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Should we just reschedule now?


Jjg34219
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We have an August Alaska cruise booked with pre and  post extensions. We used vouchers from our Rhine cruise cancelled in June this year. My guess is its probably 50-50 our August cruise will be a go, especially since it involves Canada, and even if it does go, what kind of restrictions will there be? Since we already have the voucher, Im thinking maybe its just best to reschedule Alaska till 2022, and not stress over the “what ifs” of doing in 8 months. Am I missing something? 

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49 minutes ago, Jjg34219 said:

We have an August Alaska cruise booked with pre and  post extensions. We used vouchers from our Rhine cruise cancelled in June this year. My guess is its probably 50-50 our August cruise will be a go, especially since it involves Canada, and even if it does go, what kind of restrictions will there be? Since we already have the voucher, Im thinking maybe its just best to reschedule Alaska till 2022, and not stress over the “what ifs” of doing in 8 months. Am I missing something? 

Personally, we don’t know enough. Thee will likely be a lot of trial runs before you. I’d wait to see how things play out. Will people be required to be vaccinated? What percent of the country will be vaccinated? What is Viking’s track record April-July? The onboard protocol seems well thought out. What looms large is the failed SeaDream failure where people came down with the virus but tested before departure but tested negative at the dock. Basically the science on the virus is still unfolding.

Best of luck. 

Bob

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Just go...and enjoy having to spit in a tube everyday  😳 Seriously, Bob's advice is sound. I'm thinking also that there will be trial runs. Who knows how it'll all work out yet. Having the protocol and plans in place isn't the same as when the ship is full of people. Dealing with the asymptomatic spreading issues is a concern. 

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Hagen's Health and Safety announcement said they were working towards an April 1 restart. If they miss that mark we should know by mid-February. Maybe you want to wait and see how the first few cruises go before you decide.

 

In the meantime, if you are concerned that you will be closed out on the cruise you want for 2022, you could consider the idea of booking that cruise now, knowing that if you do book, you will have plenty of time to cancel it before the penalty phase kicks in. If you go in August, you would get your deposit back in cash less $200 that would be given in vouchers.

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6 hours ago, rbslos18 said:

Will people be required to be vaccinated?

 

 

Personally, I think that much like smallpox and polio, Covid-19 is going to be with us for a long time. In that light, I also think/hope that, once the vaccine is widely distributed, or perhaps sooner, that just like we needed to show proof of vaccination for smallpox when we traveled internationally, we will have to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination in order to cross borders--including being able to return to our home countries. To me, this is no different than any other requirement for vaccinations such as yellow fever, measles, mumps, rubella and polio. If the laws of nations require it, we will have to comply; there will be

 

So, yes, I believe that all to soon, a vaccine may be required in order to board a ship, if for no other reason than it is required by the countries that will be visited.

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We decided to reschedule to August 2022. Turns out with everything the same, it was actually slightly cheaper. We dont wanna deal with things like touring restrictions so hopefully the world will be a far better place to travel in 18 months. Having rescheduled will allow us now to plan other “adventures” for later 2021. 

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14 hours ago, Jjg34219 said:

We decided to reschedule to August 2022. Turns out with everything the same, it was actually slightly cheaper. We dont wanna deal with things like touring restrictions so hopefully the world will be a far better place to travel in 18 months. Having rescheduled will allow us now to plan other “adventures” for later 2021. 

Wise decision. It’s going to take at least a year to return to “normal.” If we aren’t close to normal by August, 2022, we will be in a world of pain. We are hoping December 2021 will be a safe and fun trip.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We had considered booking a later summer 2021 Alaska cruise to give Viking Ocean a try but then decided to wait to see how things play out.  In the mean time, I just looked on line and it shows every single Alaska cruise for 2021 as Sold Out!  Is that real or did they stop booking them?  

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1 hour ago, zelker said:

We had considered booking a later summer 2021 Alaska cruise to give Viking Ocean a try but then decided to wait to see how things play out.  In the mean time, I just looked on line and it shows every single Alaska cruise for 2021 as Sold Out!  Is that real or did they stop booking them?  

Since Alaska cruises must make a stop in Canada, it is highly unlikely we will have much, if any Alaska season in 2021.

 

At present, Canadian ports are closed to cruise ships and British Columbia has a 14-day quarantine, which our exceptional Provincial Health Officer has previously stated she will not cancel, just to facilitate cruise ships. The ships must also be repositioned to Alaska.

