Change to payment arrangements ?

[Little Monty]

This has just been posted on another forum …. quote "So this is what I have received in writing from Viking.
In the past clients could negotiate the final payment date up to 6 months prior to departure. There has been a recent change on this. For new bookings made as of November 1st 2018 (or for existing bookings that revise to a different cruise after November 1st 2018), the final payment date can only be negotiated up to 12 months prior to departure the latest. This is fair across the board in that all customers (all travel agencies as well as passengers that book direct with Viking) can only negotiate up to 12 months prior now." end quote. The OP is US based so I am not sure if she is suggesting this is a world wide change. There has been no change to the terms and conditions showing in the Viking Ocean Australian website. Another US based poster added to the earlier quote "Same thing happened to me yesterday. I was also disappointed. Thought it would give me more time to pay it off if I booked early. The person I spoke to said this is their new rule and no supervisor can override it. They want my 2020 April cruise paid in full by April 2019."

Edited November 2, 2018 by Little Monty
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[Heidi13]

Viking Canada still states final payment is due 90 days before departure, although earlier payment is required for special promotions and cruises > 35 days.

[Pushka]

Still 120 days out here in Australia. Hope that stays. 

[travelingman]

Question I have is whether this change to 12 month final payment date will make you consider using another  cruise line?

[Peregrina651]

I just e-mailed my TA to ask her to confirm this information. Until I hear from her--or from Viking, I'm withholding judgement.

[terrydtx]

6 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

I just e-mailed my TA to ask her to confirm this information. Until I hear from her--or from Viking, I'm withholding judgement.

I agree and if this is true our first  VO 2020 cruise may be our last with VO. There is no way I will give any cruise company over  $12,000 to hold for 12 months.  Sounds like very poor judgement call by someone at Viking if this becomes the new payment rule.

[CILCIANRQTS]

10 hours ago, travelingman said:

Question I have is whether this change to 12 month final payment date will make you consider using another  cruise line?

 

Absolutely!

If I buy a car, I don’t have to pay it off in full one year before I take possession.

If I buy a house, I don’t have to pay in full one year before I move in.

This is massive arrogance on the part of Viking. There are too many good alternatives out there to put up with this.

Obviously a decision made by a bean-counter, not a marketing person!

👎😡🍅

[terrydtx]

At 12 months out you can't confirm airfare or flights for the cruise. What happens if you do not get the itinerary from Viking Air that you want after you have already made the final payment? 

[terrydtx]

Here is what is as of today what the USA Viking web site shows under payment terms. Nothing about 12 month prepayment.

 

Payment Policy

A deposit for cruise/land of $500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation for a cruise. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The final balance is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing but special promotions may require an earlier payment. Exceptions to this Payment Policy apply for cruise tours more than 35 days, including Viking’s World & Grand Cruises. Contact your travel agent or Viking for details.

Also the cancellation terms are the same

a. Cancellation Fee Schedule Effective for Cruise Tours (other than World & Grand Cruises) booked on and after August 1, 2018:

1. In the event of cancellations actually received by us 120 days or more prior to the scheduled departure, a refund of all amounts already paid to us will be made, less a cancellation fee of $100 per person;

Edited November 3, 2018 by terrydtx

[mittenscat23]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Here is what is as of today what the USA Viking web site shows under payment terms. Nothing about 12 month prepayment.

 

Payment Policy

A deposit for cruise/land of $500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation for a cruise. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The final balance is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing but special promotions may require an earlier payment. Exceptions to this Payment Policy apply for cruise tours more than 35 days, including Viking’s World & Grand Cruises. Contact your travel agent or Viking for details.

Also the cancellation terms are the same

a. Cancellation Fee Schedule Effective for Cruise Tours (other than World & Grand Cruises) booked on and after August 1, 2018:

1. In the event of cancellations actually received by us 120 days or more prior to the scheduled departure, a refund of all amounts already paid to us will be made, less a cancellation fee of $100 per person;

This is exactly what we found.  We took advantage of an air promotion (actually I think everything winds up as a promotion) and we paid in full 6 months in advance.

