Snowcat1 Posted March 17 #1 Share Posted March 17 We are going on the West Indies Explorer cruise next winter and our documents say you need a US passport, but just wonder if Canadian is also excepted without an visa required to enter any of the islands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EchoIsland Posted March 17 #2 Share Posted March 17 We did the West Indies Explorer Cruise in Jan/Feb 2023. No visas were required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted March 17 #3 Share Posted March 17 7 hours ago, Snowcat1 said: We are going on the West Indies Explorer cruise next winter and our documents say you need a US passport, but just wonder if Canadian is also excepted without an visa required to enter any of the islands? I initially advised the L/A Office management clowns over 2 years ago and again last year, regarding the ridiculous statement that Canadians require a US Passport. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it hasn't changed. You can use this website to research the latest requirements for each port - https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted March 17 #4 Share Posted March 17 7 minutes ago, Heidi13 said: I initially advised the L/A Office management clowns over 2 years ago and again last year, regarding the ridiculous statement that Canadians require a US Passport. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it hasn't changed. You can use this website to research the latest requirements for each port - https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories You're absolutely right about the ridiculous statement that Canadians require a US Passport and I roll my eyes every time I see it. I've also taken them to task on this and indeed nothing has changed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cienfuegos Posted March 18 #5 Share Posted March 18 Viking Ocean has lost a lot of institutional knowledge over the past few years. And, some common sense 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CannyScotTor Posted March 18 #6 Share Posted March 18 My impression is that dealing with Canadians is a bit of an afterthought for the Simi Valley office. Paying with echeck has always been a hit or miss affair, usually takes two or three attempts to get it done. My TA shudders at the thought of having to deal with them. As for Viking Air, argh! It is hard to imagine that you are dealing with the same company when you compare your experience on board and the experience dealing with Simi Valley. Wish they would open a Canadian office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted March 18 #7 Share Posted March 18 23 minutes ago, CannyScotTor said: It is hard to imagine that you are dealing with the same company when you compare your experience on board and the experience dealing with Simi Valley. Wish they would open a Canadian office. I agree with both of these thoughts. When on board, the Viking crew know we are Canadian. And, yes, a Canadian office would be an improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted March 18 #8 Share Posted March 18 13 hours ago, millybess said: I agree with both of these thoughts. When on board, the Viking crew know we are Canadian. And, yes, a Canadian office would be an improvement. That was one of the questions I asked in my communication with Viking Corporate in Basle. Sadly no interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted March 18 #9 Share Posted March 18 2 hours ago, Heidi13 said: That was one of the questions I asked in my communication with Viking Corporate in Basle. Sadly no interest. I do think a Canadian office would be an improvement. Having said that, on our cruise in January the Guest Services Manager reached out to Viking about a question we had for our cruise next month. She ended up with someone based in South Africa who was of no help at all. The GS Manager had to call and make the inquiry several times, before she got the answer. I'm not sure what country the answer came from. So maybe it doesn't matter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted March 18 #10 Share Posted March 18 4 minutes ago, millybess said: I do think a Canadian office would be an improvement. Having said that, on our cruise in January the Guest Services Manager reached out to Viking about a question we had for our cruise next month. She ended up with someone based in South Africa who was of no help at all. The GS Manager had to call and make the inquiry several times, before she got the answer. I'm not sure what country the answer came from. So maybe it doesn't matter. I've just been corrected. She actually reached out to the GM on Viking Orion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cienfuegos Posted March 18 #11 Share Posted March 18 Many companies will work hard to attract and retain good customers. It's amazing how Viking Ocean corporate seems to take customers for granted. That's never a good thing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted March 18 #12 Share Posted March 18 3 minutes ago, Cienfuegos said: Many companies will work hard to attract and retain good customers. It's amazing how Viking Ocean corporate seems to take customers for granted. That's never a good thing. Especially when they have an almost endless supply of new ships arriving to fill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted March 18 #13 Share Posted March 18 33 minutes ago, Heidi13 said: Especially when they have an almost endless supply of new ships arriving to fill. Well, it's certainly not their sales offices that are going to do that for them. It's the onboard ambiance, the crew and the $25 deposit. In our 5 years of sailing with Viking, we've only found 1 agent that is very good and on top of things and very responsive. She is the only person besides "our" travel agent that we now deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJD117 Posted March 18 #14 Share Posted March 18 1 hour ago, millybess said: Well, it's certainly not their sales offices that are going to do that for them. It's the onboard ambiance, the crew and the $25 deposit. In our 5 years of sailing with Viking, we've only found 1 agent that is very good and on top of things and very responsive. She is the only person besides "our" travel agent that we now deal with. We’ve been sailing with Viking for five years, too. But our experience has been different than yours. We book our cruises directly with the company, rather than through a TA, so we’ve encountered quite a few Viking agents along the way. They’ve all been helpful. In fact, two days ago we booked a new cruise with a Viking agent in Phoenix. He was top-notch in every respect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted March 18 #15 Share Posted March 18 1 minute ago, SJD117 said: We’ve been sailing with Viking for five years, too. But our experience has been different than yours. We book our cruises directly with the company, rather than through a TA, so we’ve encountered quite a few Viking agents along the way. They’ve all been helpful. In fact, two days ago we booked a new cruise with a Viking agent in Phoenix. He was top-notch in every respect. We also book directly with Viking and transfer to an agent. That is good to know. I'm glad you've found competent agents. For us, they have been few and far between. And it's not just us. We have encountered 3 officers on 3 different cruises who have been subtly amused dealing with the sales offices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Peregrina651 Posted March 20 #16 Share Posted March 20 On 3/18/2024 at 3:31 PM, millybess said: In our 5 years of sailing with Viking, we've only found 1 agent that is very good and on top of things and very responsive. She is the only person besides "our" travel agent that we now deal with. My go-to person left during COVID. Now I am high and dry.😒 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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