 

Unless the cruise lines have a cast iron guarantee that ports will open and the quarantine is cancelled, I can't see Viking moving the Orion to the Pacific NW/Alaska. I mentioned in a post in another thread that at present I would give a partial Alaska season about 25% in 2021.

 

Therefore, it is entirely possible that Viking have stopped taking bookings until the picture becomes clearer.

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  • 2 weeks later...

One issue that occurs to me involves the "penalty phase" or whatever one calls it. Suppose a cruise is not cancelled by Viking (this coming summer for example) but becomes subject to the restrictions proposed. Under this scenario should not a person be allowed to cancel without penalty on the grounds that the cruise he sighed up for is, essentially, not taking place?

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1 hour ago, duquephart said:

One issue that occurs to me involves the "penalty phase" or whatever one calls it. Suppose a cruise is not cancelled by Viking (this coming summer for example) but becomes subject to the restrictions proposed. Under this scenario should not a person be allowed to cancel without penalty on the grounds that the cruise he sighed up for is, essentially, not taking place?

 

Upon paying the deposit, we all agreed to the Carrier's Terms & Conditions. I suggest that # 6 Carrier's Rights and Discretion, provides substantial leeway, to make whatever changes they deem necessary.

 

The Risk Free Guarantee terms is based on time of booking, but generally provides standard policy terms or an FCC up to 24 hrs before boarding/flying. Anyone concerned with the new measures has the abilty to cancel now.

 

If anyone delays cancelling now, hoping that Viking cancels the cruise and offers 125% FCC, rather than cancelling now and getting 100% FCC, then they are accepting the risk of the potential reward. Unfortunately, not all risks work out, so they potentially could end up with nothing.

 

Viking made us aware of the planned restrictions when they resume of operations. If we don't accept those restrictions, we should cancel now. If anyone waits and the Risk Free Guarantee is cancelled, then they have the option to cruise or accept the contracted cancellation penalties.

 

We had an ocean/river combo booked for May 21. Although the Viking restrictions hadn't been published, we didn't like what other cruise lines were doing and what we anticipated would be required for social distancing. Rather than wait for a 125% FCC, we cancelled in Nov and moved to 2023.

 

If we didn't cancel and had to cruise with restrictions, the fault would be ours, not Vikings. Assuming the Risk Free Guarantee remains until at least the end of March, we would have 4 months to cancel and receive an FCC. If we didn't cancel, why should we expect Viking to let us cancel just before the cruise starts and expect a full refund.

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3 hours ago, duquephart said:

One issue that occurs to me involves the "penalty phase" or whatever one calls it. Suppose a cruise is not cancelled by Viking (this coming summer for example) but becomes subject to the restrictions proposed. Under this scenario should not a person be allowed to cancel without penalty on the grounds that the cruise he sighed up for is, essentially, not taking place?

 

The penalty phase thing is important to understand. Before the pandemic, if you cancelled during the penalty phase, it meant, that Viking kept a certain percentage of your fare,  you did not get your money back. Not cash, not credit. Unless you had trip insurance, you just waved you money good-bye. The closer you got to sail-away, the more money you lost, up to 100%.

 

Now, under the risk-free guarantee, the amount of penalty that you would have kissed good-bye is now given to you in the form of a voucher; the balance is given as cash.

 

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

If we didn't cancel and had to cruise with restrictions, the fault would be ours, not Vikings. Assuming the Risk Free Guarantee remains until at least the end of March, we would have 4 months to cancel and receive an FCC. If we didn't cancel, why should we expect Viking to let us cancel just before the cruise starts and expect a full refund.

 

Andy, risk-free guarantee depends on when you book the cruise;  they can't take it away from us without being in breach of contract. They can stop offering it in the future but it will not apply to cruises already booked.

 

ALSO, under the risk free guarantee, we can cancel up to 48 hours prior to sailing and get  our money back in a combination of credits and cash as determined by the penalty grid in on our invoice and in the Terms and Conditions. If a week before the sailing you decide that you don't want to sail under the current conditions, you can cancel and will get a 100% voucher. Whether flights are covered under the risk-free, I am not sure how that works.

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43 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Andy, risk-free guarantee depends on when you book the cruise;  they can't take it away from us without being in breach of contract. They can stop offering it in the future but it will not apply to cruises already booked.

 

ALSO, under the risk free guarantee, we can cancel up to 48 hours prior to sailing and get  our money back in a combination of credits and cash as determined by the penalty grid in on our invoice and in the Terms and Conditions. If a week before the sailing you decide that you don't want to sail under the current conditions, you can cancel and will get a 100% voucher. Whether flights are covered under the risk-free, I am not sure how that works.

