Viking cruise payment method

I have never encountered this with other cruise lines, but Viking charges a premium to those that want to pay with credit card.

They list it as a 2% cost reduction if you pay via e-check, but really its a ding to those that pay via CC.

Have any of you done the e-check method - positive experience? Comments?:)

Thanks!

Susan

:D:) Hi Susan,

My husband an I booked a cruise for 2014 and we did use the e-check, method and we received a discount. Everything went through smoothly! Anything to save a few dollars!

I have never encountered this with other cruise lines, but Viking charges a premium to those that want to pay with credit card.

 

They list it as a 2% cost reduction if you pay via e-check, but really its a ding to those that pay via CC.

 

Have any of you done the e-check method - positive experience? Comments?:)

 

Thanks!

Susan

We used to always pay via e-check when it was 3%. Does not make sense to do it now: a lot of CC already pay 2% cashback. E.g. CapitalOne, Barclays...

We paid via echeck as well. No problem. Always love a savings!

We cruised with Viking in 2008..no prob with cc. Had a nice time.

When we tried to book another cruise In 2012 things had changed ...we were told we had to pay in full right away ( it was a year in advance)to get the "two for one " . OR pay the double rate ! i HATE THEIR TWO FOR ONE ADS...THEIR PRICES AREN'T MUCH LESS THAN THE OTHER LINES. Looks like they are funding their expansions this way.

We booked the same itineary with Avalon for almost the same price and only had to make final pmt 90 days prior....no cc problems .Had an even better time. We are booked again with Avalon for 2014.

We've done it both ways, and had no issues with the e-check, but recently have gone with credit card payment. We figured that we get the same % cash back on the CC, but get the other benefits of the card as well. If there's a problem with Viking later on, we "might" have some protection with the CC company, which we would not have with Viking itself. Also, for our next cruise in France in 2014, the CC charge bumped us up to the next "tier level" on my Hilton Amex for future stays at Hilton Hotels, which is worth a little something extra to us.

Great comments!

I put my deposit on CC, and have been weighing out the CC benefits for the purchase vs, the 2% price reduction.

Regarding the pay in full policy for the 2 for 1 pricing, "ouch" to have to pay for something in full so far in advance. For me to commit to something like this over a year out is so far from how I roll. But I get it, space is limited and many folks want to do this type of a trip, and as one commented, Viking has to fund their expansion. The "2 for 1" is really a ploy in my estimation. When comparing Avalon, AMA, etc. they all fall within a few hundred dollars of each other, along with the Viking 2 for 1 price. So it doesn't really make sense. Who would pay the non 2 for 1 price anyway? For $9,000 pp we could probably hire a smaller boat and captain to take us up and down the river and to grandmothers house and back. :)

Regardless, we are looking forward to this trip. To awesome scenery, castles, food, cultures, our fellow travelers and some good stories to tell when we get back.

Regarding the pay in full policy for the 2 for 1 pricing, "ouch" to have to pay for something in full so far in advance.

... and Viking don't do this in all their markets either, the USA end of the business seems to have the worst payment policies.

The '2 for 1' deals and crazy early payment plans don't exist in the UK for example. Just simple discounts and a normal deposit system.

Wow!, Mark, that's interesting.

another reason for using a credit card - some companies offer free travel insurance if the trip is paid for entirely with their credit card (Barclay's, for instance.) I haven't had o use this insurance, so don't know how great it is....

I'm looking at European River Cruises for 2014 but will not use Viking if I make the decision on the cruise in 2013. I'm not going to hand over full payment for a cruise that's going to be at least a year away.

Crusinjud,

We didn't have to pay Viking right away, payment is due in full in 9 mos. They were offering a deal that if you signed up for air as well, you didn't have to pay in full. We're probably not going to use Viking for air, instead using our points from CC to book flights. Since there are no flights available yet, we can't really make the decision until they are (our cruise if over a year away). We are under not obligation to book flights with Viking but will need to make that decision at the time payment if due in full.

We also acquired trip insurance with a "cancel for any reason" clause so we feel fairly safe paying in full so far in advance of actual trip date (payment is due in full 6 months before trip date).

We also acquired trip insurance with a "cancel for any reason" clause so we feel fairly safe paying in full so far in advance of actual trip date (payment is due in full 6 months before trip date).

Please share where you purchased the cancel for any reason trip insurance.

You should purchase your insurance when you book your cruise so you are covered if you have to cancel.

I think you are better off using insuremytrip or travelguard vs using the cruise companies offers. JMHO

I use my own insurance company. I actually get an annual plan every year so I am covered whenever I book.

I use my own insurance company. I actually get an annual plan every year so I am covered whenever I book.

The annual plans I have seen only cover medical expenses. Do you have one that also covers trip interruption/cancellation, baggage delays, etc.?

Note the poster is a Canadian, different laws and medical plans.

Note the poster is a Canadian, different laws and medical plans.

Actually, it is a different insurance plan - travel vs provincial medical.

We have medical coverage by virtue of the fact that we live in Ontario. But we also purchase an annual travel insurance plan that covers us for out-of-country medical and travel insurance. It isn't a huge amount of coverage so we top up when we put our final payment down.

The limit on the travel insurance is $1500 before we leave - but that does jump after we leave. Amounts vary based on what we are claiming for (ie: medical costs, trip interruption, baggage delay or loss etc). This amount is per trip - and we can take any number of trips/year - as long as the time away on each trip is less than 16 days. We purchase extra insurance for the travel part based on how much more we need to cover costs (ie: cost of cost of cruise plus change fee for air less $1500). We don't factor in the total cost of the air, as I figure we would probably just re-book and go elsewhere at another time.

Didn't realize until this became a discussion here on CC that our neighbours south of the border don't have the same insurance options.

Fran