Viking Free Airfare

[Mich3554]

On 9/6/2024 at 6:28 PM, CCWineLover said:

Thx Dave!  (I grew up in Pasadena, now live up the coast off 101).  

Interested in the Tokyo/Hong Kong info - we are doing that Viking cruise in Oct 2025, so will follow you.  We did put Viking Air on the initial booking just in case, until we check our own pricing.  Likely fly out of LAX and leave car at my cousins in Torrance.

What airlines did Viking put you on?

Kent

Our flights in this direction have been on Korean Air (bonus that they are a partner with Delta).  The connection through Seoul is seamless.  They were also about $4000 cheaper than what Viking Air wanted for BC to Sydney in Jan for our circumnavigation.  

[PasadenaDave]

9 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

All of this!  Some of the routings I have gotten out of SEA are absolutely ridiculous.  There have been as many as 4 flight changes, which is ridiculous out of 2 major airports (we can fly out of SEA and YVR).  Added to this that we fly business class and every flight booked to Europe is mixed class, despite us paying for BC fare.  To get BC across the US, I’ve had to ante up more $$.  
I have pretty much given up on using Viking air.  We also come in early enough and leave late enough that we leave ourselves sufficient slush.  I know I will have to use them again as we are booked on the 25-26 WC.  I’ll do what I did last time and pay for a deviation and Air+.  We got a direct, nonstop flight out of SEA TO FLL and just about every single connection airport was having weather issues.  Friends of ours got rerouted to 3 different airports out of SEA to get to FLL.  

I have to laugh reading your post because you sum up what we feel about long flights especially when paying for business class but not getting it on the domestic portion.  I like being at the stage of life and saying I've earned it, I have it and I am going to spend it on quality.  The young people (and yes I was probably one of them) who say that they won't waste money on anything that is not through a cheap consolidator and how people (sheep) to check bags and that they have the best travel hacks around.  What they don't tell you is about how many airports they have slept in and how long they go between good food, a shower and good sleep.

The number one item of your post come in early enough and leave late enough to allow sufficient slush in case of issues.

[SM77]

On 9/5/2024 at 4:51 PM, pegdit said:

Has anyone had a good experience with using Viking Air Plus?   The trip we are looking at for next year has included airfare.  I have always made our own arrangements and I am a little leery of having someone else do it.

We always use Viking Air Plus when traveling with Viking.  We just prefer having the transfers included for the arrival & departure.  We have had very good experiences using Viking Air Plus; on this upcoming trip to Southeast Asia, we are flying business and I worked with Viking Air Plus to choose our flights.  In fact, Viking has already chosen the outbound flights that I would have used to get to our destination. Coming home was a little more complicated, I wanted to fly through Tokyo on ANA so we paid a very small up charge for the flight.  Also, I think the pricing that we got from Viking for business airfare was better than what we would have gotten on our own.  Two issues that we had experienced which makes us a fan of Viking air is that coming home from Bali, American Airlines sent me an email canceling our flight home two days before we were to fly and told us to work with our travel agent.  I emailed our travel agent & then was able to email the Viking Air folks to get re-booked on much better flight back to the US.  The other issue was when everything was canceled during the pandemic, we had booked our flights separately from our Oceania cruise.  The cruise was canceled without penalty but had to wait until United made a significant schedule change that allowed us to get a full cash refund.   

[waggie]

This is a very helpful topic for a new-to-Viking cruiser. We have used Viking for our flights London to Sydney and return from Bali. The primary reason is the security of a plan B should things go wrong with the flights and Viking sorting it..We have upgraded to business at a fair cost compared to doing it myself, but, because we are going early to spend time in Sydney and staying on in Bali ( post extension was fully booked) we do not have the transfers or a pick-up.I am not sure if this is an issue in UK - any advice or comments?

[SM77]

2 minutes ago, waggie said:

This is a very helpful topic for a new-to-Viking cruiser. We have used Viking for our flights London to Sydney and return from Bali. The primary reason is the security of a plan B should things go wrong with the flights and Viking sorting it..We have upgraded to business at a fair cost compared to doing it myself, but, because we are going early to spend time in Sydney and staying on in Bali ( post extension was fully booked) we do not have the transfers or a pick-up.I am not sure if this is an issue in UK - any advice or comments?