 

Interesting, as our contract may be slightly different.

 

The contract we received still includes the standard Viking Cancellation Terms, with a link to the Carrier's T&C for further information. The Risk Free Guarantee is included in our contract, but it is clearly labelled as "Temporary".

 

Since it is noted as temporary on our contract, once the ships return to sailing, I expect that the temporary RFG will be removed.

 

Our contract states we must advise Viking in writing 24 hrs before the flight departure if using Viking Air, or 24 hrs before sailing.

 

Our guarantee was for cruises booked between May & December 2020. Interesting how the US & Canadian term are slightly different. I thought we had the same T&C.

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We have a Nile River cruise booked under the pre covid rules and a 2022/23 WC booked under the new rules.  As you say, totally different "cash in" options between the two.  Imho, Viking is doing the best they can and much better than  some.

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2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

We have a Nile River cruise booked under the pre covid rules and a 2022/23 WC booked under the new rules.  As you say, totally different "cash in" options between the two.  Imho, Viking is doing the best they can and much better than  some.

 

Risk-free guarantee was applied retroactively to all cruises on the books as of the day Viking ceased operations due to the pandemic.

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2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Interesting, as our contract may be slightly different.

 

The contract we received still includes the standard Viking Cancellation Terms, with a link to the Carrier's T&C for further information. The Risk Free Guarantee is included in our contract, but it is clearly labelled as "Temporary".

 

Since it is noted as temporary on our contract, once the ships return to sailing, I expect that the temporary RFG will be removed.

 

Our contract states we must advise Viking in writing 24 hrs before the flight departure if using Viking Air, or 24 hrs before sailing.

 

Our guarantee was for cruises booked between May & December 2020. Interesting how the US & Canadian term are slightly different. I thought we had the same T&C.

 

Yes, but I read temporary to mean that once pandemic conditions are no longer an issue that they will no longer be offering the risk-free guarantee program, not that it will no longer apply to our booking.  I have a copy of the cancellation policy and nowhere in the terms and conditions does it say that once Viking returns to operations the policy will be revoked -- or under what conditions the temporary policy will no longer apply.  

 

 

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Yes, but I read temporary to mean that once pandemic conditions are no longer an issue that they will no longer be offering the risk-free guarantee program, not that it will no longer apply to our booking.  I have a copy of the cancellation policy and nowhere in the terms and conditions does it say that once Viking returns to operations the policy will be revoked -- or under what conditions the temporary policy will no longer apply.  

 

Without a clear definition in the T&C of how/when it will be revoked, it will be interesting to see how Viking handle this issue, especially as they are already selling 2023. Our 2023 cruise is already almost sold out.

 

On reviewing the contract when we made the temporary booking, my interpretation was a little different. Since it is temporary, I expect it to be revoked before our cruise in 2023. My best guess is they will revoke the temporary RFG, with written notice, giving us a brief period to action before it is cancelled. Whether that is when cruising resumes with modified procedures, or when it eventually returns to as close to pre-pandemic norm????

 

I will be happy to see Viking work with your interpretation😀

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  • 2 weeks later...

We were booked on Viking Homelands for May 2021. In November our little group (6) decided that the chances of it sailing were 50/50 and that with all of the COVID precautions we may not get the experience we were expecting. Also in looking forward, it looked like 2022 was already booking up. We re-booked our cruise for May 2022. Then after we got the new January brochure we decided to plan ahead and deposited on the Portugal River Cruise for 2023.

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On 1/14/2021 at 10:32 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

Yes, but I read temporary to mean that once pandemic conditions are no longer an issue that they will no longer be offering the risk-free guarantee program, not that it will no longer apply to our booking.  I have a copy of the cancellation policy and nowhere in the terms and conditions does it say that once Viking returns to operations the policy will be revoked -- or under what conditions the temporary policy will no longer apply.  

 

 

 

 

 

I agree.  If you booked while the Risk Free Cancellation policy is in effect, your booking will be held to that policy even when they no longer offer it.  I don't think that it is a case of revoking the policy in a confirmed booking  ,but not extending the policy at a certain point. For instance, in the case of a Lift and Shift policy for Azamara, they will no longer be offering that as an option after 31 January.  It does not mean, however, that those clients that have confirmed a Lift and Shift option before the 31st will have the pricing taken away. Same with the Risk Free with Viking. Once you have the T&C policy on your booking ( and you do get a copy of that with your confirmation ) , it stays on there even if Risk Free is no longer offered for future bookings. 

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