Included Excursions Still Require Reservation?!

[Wisconsin Travelers]

We're taking our first Viking ocean cruise in 3 weeks, so last night I was browsing the posts on this board.  A post commented about included excursions being SOLD OUT and how you needed to RESERVE an included excursion.  I assumed the included excursions worked the same way they did on the river cruises:  you're told what time to disembark and there are several buses waiting to take you on your included excursion.  I had no idea I actually needed to reserve an included excursion.  Nowhere on the Viking website nor in their email announcements do they tell you this!  

 

I immediately went to the website and clicked on the "Learn More" tab for the included excursions.  And once again I read the details of the excursion, but this time I notice an indication for making a reservation, just because I was looking for it.  Guess what . . . one excursion is indeed "sold out" and the others have several time options, most of them already showing as "sold out" for the times we would have preferred.  At this late date, we are now stuck taking afternoon excursions instead of the morning ones we would have chosen.  And I suppose these excursions don't include the excellent "Whispers" provided to everyone on a river cruise either.

 

Yesterday I was worked up that I couldn't make specialty restaurant reservations until I was on board - makes me feel like a second class citizen, just because I didn't book a suite.  Now this snafu.

 

I have to say that Viking is NOT impressing me much at this point in time.  We have taken over 40 cruises, and nowhere have I encountered a situation where I pay a premium for an "upscale" experience which doesn't feel very upscale at all.  If I hadn't been browsing this message board last night, we would have boarded the ship without knowing about these advance reservations for Included Excursions and probably would have found that several of them would be entirely sold out.  Viking is going to really have to provide us with a spectacular cruise for me to even consider booking them again.

[RBachmann]

I’m not sure how you missed seeing that every excursion requires a reservation. Are you using My Viking Journey? Did you read about the available excursions and see that every one of them has the names in your cabin and a window to choose a time for your reservation?  Did you book at the last minute and not have time to research them? It’s been a while since we took our first a Viking River cruise but I’m pretty sure we had to do the same thing there and make a reservation for whatever excursion we wanted, even the included ones, so they had a head count and room for everyone. Don’t despair - they often add more spots for the included ones if they sell out. Keep checking MVJ and go to the excursion desk as soon as you board the ship and see what they can do for you. Same with dining. Good luck!

[Iloveketo]

Sorry that you didn’t realize that you had to book the time you wanted even for the included excursions. 
I try to book anything I want as soon as they open for my cabin category. We even decided to pay substantially more for a higher cabin category so that we could book excursions sooner. 
If you don’t use the My Viking Journey 
App/website, I suggest using it and checking it often. It has so much good information. Another thing we like are the live chats that are often available using it. Some issues might be resolved by using the chat feature. Don’t worry about reservations for dining. Even if you miss out on the prime dining times for Specialty Dining, the other options are outstanding! 
I hope you can relax between now and your cruise. Hopefully, you will enjoy your time on the lovely Viking Ship and find that you love Viking as much as we do. 

[Clay Clayton]

If by “whispers” you meant the quiet vox headsets so that the tour guide can easily be heard by everyone, they will be waiting in your stateroom for you.  They are not needed for all excursions, the daily will inform you the night before where to meet for your excursion and whether to bring the quiet vox sets or not. 
 

As this is your first Viking Ocean cruise I’d suggest looking through the thread for Viking newbies-lots I’d good advice and tips to make the most of your cruise. 
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, Wisconsin Travelers said:

Viking is going to really have to provide us with a spectacular cruise for me to even consider booking them again.

I also am sincerely hoping you enjoy your first Viking experience. 

[TayanaLorna]

Well excursions do not work the same on Ocean as they do on River. River has maybe 190 people going on an excursion at the same time.  Ocean has 930 people and they cannot all get off at the same time to do an included or optional excursion.  On Ocean the ship is at the same location the entire day thus timed excursions throughout the day. 

 

Once you get your excursion reservations you will have tickets for each in your stateroom.  Pay attention to the ticket number and check it against the Viking Daily delivered to your stateroom early each evening.  We dont just waltz to the exit at the excursion time.  Each tour number has a meeting location on the ship or on shore at a specific time and it is often earlier then the excursion time.

 

Everyone will get on an included excursion.  We may just not get the time we want.  Actually afternoon ones are less crowded.

[lackcreativity]

We are doing our second river cruise after many years of just ocean cruises.  Even the river cruises have a reservation system on My Viking Journey now, for both the included and the optional excursions. We have been doing these for so long, I can't even remember how we first learned about it. 

 

We have completed five Viking cruises, and always book the least expensive cabin. We have never felt like a second class citizen.  In our experience, the Viking staff treats everyone as a valued guest on their ships. Sometimes we don't get our first choice of a time slot for an included excursion or a restaurant reservation, but we are flexible and have always been satisfied. Only a few times have we been unable to book an optional excursion that we wanted. Of those few, some had spots open up later and we got to go anyway!

 

I really hope you can put your frustrations aside and go with an open mind. Wishing you the same wonderful on board experience that has kept us coming back again and again.

[OneSixtyToOne]

On 12/30/2022 at 8:49 AM, Wisconsin Travelers said:

I had no idea I actually needed to reserve an included excursion.  Nowhere on the Viking website nor in their email announcements do they tell you this!  

I received my final reminder email today for our upcoming cruise and it clearly states you need to book reservations for included excursions: