Question on cancelling a single passenger, or replacing them...

[potchak]

Ok, so a little background. My husband and I are taking my niece on a graduation trip in 2026. She has chosen a Holland & Belgium river cruise and we are going to extend it a couple days on the front and end on our own. Since we have 3 passengers, we have to pay for 2 cabins, and the single supplement is basically a full cabin expense. So now I have 2 questions:

1) If we decided to take someone else with us and they find out later they cannot go, Can we change them out for someone else or just cancel them altogether and still just pay for the room. 

2) Say we book it for 3 people in 2 cabins, can we actually add a person for no cost later on since we are basically paying for that cabin anyway? 

 

Appreciate the help, I keep getting the run around from Viking and they will not go into specifics so cannot seem to get a clean answer. Thanks!

[Roz]

Viking is not a solo friendly line, so they're going to get the 2nd passenger fare out of you regardless.  Are you working with a TA?  They may be able to get a straight answer for you.

 

Are you married to Viking?  The reason I'm asking is that other river cruise lines, Uniworld, Tauck, and Ama, to name a few, offer solos cabins with no supplement or a reduced supplement.  They also provide more inclusions.  For instance, on Tauck, I can book their lowest category (aquarium class) of cabin with no supplement. 

 

Since the cruise isn't until 2026, you could cancel with Viking and book with someone else.  That way you wouldn't have to be hunting down a sailing companion for your niece.  

[ural guy]

Potach-  I tried to do a name change years ago on a Viking cruise and it was a no-go. 

 

I've brought my young 20's daughters on river cruises, and I'm glad/they're glad, that they had someone their age, a buddy, to go off and do things together.

 

They have shared moments of joy over bags of Haribo candy or spaghetti ice cream that seem to be favorite trip memories, that if it was just one daughter and my spouse and I, just wouldn't be that AMAZING!!!

 

I've walked into their room/cabin on the last night of a trip to Europe, and they are cross leveling their bags so all the candy doesn't make any one bag overweight.  They are now in their 30's, and they still do it.

 

Also, as others have said, other lines have cruises that waive the solo person fee.  Gate 1 is a line that runs a little less $ than Viking.  Enjoy.

[DTZSCruise]

Viking charged us quite a bit of money just to change the name on a reservation. They don't seem very customer friendly after the initial reservation is made. When we asked what would happen if we wanted to go from two to one person in the cabin, they told us it would be totally rebooked as a new reservation -- at the current price.

[YoungDubFan]

Avalon also waives the single supplement on a lot of cruises. I have heard they will waive it for 5 cabins per sailing, but I am not sure if they do it on every sailing or just select ones. There are always lots of solos on Avalon. 

[potchak]

Thank you all for your insight. Yes we are married to Viking. We really enjoyed that experience when we took them in May. We also get significant discounts because we sailed in the last 12 months. They also have the itinerary we want to take. I think we have decided to just suck it up and keep it just the 3 of us. We do not want someone else trying to take away anything from her experience. 

 

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, potchak said:

We really enjoyed that experience when we took them in May.

Do you mean an ocean cruise or a river cruise? We have had people say they came from ocean cruising on Viking to river cruising and were disappointed with the river cruise experience on Viking.

 

Discounts obviously help to stay loyal.

 

notamermaid

 

[potchak]

20 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Do you mean an ocean cruise or a river cruise? We have had people say they came from ocean cruising on Viking to river cruising and were disappointed with the river cruise experience on Viking.

 

No we went on a river cruise with Viking in May and loved every minute. 

[YoungDubFan]

Before you book, it may be worth getting a quote from one of the other lines. Even with your discounts, if AMA, Avalon or another line waives the single supplement, you may be able to travel significantly cheaper than with Viking. Most of the major companies have very similar itineraries. It doesn’t hurt to get a quote. 

[Roz]

Agree 100% with @YoungDubFan.  It's worth a look and doesn't cost anything. 

[UDChE89]

Absolutely get a quote from other lines.  Your loyalty savings will pale in comparison to not having to pay Viking’s full fare for a single person.  Other lines also include much more than Viking.  Uniworld, for example, also includes alcohol at all times not just during meals.

[victory2020]

I have added a second person to my sailing ( after final payment)  & they charged about $500 total for taxes. I was told that if you add a person you cannot change them out to a different person though.