My winter Mediterranean cruise is on sale but Viking won’t rebook at lower fare.

[Nippy Sweetie]

Yup Eaches. That's life!

[Aulanis]

Nippy Sweetie - I am surprise you havent mentioned

it so I will.

This cancelling or transferring is almost unheard of in the UK. We cant do it !!

Example- the Princess 3 for free was not offered outside US & Can Many on our cruise rebooked with these perks and even kept some they already had.

I really enjoyed reading how they had so much OBC they didnt know how they would spend it.:mad:

I asked Princess if as a token gesture we could have one of the 3 and the answer was No!. Tried again and they said the only way was to cancel and rebook which would cost big bucks here as deposits are

lost on rebooking.

[northdakota]

We will discuss this seriously as there are many reasons we want to try Viking: no casino, no children, port intensive, a real sauna and snow grotto, minimal entertainment, an infinity pool.........

Even if we decide to take this cruise over the other 2 that I found interesting to replace it, I would never early book on Viking again until this policy changed.

 

 

@HaveDogWillTravel

 

So, from your perspective, Viking is excellent if booked only last-minute...and with all the other reviews I've perused, take the Referral Program with a grain of salt?

Incredibly disappointed to hear, as I have been swooning over their World Cruise opportunity (and utilizing the referral program as well) for a very long time...

I, too, enjoy the idea of some of the atmosphere and amenity perks.

Torn to hear of your customer service experience, especially with the number of "options" they seem to provide... :loudcry:

Certainly expect superb customer service for the value ($, time, etc.) exchange...

[MBP&O2/O]

I looked at a cruise on the website ...

Book before a certain date for a certain offer ...

When you try to book, there are no prices for the cruise ... they will be released after the date the offer expires?

The last cruise I took, the company said that if the cruise price went down after you booked then your price would go down accordingly .... PROVIDING you asked .... it was not automatic.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Nippy Sweetie]

We certainly don't do this cancelling /transferring in UK. But flights are always included and I've mentioned our other benefits. We were happy with what we paid.

[Nippy Sweetie]

I realise I mentioned our other benefits on a different thread. We had silver drinks package and gratuities included and an upgrade as well as flights. Booked direct with Viking.

[roomiec]

HDWT...this is almost the exact situation we just experienced with Viking.

We were booked on the Oct 21 Beijing-Hong Kong and I noticed a new email from Viking with rates that were $1000 lower than what I had paid. Working with my TA, our response back from Viking was the same as yours...you're already booked, no discount available. I told my TA to cancel and rebook and, like you, was told

that would not be allowed.

Incredibly, my TA received a call with Viking reversing themselves. They would refund my deposit and accept a new reservation at the lower rate. I chose a bigger cabin at approx. what I was paying originally.

 

The irony of this whole experience is that I wound up cancelling Viking altogether and booking a Windstar cruise with basically the same itinerary(3 fewer days) at 1/2 the price.

 

Howard

[HaveDogWillTravel]

HDWT...this is almost the exact situation we just experienced with Viking.

We were booked on the Oct 21 Beijing-Hong Kong and I noticed a new email from Viking with rates that were $1000 lower than what I had paid. Working with my TA, our response back from Viking was the same as yours...you're already booked, no discount available. I told my TA to cancel and rebook and, like you, was told

that would not be allowed.

Incredibly, my TA received a call with Viking reversing themselves. They would refund my deposit and accept a new reservation at the lower rate. I chose a bigger cabin at approx. what I was paying originally.

 

The irony of this whole experience is that I wound up cancelling Viking altogether and booking a Windstar cruise with basically the same itinerary(3 fewer days) at 1/2 the price.

 

Howard

I find that Viking makes it just....too...much....work to get basic good customer business practices in place. I am more careful now to book only lines with best price guarantees. Also I had to really beg to get final payment moved from 14 months in advance of sail to 6 months. That’s not a policy I’m comfortable with when my other cruises are all final payment 3 months from sail away. Viking makes booking with them a very stressful experience.

I ultimately decided I did not want to have to go through this again should there be another price drop or promo. So I cancelled my 300 or so sq ft room on Viking and booked a 600 sq ft aft owners suite for 2/3 ‘s the price.

And I know if the price drops on my new cruise I will quite easily be able to get the new price without sacrificing any deposit or my carefully chosen cabin.

[roomiec]

On what ship did you rebook?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On what ship did you rebook?

We decided to go for a very low key, easy, no flight, warm weather cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Grand Princess out of San Francisco. A full aft owners suite on the Grand is like your own private resort. (all full suites are I just like this one) My laundry and professional cleaning services gets done same day for free. DH gets his shoes shined and jackets pressed.

 

We have Club Class Dining, which is true anytime dining with extra table side preparations offered nightly. Or I can order room service off the MDR menu for all 3 meals. But breakfast in Sabatini's with free champagne for suite guests is soooo good it's worth leaving the room for-once our waiter actually found some nutella and had a nutella crepe made for my DH when he mentioned he liked them. They even put out table cloths on the table on our massive balcony for meals. We like the wonderful fruit bowl that gets replenished with our favorites daily.

