Viking Air, how much is too much?

[Deb922]

I’ve been looking into an ocean cruise for late fall 2025. 
 

Venice to Athens, there are 2, one 10 day and one 8 days in duration. 
 

The price Viking is showing for air from Detroit is $1599 for economy and $1000 more for premium  economy. 
 

At what point would you think that the price offered is not a value and would book on your own? 
 

Especially seeing all the complaints about Viking Air and that I would definitely add air plus for an additional cost. 

[WanderingBrit]

Unless it's free I would not use a cruise line provided air, as I'm not willing to cede that much control to someone else. We also have a ton of points and can only leverage them when booking direct with the airline.

[JM0115]

6 minutes ago, Deb922 said:

I’ve been looking into an ocean cruise for late fall 2025. 
 

Venice to Athens, there are 2, one 10 day and one 8 days in duration. 
 

The price Viking is showing for air from Detroit is $1599 for economy and $1000 more for premium  economy. 
 

At what point would you think that the price offered is not a value and would book on your own? 
 

Especially seeing all the complaints about Viking Air and that I would definitely add air plus for an additional cost. 

If you have points you can use you may want to do that. Otherwise look at the prices online and compare and see what makes sense to you. I would definitely add Viking Air Plus so you can pick your flights - it is now $150 pp additional. Prices right now for this fall (I know you said 2025) are around $1000 RT for economy and $2500 for Premium Economy so it looks like a good deal in premium economy.

[OneSixtyToOne]

This is a matter of personal preference. Some people want to control the whole process others want an integrated trip with Viking taking care of any issues. We typically use Viking Air because we have received free air on some occasions and on others we don’t want to worry about transfers or delays. We also live close to a major airport.
 

On our last cruise to Venice, there was an Italian air controllers strike the day of embarkation. Although we were not affected (we always do an extension to arrive early. BTW NEVER fly in the day of the cruise) Viking handled the situation for those who had Viking Air. On another cruise, we were delayed by weather and arrived very late in Athens. Viking was waiting for us and arranged a private car service for just the two of us. My point is you must also factor in the cost of ground transportation with the air cost.

 

As far as air plus is concerned, don’t purchase it until you are sure you need it. Viking updated their online air interface on MVJ a few years ago and you have more control over your flights. You can search for different ones and even change airports. If you fail to find anything of your liking then you can purchase it.

 

Also be aware that any airline information that you may see online is just a placeholder. Airlines change this all the time and it isn’t locked in until very close to the date of departure. For our return flight from Barcelona last year, a few days before our cruise, Lufthansa dropped our return flight due to an aircraft availability issue. Viking handled all of it for us.

 

One other thing, if you purchase the Viking extensions, ground transportation is included, even if you book your own air. If you are DIY, you can also purchase ground transportation if you arrive and/or depart on the same day as the ship.

 

If you plan on a cruise that starts in Venice, don’t underestimate the value of Viking handling the ground transportation. You will not dock in Venice and transportation to the ship can be costly. Venice is best explored by staying in the city for a couple of nights. IMO you don’t want to do Venice without staying there.

Edited March 27 by OneSixtyToOne

[formernuke]

Even without Air plus if you don’t like the selected flights they give wa couple of options to choose online. If you don’t like them then try Air plus

[FlyerTalker]

As noted above, you are not going to find actual flight information and pricing loaded into the GDS until late this year.  Consequently, you are way too early to be on this decision.

 

One thing you might want to start to consider is using one of the many "free stopover" programs that are available.  Since you will be connecting along the way anyhow, why not add in some additional vacation locations.

 

Depending on the airline, you can get everything from a stopover at no increase in airfare, through tours and discounts, to free hotel nights.  This gives you some excellent opportunities to leverage one round-trip into additional places to enjoy.

 

European/MEA cities where stopovers are being offered include Istanbul, Lisbon, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Reykjavik, Helsinki, Zurich, Muscat, Dublin, Madrid, Amsterdam and Paris.