[twodjs]

I feel it's a slap in the face for the very loyal Viking Ocean following. We paid 6 months ahead and I thought that was excessive. Now they want $20,000 a year ahead! What could possibly be their logic? Are they expanding too rapidly and need the cash? Does any other cruise line require this? I guess if there isn't a pushback, they'll get their wish. I'm happy to be a squeaky wheel.

[terrydtx]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 11:12 AM, twodjs said:

I feel it's a slap in the face for the very loyal Viking Ocean following. We paid 6 months ahead and I thought that was excessive. Now they want $20,000 a year ahead! What could possibly be their logic? Are they expanding too rapidly and need the cash? Does any other cruise line require this? I guess if there isn't a pushback, they'll get their wish. I'm happy to be a squeaky wheel.

No way I would give them over 20K to use 12 months before the cruise. I will look at other Luxury Cruise lines before I book another VO cruise, if this policy doesn't change. Anyone know how this compares to lines like Seabourn, Silver seas, Regent, Azamara and Oceania?

[Scooterboy515]

On 11/3/2018 at 9:56 AM, terrydtx said:

Here is what is as of today what the USA Viking web site shows under payment terms. Nothing about 12 month prepayment.

 

Payment Policy

A deposit for cruise/land of $500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation for a cruise. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The final balance is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing but special promotions may require an earlier payment. Exceptions to this Payment Policy apply for cruise tours more than 35 days, including Viking’s World & Grand Cruises. Contact your travel agent or Viking for details.

Also the cancellation terms are the same

a. Cancellation Fee Schedule Effective for Cruise Tours (other than World & Grand Cruises) booked on and after August 1, 2018:

1. In the event of cancellations actually received by us 120 days or more prior to the scheduled departure, a refund of all amounts already paid to us will be made, less a cancellation fee of $100 per person;

It is not the same today!

[philw1776]

19 hours ago, terrydtx said:

No way I would give them over 20K to use 12 months before the cruise. I will look at other Luxury Cruise lines before I book another VO cruise, if this policy doesn't change. Anyone know how this compares to lines like Seabourn, Silver seas, Regent, Azamara and Oceania?

 

Yes.  Just paid 100% 16 months in advance to Silversea for an Alaska cruise.

Got 5% off.  Got the cabin we wanted.

[RDC1]

The terms and condition page now says this under payment policy.

 

 

Payment Policy

A deposit for cruise/land of $500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation for a cruise. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The final balance is due based on offer at time of booking. Contact your travel agent or Viking for details. All reservations are subject to cancellation without notice if payments are not received by the due dates. ...

 

It appears that they are no longer stating the shortest final payment date on the US website.

[RDC1]

3 hours ago, philw1776 said:

 

Yes.  Just paid 100% 16 months in advance to Silversea for an Alaska cruise.

Got 5% off.  Got the cabin we wanted.

You paid early to get the 5% off, many travel companies do that.  However, what is the timing of their final full payment date if one did not want to take advantage of the deal?

[RetroRod]

I called Viking on Nov 5 to register my objection to the new policy I read about on CC requiring full payment 12 months in advance of sailing date. The Viking TA confirmed that as of Nov 1, 2018 that was the new corporate policy. I told him I was considering a 2020 cruise but I wasn't going to cruise Viking if that was the policy. He said he was recording my concerns for management review.   I also let him know there was a lot of discussion on CC about this new policy and that Viking needs to read what consumers are talking about. The most interesting comment he made was Viking changed the policy because they are building new ships and needed to finance the effort! I guess you can look at it as more ships will equal more passengers and possibly lower cruise fares. Right, like that will happen

[twodjs]

I talked to my Viking rep. today to express my displeasure with their new policy. He explained that the new policy pertains to payment for the "special " pricing - you can choose to pay 90 days prior to the cruise if you choose their regular price. I asked him who would ever pay the normal price - since I've always seen it listed at twice the sale price. Well, as of Oct. 1 their pricing structure is completely different. The new typical special price is about $500 less than the normal price (which has been greally reduced to a much more realistic level). With the revised price structure, during a strong economy, you could make more on your money by waiting to pay 90 days prior. But with the current U.S. economy (hate to say this) it looks like the better deal is the discounted rate paying in full a year ahead. So forgive my knee-jerk reaction to their policy change. (during our conversation, I did suggest a go-fund-me page to build their new ships if they want to use people's money with no interest. )

[Steve Q]

We were on our first Viking cruise in June 2018. While onboard we booked a June 2019 sailing of In the Midnight Sun. Our final payment is due this December. I cannot imagine paying in full one year in advance. We loved our first Viking cruise, but paying $16,000 a year in advance is something we will not accept.