Usually if you are coming in earlier than the usual arrival date, the transfer to the ship is not included.  Regarding Bali, if you are staying at the same resort as the extension, I would email tellus@vikingcruises.com, let them know that you are flying business using Viking Air and that you made your own hotel booking since the extension was sold out, ask whether you can be accommodated on the transfer to the airport(if you are leaving the same day).  For Sydney, not sure where the ship will be docked, but if it is not along the Circular Quay but at the White Bay Cruise Terminal, we took a Viking Water Shuttle from Circular Quay when we were touring Sydney.  You might also ask what is the available to get to the ship on embarkation day.  It was far quicker to travel by boat to get to White Bay Cruise terminal from Circular Quay.  Otherwise you will need to arrange your own transportation to the ship.  It's a fabulous cruise from Sydney to Bali; we did a back to back, from Auckland to Sydney, then from Sydney to Bali in 2019.  

[Peregrina651]

32 minutes ago, waggie said:

because we are going early to spend time in Sydney and staying on in Bali ( post extension was fully booked) we do not have the transfers or a pick-up.I am not sure if this is an issue in UK - any advice or comments?

 

Except for those who have booked an extension, Viking transfers are included only if landing at the airport on Day 1 of the cruise itinerary and taking off from the airport on Day Last. Those are the days that Viking goes to the airport.

 

As for the suggestion above, you can ask but based on many conversations on these boards, the most likely response will be that it is not possible. If they do it for one person, then they have to do it for everyone and they are not prepared to do that.

 

However, I would continue to see if space opens up on the extension.

Edited September 10 by Peregrina651

[waggie]

24 minutes ago, SM77 said:

Usually if you are coming in earlier than the usual arrival date, the transfer to the ship is not included.  Regarding Bali, if you are staying at the same resort as the extension, I would email tellus@vikingcruises.com, let them know that you are flying business using Viking Air and that you made your own hotel booking since the extension was sold out, ask whether you can be accommodated on the transfer to the airport(if you are leaving the same day).  For Sydney, not sure where the ship will be docked, but if it is not along the Circular Quay but at the White Bay Cruise Terminal, we took a Viking Water Shuttle from Circular Quay when we were touring Sydney.  You might also ask what is the available to get to the ship on embarkation day.  It was far quicker to travel by boat to get to White Bay Cruise terminal from Circular Quay.  Otherwise you will need to arrange your own transportation to the ship.  It's a fabulous cruise from Sydney to Bali; we did a back to back, from Auckland to Sydney, then from Sydney to Bali in 2019.  

Thank you so much. We are staying in the same Bali resort so I will contact them - and I will wit until we know where the ship is docking in Sydney to make final plans for getting there. Joining the Viking CC family has been so helpful.

[waggie]

13 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Except for those who have booked an extension, Viking transfers are included only if landing at the airport on Day 1 of the cruise itinerary and taking off from the airport on Day Last. Those are the days that Viking goes to the airport.

 

As for the suggestion above, you can ask but based on many conversations on these boards, the most likely response will be that it is not possible. If they do it for one person, then they have to do it for everyone and they are not prepared to do that.

 

However, I would continue to see if space opens up on the extension.

 

13 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Except for those who have booked an extension, Viking transfers are included only if landing at the airport on Day 1 of the cruise itinerary and taking off from the airport on Day Last. Those are the days that Viking goes to the airport.

 

As for the suggestion above, you can ask but based on many conversations on these boards, the most likely response will be that it is not possible. If they do it for one person, then they have to do it for everyone and they are not prepared to do that.

 

However, I would continue to see if space opens up on the extension.

Fair comment - I appreciate that Viking only go to the airport on embarkation/disembarkation day, but wondered if there was another way to be collected. Fortunately the airport looks a reasonable taxi ride to the hotel we have. I can understand why they cannot deviate for one person as it will set a precedent.Thank you again.

[Mich3554]

2 hours ago, waggie said:

This is a very helpful topic for a new-to-Viking cruiser. We have used Viking for our flights London to Sydney and return from Bali. The primary reason is the security of a plan B should things go wrong with the flights and Viking sorting it..We have upgraded to business at a fair cost compared to doing it myself, but, because we are going early to spend time in Sydney and staying on in Bali ( post extension was fully booked) we do not have the transfers or a pick-up.I am not sure if this is an issue in UK - any advice or comments?

Our transport from the airport to and from our Bali resort was only around $20-25.  This was this past March, so doubt prices would have changed much.

