Interesting change to Viking Air

[shadowlover]

Viking air on their website has updated a lot and answers a lot of questions.  It appears that there will not be any fee (unless the flight you choose is more expensive) if you make your own changes on my Viking journey.  If you use a live person then you will pay the fees plus any additional fee for flights if applicable.  I have not tried to make changes via the app or website but if I am patient enough to wait for them to upload flights for my 9/2023 trip then I might try it!  They state now that they will have flight uploaded 120 days prior.  

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, shadowlover said:

It is 50-100 depending on destination.  Deviation is 100-150 depending on destination.  

 

Plus any fare differentials between the "standard" offering and your preferred one.

 

[TayanaLorna]

3 hours ago, shadowlover said:

It is 50-100 depending on destination.  Deviation is 100-150 depending on destination.  

Yep they changed it.  Back in May my Viking agent quoted me $50 for Air Plus but I just took the Deviation.  Then we decided we wanted to know our flights before 90 days out and to coordinate them with friends.  Called to add the $50 Air Plus but he said uh oh, Viking increased the fee to $100.  I think they want to discourage Air Plus usage now that changes can be made on MVJ.  

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

Yep they changed it.  Back in May my Viking agent quoted me $50 for Air Plus but I just took the Deviation.  Then we decided we wanted to know our flights before 90 days out and to coordinate them with friends.  Called to add the $50 Air Plus but he said uh oh, Viking increased the fee to $100.  I think they want to discourage Air Plus usage now that changes can be made on MVJ.  

We were just quoted $150 pp for Viking Air+ for Seattle to Bergen or Reykjavik. Go figure.

[TayanaLorna]

19 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

We were just quoted $150 pp for Viking Air+ for Seattle to Bergen or Reykjavik. Go figure.

Guess Viking is making up for Pandemic losses?  Been seeing 4 classes of economy on airlines now too.  From Basic Economy with no advance seats, no checked luggage, no food, no cancellations or changes to Everything included.  Oh well...

[TayanaLorna]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Plus any fare differentials between the "standard" offering and your preferred one.

 

Ha!  Got that right.  We were told that our desired one way from Manaus, Brazil to San Juan would be an additional $5,000!  In all my searches on line I could not find a single itinerary in Economy costing that much.  But then the nice itinerary they found for me for the $800 they are charging would cost me $2,000 if I booked it direct.   Go figure indeed.

[FlyerTalker]

17 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

But then the nice itinerary they found for me for the $800 they are charging would cost me $2,000 if I booked it direct.   Go figure indeed.

 

Because you were not buying the same ticket as you would buy direct from the airline.  Perhaps the same flights and time and dates, but not the same ticket.  And don't feel alone - many people have the belief that a ticket is a ticket, and if they are for the same flight, they are the same ticket.  But that is far from the case.

 

You were almost certainly buying a bulk/consolidator ticket from a contractual deal with Viking.  The difference is that the underlying fare rules can be quite different from a published fare ticket bought directly from XYZ Airlines.  Those rules govern such things as rerouting, endorsement to another carrier, flight restrictions and other details that really don't matter much when things go right.  However, when things don't go right is when those differences can come back to bite you -- big time.

 

(FYI - "Published" fares mean that they are openly available to the general public.  "Non-published" are the contractual fares that are offered to consolidators and other bulk resellers such as a cruiseline)

 

For example -- the fare rules may prohibit flying on a different airline.  You are stuck with the one you are originally ticketed for.  You may be prohibited from flying a different routing - say your original routing was through Chicago, but no dice getting a reroute through Dallas. You may be restricted to non-stop flights only, so forget about being switched to a connection.  And in extreme cases, you may be restricted to the original flight number - no change allowed, so you are stuck waiting til that flight number has seats you can use.

 

So that's the answer to "go figure".

 

 

[Lk30]

On 8/24/2022 at 2:56 PM, junnipper said:

I don't see where I have the option to change my itinerary on MVJ Air, just change seats. Am I missing something? 

After you login you need to click on "Air" and on top of the page that loads please click on the tab that says "Preferences" you will be able to request for two aisle seats.

