Who do you contact for flight issues - TA or Viking Air Plus?

[mikenannie]

We're leaving in a few days for our first Viking Ocean cruise.

We booked our cruise and flights using a TA. They contacted Viking and booked the cruise, extensions, and Viking Air Plus flights on our behalf.

We're leaving on Sunday for our trip.

My question is, if we have flight issues who do we contact? 
Do we call Viking Air Plus directly? 
Do we contact the airline directly (Delta)?
Or, do we need to have our TA call them since they booked the trip / flights?

Same question applies to extension hotels and transfers.

Thanks
 

[Meander Ingwa]

I would download the Delta app so you have access to their notifications; baggage loading and unloading, baggage claim, boarding passes , gate numbers and the like.  I would default to contacting Delta directly if there is an air issue.  

 

As far as other issues I would drop a note to your agent and find out how they like to approach things.  Factor in that you may be many time zones from your agent so I suspect you will want to directly communicate with Viking for in the moment issues.  This includes having the phone number of the ship itself.

[CDNPolar]

If you booked the flights through Viking Air, then Viking have an emergency number you can call 24 hours if you run into problems.  I don't have it at my fingertips now but there is one.

 

Call Viking Air yourself and ask them - they will guide you.

 

The airline won't help you - I don't think - as if there are changes, Viking was the one that paid for the flights and they have to fix anything.

[mikenannie]

33 minutes ago, Meander Ingwa said:

I would download the Delta app so you have access to their notifications; baggage loading and unloading, baggage claim, boarding passes , gate numbers and the like.  I would default to contacting Delta directly if there is an air issue.  

 

As far as other issues I would drop a note to your agent and find out how they like to approach things.  Factor in that you may be many time zones from your agent so I suspect you will want to directly communicate with Viking for in the moment issues.  This includes having the phone number of the ship itself.

I've seen people reference the ship's phone number before. 

Where do you find that information?
 

[CDR2001]

A few years ago, we had an air issue with delayed flight….upcoming connection would be missed. I took care of it with Delta at the airport, then called Air plus and the emergency number to report it. They already had the update from Delta, and arranged private transfer upon our later arrival. Air plus said it was good that I worked with Delta immediately as there weren’t many options left. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by CDR2001

[CDR2001]

5 minutes ago, mikenannie said:

I've seen people reference the ship's phone number before. 

Where do you find that information?
 

It should be in the final documents email PDF’s that you get a week or two before sailing. Lots of pages to read, but do look over it all. 

[CDNPolar]

Call Viking Air Plus and ask them for the number and then you have it.

[mikenannie]

1 hour ago, CDR2001 said:

It should be in the final documents email PDF’s that you get a week or two before sailing. Lots of pages to read, but do look over it all. 

We never received a 'final documents email pdf'. Our travel agent sent us our final documents via priority mail. No information about the contact number for the ship was included in those paper documents. 

 

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, mikenannie said:

We're leaving on Sunday for our trip.

My question is, if we have flight issues who do we contact?

 

At this point, your only issues would be day-of-flight operational concerns.  So take all the part about "changes" and ignore that - schedules don't get changed this close in to flight.

 

Your concerns would come down to flight delay or cancellation, due to operational issues.  That would include mechanical, crew and weather problems.  In all of these cases, your best AND FIRST step is to be in touch with your operating carrier for their rebooking process.

 

In your case, DL does an excellent job of providing automated rebooking for many situations of delay causing a missed connection.  However, that does NOT mean that you should just rely on someone else to fix your situation.  You should go in with contingency plans for if:

 

a) Your originating flight is delayed, which would cause a misconnect

b) Your originating flight is cancelled, which means you need a complete new itinerary

c) You onward flight is delayed or cancelled, meaning you need to have an alternative to get you to your final destination.

 

There is an urban legend that cruiselines have staff that are continually monitoring passenger flights.  Nope - they are reactive, either due to the airline contacting them or more likely, the passenger.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

The airline won't help you - I don't think - as if there are changes, Viking was the one that paid for the flights and they have to fix anything.

 

You are conflating the difference between a schedule change and an irop situation.

 

In the former, you are often at the mercy of what the cruiseline air dept can do for you.  But when you are in irop, that's when the airline is the first line of action.  Don't waste your time contacting the cruiseline and waiting for them to do something for you.  Go directly to the airline, and do it in a multitasking way.  Be in line for face to face service, while at the same time waiting on hold on a phone, while also working the airline's app.  Whichever solves your issue first - go with.