 

Personally, I'd be looking at the Istanbul program from Turkish.  TK offers some very attractive pricing for their TATL flights, along with hotel and tour benefits.  Plus, they offer non-stops from DTW to IST, which means you would be on one-stop itineraries for both Athens and Venice.

 

But in all cases, just do some preliminary considerations -- you are way to far out for anything else.

 

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

One other thing. Be aware that “premium economy” is only guaranteed on the transoceanic leg. 

[FlyerTalker]

And be very sure you understand what is being discussed/offered with "premium economy".

 

 

[Deb922]

Thanks so much for the thoughtful replies. 

 

Made me think more about the pros of using Viking’s air. You hear so much about the cons and not as much the pros. 
 

I loved the idea of using the air as a stopover. We did Cities of Light river cruise last year and would love to spend more time in Paris. 
 

My husband and I would love to take the Tuscany extension that is offered on many of the ocean cruises that stop in Italy. It’s also an option to think about visiting Istanbul, which we have never been to. 
 

I’d really like to book this cruise after our daughter’s wedding this summer. Trying to figure out what options we want. 
 

thanks so much

 

We've done two Viking River Cruises so I’m familiar with Vikings idea of premium economy. Both of our river cruises I was able to book with air included, not an extra charge. I don’t think that will happen with the Mediterranean cruises and our timeline. 
 

 

Edited March 27 by Deb922

[OneSixtyToOne]

21 minutes ago, Deb922 said:

My husband and I would love to take the Tuscany extension that is offered on many of the ocean cruises that stop in Italy. It’s also an option to think about visiting Istanbul, which we have never been to. 

We took the Tuscany extension last year and absolutely loved it. You can find my write up in this “Live” thread starting at post 66

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2906353-almost-live-viking-sky-journey-to-antiquities-jan-2023/?do=findComment&comment=64733283

 

[Mike07]

5 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

And be very sure you understand what is being discussed/offered with "premium economy".

 

 

 

 

Ok, what do they mean? Main Economy versus Comfort+?

[PasadenaDave]

Don't underestimate the issue of non-stop versus multiple stops.  If your local airport is not a major international hub, you might find yourself flying a short flight from home airport to Hub and then change again in Europe.

Each segment brings risk.  Depending on where your home airport is, consider driving or flying a budget airline to a hub for a direct nonstop flight.

I recall a business trip to London in the early 90's when we changed return flight routing from Heathrow to LAX to Heathrow-Dallas-LAX.  It was a Friday afternoon and after flying forever and then changing planes to drop down to an MD-80 to LAX was misery....and I was still young!

[Mike07]

Just now, PasadenaDave said:

Don't underestimate the issue of non-stop versus multiple stops.  If your local airport is not a major international hub, you might find yourself flying a short flight from home airport to Hub and then change again in Europe.

Each segment brings risk.  Depending on where your home airport is, consider driving or flying a budget airline to a hub for a direct nonstop flight.

I recall a business trip to London in the early 90's when we changed return flight routing from Heathrow to LAX to Heathrow-Dallas-LAX.  It was a Friday afternoon and after flying forever and then changing planes to drop down to an MD-80 to LAX was misery....and I was still young!

 

 

Op appears to be in international enough and that's my favorite hub airport. Delta Crew based in DTW is very hit or miss tho.

[Deb922]

@OneSixtyToOne thanks for the link! Now I want to read all of your trip reports! Loved everything about your trip and was excited to see that you did the extensions in Athens and Tuscany. 
 

@PasadenaDave we’ve flown from our small regional airport in Michigan and driven to Detroit. For international flights we much prefer to drive to Detroit. Can’t beat getting in around 3pm and being able to drive home. That last layover after an international flight is rough! 
 

Hoping by using a major airport that we won’t have to layover in an US airport. We didn’t when we flew with Viking before. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen, I’m aware. 
 

