final payment

Our travel agent told us that the full amount of a Viking river cruise in early October, 2016 will be due the end of this coming August (one month from now). Is that true?

She did give us a specific hold cabin number, not just a guarantee.

Our travel agent told us that the full amount of a Viking river cruise in early October, 2016 will be due the end of this coming August (one month from now). Is that true?

 

She did give us a specific hold cabin number, not just a guarantee.

On the three river cruises we have done, our final payment was due two - three months prior to departure. Only having to pay one month prior to departure is pretty good.

Hello meow!,

there is a thread here on CC that deals with the final payment "issue" of Viking. I recall that in the said thread or somewhere else a river cruiser asked for postponing the final payment and there was an agreed later final payment date.

Perhaps look for it via the search option.

But I am sure Viking customers will be happy to answer your question from their own experience. :)

notamermaid

I called Viking tonight, and they confirmed that final payments for all 2016 cruises at 2-for-1 pricing are due August 31, 2015 (one month from now).

On the three river cruises we have done, our final payment was due two - three months prior to departure. Only having to pay one month prior to departure is pretty good.

You misunderstood me, I said an October 2016 cruise's final payment is due in August 2015!

I called Viking tonight, and they confirmed that final payments for all 2016 cruises at 2-for-1 pricing are due August 31, 2015 (one month from now).

I am new to Viking, are the prices seen on their website all "2 for 1" sale prices? It does have airfare reduction if we take their offered air.

As notamermaid mentioned, payment a year in advance is Viking's policy. I would ask for a delay in making final payment--worst that can happen is they say no!

Hello meow!,

 

there is a thread here on CC that deals with the final payment "issue" of Viking.

I recall that in the said thread or somewhere else a river cruiser asked for postponing the final payment and there was an agreed later final payment date.

 

Perhaps look for it via the search option.

 

But I am sure Viking customers will be happy to answer your question from their own experience. :)

 

notamermaid

OP, here's some reading material for you:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2219221&page=4

By the way, WE paid-in-full for our May,2016 Viking cruise last month, June,2015

I am new to Viking, are the prices seen on their website all "2 for 1" sale prices? It does have airfare reduction if we take their offered air.

IMHO, "2 for 1" price is normal price.

Look at the numbers. Could you imagine how much business would be lost if the price was doubled?

Another reason not to cruise Viking. No way am I paying in full for a cruise more than a year in advance.

There are lots of other river cruise lines out there that don't want final payment until 90 days prior sailing. Do some research, Viking is not the only fish in the pond.

We have cruised with Viking before and when we booked for Fall 2016, I refused to pay a year + in advance and they said okay.....but I still have to make the final payment 6 months in advance which is absurd. FYI, Lindblad/National Geographic require final payment 3 months before departure.

Payment just after booking is Viking's standard practice, but they are the only cruise line that requires this. Their "2 for 1" pricing is their standard pricing and never goes away. Many have suggested that Viking requires payment just after booking because they are using the money for next years cruises to help operate this years cruises.

As has been stated - take a look at all of the other river cruise companies. You may even be able to find a better deal than Viking with all of the specials going on now for 2016 cruises. And you will most likely get much better customer service on another line, especially if there is an issue with low or high water.

Wow, that is crazy! I can't imagine ever paying in full so far in advance. Then again, I don't usually PLAN my vacations until a few months before I leave anyway...

It's been really interesting to read through CC since we booked our cruise and to see so many people who are already planning for 2016 and 2017 and people about to go on a cruise they booked a year + ago.

As usual, we didn't make plans for our big vacation this year until late March--for a Romantic Danube trip with Viking in late August (a little under 5 months out). We paid in full by late May (about 3 months out), which seemed like a reasonable deadline to me. We got the itinerary we wanted in the time-frame we wanted and didn't seem to have any issues.

Wow, that is crazy! I can't imagine ever paying in full so far in advance. Then again, I don't usually PLAN my vacations until a few months before I leave anyway...

 

It's been really interesting to read through CC since we booked our cruise and to see so many people who are already planning for 2016 and 2017 and people about to go on a cruise they booked a year + ago.

 

As usual, we didn't make plans for our big vacation this year until late March--for a Romantic Danube trip with Viking in late August (a little under 5 months out). We paid in full by late May (about 3 months out), which seemed like a reasonable deadline to me. We got the itinerary we wanted in the time-frame we wanted and didn't seem to have any issues.

It seems until this year, most sailings sold out quickly, so you needed to book a year or more in advance to get what you wanted. We are also not able to book out more than a few months--our February booking for our August cruise is the longest we've ever planned in advance. For our sake, I hope the vacancies continue!

Wow, that is crazy! I can't imagine ever paying in full so far in advance.

Then again, I don't usually PLAN my vacations until a few months before I leave anyway...

 

It's been really interesting to read through CC since we booked our cruise and to see so many people who are already planning for 2016 and 2017 and people about to go on a cruise they booked a year + ago.

