When can you book optional shore excursions on Viking? And when do you pay?

[Turtles06]

For those of you who have recently taken a river cruise with Viking in Europe: when can you book optional shore excursions (the ones that are not included with the cruise fare and cost extra)? Can you book them pre-cruise? And, if so, do you pay for them at the time you book?

 

Also, if you have OBC (e.g., from a travel agent), can you use the OBC to pay for things in advance, or can it only be used on board? (Some ocean cruise lines now allow you to use OBC to pay for things booked prior to the cruise, which is why I ask.)

 

I am sure I can call Viking for the answers, but it's the July 4th holiday and I am hoping to get this information now for a potential booking in the next couple of days.

 

Many thanks for any information! (Any Happy July Fourth to those celebrating!)

[CarolynFH]

Yes, you can book pre-cruise via the website after a certain time (weeks/months, can’t remember) before the cruise. You pay at time of booking but can cancel up to a week or so before departure.

 

We didn’t have any OBC, so I can’t answer that one of your questions.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Karen_Travels]

It seemed like most of the excursions were listed on the My Viking website by 2-3 months before the cruise. Then you pay online. Excursion information is probably available for most ports right after you sign up for the cruise but they add more later so it is good to avoid signing up super early. I've never heard of anyone having trouble getting the excursions they wanted on Viking River so there is no rush to sign up. Just make sure you sign up at least a couple of days before the tour is scheduled to begin (although earlier is better!).

We haven't used OBC for excursions. I've seen people say that they were not allowed to use OBC to book optional excursions until they were on the ship. A couple of people said they were able to work something out with Viking ahead of time but that might have been Viking Ocean rather than River or there could have been special circumstances. Being able to spend OBC ahead of time does appear to be an exception, at most.