Advice needed :)

[Harmon10]

We are set with a Cruise May 16 of 2021.  I am not sure if I should move to 2022… I would not be able to get same month, because of family obligations, but I I could pick another month.  I wasn’t sure if I should just wait and see if Viking cancels, then move? This is our first Viking cruise.  Thank you for any advice. 

 

[Hockeyump]

If you have any uncertainty I would move it.  Viking may not cancel until a couple of months before and the not knowing spoils the pre holiday anticipation.  We had one booked for April 2021 and moved it back a year.

[aungrl]

Agree with Hockeyump.  Given where everything stands at the moment, May of 2021 seems as though it will be here before things are anywhere close to 'business as normal' - even a new normal.  If you can easily move to 2022, I would do that.

[Harmon10]

Thank you all.  After giving it some thought, we have decided to move to the following year.  It is disappointing, but I feel we made the right decision.  Thank you for your advice it was appreciated.  

[DrKoob]

If cruise lines aren't sailing by May of 2021, there won't be many cruise lines left. Not a single cruise industry financial expert has ever said they think any of the majors can survive that long. Best guess for most is that they can survive until January or February without some additional cash infusions and most won't be able to find those. And there are few places left for them to sell ships to create cash flow. Things will start getting back to the "new normal" when a vaccine is available. 

[Dauntless]

On 7/20/2020 at 7:10 PM, Harmon10 said:

Thank you all.  After giving it some thought, we have decided to move to the following year.  It is disappointing, but I feel we made the right decision.  Thank you for your advice it was  appreciated.  

 

When I booked my first Viking cruise, I had to wait two and a half years to the V cabin.  they hadn't even built the ship yet.  It gave me more time for research to enjoy my cruise. prep.  Viking Homelands 2016.

[Aussie Cruise Nuts]

5 minutes ago, Dauntless said:

 

When I booked my first Viking cruise, I had to wait two and a half years to the V cabin.  they hadn't even built the ship yet.  It gave me more time for research to enjoy my cruise. prep.  Viking Homelands 2016.

 

We had a similar experience for our first Viking cruise.  Booked 2 years ahead for Hong Kong to Vanvouver April 2019.    Then waited and watched as Viking Orion was built, sea trialled and she  finally started cruising.   As Dauntless said, it allowed plenty of time for port research and preparation.   We enjoyed Viking so much we rebooked on board for Rome to Istanbul on Sky in June 2021.      Now in a waiting game to see what Covid and Cruising will allow 😢😩😖

Have cancelled 2 earlier  cruises on Seabourn and Azamara as the cruise world ground to a halt.  

Rod  

[OnTheJourney]

On 7/20/2020 at 10:47 PM, DrKoob said:

If cruise lines aren't sailing by May of 2021, there won't be many cruise lines left. Not a single cruise industry financial expert has ever said they think any of the majors can survive that long. 

 

Interesting...hadn't thought of that, nor done any research on it. Makes sense though. There is a scary component to this in that it invites the possibility of ships going out before they're really ready (in terms of new safety protocols fully in place and so forth) or, shall we say, presents the possibility of 'cutting corners'. Would hope not. 

Edited July 24, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

Interesting...hadn't thought of that, nor done any research on it. Makes sense though. There is a scary component to this in that it invites the possibility of ships going out before they're really ready (in terms of new safety protocols fully in place and so forth) or, shall we say, presents the possibility of 'cutting corners'. Would hope not. 

 

Although it certainly wasn't our experience with Viking, when dealing with many other shipowners, "cutting corners" is always a concern.

 

I suggest the primary factor keeping them from resuming operations is no reputable country/ports would let them dock, even if pax could get aboard. Had a good laugh last month when Carnival planned to operate a few ships in August out of southern US ports.

[OnTheJourney]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

 

 

I suggest the primary factor keeping them from resuming operations is no reputable country/ports would let them dock, even if pax could get aboard. 

 

Andy, doesn't the CDC have final say as to when cruising can resume? I thought I read that several places. However, I agree with you completely. As things are going now, who would want the US to travel in their country? I don't see it happening till there is a concerted effort to get our virus numbers much lower, or at least on a lower trend. The Venus (January '21) out of Rome is looking less and less likely I'm afraid. So much depends on vaccine progress as well. 

Edited July 25, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[The Other Tom]

I guess I'm somewhat of an optimist but I think there will be a vaccine late this year or early next.  Once that happens, it will be a quick trip back to normal.  I'm hopeful we'll be back to normal in the spring of 2021.

[Heidi13]

15 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

Andy, doesn't the CDC have final say as to when cruising can resume? I thought I read that several places. However, I agree with you completely. As things are going now, who would want the US to travel in their country? I don't see it happening till there is a concerted effort to get our virus numbers much lower, or at least on a lower trend. The Venus (January '21) out of Rome is looking less and less likely I'm afraid. So much depends on vaccine progress as well. 

 

The CDC has jurisdiction on ships homeported in US waters and ships visiting US ports. If the ships avoid US ports the CDC has no jurisdiction. Regardless, I suspect Viking will work with CDC in developing new protocols for managing/preventing virus spread onboard, which will include physical mods and crew training.

 

Hoping everything settles to some type of new norm and you all get to embark for the Chairman's re-union cruise.

[duquephart]

4 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

I guess I'm somewhat of an optimist but I think there will be a vaccine late this year or early next.  Once that happens, it will be a quick trip back to normal.  I'm hopeful we'll be back to normal in the spring of 2021.

 

You really think you're going to see "normal" again?

[OnTheJourney]

As Andy referred to above....some sort of "new" normal is more likely. 