[HUNKY]

Viking just seems to be getting in line with other cruise lines. I know Princess allows you to choose your flights online and you can choose to arrive early or depart a few days later.  At no additional cost.

[quickpick]

I have a cruise with Viking in coming November and I got my air ticketed late August. I looked at it and the flights looked reasonable, one stopover in both outbound and inbound. 

Last week, I got an email from Viking telling my flights had changed. I looked at the new itinerary, my outbound route now had one more stopover and 7+ hours were added to the total travelling time. 

 

I waited long time to get in touch with Viking Air representative, he told me I needed to pay $350 to modify the flight, and there was no guarantee the flights would not change again. If you needed to change again, I need to pay another $350. So, technically he meant they could change the flights whatever whenever they wanted, but if I want to change it, I need pay $350 every time.

 

Also, I was looking to add a post-cruise extension tour. He told me I could add the tour but I also need to pay $350 to modify the return flight to accommodate the post-cruise tour. 

 

I got a feeling that the one-stopover better itinerary I was assigned original might have been selected by someone who willing to pay extra, and I got pushed over to worse itinerary. Just my guessing, but I couldn't stop to think like that. Also, requiring fee to change the flight when a guest want to add a post-cruise tour is also quite ridiculous. They just discouraging people and not willing to earn extra business.

 

Anyway, this will be my first Viking experience, but it seems it is not off for a good start.

[FlyerTalker]

Please note, there is a difference in the airline industry between a "stopover" and a "connection".  Both are specific "terms of art" with very different meanings.  In addition, those differences affect the price and fare rules for your tickets.

 

To the layman, they may seem the same, but be aware that they are not the same when talking about airline tickets

[ER627]

Other than being eligible for a transfer to/from the ship, what are the advantages to booking with Viking other than booking direct with the airlines and choosing the best itinerary, esp. if you are adding time on either end of the cruise again on your own so you can choose your hotel and location?  Are flights that much less expensive? I’ve always booked my own and wonder if that’s best.  I also require extra legroom.. Thanks…

Edited October 3, 2022 by ER627

[shadowlover]

39 minutes ago, ER627 said:

Other than being eligible for a transfer to/from the ship, what are the advantages to booking with Viking other than booking direct with the airlines and choosing the best itinerary, esp. if you are adding time on either end of the cruise again on your own so you can choose your hotel and location?  Are flights that much less expensive? I’ve always booked my own and wonder if that’s best.  I also require extra legroom.. Thanks…

most recently the advantage for me was easier cancellation as everything was all in one package.  Going forward as covid restrictions are mostly gone, I would only take the air if free or substantially discounted.  We usually extend and/or go early so the extra fees tend to make their air not worth it.  I am interested to see about this new way of doing air via myvikingjourney though.  If I can pick my own flights, dates etc  on the website without a fee then I would consider it.

I think those who fly premium/first class may get a better deal with viking but we tend to go economy and spend our money elsewhere. So I can't speak to that

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, ER627 said:

Other than being eligible for a transfer to/from the ship, what are the advantages to booking with Viking other than booking direct with the airlines and choosing the best itinerary, esp. if you are adding time on either end of the cruise again on your own so you can choose your hotel and location?  Are flights that much less expensive? I’ve always booked my own and wonder if that’s best.  I also require extra legroom.. Thanks…

The transfers to/from the ship are only included if you fly on ship embarkation and debarkation days OR if you do a pre or post extension with Viking.  So if you fly in early or depart late to do yourc own thing, you lose that advantage plus pay extra for Deviation ($100-150 pp) and extra for Air Plus ($100 pp) to have a say in choosing your flights.  Sometimes airfare is cheaper with Viking even with the add ons, sometimes it is not.  We almost always book our own unless Viking Air is free or really cheap - like $400 to Europe.  

