How do Vikings $25pp deposit and $100pp cancellation fee work?

[ala001]

We booked a Vikings river cruise with $25pp deposit.  Cruise will be sailing Feb 2024 and final payment is due next month, August 2023.  We are unable to go now. The document says $100pp cancellation fee. Anyone had past experience cancelling a booking with $25pp deposit. Do they charge the $100pp cancellation fee?  How does this work?  

Thanks

[Host Jazzbeau]

threads consolidated and moved to River Cruising

[ural guy]

I canceled one of those deals a few months ago, I only lost the $25/person.  They did not ask for extra money.

[Relaxing Rita]

Oh how we wish the same rules applied here is Australia... we have to pay $1000 per person non refundable deposit!! I haven't ever seen the $25 deposit deal here either.

[pontac]

16 hours ago, Relaxing Rita said:

Oh how we wish the same rules applied here is Australia... we have to pay $1000 per person non refundable deposit!!

 

Rules are different in different markets...but.. we realised we didn't want to go on a Viking Expedition cruise in North America which cost a lot. If we'd cancelled we'd have lost our deposit which was a great deal of money, however they told us we could change our booking so we chose a  European cruise on another date. All the deposit went to that cruise, and it covered that deposit and a fair chunk of the entire cruise price. We lost £100 per person 'admin fee', but since £100 is the discount given to repeat cruisers that is shrugged off. £200 versus thousands? No brainer!

[CDNPolar]

On 7/26/2023 at 12:35 PM, ala001 said:

We booked a Vikings river cruise with $25pp deposit.  Cruise will be sailing Feb 2024 and final payment is due next month, August 2023.  We are unable to go now. The document says $100pp cancellation fee. Anyone had past experience cancelling a booking with $25pp deposit. Do they charge the $100pp cancellation fee?  How does this work?  

Thanks

 

I think that because you are in the USA, the rules are the same as Canada.

 

There have been mixed answers on this but you always have to look for the rules of the country where you bought the cruise.

 

If you cancel outright now - you should only lose the $25pp deposit, or $50.00.  What are they going to do, send you an invoice for the remaining $150.00?  No.

 

But, if there is a possibility that you can go on another date, or another cruise itinerary in the future, you can modify the booking and move it and keep the $50.00 that you have put down already.

 

You may have to up that deposit to the full $500 per person if there are no specials on, but that is the risk of moving your booking.

 

The other thing to know, is that even if you pay in full, in both Canada and the USA, the penalties don't kick in until 120 days out from the sailing date, which means, if there is any possibility that you can sail, and or will change your mind with this cruise, you can pay and expect all but $100 per person back as long as you cancel 121+ days in advance of the sailing.

 

Viking ask for full payment as much as 12, 14 and even 18 months out if you don't have another booking on file with them (Canada / USA rules) but again, no actual penalty until 120 days out which means you can still get all back but the deposit minus the cancelation fee against the deposit.  (This varies too country to country.)

[island lady]

I just had the same issue to deal with this morning on having to cancel a second leg of our cruise, to redo to add as prior leg for B2B.  It was a simple fix with a call to Viking, who called it a "revision"....with transferring deposit from cancelled cruise to new one.  Easy peasy.  

 

Way easier than the nightmare I had with American Queen voyages (of whom I will never book again).