[lackcreativity]

2 hours ago, twodjs said:

I talked to my Viking rep. today to express my displeasure with their new policy. He explained that the new policy pertains to payment for the "special " pricing - you can choose to pay 90 days prior to the cruise if you choose their regular price. I asked him who would ever pay the normal price - since I've always seen it listed at twice the sale price. Well, as of Oct. 1 their pricing structure is completely different. The new typical special price is about $500 less than the normal price (which has been greally reduced to a much more realistic level). With the revised price structure, during a strong economy, you could make more on your money by waiting to pay 90 days prior. But with the current U.S. economy (hate to say this) it looks like the better deal is the discounted rate paying in full a year ahead. So forgive my knee-jerk reaction to their policy change. (during our conversation, I did suggest a go-fund-me page to build their new ships if they want to use people's money with no interest. )

We have paid the full balance well in advance for all four of our cruises, suspecting that they were doing so as a means of financing the expansion into ocean cruising. Waiting to book until closer to a sailing date may allow you to hold your money longer, but at least for now, it will greatly limit your choices of cruises and cabins. We book the Veranda cabins, which always fill quickly, and so will continue book early and pay at the required one year mark. In actuality, that will be later than we have paid for our other cruises.

 

Currently, there is a Viking Ocean cruise in April of 2020 that already has the four least expensive cabins completely booked, so I am out of luck. There is one in February of 2021 that appeals, but that is too far out for me to really consider. I look forward to more Viking ships in hopes of more itineraries and more cabins.

[ArtsyCraftsy]

Just booked my first Viking Oceans cruise about an hour ago, and came here to get info -- and this as the first topic I saw.  

 

I'm new to cruising in general (3 cruises so far, 2 on Holland America, 1 on Regent) and I travel solo, so I wasn't sure if VO's "final payment date" policy I encountered was because I was a new customer or booking for single occupancy or what.

 

I just booked a back-to-back cruise on the Orion: Vancouver to Seward, AK to Vancouver, August 4-24, 2020 (20 days).  I was told that the final payment date for my August 4-24, 2020 cruise was December 5, 2018 -- 20 months in advance.  For a 20-day cruise?!?  To Alaska??!??  

 

When I objected to laying out over $29K that far in advance, the VO cruise consultant on the phone put me on hold, talked to someone else, and got the final payment date advanced to August 1, 2019 -- 12 months prior to the cruise, saying that was the best they could do.  I came close to walking away from the trip, but I really like cruising to Alaska in the summer, the itinerary includes one port I haven't visited yet, and friends have been encouraging me to "try Viking!" because I liked Regent, so I went ahead and booked it.

 

Someone asked about final payment dates for other luxury lines.  I'm also booked on a 131-day World Cruise on Regent Seven Seas (Jan 24 - Jun 4, 2020) -- final payment date is 28 July, 2019 -- almost 6 months prior.  I'm booked on another Regent cruise -- 68 days Grand Cape Horn Adventure (circumnavigation of South America including 10 days on the Amazon), October 29, 2020 - Jan 5, 2021 -- final payment is June 1, 2020, almost 5 months in advance.  Holland America expects final payment 3 months in advance for a 28-day Hawaii-Tahiti-Marquesas trip as well as a 35-day Incan Empires cruise in 2019.  

 

I can almost understand paying further in advance for longer cruises (> 45 days or so), but this may be my last VO cruise if this policy holds.  There's no way I'd book a World Cruise with a 12-month lead time final payment date, let alone 20 months.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

 

 

[Jim Avery]

