Headache Experience Booking with Viking

[Host Jazzbeau]

24 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

I appreciate all that you do for this website and respect you and your opinions.  When I say "with all due respect" I mean it---please do not read snark into my comments towards you--none are intended.

I'm sorry for reading snark where none was intended.  It's hard on the internet to gauge the subtext.  My bad.

[Roz]

4 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

Ha, good one Roz, touche!

 

I'm glad humor can be injected into this discussion that has somehow become edgy.

 

I happen to like Uniworld's decor,  but on my first river cruise I joked that it looked like Marie Antoinette exploded in my cabin. 

[Canal archive]

Ohh was red the prevailing colour?
I must admit the Baroque splendour of Uniworld would be a tad too much for me. Mind you I do wonder about the way the brains of the instigators of the designs worked, to some extent it is beautiful but soooooooo very very fussy.

 

Jazz your so right about the subtext!

Edited June 19, 2023 by Canal archive

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 hours ago, Canal archive said:

I must admit the Baroque splendour of Uniworld would be a tad too much for me. Mind you I do wonder about the way the brains of the instigators of the designs worked, to some extent it is beautiful but soooooooo very very fussy.

Uniworld's decor reflects the taste of Toni Tollman, a member of the family that owns the line, who supervises all their ship designs.  It's not just a 'thing' for Marie Antoinette: their new ships on the Douro and Nile are equally fussy, but in the style of those countries.  It certainly offers a choice compared to the spare Scandinavian style, but I personally prefer the middle-of-the-road style of most other river cruise lines.

[UDChE89]

On 6/18/2023 at 11:42 PM, Roz said:

 

I happen to like Uniworld's decor,  but on my first river cruise I joked that it looked like Marie Antoinette exploded in my cabin. 

Someone one on my Maria Theresa cruise described it as Liberace threw up all over the place.

[Second seating]

The decor would not be my choice at home!! That said, the bedding is the best, the food suits this foodie and I like have access to a washer and dryer!  My 10th cruise with Uniworld is next May!

 

Second seating

[tulok]

1 hour ago, Second seating said:

The decor would not be my choice at home!! That said, the bedding is the best, the food suits this foodie and I like have access to a washer and dryer!  My 10th cruise with Uniworld is next May!

 

Second seating

Agree. I like the all exclusive feel of Uniworld and have never had a bad experience with them. If I was buying the boat the decor would turn be away, but just borrowing it for a week or more, I can live with it.

That said I am not brand loyal. This summer I will be on my first Ama and I am excited to try something new. I will be giving my 2cents review as I have taken the same itinerary with Uniworld two years ago. It will be interesting to compare. I have never had an issue with Viking, or Uniworld. (knock on wood)

[Concombre]

Thanks everyone for their opinions; I didn't intend for the discussion to get so heated. For people who are still interested in my situation, Viking did their own internal investigation and got back to the travel agency I went with. The final conclusion is that they cannot revert the results of the audit and the extra $200 per room have to be paid back within 48 hours to keep the rooms; the manager says that they have raised the issue with the audit department. The manager did give $125 per person ($25 more than the original discount) SBC in lieu of the discount, though.

 

I would recommend to people going on these cruises to do more research (on CC) and if you do decide to book with Viking, I'd recommend going with a larger/more established travel agency, because Viking would not have resolved the issue if the manager of the travel agency had not sent an email complaining about Viking's treatment of customers to his Viking contact.

[CastleCritic]

Its hard to know what travel agents you can trust at random though.  I tend to book direct, even if that could result in a higher fare in some cases.

 

(and CC rules say you cant really discuss good ones here as I understand).

 

My first cruise was through an agent (friend of my mother) but she's since retired considering how much next cruise (Egypt) is I thought about it but I didnt know who to trust.

Edited June 20, 2023 by CastleCritic

[Concombre]

1 hour ago, CastleCritic said:

Its hard to know what travel agents you can trust at random though.  I tend to book direct, even if that could result in a higher fare in some cases.

 

(and CC rules say you cant really discuss good ones here as I understand).

 

My first cruise was through an agent (friend of my mother) but she's since retired considering how much next cruise (Egypt) is I thought about it but I didnt know who to trust.

 

Yes, we tend to book direct as well. Unfortunately for Viking, they don't allow direct bookings (at-least for river cruises), so it's either going through a random Viking-affiliated TA or finding your own TA.