[KYwoman1962]

This is our 2nd Viking Cruise. We will cruise from Athens in October.  The 1st was a river cruise.  On that one, we paid for the Viking air, but did a deviation and flew in a couple of days early and booked our own hotel.  We felt like we saved enough to be worth it.  For this Ocean cruise, we booked our pre cruise extension through Viking.  The air is free.  I was very happy with the flights they arranged for our upcoming trip, with one connection each way and reasonable times.  Then I got an email that my flights had changed.  We now have a return flight with 2 connections and it leaves Venice at 6:30 AM. We will have to leave the ship at least by 3 AM ☹️. When I called to see if I could get something better, I was told that was the best available with their contracted carriers.  I’m not happy with it, but seems there is nothing I can do about it.

[OneSixtyToOne]

4 minutes ago, KYwoman1962 said:

This is our 2nd Viking Cruise. We will cruise from Athens in October.  The 1st was a river cruise.  On that one, we paid for the Viking air, but did a deviation and flew in a couple of days early and booked our own hotel.  We felt like we saved enough to be worth it.  For this Ocean cruise, we booked our pre cruise extension through Viking.  The air is free.  I was very happy with the flights they arranged for our upcoming trip, with one connection each way and reasonable times.  Then I got an email that my flights had changed.  We now have a return flight with 2 connections and it leaves Venice at 6:30 AM. We will have to leave the ship at least by 3 AM ☹️. When I called to see if I could get something better, I was told that was the best available with their contracted carriers.  I’m not happy with it, but seems there is nothing I can do about it.

Was your return on Lufthansa?

We had a similar situation in April because Lufthansa cancelled some service from Munich on certain days to our destination. Instead we had two connections with long layovers in Frankfurt and Denver.

Edited August 27, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, KYwoman1962 said:

For this Ocean cruise, we booked our pre cruise extension through Viking.  The air is free.

 

 

I was told that was the best available with their contracted carriers.  I’m not happy with it, but seems there is nothing I can do about it.

 

 

You get what you pay for.

 

 

[shadowlover]

the key thing that I have learned is this... if you get a flight that you are very happy with then ask for it to be officially ticketed!!  They will only do it so many days in advance, maybe 120 but it is so worth it.  if things change after this, then it is the airlines changing it.  You must call and you must ask specifically for it to be ticketed.  

[Breckski]

Get a direct flight to Rome, Paris, Munich or wherever has the flight to the US you're looking for and stay a night in that city.  Get that flight out of Venice around 9am and be in your room a bit after noon.  Then spend a day at your leisure exploring.  Then leave for home the next day at a reasonable time.  I've done this a couple times in Europe and enjoyed the extra day.  You can likely have the airline ticket/direct your checked baggage to your final destination while you enjoy the extra day - at least that's what I've experienced.  Just like a really long layover where you stay the night in a hotel.

 

There's just no way I'd leave the ship at 3am.  

 

 

[KYwoman1962]

2 hours ago, shadowlover said:

the key thing that I have learned is this... if you get a flight that you are very happy with then ask for it to be officially ticketed!!  They will only do it so many days in advance, maybe 120 but it is so worth it.  if things change after this, then it is the airlines changing it.  You must call and you must ask specifically for it to be ticketed.  

It was ticketed. The airline canceled the flight.  
OneSixtytoOne, it was Air Canada that canceled the flight.  

[KYwoman1962]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

 

You get what you pay for.

 

 

Yes.  True.  But we all know we are really paying for it.  Then again, the good price was what got me to finally book the trip.

[LibertyBella]

On 9/12/2022 at 5:39 PM, HUNKY said:

Viking just seems to be getting in line with other cruise lines. I know Princess allows you to choose your flights online and you can choose to arrive early or depart a few days later.  At no additional cost.

 

I cruised on both Princess and Viking this year and used air with both of them.  There is a significant difference between the air process, especially if you receive "free" air on Viking. We rarely upgrade our flights to business, as we can more or less handle the economy area as long as we have decent seats (two together, or two aisles.)

 

Princess does allow you to choose all your own flights, any carriers, and you may be paying less through the cruise line rather than booking directly with the airline due to their group purchase, but it is not free.  For example, my open-jaw flight Phila-Rome-Athens-Phila was $2000.00 RT pp using nonstop airlines, with luggage an extra cost. (This was for July, the height of the season.)  With Princess (they have a nice flight search engine function), I was able to connect in Newark (PHL-EWR-FCO/ATH-PHL), and lower the price to $1650.00 RT with seats selected, and luggage included. 