We went all around Sydney via Uber.  While we didn’t go to the airport, I wouldn’t anticipate any problems getting to/from there to a downtown hotel.  
We have found that the excess price Viking charges in Business class more than covers any ground transport costs.  In fact, doing it ourselves more than pays for extensions on both ends.  In the last several years, our worst savings was $800pp, best $4000pp (our next trip which is a circumnavigation of Australia in Jan).  

Edited September 10 by Mich3554

[waggie]

10 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

Our transport from the airport to and from our Bali resort was only around $20-25.  This was this past March, so doubt prices would have changed much.

We went all around Sydney via Uber.  While we didn’t go to the airport, I wouldn’t anticipate any problems getting to/from there to a downtown hotel.  
We have found that the excess price Viking charges in Business class more than covers any ground transport costs.  In fact, doing it ourselves more than pays for extensions on both ends.  In the last several years, our worst savings was $800pp, best $4000pp (our next trip which is a circumnavigation of Australia in Jan).  

Thanks - That is really useful information.I hope to use public transport to get around as well.I look forward to your review of the next cruise - we are on Venus in February.

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, SM77 said:

Two issues that we had experienced which makes us a fan of Viking air is that coming home from Bali, American Airlines sent me an email canceling our flight home two days before we were to fly and told us to work with our travel agent.  I emailed our travel agent & then was able to email the Viking Air folks to get re-booked on much better flight back to the US.

 

And had you bought your ticket directly, AA would have handled it directly without involving a third party.  But because you bought the ticket through Viking, you had to make the changes through Viking.  Don't give them credit for something that they HAD to do since it was their ticket.  In fact, getting it through Viking just made it more complicated.

 

 

3 hours ago, waggie said:

The primary reason is the security of a plan B should things go wrong with the flights and Viking sorting it.

 

Take a look at the terms and conditions.  That "security" of your Plan B isn't what you think it is.

 

Far far more often, you will get faster and better resolutions with the airline handling things directly.

 

 

[waggie]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And had you bought your ticket directly, AA would have handled it directly without involving a third party.  But because you bought the ticket through Viking, you had to make the changes through Viking.  Don't give them credit for something that they HAD to do since it was their ticket.  In fact, getting it through Viking just made it more complicated.

 

 

 

Take a look at the terms and conditions.  That "security" of your Plan B isn't what you think it is.

 

Far far more often, you will get faster and better resolutions with the airline handling things directly.

 

 

Hi, taking your advice I checked the t&c's and we are covered under the  Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations (2018) - perhaps this is a UK regulation. Anyway, using a respected cruise line and  airline plus great guidance on CC- I am optimistic that our first Viking trip will be wonderful!

Edited September 10 by waggie

[Mike07]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Take a look at the terms and conditions.  That "security" of your Plan B isn't what you think it is.

 

Far far more often, you will get faster and better resolutions with the airline handling things directly.

 

 

 

 

I'm not going to go thru the entire exchange, and I'll say I was wrong if I'm wrong, but people that cheapen out and use third parties (won't even hint at the names, but y'all know there are tons of "book your flights/hotels/rentals cheaper with us!!!")... don't realize that they're a customer of said third-party... not Marriott, Hilton, the legacy airlines, etc. It then turns into people pointing fingers at the operator of the room/airplane/etc.

 

I almost always book my stuff directly.

[Mike07]

2 hours ago, waggie said:

Hi, taking your advice I checked the t&c's and we are covered under the  Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations (2018) - perhaps this is a UK regulation. Anyway, using a respected cruise line and  airline plus great guidance on CC- I am optimistic that our first Viking trip will be wonderful!

 

 

For the most part, as long as you don't have super stringent seating and/or flight times, Viking Air works fine. Where people complain is that they want champagne on beer budgets. E.g. Viking Air has special business or premium deals that make it a much better deal than booking directly and then Viking either runs out of special seats on said flight or flight times are less than ideal.

 

@FlyerTalker and I have gone back and forth several times, and maybe we can again, but I absolutely see pricing differences in Viking Air for preferential departure times and layovers versus less desirable time slots. For example, on my next trip, I'm having to make a connection in ORD before going to EWR even though my airport has a non-stop to EWR that would put me in before the ORD connecting flight. I 100% think Viking Air's agents or algorithms find the best combination (for Viking) of reasonable and price. I don't think Viking will make you do a 12 hour layover, but 5 or 6 is possible.

Edited September 10 by Mike07

[SM77]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And had you bought your ticket directly, AA would have handled it directly without involving a third party.  But because you bought the ticket through Viking, you had to make the changes through Viking.  Don't give them credit for something that they HAD to do since it was their ticket.  In fact, getting it through Viking just made it more complicated.