 

Between the free mini bar set up, the free champagne at breakfast, the low priced suite/elite cocktail hour (with quite nice free appetizers) before dinner every night we don't need to buy or bring much more alcohol on board. I usually bring a few bottles of white wine on board as Princess has a very low $15 corkage fee after the first two free bottles. And if DH feels like drinking those fun summer slush drinks all day Princess allows DH to get the beverage package even if I don't which not all lines allow.

 

I love the pillow menu and access to free DVD's. You get a VIP line at the customer service desk, so there is never a wait. Embarkation is easy with a VIP lounge and early boarding. Our stewards have always been fantastic, taking care of our every need. IOW's a full aft suite on the Grand or the Island Princess is, for me, a very reliable wonderful experience. We are going to try the Pacific Princess owners aft suite August 2019 for a UK cruise.

 

We are going the 10 days before the holidays so I will get the kid free (mostly) experience I was looking for on Viking. The aft pool is almost always under used as is the forward adult only sanctuary pool. If we get tired of looking at the wake we will book a day in the Sanctuary to look at the front view and get the lovely extra food and drink perks they offer.

 

We are going to do a mediterranean cruise in the shoulder season....looking at Azamara at the moment. But also Oceania, Crystal and Celebrity.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful time on whatever cruise they choose. :*

Edited April 2, 2018 by HaveDogWillTravel

[avalong]

So glad I read this thread. Viking's business practices appear draconian. I'd been seriously thinking about giving them a whirl, but not after reading about all their monkey business. Thank you, HaveDogWillTravel.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thank you for the information. I have always had good results working directly with the cruise line. It seems odd that a TA can make this happen but a customer cannot. I am going to call back today and see if maybe someone higher on the food chain can be of more assistance. I have been wanting to try Viking but this really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Good grief, me too! I was toying with dipping my foot into the Viking Ocean after being turned off of VIking River's business practices.

 

Please read the fine print on your booking. Mine says that any changes to a fare is considered a cancellation and will incur a penalty (which for me this far out is $200 and I am happy to pay). Moreover, it says that all cancelations must be done in writing so you can not do it over the phone and rebook your same room. ....

 

You have to cancel in writing? You mean physical paper in an envelope with a stamp on it? That's completely crazy, what a turn-off. And I'm with the rest of you--I've had two fare reductions on my September Seabourn cruise. Until final payment ( at the normal three months or so before the cruise, not a year!

[Heidi13]

We decided to go for a very low key, easy, no flight, warm weather cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Grand Princess out of San Francisco. A full aft owners suite on the Grand is like your own private resort. (all full suites are I just like this one) My laundry and professional cleaning services gets done same day for free. DH gets his shoes shined and jackets pressed.

 

We have Club Class Dining, which is true anytime dining with extra table side preparations offered nightly. Or I can order room service off the MDR menu for all 3 meals. But breakfast in Sabatini's with free champagne for suite guests is soooo good it's worth leaving the room for-once our waiter actually found some nutella and had a nutella crepe made for my DH when he mentioned he liked them. They even put out table cloths on the table on our massive balcony for meals. We like the wonderful fruit bowl that gets replenished with our favorites daily.

 

Between the free mini bar set up, the free champagne at breakfast, the low priced suite/elite cocktail hour (with quite nice free appetizers) before dinner every night we don't need to buy or bring much more alcohol on board. I usually bring a few bottles of white wine on board as Princess has a very low $15 corkage fee after the first two free bottles. And if DH feels like drinking those fun summer slush drinks all day Princess allows DH to get the beverage package even if I don't which not all lines allow.

 

I love the pillow menu and access to free DVD's. You get a VIP line at the customer service desk, so there is never a wait. Embarkation is easy with a VIP lounge and early boarding. Our stewards have always been fantastic, taking care of our every need. IOW's a full aft suite on the Grand or the Island Princess is, for me, a very reliable wonderful experience. We are going to try the Pacific Princess owners aft suite August 2019 for a UK cruise.

 

We are going the 10 days before the holidays so I will get the kid free (mostly) experience I was looking for on Viking. The aft pool is almost always under used as is the forward adult only sanctuary pool. If we get tired of looking at the wake we will book a day in the Sanctuary to look at the front view and get the lovely extra food and drink perks they offer.

 

We are going to do a mediterranean cruise in the shoulder season....looking at Azamara at the moment. But also Oceania, Crystal and Celebrity.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful time on whatever cruise they choose. :*

 

I hope your cruise with Princess is all as you describe. Unfortunately, with almost 40 years of both working for and cruising with Princess, we find their standards have dropped below what we consider acceptable. Our 2015 WC was our last Princess cruise. Being a Viking Board, I won't expand on specific experiences.