I do not like the early pay either but all the cruise lines now require earlier final pay than just a few years ago.  If this new Viking policy impacts bookings I suspect they will roll it back a bit but regardless this is the trend in the cruise industry.  For better or for worse they seem to follow the airlines business model.  Back in the "Good Ole Days" of flying, you could book several different times of travel and just show up for the one that worked out.  No pre pay, no fees.  Now you can easily spend $10K or more on two Biz or First Class tix overseas and the minute you hit purchase tickets your money is gone, non refundable, unless you pay exorbitant fees for a "flexible fare".  Don't like it but it is what it is.  We normally book 6 months or less from departure anyway but are learning that Viking is booking up at an amazing rate.  Viking is the only cruise line I know of that sold out their first world cruise entirely as a WC, no segments.  We booked that one 8 months out and got one of 6 remaining cabins.  Final pay for that was at the 6 month mark.  Viking suits us very well as they currently operate onboard.  Viking treats passengers as adults with minimal charges onboard.  Beverages are reasonable either pay as you go or buy the package.  If you find a nice bottle of wine or brandy on a shore excursion you are free to bring it onboard without trying to "smuggle" it on like a kid. One thing I would suggest to Viking is that with their quality onboard product and at this price point I feel adding daily "gratuities" is a bit tacky.  Enforced gratuities are not tips, they are a tax.  On the WC they were included so not a problem and we tipped our three different cabin attendants as well as three fave bartenders as they were rotating ashore.  Viking Oceans shore management can be a bit heavy handed and seem to be earning while they are learning but the onboard staff is as good as it gets.  Can't wait to return to the Viking Sun, even if we have to pay like an airline.......

[Heidi13]

14 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

I do not like the early pay either but all the cruise lines now require earlier final pay than just a few years ago.  If this new Viking policy impacts bookings I suspect they will roll it back a bit but regardless this is the trend in the cruise industry.  For better or for worse they seem to follow the airlines business model.  Back in the "Good Ole Days" of flying, you could book several different times of travel and just show up for the one that worked out.  No pre pay, no fees.  Now you can easily spend $10K or more on two Biz or First Class tix overseas and the minute you hit purchase tickets your money is gone, non refundable, unless you pay exorbitant fees for a "flexible fare".  Don't like it but it is what it is.  We normally book 6 months or less from departure anyway but are learning that Viking is booking up at an amazing rate.  Viking is the only cruise line I know of that sold out their first world cruise entirely as a WC, no segments.  We booked that one 8 months out and got one of 6 remaining cabins.  Final pay for that was at the 6 month mark.  Viking suits us very well as they currently operate onboard.  Viking treats passengers as adults with minimal charges onboard.  Beverages are reasonable either pay as you go or buy the package.  If you find a nice bottle of wine or brandy on a shore excursion you are free to bring it onboard without trying to "smuggle" it on like a kid. One thing I would suggest to Viking is that with their quality onboard product and at this price point I feel adding daily "gratuities" is a bit tacky.  Enforced gratuities are not tips, they are a tax.  On the WC they were included so not a problem and we tipped our three different cabin attendants as well as three fave bartenders as they were rotating ashore.  Viking Oceans shore management can be a bit heavy handed and seem to be earning while they are learning but the onboard staff is as good as it gets.  Can't wait to return to the Viking Sun, even if we have to pay like an airline.......

Jim - excellent points regarding airlines, who as you indicate have required payment in full at time of booking, for way too many years. Back in the 70's, I recall BA operated a shuttle from Glasgow to London - flights every hour, just turn up, pay on board and guaranteed a seat. Don't think we will ever return to that level of service.

 

If it's a choice between Viking and a mega ship mainstream line, guess I'm paying 12 mo before departure.

[terrydtx]

So from what has been said here, Viking is using its customers for 0% financing of the cost for new ships. I still do not know if I would want to loan them my money at 0% interest.

 

Has the final date for cancellation with a full refund (less $100 booking fee) also been changed to 12 months out?

Edited November 8, 2018 by terrydtx

[Jim Avery]

8 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Jim - excellent points regarding airlines, who as you indicate have required payment in full at time of booking, for way too many years. Back in the 70's, I recall BA operated a shuttle from Glasgow to London - flights every hour, just turn up, pay on board and guaranteed a seat. Don't think we will ever return to that level of service.

 

If it's a choice between Viking and a mega ship mainstream line, guess I'm paying 12 mo before departure.

Ah, the Good Ole Days Andy.  One benefit of getting old and busted is you remember when traveling was built around the wants and needs of the traveler.  Getting there really was half the fun. (to steal Cunard's tag line from back then).  So many people traveling these days, travel companies don't necessarily need to "be nice", just harvest as many of them as you can......