 

[Peregrina651]

I have always taken the stance that each trip is different and each trip calls for a different decision. I have both booked flights thru Viking Air and booked my own, depending on prices and where we are headed. When I do use Viking Air, I pay for "custom air" so that I can have a say in which flights are booked and so that I can have the job done closer to when the airlines opens the travel dates for sale.

 

Since you don't currently have the information you need to make the decision (because it is not available), it will cost you nothing to include Viking Air on your initial booking as it can be removed (and refund if you have already made final payment) once flight information becomes available and you can make an informed decision. You can cancel the air portion anytime up to 70 days prior (??, so ask Viking the exact cut off); funds already paid will be refunded.

 

Sometimes Viking Air is a significant savings and sometimes it isn't, and you don't know until you can compare actual prices.

[FlyerTalker]

6 hours ago, Mike07 said:

Ok, what do they mean? Main Economy versus Comfort+?

 

Comfort Plus, or Main Cabin Extra, or Economy Plus (for DL, AA and UA respectively) are NOT the same as Premium Economy.

 

Take some time to do research.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Sometimes Viking Air is a significant savings and sometimes it isn't, and you don't know until you can compare actual prices.

 

And sometimes there's more to an airline trip than just the price.

 

 

[Mike07]

17 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Comfort Plus, or Main Cabin Extra, or Economy Plus (for DL, AA and UA respectively) are NOT the same as Premium Economy.

 

Take some time to do research.

 

 

 

 

Comfort Plus is premium experience in economy, though.

[FlyerTalker]

44 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

Comfort Plus is premium experience in economy, though.

 

And using language like that merely conflates the issue.

 

 

[ericosmith]

6 hours ago, Mike07 said:

Comfort Plus is premium experience in economy, though.

I don't know if I'd call 3" more leg room and a free drink a premium experience.  

[CILCIANRQTS]

8 hours ago, ericosmith said:

I don't know if I'd call 3" more leg room and a free drink a premium experience.  

3 inches of additional legroom makes a massive difference on a long international flight -IMHO.

[CILCIANRQTS]

On 3/27/2024 at 10:47 AM, JM0115 said:

If you have points you can use you may want to do that. Otherwise look at the prices online and compare and see what makes sense to you. I would definitely add Viking Air Plus so you can pick your flights - it is now $150 pp additional. Prices right now for this fall (I know you said 2025) are around $1000 RT for economy and $2500 for Premium Economy so it looks like a good deal in premium economy.

150% of the base fare EXTRA for a bigger seat sure doesn’t seem like a good deal to me. Maybe if I did a careful cost analysis from the airline’s perspective…

I fail to understand this premium economy frenzy. Of course, I’ve never paid $1800 for a cabana on a private island either. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

44 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

150% of the base fare EXTRA for a bigger seat sure doesn’t seem like a good deal to me. Maybe if I did a careful cost analysis from the airline’s perspective…

I fail to understand this premium economy frenzy. Of course, I’ve never paid $1800 for a cabana on a private island either. 

No middle seat and more space for armrests 

UAL:

Edited March 29 by OneSixtyToOne

[Mike07]

43 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

150% of the base fare EXTRA for a bigger seat sure doesn’t seem like a good deal to me. Maybe if I did a careful cost analysis from the airline’s perspective…

I fail to understand this premium economy frenzy. Of course, I’ve never paid $1800 for a cabana on a private island either. 

 

 

The people that buy premium seats on long hauls are usually airlines most profitable passengers. Those of us in cattle class are the gate lice of the industry.

 

I wouldn't be against airlines going strictly premium seating on every international flight though.

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 minute ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

The people that buy premium seats on long hauls are usually airlines most profitable passengers. Those of us in cattle class are the gate lice of the industry.

 

I wouldn't be against airlines going strictly premium seating on every international flight though.

 

Here is a great presentation about the economics of airline class