Price and Build

[SoDakPirate]

When using the Price and Build tab for a specific voyage are the staterooms shown the only ones available for a specific class or are these the ones Viking wants to sell first?  

[millybess]

19 minutes ago, SoDakPirate said:

When using the Price and Build tab for a specific voyage are the staterooms shown the only ones available for a specific class or are these the ones Viking wants to sell first?  

We have found in the past that there are more available if you call.  

[Mitina]

36 minutes ago, SoDakPirate said:

are these the ones Viking wants to sell first?  

Our experience is that they only show the first 5 available cabins (in sequential order from front to back).  Definitely more if you call.

[Berlin Bear]

I would love to know where to find this price and build tab that you all talk about!

 

Whenever I try to type in Viking.com or vikingcruises.co.uk, I am always redirected to vikingcruises.com and there doesn’t seem to be a price and build function there.

 

any advice?

[OneSixtyToOne]

35 minutes ago, Berlin Bear said:

I would love to know where to find this price and build tab that you all talk about!

 

Whenever I try to type in Viking.com or vikingcruises.co.uk, I am always redirected to vikingcruises.com and there doesn’t seem to be a price and build function there.

 

any advice?

What country are you in? The website redirects based on ip address. You cannot make online bookings if you are on the European continent. This has to do with contract law of different countries as well as exchange rate of currency. The only places you can book online are US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand(?). All other locations require you to call Viking or book through a travel agent.

Edited August 15, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[shipboy]

47 minutes ago, Berlin Bear said:

I would love to know where to find this price and build tab that you all talk about!

 

Whenever I try to type in Viking.com or vikingcruises.co.uk, I am always redirected to vikingcruises.com and there doesn’t seem to be a price and build function there.

 

any advice?

If you use a VPN to access the UK site, you should be able to bookmark the link and then access it without a VPN. I managed to do that from the UK for the Canadian website 

[Berlin Bear]

 

13 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

What country are you in? The website redirects based on ip address. You cannot make online bookings if you are on the European continent. This has to do with contract law of different countries as well as exchange rate of currency. The only places you can book online are US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand(?). All other locations require you to call Viking or book through a travel agent.

Many thanks for your quick and helpful response. Very much appreciated!

 

I‘ve moaned about this before on these boards, but it’s such a pity that Viking cruises are not marketed or sold in mainland Europe, despite the owner being Norwegian. The two cruises we’ve done up to now have been booked in the UK by telephone.

 

Oh well, it was worth a try 🙄.

[Berlin Bear]

4 minutes ago, shipboy said:

If you use a VPN to access the UK site, you should be able to bookmark the link and then access it without a VPN. I managed to do that from the UK for the Canadian website 

Ok, thank you. I will try that.

[Berlin Bear]

BTW, shipboy, I believe we were on the Southern Atlantic Crossing together in March 2022.

[duquephart]

12 minutes ago, Berlin Bear said:

 

Many thanks for your quick and helpful response. Very much appreciated!

 

I‘ve moaned about this before on these boards, but it’s such a pity that Viking cruises are not marketed or sold in mainland Europe, despite the owner being Norwegian. The two cruises we’ve done up to now have been booked in the UK by telephone.

 

Oh well, it was worth a try 🙄.

 

What does the owner's nationality have to do with how he conducts business?

[OneSixtyToOne]

9 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

What does the owner's nationality have to do with how he conducts business?

It’s not his nationality, it’s where the business is conducted. Different contract law for different countries. For example the US vs UK pricing is totally different because under UK law “all inclusive” must include tips. Not so in the US. That is just one example. I’m sure the insurance coverage options are much more complicated. Their website has not been programmed to handle any of this, and it is probably not cost effective for them to do so. The vast majority of Viking’s business is North America, Australia, and the UK.

Edited August 15, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[Berlin Bear]

8 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

What does the owner's nationality have to do with how he conducts business?

Nothing at all, of course. I was simply bemoaning the fact that the European owner does not cater for his fellow European citizens - tongue-in-cheek, so to speak

 

I really like the Viking Ocean product, but I think we must all recognize that the owner has been very smart in choosing such a streamlined business concept (English language passengers only on identical ships). This is not a criticism, it is simply stating a fact.

 

Still love the ships though!🤩

[shipboy]

2 hours ago, Berlin Bear said:

BTW, shipboy, I believe we were on the Southern Atlantic Crossing together in March 2022.

We were, although you had a rough time of it 😒

[deec]

We were there too!  Managed not to get Covid!  We still want to do the "Real" itinerary for Buenos Aires to Barcelona one day.

[shipboy]

47 minutes ago, deec said:

We were there too!  Managed not to get Covid!  We still want to do the "Real" itinerary for Buenos Aires to Barcelona one day.

We were considering doing it again, now that we can have excursions in BA, Brazil and Morocco

[Berlin Bear]

Well, we’ve certainly gone off topic now, but we’d love to repeat the trip as well. Although we spent 10 days in quarantine, we actually only missed one port - Montevideo. 

[duquephart]

9 minutes ago, Berlin Bear said:

Well, we’ve certainly gone off topic now, but we’d love to repeat the trip as well. Although we spent 10 days in quarantine, we actually only missed one port - Montevideo. 

 

"Well, we’ve certainly gone off topic now" - with your help!

[KBs mum]

On 8/15/2023 at 4:24 PM, OneSixtyToOne said:

 Different contract law for different countries. For example the US vs UK pricing is totally different because under UK law “all inclusive” must include tips. Not so in the US.

It's not that UK law says tips must be included, it's that by law a price must include all non optional items, so automatic charging gratuities to the registered card thing is illegal here. 

The UK has a mostly non tipping culture, we tip but it is not automatic or an unwritten rule of set %, instead being a thanks for outstanding service, so if the equivalent amount wasn't built in Viking wouldn't get it. 

As several cruise lines apparently discovered during UK covid itineraries 😊

[millybess]

51 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

"Well, we’ve certainly gone off topic now" - with your help!

That's the great thing about Cruise Critic.  You learn so much more information on each thread than was intended!