[CastleCritic]

24 minutes ago, Concombre said:

 

Yes, we tend to book direct as well. Unfortunately for Viking, they don't allow direct bookings (at-least for river cruises), so it's either going through a random Viking-affiliated TA or finding your own TA.

? their web site is set up for direct booking for river cruises.

 

That’s honestly more than ama, I have to call them to book and use Expedia to see what cruises still have room 

Edited June 20, 2023 by CastleCritic

[Deb922]

I booked my Viking river cruise on line. No agent or TA involved. Probably not my best decision but it’s certainly available 

[Concombre]

6 hours ago, CastleCritic said:

? their web site is set up for direct booking for river cruises.

 

That’s honestly more than ama, I have to call them to book and use Expedia to see what cruises still have room 

 

Hmmm the option wasn't available for me when I tried to book. I think it's because my cruise had a promotion code (for discount + free airfare). When I went to select options, instead of payment, there was a number I had to call for Viking to assign a TA for me. Maybe booking online only works for regular fare 🫠

[OneSixtyToOne]

16 hours ago, Concombre said:

 

Hmmm the option wasn't available for me when I tried to book. I think it's because my cruise had a promotion code (for discount + free airfare). When I went to select options, instead of payment, there was a number I had to call for Viking to assign a TA for me. Maybe booking online only works for regular fare 🫠

This is absolutely not true. I've booked many Viking cruises (river, ocean, and expedition) online with a promo code.

 

Promo codes are usually region specific, meaning a US code might not work in Canada and vice-versa. 

 

Some combination cruises (ocean plus river) cannot be booked online because the online portal does not have the capability to book reservations for two ship on the same cruise. Those will always say to call.

 

Also, the online reservation system is only for the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. For example, Europeans cannot book online and have complained about it. This is probably due to the different regulations, consumer protection laws, and currency exchange rates, which Viking's web site does not support.

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[ural guy]

I booked a Viking cruise last month on line, for a 'special' cruise/flight deal.  Pretty easy.  A week later, decided to bring daughter and her boyfriend.  I told her the deal with the referrals, gave her our customer #, and told her that she could go on-line and book it herself.  It was 3 days before the 'special' expired.

 

She wound up calling, and got everything booked in 10 minutes.  They instantly gave her the $100/person off.  I had been holding off paying the balance of our cruise until I had her booking number.  This was delayed until she completed the passenger info section.  I think two chat sessions later, with her booking #, the referral $200 had come off my invoice.

 

So our experience went pretty smooth, it might have been karma payback for our Vantage headaches?

 

Funny/odd thing, this is a Christmas present, and I gave my daughter my credit card info. Viking wanted her balance paid immediately as she booked so close to 'special' ended.  They took payment no problem, even with card not being in her name.  

 

Concombre-  Glad to hear you could work out a fair enough swap.  I hope you have a great time.  We sailed with Viking in 2014, looking forward to bringing another young person into cruising.

 

 

 

 

[on cruise control 1]

Hi All,

 

My concern is this: I’m ready to book under the$25. down payment now , full payment 9/30/23 for an August River cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest to Bucharest. Big bucks$$. 

 

I find Viking generally costs about 2/3rds what other lines charge (think AMA, etc).  Am I wrong? 
 

Now, water levels in August concern me. Who has experienced the ‘Ship Shuffle’?  I assume other lines have to do the water-level related SS, too. I’m thinking Viking, with so many longboats, does the shuffle efficiently. Yes, No? 

 

How is the travel protection through TripMate?  If you have had claims, are they paid timely?  I need to reaffirm with Viking about the pre-existing conditions clause. 
 

I appreciate your comments. 

[sharkster77]

46 minutes ago, on cruise control 1 said:

Hi All,

 

My concern is this: I’m ready to book under the$25. down payment now , full payment 9/30/23 for an August River cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest to Bucharest. Big bucks$$. 

 

I find Viking generally costs about 2/3rds what other lines charge (think AMA, etc).  Am I wrong? 
 

Now, water levels in August concern me. Who has experienced the ‘Ship Shuffle’?  I assume other lines have to do the water-level related SS, too. I’m thinking Viking, with so many longboats, does the shuffle efficiently. Yes, No? 