 

Pro tip:  Recognize the difference between planned, announced schedule changes (that happen months before flight) and day of travel irop situations.  Apples and oranges.

 

 

[DrKoob]

This depends on the type of of TA you have. If you are dealing with an online TA, Costco, AAA, etc. Go with Viking. If your TA is a local person you know, go with them. They usually have backdoor numbers and websites that they can check. Our TA gives us their cell phone and says to call at any time. Once we had a problem at Heathrow. We called her (not BA), and where she was (West Coast USA) it was the middle of the night. She said, "Give me 30 minutes." She called back in 25 minutes and had us booked on a different flight with a bump to Premium Economy with no extra charge for us. She knew what to ask, what the EU gave to people who were bumped and found us a new flight on another airline.

[mikenannie]

20 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

This depends on the type of of TA you have. If you are dealing with an online TA, Costco, AAA, etc. Go with Viking. If your TA is a local person you know, go with them. They usually have backdoor numbers and websites that they can check. Our TA gives us their cell phone and says to call at any time. Once we had a problem at Heathrow. We called her (not BA), and where she was (West Coast USA) it was the middle of the night. She said, "Give me 30 minutes." She called back in 25 minutes and had us booked on a different flight with a bump to Premium Economy with no extra charge for us. She knew what to ask, what the EU gave to people who were bumped and found us a new flight on another airline.

We need her contact info... she sounds terrific. 

Just learned that our TA misspelled our email address and that's why we never received the final document pdf files. Being first time Viking cruisers, had I not learned about them here in this forum, we would have had no idea that we were supposed to get them. 

[DrKoob]

45 minutes ago, mikenannie said:

We need her contact info... she sounds terrific. 

Just learned that our TA misspelled our email address and that's why we never received the final document pdf files. Being first time Viking cruisers, had I not learned about them here in this forum, we would have had no idea that we were supposed to get them. 

Would love to tell you but Cruise Critic rules prohibit that. Sorry.

[FlyerTalker]

15 hours ago, DrKoob said:

Once we had a problem at Heathrow. We called her (not BA), and where she was (West Coast USA) it was the middle of the night. She said, "Give me 30 minutes." She called back in 25 minutes and had us booked on a different flight with a bump to Premium Economy with no extra charge for us. She knew what to ask, what the EU gave to people who were bumped and found us a new flight on another airline.

 

And a savvy traveler would also know the EU compensation regs (they are very well publicized) and would have contingency plans. 

 

Basically, you are saying "I want someone else to be responsible for handling any problems along the way".  That's fine, as long as you recognize the downside to that choice.  You are introducing an additional layer into the resolution process, and are willing to introduce extra time into the resolution. While things could be taken care of directly at the airport, you're choosing to have an indirect process.

 

Not my way of doing things - I much prefer the direct approach to the party that can fix the problem.  AKA the airline involved.

 

 

[DrKoob]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And a savvy traveler would also know the EU compensation regs (they are very well publicized) and would have contingency plans. 

 

Basically, you are saying "I want someone else to be responsible for handling any problems along the way".  That's fine, as long as you recognize the downside to that choice.  You are introducing an additional layer into the resolution process, and are willing to introduce extra time into the resolution. While things could be taken care of directly at the airport, you're choosing to have an indirect process.

 

Not my way of doing things - I much prefer the direct approach to the party that can fix the problem.  AKA the airline involved.

 

 

Great idea except there were a hundred people in line to do the same thing. I got rebooked before 75 of them. Worked for me. 😀

[FlyerTalker]

16 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

Great idea except there were a hundred people in line to do the same thing. I got rebooked before 75 of them. Worked for me. 😀

 

As mentioned in post #10, you don't just rely on waiting in the physical line.  You multitask with a voice call and with the airline app.  I remember a time about a dozen years ago when KLM was completely FUBAR at AMS due to horrible weather.  I was standing in a line, with my laptop and with my phone, working all three.  By the time I reached the front of the line, I was rebooked and only needed a physical change to my record by the agent at the desk.  They loved my ingenuity.

 

One other thing.  You don't need to be in any specific line for a rebooking. (Airlines tell you that so as to keep everyone together and not "bother" other agents)  If there was a line of a hundred people, I would have found a different BA counter to work with.  And at LHR, there is no shortage of BA staff.