[OnTheJourney]

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

 

 

Hoping everything settles to some type of new norm and you all get to embark for the Chairman's re-union cruise.

 

Thanks for your kind words. It really would be nice. If it gets canceled, not sure what's going to happen to it. If not feasible to reschedule, etc. wonder if Mr. Hagen will plan something else for the Sky guests?  Quite honestly, with all that Viking has done for us already, there really would be no need. What throws a kink into it for us and undoubtedly many is plans made both before and after that cruise. I would have no complaints if it would be moved to later in the year - entirely possible I suppose. Just have to push a few more cruises off till later then, nothing we haven't all been doing! 

Edited July 25, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[stu52]

We had a Viking river cruise scheduled for October, 2020 and a Viking Ocean cruise for April, 2021.  We pushed them both to Sept/Oct 2021.  Hope that there's a vaccine before then and we don't have to re-schedule.

 

[CharTrav]

On 7/24/2020 at 10:34 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

Although it certainly wasn't our experience with Viking, when dealing with many other shipowners, "cutting corners" is always a concern.

 

I suggest the primary factor keeping them from resuming operations is no reputable country/ports would let them dock, even if pax could get aboard. Had a good laugh last month when Carnival planned to operate a few ships in August out of southern US ports.

Agree - that is truly worth a groan and a very sad laugh. 

[Cienfuegos]

On 7/24/2020 at 9:15 AM, OnTheJourney said:

 

Interesting...hadn't thought of that, nor done any research on it. Makes sense though. There is a scary component to this in that it invites the possibility of ships going out before they're really ready (in terms of new safety protocols fully in place and so forth) or, shall we say, presents the possibility of 'cutting corners'. Would hope not. 

 

The viability of cruise lines is the subject of much discussion. There is a huge stock and bond float, as well as port, ship building, labor, etc constituencies. All of which have an interest in keeping the business viable.

 

When you accept a FCV or equivalent, you become a potential creditor.

[CurlerRob]

Cross-post from the Virtual Lounge:

 

Disappointing news from Hurtigruten, one of the earliest restarters.. 

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/one-of-the-first-cruise-ships-to-resume-operations-reports-covid-19-cases-1.5048206

 

Also, a Paul Gauguin incident according to another poster. Fingers crossed for the industry. 

[OnTheJourney]

This Hurtigruten incident does not bode well. I quite honestly see things getting pushed farther back as we move into fall. My TA keeps saying that - from her perspective at AAA - there is just so little happening with plans for getting things moving again with cruising - and probably travel in general. All I hear from friends is a continued cancellation of their fall trip plans. 

[klh720]

I have a similar dilemma.  Last October, we booked a cruise to Greece on Viking for May 16, 2021.  Put down a deposit and purchased Viking trip insurance.  I believe the full payment will be due November 2020.  We have a few months to decide, but are debating whether to cancel then (and forfeit the deposit and insurance, I assume) or pay in full and see if the trip is cancelled and we can get a refund.  I have not looked into whether we could postpone until 2022, but maybe that would be a better option, assuming Viking still exists!

[CharTrav]

18 hours ago, klh720 said:

I have a similar dilemma.  Last October, we booked a cruise to Greece on Viking for May 16, 2021.  Put down a deposit and purchased Viking trip insurance.  I believe the full payment will be due November 2020.  We have a few months to decide, but are debating whether to cancel then (and forfeit the deposit and insurance, I assume) or pay in full and see if the trip is cancelled and we can get a refund.  I have not looked into whether we could postpone until 2022, but maybe that would be a better option, assuming Viking still exists!

If you're doing the same itinerary you can ask to shift to a different sailing, even if it's a different year with no penalty. No loss of insurance paid. If that sailing costs less or more, your final invoice will be adjusted accordingly. Also if it comes with different benefits (onboard credits etc). I work directly with a TA at Viking but would assume the policy would be the same if working through a TA at AAA for ex. 

[lackcreativity]

12 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

If you're doing the same itinerary you can ask to shift to a different sailing, even if it's a different year with no penalty. No loss of insurance paid. If that sailing costs less or more, your final invoice will be adjusted accordingly. Also if it comes with different benefits (onboard credits etc). I work directly with a TA at Viking but would assume the policy would be the same if working through a TA at AAA for ex. 

We did that with a cruise scheduled for this October, but we switched it to a different itinerary for next April. The only adjustment was a slight increase in the insurance ($93) because we added a post cruise extension which made the new itinerary more expensive. We work directly with Viking also.

 

Our final balance on this new cruise is September 30, so at that point we will have to make another decision. In some ways April feels very far away, but so far things don't show much sign of improvement. The original October cruise was booked on board a previous cruise, so one of the perks on that booking was the ability to switch to another cruise without penalty. The fact that we did it during the outbreak offered extra protections. I don't know for sure what the possibilities are for switching it a second time.

 

The longer this goes on, the more I accept that Viking may need to alter their terms just to keep things afloat. These are uncharted waters for this industry.  We will continue to support Viking with our business as long as it is feasible, and hope for the best. I really hope to see some light at the end of the tunnel before we have to pay in full for another cruise. Paying a deposit is a gamble I am willing to make, but full payment seems more of a risk.

[klh720]

Thanks to you both.  I will call my TA next week and see what I can work out.  I'm pretty pessimistic about the cruise happening next May.  Even if it does, it may not be very enjoyable if there are a lot of restrictions.

[jonthomas]

I also need advice. We have a Feb 2021 cruise and final payment will come in a month or so.

Question One, would you make final payment?

Question two , if we move it, would Viking honor all our perks?

Question three, if we make final payment and Viking does not sail, would the FCC include all the perks we have?

 

Yes I know I should be asking my agent but often the experts here know better.