 

How is the travel protection through TripMate?  If you have had claims, are they paid timely?  I need to reaffirm with Viking about the pre-existing conditions clause. 
 

I appreciate your comments. 

RE: ship swaps, with a ship leaving Amsterdam and Budapest every day, in opposite directions, Viking is probably better equipped than most to handle ship swaps.  You will have to pack, but when you return from an excursion you will be brought to the other ship, which has the exact same layout as the old one, you will be assigned the same cabin, and the crew will follow along with you.

 

There's a joke out there (pretty much true) the the only difference between Viking longships is the painting of the Norse god for whom the ship is named at the top of the stairs.  Even the shorter Seine ships have the same layout, just fewer cabins.

 

Cannot comment about TripMate--we have always used Allianz, and the one time we had to make a claim they paid us super-quickly, within days.

Edited June 27, 2023 by sharkster77

[on cruise control 1]

Thank you so much for your quick response, sharkster77!  I appreciate all your comments! 

[CastleCritic]

2 hours ago, on cruise control 1 said:

Hi All,

 

My concern is this: I’m ready to book under the$25. down payment now , full payment 9/30/23 for an August River cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest to Bucharest. Big bucks$$. 

 

I find Viking generally costs about 2/3rds what other lines charge (think AMA, etc).  Am I wrong? 
 

Now, water levels in August concern me. Who has experienced the ‘Ship Shuffle’?  I assume other lines have to do the water-level related SS, too. I’m thinking Viking, with so many longboats, does the shuffle efficiently. Yes, No? 

 

How is the travel protection through TripMate?  If you have had claims, are they paid timely?  I need to reaffirm with Viking about the pre-existing conditions clause. 
 

I appreciate your comments. 

There may be some segments that viking is more or less costly for..  I just randomly pulled the last cruise I did with AMA (Budapest to Bucharest) and it was almost twice as much on viking (its also a few days longer to be fair on viking), these REALLY long cruises are something that AMA generally doesn't do (though if you want to take a 44 days cruise....they have some for you). I think the longest routine cruise is vilshofen to Bucharest (which you can do just the portions ending and starting in Budapest)

 

But also keep in mind that you do NOT pay for excursions on AMAWaterways everything you see on the itinerary is included in the fair, this is not true for viking, there is an included excursion but most if not all the others will be extra $$.  Im not sure if Viking has any food options that you pay extra for (I dont think you do) AMA does not.

Edited June 27, 2023 by CastleCritic

[on cruise control 1]

Thank you, CastleCritic!  I appreciate all of your comments.  I need to dig deeper! 

[CastleCritic]

1 hour ago, on cruise control 1 said:

Thank you, CastleCritic!  I appreciate all of your comments.  I need to dig deeper! 

Honestly price is a consideration, but more than anything I would look at the itineraries in general.

 

Now you've picked a REALLY long one, and for that price..I'd say a good value,

 

Have you done a river cruise before?

[Roz]

I don't believe Viking's fares include tips.  Also, some lines such as Uniworld and Tauck (the ones I'm familiar with) include all alcohol (not just beer and wine) and alcohol is available all the time, not just at mealtimes.  

 

You really need to sit down and figure out all the inclusion and exclusions before making a decision based solely on fares.  

[on cruise control 1]

Thanks, Roz.  You are absolutely correct.  I will look into it! 

[Canal archive]

There is an American on line magazine type thing I’m sure loads of you know who I mean does escorted French barge cruises - well he has produced a useful comparison list I’m not to sure if it’s against regulations to name it. Well I’ll try River Cruise Adviser - comparisons. I will risk a slapped wrist.

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Canal archive said:

There is an American on line magazine type thing I’m sure loads of you know who I mean does escorted French barge cruises - well he has produced a useful comparison list I’m not to sure if it’s against regulations to name it. Well I’ll try River Cruise Adviser - comparisons. I will risk a slapped wrist.

It's https://rivercruiseadvisor.com, and I think it's ok.  He isn't a travel agent by my definition [unless I get overruled!]  At one time he published a book that rivaled the Berlitz Guide to River Cruising; sadly both books now seem to be defunct.  But he has continued to update the price comparisons on the website.  [I don't agree with all the assumptions and estimates he uses – and the prices were only valid on the day he checked, so today's prices may be dramatically different if there are different sales and specials.  But it does give at least a rough idea of how the inclusions help narrow the apparent cost differences.]