 

You have your methods, I have mine.  I'll just say that over 2 million miles of BIS air travel tell me what works in the big picture.

 

 

[Breckski]

To add, if you have access to the carrier's lounge you can get service there with minimal lines.

[FlyerTalker]

28 minutes ago, mwike said:

To add, if you have access to the carrier's lounge you can get service there with minimal lines.

 

And, those are usually fairly senior people who have a LOT of experience in dealing with "issues".  They seem to know more "tricks" than the run of the mill gate agent.

 

 

[DrKoob]

7 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

As mentioned in post #10, you don't just rely on waiting in the physical line.  You multitask with a voice call and with the airline app.  I remember a time about a dozen years ago when KLM was completely FUBAR at AMS due to horrible weather.  I was standing in a line, with my laptop and with my phone, working all three.  By the time I reached the front of the line, I was rebooked and only needed a physical change to my record by the agent at the desk.  They loved my ingenuity.

 

One other thing.  You don't need to be in any specific line for a rebooking. (Airlines tell you that so as to keep everyone together and not "bother" other agents)  If there was a line of a hundred people, I would have found a different BA counter to work with.  And at LHR, there is no shortage of BA staff.

 

You have your methods, I have mine.  I'll just say that over 2 million miles of BIS air travel tell me what works in the big picture.

 

 

So, is there something wrong with having someone else also trying at the same time. Someone who is a professional in the travel industry? And this particular incident happened in 2002...well before I had cell phone and before I carried a laptop. I never understand why folks don't use TAs. If they are good at what they do (interview them, get to know them, become friends...you love to travel, you have something in common) because it doesn't cost you anything. 

[FlyerTalker]

20 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

So, is there something wrong with having someone else also trying at the same time.

 

No.  Just that it isn't the be-all, end-all solution to travel issues.  And it can often just make things worse.

 

21 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

Someone who is a professional in the travel industry?

 

Nowadays, the number of TAs who are knowledgeable about air travel are about 2% or less.  They are primarily order takers, and if you are using them for cruises, they often just go with the cruiseline's program.

 

23 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

And this particular incident happened in 2002...well before I had cell phone and before I carried a laptop.

 

Which, of course, makes that experience totally relevant for today, when you have your phone and apps right at hand.

 

24 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

I never understand why folks don't use TAs. If they are good at what they do (interview them, get to know them, become friends...you love to travel, you have something in common) because it doesn't cost you anything. 

 

I use a travel agent for my cruises.  I don't use them for hotels and air, as I can do as good (or better) a job than they can.  And yes, I do interview them - and find them wanting in those areas

 

Ask your TA what's the difference between a stopover and a transfer.  What's a circle trip?  What's an end-on-end fare?  What's HIP?  What are endorsements?  What's MSC?  What's MPM?  What are zones one, two and three?  When you are done seeing the glazed look, think about those "qualifications". 

 

As for not costing anything, given that there are few, if any, commissions on air tickets - you will likely find that TAs will often charge for air ticketing, or will find a way to put that into other "fees" that may be due them.

 

But, as I said before, if that's the route someone chooses for themself, that's what free choice is about.  However, there should be full knowledge of what one is getting into.

 

 

[Mich3554]

On 6/16/2023 at 3:42 PM, FlyerTalker said:

 

And, those are usually fairly senior people who have a LOT of experience in dealing with "issues".  They seem to know more "tricks" than the run of the mill gate agent.

 

 

Thanks, this is good to know.

 

[May B]

On 6/15/2023 at 4:49 PM, mikenannie said:

I've seen people reference the ship's phone number before. 

Where do you find that information?
 

Three days before our flight, we received an email with the 24-hour Viking Travel Emergency Hotline, which is (877) 523-0576. Please only call this number while in transit to or from your ship, and for flight emergencies only.

 

Otherwise, call your TA or Viking at (855) 338-4546 for all other questions. The Viking number is 8 am to 10 pm Eastern time.

 

Bob voyage!

[OneSixtyToOne]

On 6/15/2023 at 1:49 PM, mikenannie said:

I've seen people reference the ship's phone number before. 

Where do you find that information?
 

 

You will receive an email before you sail. It will be on the "YOUR JOURNEY SUMMARY" pdf file.

It contains all the contact information, flights, hotels, pre-selected excursions, restaurant reservations, etc.

 

I always download it to my phone locally, so it's available even without internet access.

Edited June 19, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne