Can voucher be used on two cruises?

[Gail Boertzel]

We canceled a cruise and are receiving vouchers through Tripmate. We would like to use part of the vouchers for one cruise and the remainder for another cruise. Our travel agent is hearing rumblings that this is not allowed, that you can only use the voucher for one cruise. Any experience with this???

 

[Frenchberet]

I think it can only be applied to one cruise.  Check the language on the voucher/email, or call Viking.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, Gail Boertzel said:

We canceled a cruise and are receiving vouchers through Tripmate. We would like to use part of the vouchers for one cruise and the remainder for another cruise. Our travel agent is hearing rumblings that this is not allowed, that you can only use the voucher for one cruise. Any experience with this???

 

 

Have your TA discuss with Viking. There have been cases where they agreed to split vouchers, especially if they are larger. (I'm one of them ). 🍺🥌

[Gail Boertzel]

Yes, it is large because it was an Antarctica cruise. So do you talk to Viking, not Tripmate? 

[TayanaLorna]

Yes talk to Viking not TripMate.  TM does not give vouchers only cash for covered cancellation reasons.

[JJean]

We had thought we could use it for 2 cruises and they applied it all to 1 cruise which we aren’t happy about. We will have to do a precruise to use the money. I talked to 2 people.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, Gail Boertzel said:

Yes, it is large because it was an Antarctica cruise. So do you talk to Viking, not Tripmate? 

Yes, Viking. If you have a voucher from a cancellation that you made, it is done by Viking - as stated in the first part of the "TripMate" policy.

 

Part A - Cancel For Any Reason Waiver
(Provided by Viking Cruises)

 

The splitting of vouchers has been reported by a few folks - and seems to be discretionary by Viking when pax were faced with unusual circumstances, or, in one case, when Viking wanted to encourage pax to take vouchers rather than a cash refund (Viking cancellation).

 

The standard approach seems to be that Viking will apply all of a voucher to your next booking - which may not suit your needs. No guarantees, but it's doesn't hurt to ask. Good luck! 🍺🥌

Edited February 1, 2023 by CurlerRob
Completion

[Heidi13]

15 hours ago, Gail Boertzel said:

We canceled a cruise and are receiving vouchers through Tripmate. We would like to use part of the vouchers for one cruise and the remainder for another cruise. Our travel agent is hearing rumblings that this is not allowed, that you can only use the voucher for one cruise. Any experience with this???

 

 

Rob has provided great advice.

 

When cancelling a World Cruise, Viking did offer to provide us multiple vouchers of $10,000K, rather than 1 single large voucher pp. So request your TA to raise the multiple FCV option with Viking.

 

Note - the FCV's issued by Viking, for the CFAR in the insurance policy, are only valid for 1-year. Please read the T&C very carefully.

[CCWineLover]

I can also confirm that we cancelled a cruise that would have given us $16K vouchers.  Our TA worked with Viking, who said that they could split the vouchers into two vouchers as long as a voucher was not more than $10K.  So we did two $8K vouchers apiece - which made things much more manageable as that is about the amount now for many of the Viking 14/17 day cruises.  Note - this was done fall 2022.

[Gail Boertzel]

I was told today that they will only split vouchers if it is a Viking voucher and not a TripMate voucher. Who knows if that is accurate. It was a very long day of being on Hold with phone calls to both TripMate and Viking with little satisfaction. Apparently it is the language in the fine print that comes with the voucher that says: “If credit is applied to a booking of lesser value, the difference will not be carried to another booking and the travel voucher will be considered as used.”  So this in essence becomes one voucher for one trip. I think a strong argument could be made that this language is unenforceable since it is not spelled out in the TripMate policy and first knowledge of it is when it is too late. But Viking well knows it is not worth suing (if you even could) for such a relatively small amount.  So I guess we will pad one cruise with extras that we really don't want or care about. I am determined not to leave any $$ in Viking's pocket. 

[CCWineLover]

21 hours ago, Gail Boertzel said:

I was told today that they will only split vouchers if it is a Viking voucher and not a TripMate voucher. Who knows if that is accurate. It was a very long day of being on Hold with phone calls to both TripMate and Viking with little satisfaction. Apparently it is the language in the fine print that comes with the voucher that says: “If credit is applied to a booking of lesser value, the difference will not be carried to another booking and the travel voucher will be considered as used.”  So this in essence becomes one voucher for one trip. I think a strong argument could be made that this language is unenforceable since it is not spelled out in the TripMate policy and first knowledge of it is when it is too late. But Viking well knows it is not worth suing (if you even could) for such a relatively small amount.  So I guess we will pad one cruise with extras that we really don't want or care about. I am determined not to leave any $$ in Viking's pocket. 

Thank you.  Hmm.  Didn't realize there was a Viking Voucher and a Tripmate voucher and that they were different.   Didn't know the Tripmate also could give vouchers out and that they were different from Viking vouchers and had different legal implications.  something to think about.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Thank you.  Hmm.  Didn't realize there was a Viking Voucher and a Tripmate voucher and that they were different.   Didn't know the Tripmate also could give vouchers out and that they were different from Viking vouchers and had different legal implications.  something to think about.

 

I do not believe there are "TripMate" vouchers. Only Viking issues vouchers - either as a result of their cancellation of a cruise, or under their CFAR "Part A" of the TripMate policy branding.
 

The CFAR portion of the policy is offered by Viking itself (see the opening wording on the policy), not the insurance underwriter, and will only reimburse via a voucher.

 

The underwriter (Generali - U.S. Branch) is the issuer of the cancellation / interruption / medical portion of the policy that deals with covered events (sickness, death, etc.) and refunds cash for a covered claim. 

 

When you buy the "TripMate" policy, you are buying different coverages from two different companies - Viking and Generali and you must deal with the proper one depending on what type of claim you choose to make. 

 

So, back to @Gail Boertzel's latest post, whoever at Viking that referred to a "TripMate" voucher is either misinformed, or should have called it a Viking voucher issued under the CFAR provisions of a TripMate package.

 

The wording quoted about losing the excess value if a lower-cost trip is booked has been on every voucher I've ever seen, regardless of the source. Despite that, there have been some exceptions.

 

I'd be tempted to invest a little more time and challenge the statement that this is somehow "not" a Viking voucher. Good luck! 🍺🥌

[Gail Boertzel]

As I understand it from my conversations with Viking reps, Viking seems to refer to CFAR (Cancel for any reason) vouchers as "TripMate," maybe because they are processed by TripMate? Viking seems to distinguish CFAR vouchers from vouchers it issues, e.g. for a cruise that misses ports (recently Australia/New Zealand or Mississippi River). I always understood that if we used the CFAR portion of the policy that we would be receiving a voucher. What I did not understand and it was never in any printed material from Viking was that the voucher could in essence only be used for one trip unless an exception was made. I have spoken to quite a few people at Viking with no success in getting them to "split" the voucher. Any suggestions appreciated!

[CDR2001]

Perhaps an email to the next level of customer service might help. I’ve received a return call within a few days each time I’ve reached out to them. Sometimes their answer wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it was good to get an explanation from higher up. Good luck. Tellus@vikingcruises.com