stephenandrew

You might take a sweater for the dining rooms…I found them to be a bit chilly.

FWIW, If you are unable to book this with Viking, I wouldn’t worry. You can book this same excursion independently….just google it to find the company/website. Instead of relying on Viking getting you to the excursion, you’ll just need to catch a cab, which won’t be a problem.

We went to Virgin Gorda on our own…took Sensations Ferry at 8:30 am, and returned on their 1:45 pm Ferry. They have a “package” where they will drive you from the pier in VG to the Baths and back with RT Ferry tickets for a reasonable price…I forget what it is, but way cheaper than Viking. Easy to do yourself. We booked an Island Tour with a guy named “Royston” on St Kitts. He will take you pretty much wherever you want to go—-we saw the entire Island….lots of scenic views, hit the beach, saw a fort. You can get his contact info on the St Kitts port of call Board. Caution: it is not a deluxe tour—-his Toyota van is uber run down, but it adds to the experience. Nice kid too. St Lucia we used Israel King and took a speed boat tour around the island….hit some beaches, did some snorkeling. If you want to do some hiking ad go to the volcanic baths, you can do that too. Jerome was our Captain….very nice guy as was his first mate—-Chris. We booked their larger boat….Israel King II….very comfortable. St Thomas…we used Stormy Pirates out if Red Hook and took a cat ride for 6 hours….snorkeling, lunch, sailing. By far our favorite excursion, but we had perfect weather. The owner is a bit particular about how she handles things, but the entire operation is well done, very professional. I’d do this trip 100 times more.

We did not take any of the Viking excursions except for the included (free) walking tour of Old San Juan. I’m not a big fan of group tours, but the the San Juan walking tour was pretty decent—-good guide, saw some interesting sights, time spent was appropriate at different places, etc. For the other islands we booked our own excursions and got a few suggestions on the port of call boards here. We like snorkeling and sailing so that’s where most of our focus was, but we did take one island tour on St Kitts. You can walk into town for all of the ports—-you should have no trouble hiring a taxi at any of them. We were partial to Virgin Gorda, St Lucia and St Thomas, but we spent all our time on the water or at the beach on those places which is kind of our thing.

We just got back from the 12/20 to 12/30 cruise. This was our first Viking experience. It was very nice and we enjoyed ourselves, but based on our experience I wouldn’t be rushing back just to sail Viking. If we found a cruise with an attractive itinerary, price, and schedule, we would certainly consider another Viking cruise, but I’m not sure taking what is essentially a standard Southern Caribbean cruise on Viking represents a fabulous value. Don’t get me wrong, the food, service, cabins, etc. were all solid (though not without issue) but for the price, I think you can get a nearly equivalent experience for less money. This may have to do with the itinerary…Caribbean ports are “standard” places to visit, and the things people like to do are go the beach, sail, snorkel, shop, etc. I can see where being on a smaller ship that is run by an entity that specializes in more “exotic” ports of call would be superior to larger mainstream cruise lines, but I just don’t see Viking adding a lot of value for this itinerary. Again, I’m sure you will enjoy yourself…it is overall a very nice experience. I know I could have taken a similar itinerary for a significantly lower fare…and for me, Viking doesn’t add enough value to justify paying for this itinerary. I’m happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

That makes complete sense. The idea that they would not allow you to rebook the same sate after you canceled the original booking does not.

From the original post, I'm under the impression that Viking won't allow poster to cancel their cruise and rebook the same itinerary/date. Just strikes me as unfriendly customer policy. I didn't recall vouchers being part of the issue in question.

Not that I don’t believe you, but why would Viking require you to book another date? If you cancel, you are subject to losing your deposit…and the agreement between you and Viking would be over. If you call back the next day and book the same cruise, wouldn’t it be just like starting over…new deposit, new terms, etc? If they don’t let you do that, I’d be kinda pissed.

Hi….if I understand you correctly, the promotional change would allow you to get a cheaper airfare and hold on to your cash for a few extra months. I don’t know how Viking does things, but in a worse case, wouldn’t you just be able to cancel your original booking with a loss of your deposit ($100 for two people), and be able to rebook? If the savings from the new airfare is more than $100, you’d come out ahead, plus having the benefit of a not paying in full until later. Hopefully, Viking and your TA will come up with a resolution that makes you happy.

Maybe try harder

Always interesting to see different perspectives on financial matters. I’m sorry Viking’s early payment policy seems to be an impediment to your continued travels on their ships. Fortunately there are many other options.

If your total cruise fare totaled $50,000, paying 18 months in advance effectively means paying about $3100 more at today’s risk free interest rates. Seems to me by saying you don’t want to pay, you are balking at paying $53,000 for a cruise that you would willingly pay $50,000 for, which is of course a perfectly reasonable perspective. I just sort of add the lost interest to the base price of the cruise and decide how to proceed on a cost basis.

I dunno. Seems to me one video on YouTube by a current or ex-Viking employee would make it pretty easy for everyone to know Viking’s tip distribution policy.

I agree. You don’t say otherwise, but I do think it’s worth noting that this is a public (and pretty much anonymous) forum, so one can express anything they want, but they need to be open to (or at least expect) possible disagreement with any opinions shared.

I’m sure they are dancing “on the inside” when you make your entrance after an absence. Some people dance cerebrally.