 

I'm not sure how well AA would have handled it - it was when all the Boeing MAX planes were grounded so a number of AA flights were canceled.  Don't know if AA would have booked us on another carrier right away.  For me having Viking Air rebook the flights on another carrier quickly was a huge plus.  Additionally we were in Bali, not sure if we would have gotten through by calling - I would have had to wait until we got to the Hong Kong airport to try to make flight arrangements through AA.  I view that as more complicated.

[SM77]

6 hours ago, waggie said:

Thank you so much. We are staying in the same Bali resort so I will contact them - and I will wit until we know where the ship is docking in Sydney to make final plans for getting there. Joining the Viking CC family has been so helpful.

Peregrina651 makes a great point about seeing if the Bali extension opens up.  In 2019, getting around Bali was a bit challenging, temples are far apart, roads are narrow, traffic is heavy.  In fact to return to the resort from one location, the tour company hired a police escort to get through traffic similar to a presidential motorcade.  It was quite an experience.  I'm sure that there are lots of private tour companies that are reasonable & will get you around as well.  Just do your research.  

 

Loved Sydney, since we did back to back cruises, the transition day(when there were no organized tours) we walked the Sydney Harbor Bridge and went up into the Pylon Lookout closest to the Circular Quay - it's not very busy & the views are spectacular.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, SM77 said:

I'm not sure how well AA would have handled it - it was when all the Boeing MAX planes were grounded so a number of AA flights were canceled.  Don't know if AA would have booked us on another carrier right away.

 

AA most likely would have automatically rebooked you though their computer systems.

 

1 hour ago, SM77 said:

Additionally we were in Bali, not sure if we would have gotten through by calling - I would have had to wait until we got to the Hong Kong airport to try to make flight arrangements through AA.  I view that as more complicated.

 

Why wait til HKG?  You can easily call AA call centers in the USA by a quick Skype call to them.  You do keep airline phone numbers with you?

 

So it was a less complicated process to contact your TA, who contacted Viking, who worked with the airline, to get back to your TA, who got back to you?  Rather than one call to AA?  Which is more complicated?

[waggie]

1 hour ago, SM77 said:

Peregrina651 makes a great point about seeing if the Bali extension opens up.  In 2019, getting around Bali was a bit challenging, temples are far apart, roads are narrow, traffic is heavy.  In fact to return to the resort from one location, the tour company hired a police escort to get through traffic similar to a presidential motorcade.  It was quite an experience.  I'm sure that there are lots of private tour companies that are reasonable & will get you around as well.  Just do your research.  

 

Loved Sydney, since we did back to back cruises, the transition day(when there were no organized tours) we walked the Sydney Harbor Bridge and went up into the Pylon Lookout closest to the Circular Quay - it's not very busy & the views are spectacular.

We have a guide/driver booked for the time we are in Bali - I found him here on CC - highly recommended and he has been a dream to deal with - provided his WhatsApp details and responds quickly to emails. He has also found a driver for another couple on our cruise. We also now have a lovely hotel booked near to the extension group. 

Before the pandemic I used to organise small group tours on all our cruises - and hope to get back to doing it sometime. 

[SM77]

41 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

AA most likely would have automatically rebooked you though their computer systems.

 

 

Why wait til HKG?  You can easily call AA call centers in the USA by a quick Skype call to them.  You do keep airline phone numbers with you?

 

So it was a less complicated process to contact your TA, who contacted Viking, who worked with the airline, to get back to your TA, who got back to you?  Rather than one call to AA?  Which is more complicated?

If they had automatically rebooked us through their computer systems, then they would have sent us the new itinerary by email which they didn't.  And I have had airlines rebook automatically even with going through Viking Air.  As I mentioned, this was during the grounding of Boeing Max, thousands of flights were canceled, do you think I would have gotten through to the call center?  I've been on hold for more than an hour when United changed planes for a flight & was then told to take care of it at the gate.  And yes, I carry the airline phone numbers & had internet access.  It was a simple email to the TA who sent me directly by email to Viking Air & handled it that way.  It wasn't complicated at all.  Let's agree to disagree. You do you, I'll do what works for me.

[FlyerTalker]

39 minutes ago, SM77 said:

If they had automatically rebooked us through their computer systems, then they would have sent us the new itinerary by email which they didn't. 