 

In researching up market/premium lines, we have settled on Viking for our 2020 WC. In our experience, to date, Viking customer service is exemplary. At our initial contact, the agent included $1000 pp extra OBC. When we had our TA complete the booking, the OBC was only as per their promotion. The TA questioned the change and within 24 hrs a Viking Manager approved the extra $2K, as it was their error. This is vastly superior to the customer service experience with Princess, post our 2015 WC. Full payment is now 6 months before departure, which for us is a minor difference.

 

Yes, the Viking base rate is substantially higher than the Princess rate for a balcony cabin that is almost twice the size of the Princess equivalent cabin. However, with the benefits Viking are providing (virtually all-inclusive) the per-diem rate will be equivalent or slightly less than our 2015 WC.

 

If the base fare is reduced prior to departure, do we expect to receive a reduction. Would be nice, but frankly - No! By booking this cruise 18 months out we have found an itinerary at a cost we find acceptable, so have entered into a contract. Likewise, if the price increase, we don't expect to pay more. We routinely book early to get cabins with the least movement in a seaway (DW has motion sickness). Booking later, we may get a reduced price, but probably get a cabin at extreme fwd or aft ends of the ship, where movement due to pitching is worst, or above an entertainment venue.

 

From all our research, I truly believe Viking will be a good fit for us and I hope you enjoy your upcoming Princess Cruise.

[eylarson]

The Jan 2019 World Cruise also had a price reduction, considerable as you might imagine. My response from Viking-

"Thank you for your recent email.

At this time we are not offering pricing promotions and or incentives to passengers whom are already booked under deposit.

If you have other general questions please advise.

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises"

[philw1776]

The Jan 2019 World Cruise also had a price reduction, considerable as you might imagine. My response from Viking-

"Thank you for your recent email.

At this time we are not offering pricing promotions and or incentives to passengers whom are already booked under deposit.

If you have other general questions please advise.

 

Kind regards,

 

Viking Cruises"

 

That is Viking's policy and their prerogative.

My BIG issue with Viking corporate in LA is that last June I booked Med Odyssey onboard my Ocean cruise because they offered $400 per person discount. Here's the problem. The onboard Viking sales guy said that my October cruise date would not be released to the public for another week, still June, so he had to call LA for pricing. No problem. He quoted us at the price to be released and I booked.

Problem: a week later the released price was $500 per person less. I paid more than anyone else on the cruise.

I contacted Viking for a fix.

Despite emails and phone calls Viking obtusely kept refusing quoting their policy that they do not offer promotional discounts to people already booked. I was not looking for a promotional discount. I was looking for the June list price I was promised by Viking. I was quoted a wrong price onboard.

[Vineyard View]

HaveDogWillTravel- I too hope you have a wonderful time on Princess. Having cruised both in the past few years, I must say there is no comparison between the two. We will sail Princess if it means joining others in the family and it is a very short trip - but we know going in to reset our expectations. Yes, living on the west coast makes all their coastal offerings very uncomplicated and easier than planes and long distances. I totally agree with that portion. However Princess is NOT the quality on all levels that Viking is. I hope as Viking expands that they will enhance and expand their Western America Coast offerings.

I also would know going in that the comparison of the Mediterranean vs Mexico would be vastly different experiences.

All that said, I also recognize the vast advantages of sailing In upper end suite cabins that most certainly shields you from many of the main line issues. We all have our happy places, and they are not all the same nor is one right or wrong. Enjoy your vacation!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

HaveDogWillTravel- I too hope you have a wonderful time on Princess. Having cruised both in the past few years, I must say there is no comparison between the two. We will sail Princess if it means joining others in the family and it is a very short trip - but we know going in to reset our expectations. Yes, living on the west coast makes all their coastal offerings very uncomplicated and easier than planes and long distances. I totally agree with that portion. However Princess is NOT the quality on all levels that Viking is. I hope as Viking expands that they will enhance and expand their Western America Coast offerings.

I also would know going in that the comparison of the Mediterranean vs Mexico would be vastly different experiences.

All that said, I also recognize the vast advantages of sailing In upper end suite cabins that most certainly shields you from many of the main line issues. We all have our happy places, and they are not all the same nor is one right or wrong. Enjoy your vacation!

Thank you for the kind words. I will sail on Viking someday when I am able to take advantage of a last minute deal as I am sure I would love it. I agree they are a step above for all passengers, regardless of cabin category, in many areas.

In my experience, on Princess, the level of cabin absolutely changes your experience. I just took a Princess cruise in a regular balcony with a girlfriend who wanted to spend a bit less than I am willing to pay. I will never sail in anything under a full suite again. If one's only experience on Princess is in a cabin other than a full suite, I completely agree, the experience is lacking. You are correct that sailing in the full suite insulates you from the issues other might have.

At the moment, Celebrity and Princess are making me happy but I always look at the Viking sales so I will recognize the "deal" you can't say no to when I see it.

Happy cruising to all!