 

I used UA & AA, major carriers with which I have frequent flyer memberships.  I reserved four months in advance and asked to be ticketed approximately three months in advance.  Because I had pre-and post-city stays, no transfers were included. All flights were great --no problems.  Let me say, that if I wanted to go as cheaply as possible, I could have booked connections in Ireland and brought the price down to $1200.00 RT.  But the connections could be risky, and the airline had a reputation for losing luggage. As much as possible I prefer nonstop international flights (and my clothes are too nice to lose!).

 

With Viking (we traveled Phila to Munich/Budapest to Phila); the free air meant they controlled the process.  At no time did I ever know the exact "price" of the tickets.  They selected the carriers, all the flights, and then when the original return was cancelled by the airline, put us on a very LONG multi-connection four country return with diverse carriers. Although the luggage was included, I had issues with the seat selections from the beginning, and had to keep reinstating my seats daily on MVJ.   I was concerned about FF miles for these partner airlines, and I made a point of ensuring I would receive credit directly with the airline desk staff while traveling. My husband, who did not have a FF # on one airline until after the trip, was not able to receive retroactive FF credit because his ticket numbers were not recognized (probably some kind of bulk purchase.)

 

Okay, we put up with all the hectic Viking flights, the running around in the airports for connections, the battle over seats,  etc., because we did not have to spend one extra cent above our cruise fare to travel internationally.   We also had Viking transfers, which were excellent (and free).

 

Would we fly free Viking air again?  Absolutely, eyes wide open, knowing that we could possibly even carry on luggage (as long gowns, tuxedos, and high heels are not required like other cruise lines we use), packing our patience, and being ready for constant change.  Of course, departure airport and destination, and time of year of travel also play a role.

 

If the Viking cruise were my one and only trip, or if my health was not the best, or if budget did not have an impact, then certainly I would splurge and pay extra for better flights and confirmed seats.  However, not having to spend any extra for air is certainly a very nice incentive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[biggerbearmom]

I think what may be the new feature is upgrading the class of seats on MVJ.

 May 2022 I was able to change our flights from Air Canada to Delta on MVJ.

It gives you all the different combinations to choose from, and as someone else previously mentioned there could be an up charge depending on the combination you choose. It’s nice to have control without having to call your TA or Viking to make the change.

[FlyerTalker]

8 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

Okay, we put up with all the hectic Viking flights, the running around in the airports for connections, the battle over seats,  etc., because we did not have to spend one extra cent above our cruise fare to travel internationally.   We also had Viking transfers, which were excellent (and free).

 

And of course you know that the cruise price is inflated to cover that "free" air.

 

Just as it is inflated to cover the "free" shore excursions in each port.

 

Just as Regent, Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal include "free booze".

 

TANSTAAFL

 

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by FlyerTalker

[orchid2010]

Just one tip about changing flights on MVJ -- I have Air+ so we have some flexibility in flight arrangements, which helps me get flights without multiple connections. You can review flight options on MVJ, but if you change them there you have to take the change for both legs, even if you only want to change one leg of the flights.  I was able to find a new return flight on MVJ, then called Viking and asked for it. They changed just the one leg and it didn't cost any extra.

 

The extra control with Air+ usually works well, but last October they changed a return flight 2 weeks before departure from a flight with one connection to a series of flights with two connections, leaving Budapest at 6 a.m.  I called and begged for something better, since I was traveling with my elderly mother and every plane change required her to get through another airport.  They offered nothing except wheelchair service (which she ultimately refused to use) leaving me carrying all of her bags and my own while we worked our way through airports in Budapest, Paris, New York, and finally home.  Air+ was a disappointment, to say the least!  This year, my husband and I are on the Jupiter from Rome to Barcelona.  We used Air+ again and upgraded to premium economy, hoping that helped a bit.  One thing I learned -- you can pay for premium economy, but they only give it to you on the transAtlantic portion of the flight. 

 

For changes in seat assignments, I find it easier to go directly to the airline's website. That allows me to see where ALL the seats are on the flight, not just the small section Viking contracted.