economy- Returning 28Jul OTP-LAX"

 

Or, if you can't find this, I'd call Viking and ask them what is noted ON MY BOOKING...

NOT what my air arrangements are...Since they don't make the actual arrangements until much closer to the date, you are confusing them by asking it in that way.

BUT, by asking them to merely look up your booking and confirming your departure airport, that is something they should be able to do easily. Yes, you may have to know your booking number when you call. I take it you received some sort of confirmation when you booked, correct?

 

Bruin Steve --- I do have a booking number but didn't have it handy when I called. My point is more that the Viking person was unable or unwilling to look up my account and tell me what my departure airport is. This is our third trip with Viking and after this experience, I think we'll stick with the other river cruise companies that without any extra money, they will work with you on your air itinerary.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Bruin Steve --- I do have a booking number but didn't have it handy when I called. My point is more that the Viking person was unable or unwilling to look up my account and tell me what my departure airport is. This is our third trip with Viking and after this experience, I think we'll stick with the other river cruise companies that without any extra money, they will work with you on your air itinerary.

 

For another point of view on this: I remember a thread on another forum recently where the poster was very upset that her cruise line had been willing to give out information to her nosy mother. Viking is protecting you from that sort of prying by requiring your booking number.

[goldenrod]

Viking should not give out any information about your booking unless you have your booking number. No exceptions!

 

 

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