Can you transfer an onboard booking to another cruise?

[junglejane]

We're new Viking cruisers. We went on our first Viking cruise last Fall to the Panama Canal. While onboard, we booked an Into the Midnight Sun itinerary for June 2025. Final payment is due 5/31. For various reasons, we probably won't go ahead with this date and itinerary. My question is whether it's possible and worthwhile to transfer this booking to another date, which would probably also be a different itinerary.\? Or do we need to just start over with a new booking on whatever terms are available? Thanks for your help!

[OneSixtyToOne]

14 minutes ago, junglejane said:

We're new Viking cruisers. We went on our first Viking cruise last Fall to the Panama Canal. While onboard, we booked an Into the Midnight Sun itinerary for June 2025. Final payment is due 5/31. For various reasons, we probably won't go ahead with this date and itinerary. My question is whether it's possible and worthwhile to transfer this booking to another date, which would probably also be a different itinerary.\? Or do we need to just start over with a new booking on whatever terms are available? Thanks for your help!

 

I’m curious that if you booked onboard why your payment date isn’t 6 months out? It should be due 12/31 or thereabouts. That is one of the perks to booking onboard or having an existing booking.

 

To answer your question definitely, it’s best to call Viking and see what your options are. 

 

Edited April 28 by OneSixtyToOne

[Squawkman]

6 minutes ago, junglejane said:

We're new Viking cruisers. We went on our first Viking cruise last Fall.  While onboard, we booked an Into the Midnight Sun itinerary for June 2025. Final payment is due 5/31.

To begin, your final payment date should have been 12/24 - 6 months hs final payment is a perk of booking on board. Having said that, you should be able to transfer the booking to another date/itinerary, but you will lose any perks gained by booking on board. Don’t know how Viking will treat any OBC used on your Panama cruise. Worst case, you’ll lose your deposit which I assume was $50 for both of you - but you can take dvantage of any promos on the replacement cruise.

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

To begin, your final payment date should have been 12/24 - 6 months hs final payment is a perk of booking on board. Having said that, you should be able to transfer the booking to another date/itinerary, but you will lose any perks gained by booking on board. Don’t know how Viking will treat any OBC used on your Panama cruise. Worst case, you’ll lose your deposit which I assume was $50 for both of you - but you can take dvantage of any promos on the replacement cruise.

Do you lose any tripmate insurance you might have purchased? I thought I’ve read that is not transferable.

[junglejane]

We didn't buy any Viking trip insurance. We did transfer our booking to our TA, so I'll reach out to her on Monday and ask if final payment can be postponed. We're in the middle of a home remodel and it's just not a good time for us to pay for this cruise right now. But if we can postpone final payment we might reconsider keeping it.

[Squawkman]

2 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Do you lose any tripmate insurance you might have purchased? I thought I’ve read that is not transferable.

I wouldn’t know as I don’t use Tripmate - but that’s a great question to ask Viking before finalizing a transfer. One thing I can say (as I just did a transfer a few weeks ago) is your deposit is transferred.

[Squawkman]

1 minute ago, junglejane said:

We didn't buy any Viking trip insurance. We did transfer our booking to our TA, so I'll reach out to her on Monday and ask if final payment can be postponed. We're in the middle of a home remodel and it's just not a good time for us to pay for this cruise right now. But if we can postpone final payment we might reconsider keeping it.

Good luck with that - your best argument would be to hold the on board agent responsible as the terms posted on the ship indicate 6 months. 

[floinnc]

We also recently decided to switch cruises, contacted my travel agent and got our deposit transferred. I contacted the company I bought insurance from (not Tripmate) and made the change in itinerary. I had insured just the deposit and that wasn't a problem. After we make final payment, we pay the policy in full. After a really bad experience with tripmate, I'll never use them again.

[M N Papa]

I believe one of the benefits of booking onboard is the ability to transfer your cruise to another without losing any of your benefits.

 

We did this last year when Viking significantly lowered the price of the Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles Panama Canal cruise than ran over Christmas and New Years. Fortunately there were 2 scheduled that ran several days apart. Since Viking would not lower the price, we transferred the cruise (through our travel agent) to the other cruise. We got the lower price and kept out benefits.

[CDNPolar]

In our experience, and we have done this several times, you can transfer any deposit to any cruise at any time before final payment.  Once you make final payment then you may run into challenges.

 

I rather doubt that Viking are going to negotiate less than 6 month terms with you, but you can try.

 

Since you are working through a TA, all of this must be done with the TA.

 

I would choose a future date for the same cruise if you are committed to that Itinerary, however note that if the cruise is more expensive in the future date, Viking are not going to honour the price you have now.

[Frisky070802]

We booked something on board last August, then changed the cruise in October.  I thought we lost the 6-month payment deadline, as the invoice they sent us showed payment due maybe 10 months in advance.  But we also transferred it to a TA, and so we lost all visibility into such deadlines.  Much to my surprise, the TA told us it was due later -- corresponding I think to 6 months. So ... who knows!   You definitely can change the cruise.  As for the rest, YMMV.  

[CDNPolar]

15 hours ago, Frisky070802 said:

  But we also transferred it to a TA, and so we lost all visibility into such deadlines.  

 

You should not lose visibility of payment deadlines because you are working with a TA.

 

Your TA should be sending you any revision to the Viking invoice as changes or additions are made, and on the top of page one of the invoice is the final payment date.  This is always visible regardless of whether you are working with Viking directly or through a TA.

[Frisky070802]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

You should not lose visibility of payment deadlines because you are working with a TA.

 

Your TA should be sending you any revision to the Viking invoice as changes or additions are made, and on the top of page one of the invoice is the final payment date.  This is always visible regardless of whether you are working with Viking directly or through a TA.

Actually, you are quite right!  I looked back at my email and the first thing I got from my TA after transferring was a copy of the invoice but with a later due date that I simply didn't notice.   

 

Thanks.

Edited April 29 by Frisky070802
correction

[CDNPolar]

1 minute ago, Frisky070802 said:

Hm, I don't think they sent me an updated copy of the invoice, but I can check/ask.  They did send me their own info, with the later deadline.  

 

Thanks.

 

Our TA sends an updated invoice from Viking immediately after any changes....

Just contact your TA as someone is receiving the updated invoices.

[junglejane]

Thanks everyone. My TA got the final payment date moved to 12/4.