 

As usual, we didn't make plans for our big vacation this year until late March--for a Romantic Danube trip with Viking in late August (a little under 5 months out). We paid in full by late May (about 3 months out), which seemed like a reasonable deadline to me.

We got the itinerary we wanted in the time-frame we wanted and didn't seem to have any issues.

Maybe our cruise was an exception but,

May 18, 2016 on the Rinda, "sold out" over a year in advance.

Edit; Booked December,2014. Received an early booking discount and group discount; traveling with our TA.

I have seen several posters state emphatically that they would not book with Viking if they had to pay in full a year ahead of the cruise. Others are willing to pay that year in advance with Vantage to get the 10% discount. What if Viking said that you could pay 90 days out but the price would be 10% higher? Pricing and policies are a part of any company's business plan just as a customers decision to buy or not buy or wait until later is always based on that customer's priorities. Viking has a $100 per person cancellation fee if you cancel more that 121 days prior to a cruise. So even if you make a $500 per person deposit and decide to cancel prior to the cruise, even 4 or 5 month before, you will lose $200 as a couple. That is a part of their plan so do be aware.

I think the idea of having to pay that far in advance is ridiculous. If you're the business owner, it's great. If you're the consumer, it's not good. Although interest rates are the pits right now, I'd rather have control of that money over the next year and collect a little interest on it than hand it over to a company for a cruise I might take in a year.

I think as long as consumers understand the options and pick what works best for them, it's always nice to have choices. But if I've learned one thing from reading Cruise Critic for years, it's that people don't do the research first to find out what the choices are.

Not you. You all are doing the research, because you're here reading & posting :p

Sometimes I plan in advance and sometimes I get a wild itch and do a last minute trip. Whichever, I want to get the best value for my money as possible...

I think as long as consumers understand the options and pick what works best for them, it's always nice to have choices. But if I've learned one thing from reading Cruise Critic for years, it's that people don't do the research first to find out what the choices are.

 

Not you. You all are doing the research, because you're here reading & posting :p

 

Sometimes I plan in advance and sometimes I get a wild itch and do a last minute trip.

Whichever, I want to get the best value for my money as possible...

Remindes me of one of my favorite quotes;

Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit .:p

You misunderstood me, I said an October 2016 cruise's final payment is due in August 2015!

Oops sorry, did read it incorrectly. That is definitely a long way out to make the final payment, it's usually only a couple of months before.

Thank you all. Everything else aside for the moment, can someone please answer me positively that even IF I have to make full payment by end of August, I will get full refund (less 2x$100) if we cancel four months before sailing, meaning before early June, 2016 for early October 2016 embarkation.

We can risk a total of $200 if somehow things don't work out, or if we find more suitable alternatives later. However, we must be certain that the rest is refundable until 4 months prior to embarkation!

We just booked a Viking Cruise last week for June 2016 and fully expected our payment to be due in August, one month after the booking. ( in fact our TA informed us of this when we booked). However when she got the confirmation from Viking it said in writing that the the final payment was due at the end of November and she was rather surprised. Have they perhaps changed their policy and even the TAs are not aware of this?? (We use a large online agency that has a special department for "luxury cruises")

Thank you all. Everything else aside for the moment, can someone please answer me positively that even IF I have to make full payment by end of August, I will get full refund (less 2x$100) if we cancel four months before sailing, meaning before early June, 2016 for early October 2016 embarkation.

 

We can risk a total of $200 if somehow things don't work out, or if we find more suitable alternatives later. However, we must be certain that the rest is refundable until 4 months prior to embarkation!

From VRC "terms & conditions";

Cancellation received | Following charges will apply: (Broken out by days before departure)

121 days or more is $100 per person | 120-90 days is 15% of full fare | 89-60 days is 35% of full fare

| 59-30 days is 50% of full fare | 29-0 days is 100% of full fare

Full Fare is defined as the full cost of any cruise, land or air component purchased from Viking.

From VRC "terms & conditions";

 

Cancellation received | Following charges will apply: (Broken out by days before departure)

121 days or more is $100 per person | 120-90 days is 15% of full fare | 89-60 days is 35% of full fare

| 59-30 days is 50% of full fare | 29-0 days is 100% of full fare

 

Full Fare is defined as the full cost of any cruise, land or air component purchased from Viking.

So, somebody correct me if I'm wrong (math is not my strong suit). If they have to pay in full by end of August, 2015 for a trip that takes place in October, 2016...Viking gets to earn interest on what is a considerably large chunk of money for 13 months....If they cancel 121 days before the trip, Viking will refund all but $100 per person......but Viking gets to keep all the interest earned on that money for 9 months. Not knowing exactly how much OP's trip costs for two people but knowing what most river cruises cost, I would say that Viking is making a lot more than $200 in interest! A winning deal for Viking....for OP? Not so much.