excursions full

[sa4]

Read a post on FB that some excursions were filled by those with suites or other status before the poster had a chance to sign up.  Wondering how often this happens. It would be so disappointing to book a cruise for the opportunity to do a certain guided tour and find it not available.

Thanks for any comments/advice. 

[CCWineLover]

6 minutes ago, sa4 said:

Read a post on FB that some excursions were filled by those with suites or other status before the poster had a chance to sign up.  Wondering how often this happens. It would be so disappointing to book a cruise for the opportunity to do a certain guided tour and find it not available.

Thanks for any comments/advice. 

It might not be what happened in that specific case (which you don't say which itinerary), but I'll share with you what happened on our cruise, which is at least one logical reason for this happening.

 

Some excursions were showing SOLD OUT by the time we could sign up.  I had thought it odd that the suites alone could have filled them up.   However, in our case, I learned that Viking was having issues with getting tour operators (post-COVID) with some excursions - which is to be expected.  Sadly, they did not remove the excursions from the list, but just put the SOLD OUT tag on them, while they continued to work on getting tour guides. 

Suddenly a couple weeks before the cruise, they were able to offer the excursion and the SOLD OUT tag was removed, and they could be booked.  

I let Viking know they should put a different tag (like PENDING) or have a better explanation so people would not be frustrated.

 

Lesson:  Don't give up - keep checking.  This may be happening a lot these days as COVID had a huge affect on the tour operators and many left the business.

[sa4]

Thanks for the explanation.

We aren’t booked yet.  Thinking Viking might be a nice alternative to the usual big ship Mediterranean cruise.

Edited January 18, 2023 by sa4

[Azulann]

25 minutes ago, sa4 said:

Thanks for the explanation.

We aren’t booked yet.  Thinking Viking might be a nice alternative to the usual big ship Mediterranean cruise.

I sailed Celebrity  ( M and S class ships) before I found Viking . I never looked back. 

Welcome to the  Viking Forum.   Lots of good information here. I am on one of the FB groups. I do not like the way  posts  are listed all mixed up with river cruisers etc. Cruise critic is much easier to navigate for all  my questions and seeking new information. 

Viking does guarantee one include excursion in every port. AS CCWine Lover stated above, keep checking if you  want a particular  additional excursion .

[coljack]

Another thought.  If all else fails, there are independent tours available if there are particular things you absolutely want to do/see in a port.  Check Viator and Grayline.  These range from private limos to busses and they frequently will pick up and drop off at the dock with the ship's arrival and departure noted.  I know it seems wrong to pay for something that should be included, but you could file the info away to use if needed.  

[Pushka]

We never had a chance to book one of our desired Viking excursions in Alaska and this was pre Covid. Never opened up again. 

[Heidi13]

21 hours ago, coljack said:

Another thought.  If all else fails, there are independent tours available if there are particular things you absolutely want to do/see in a port.  Check Viator and Grayline.  These range from private limos to busses and they frequently will pick up and drop off at the dock with the ship's arrival and departure noted.  I know it seems wrong to pay for something that should be included, but you could file the info away to use if needed.  

 

In addition to Viator, who are a 3rd party retailer, with a little more research you can find the actual tour operators and book directly. If you have others from your cruise that are interested, I find that dealing with the tour operator, I can get private tours and better discounts.

[Selion]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

I find that dealing with the tour operator, I can get private tours and better discounts.

In addition to those, often the group size is much smaller as well.

 

We had our first taste of what typical Viking excursion group size would be in November 2022.  It shouldn't come as a surprise, but it did; because Viking spoiled us with pandemic-era excursion groups in March 2022.