 

No.  If you had bulk contract tickets, you are subject to the specific fare rules of those tickets.  And they may or may not be applicable for auto rebooking.  And thus, it again is a factor of having Viking tickets, as opposed to AA (or any airline's) tickets.

 

Viking got your tickets changed.....because that was the only way they could have.  By your own admission up above, AA told you to go to your TA.  Which shows that they could not do the change themselves, but it had to be with Viking.  Thanks for proving my point.

 

I don't care whether you agree or disagree.  Nor do I care what you do.  What I do care about is other people reading this thread who will take away incorrect assumptions and information regarding what Viking, or any cruiseline, can and cannot do for the passenger.

 

Caveat emptor.  TANSTAAFL.

 

 

[CCWineLover]

8 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Take a look at the terms and conditions.  That "security" of your Plan B isn't what you think it is.

Far far more often, you will get faster and better resolutions with the airline handling things directly.

 

 

100 % agree. 

Well stated, as usual!  Thank you.

In our many cruises that is what we have found as well.

Which is just one reason we don't do Viking Air anymore.  Significantly overpriced biz class for us + only economy on domestic flights on Viking has been our experience, just like a previous poster.

[CDNPolar]

I think that folks unrealistically think that Viking Air will handle every bump in the air while they are flying to or from a Viking cruise.

 

Viking do an amazing job a lot of the time.  We have never had a real challenge ourselves with flights booked with Viking Air, but we have seen some major stuff happen to others, that Viking both handled well, and then cases where they could do nothing.

 

My brother was one of 40 some odd people on a flight to Panama City that was delayed and Viking did not hold the ship for these 40 people.  This was a partial crossing of the Panama Canal, so the 40 people held up in a hotel for two days until the ship emerged again and they missed the actual crossing.  

 

Viking offered no compensation back to these folks and left it to their trip interruption insurance.  Viking did pay for their hotel in Panama, but they could not fix the flight delay, or hold the ship.

 

Viking give you an emergency number to call when using Viking Air that you can use when you are in transit.  You can notify them of your challenge, whether cancellation, delay, missed connection, or whatever, but that does not mean that they can fix it on the spot.

 

Viking air contracts can limit them in putting you on another airline in some cases, and Viking is then handcuffed to the airlines that they work with.

 

If YOU book your own air, and if you have interruption insurance - which we never travel without - then you can get on your phone and do what you need to do to get to where you are going and you don't have to wait for anyone else.

 

The only thing you have to worry about is where are your bags....?  But that would happen even if Viking were rebooking you.

[lackcreativity]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

My brother was one of 40 some odd people on a flight to Panama City that was delayed and Viking did not hold the ship for these 40 people.  This was a partial crossing of the Panama Canal, so the 40 people held up in a hotel for two days until the ship emerged again and they missed the actual crossing.  

 I suspect that Viking had a timed appointment for the passage through the canal and could not hold the ship. Lots of things can go wrong when you travel, but that experience was surely a disappointment for that group. We all know that flying in the day of departure is a gamble, but rarely does it go so spectacularly wrong.

[CDNPolar]

3 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

 I suspect that Viking had a timed appointment for the passage through the canal and could not hold the ship. Lots of things can go wrong when you travel, but that experience was surely a disappointment for that group. We all know that flying in the day of departure is a gamble, but rarely does it go so spectacularly wrong.

 

I am sure that is exactly the reason they did not hold.  40 people is a lot...  

 

If I remember correctly, the ship was not to depart Panama City dock until 3am.  The flight that was supposed to arrive at 3pm the previous day, did not land until 3:30am or 30 minutes after the ships scheduled time to depart.

[SM77]

44 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

 I suspect that Viking had a timed appointment for the passage through the canal and could not hold the ship. Lots of things can go wrong when you travel, but that experience was surely a disappointment for that group. We all know that flying in the day of departure is a gamble, but rarely does it go so spectacularly wrong.

Absolutely true, we did the Viking Panama Canal cruise last December and learned that ships are booked months in advance, especially cruise ships.  Also, Panama has had drought conditions in recent times so the canal has had to reduce & restrict traffic going through it.  The day we traveled to Panama there was a huge storm coming up the East Coast, we were lucky since we left Washington Reagan @ 6 AM, folks flying later were delayed and yes, a number of passengers didn't make, some were lucky that they got to the ship before midnight.  Going through the Canal, ships need to line up way before their transit through the Canal.  It is quite a sight.