Viking River Cruise:Buyers Beware

On 7/7/15 I booked a Paris to Avignon river cruise leaving Sept.14 2016.. This was booked through a reputable travel agent.The web, brochure and communication with the travel agent and Viking had stated that the riverboat was to leave from Paris. At no time was the communication in media stating that the boat was to leave from a suburb of Paris. After checking Cruise critics, there was several disheartening reviews that the boat had left from a suburb of Paris. In fact, Viking had known prior to the riverboat going on its first cruise that the boat was not to leave from Paris proper. My husband and I were very upset about this news and immediately contacted our agent. By that time, miraculously, Viking had changed its website to reflect this change and now was telling travel agents as well. We felt very deceived and as such cancelled our booking on 7/13/15 a mere 6 days after the booking. Viking would only give us back $800 of our $1000 dollar deposit. We feel that considering the deception upon our booking of Viking knowing about the new departure place,(and not informing the travel agent or website ) and the relative immediacy of our requesting a cancellation the only considerate action on Vikings part would be to refund the remaining $200.00 of our deposit. The agent tried to discuss this with Viking and they would not agree. When I personally sent a communication to Viking their “cut and paste” answer was to check the original legal paperwork stating the cancellation policies. My first mistake was not to check Cruise Critic first before booking to notice that several people had noted that the ship was not leaving Paris proper and the second mistake was believing a company with the reputation of Viking would not do a “bait and switch” on its customer and when called to task about it they would not do the honorable thing in refunding my whole deposit. When it comes to Viking…BUYER BEWARE!

On 7/7/15 I booked a Paris to Avignon river cruise leaving Sept.14 2016.. This was booked through a reputable travel agent.The web, brochure and communication with the travel agent and Viking had stated that the riverboat was to leave from Paris. At no time was the communication in media stating that the boat was to leave from a suburb of Paris. After checking Cruise critics, there was several disheartening reviews that the boat had left from a suburb of Paris. In fact, Viking had known prior to the riverboat going on its first cruise that the boat was not to leave from Paris proper. My husband and I were very upset about this news and immediately contacted our agent. By that time, miraculously, Viking had changed its website to reflect this change and now was telling travel agents as well. We felt very deceived and as such cancelled our booking on 7/13/15 a mere 6 days after the booking. Viking would only give us back $800 of our $1000 dollar deposit. We feel that considering the deception upon our booking of Viking knowing about the new departure place,(and not informing the travel agent or website ) and the relative immediacy of our requesting a cancellation the only considerate action on Vikings part would be to refund the remaining $200.00 of our deposit. The agent tried to discuss this with Viking and they would not agree. When I personally sent a communication to Viking their “cut and paste” answer was to check the original legal paperwork stating the cancellation policies. My first mistake was not to check Cruise Critic first before booking to notice that several people had noted that the ship was not leaving Paris proper and the second mistake was believing a company with the reputation of Viking would not do a “bait and switch” on its customer and when called to task about it they would not do the honorable thing in refunding my whole deposit. When it comes to Viking…BUYER BEWARE!

I'm sorry you're feeling deceived. If the cruise contract specifies that a certain percentage/amount of any deposit is non-refundable, then I think that's all there is to that argument, regardless of how soon you cancel.

Another point, there are many cruiselines (large ship as well as river ships) that say the departure port is the nearest large city (for recognition purposes). I know that many cruiselines say they cruise Los Angeles to (wherever), when the actual ports are in San Pedro or Long Beach, for example.

Since you were able to find out that the departure point was not actually in Paris on your own, possibly you should have done a little more research before booking.

When it comes to Viking…BUYER BEWARE!

There has been a lot of discussion on this topic here CC. It's too bad they chose not to be up front with you in the beginning. I personally believe they should give you a full refund of your deposit. Again, this has been a sore subject with some posters here, and I don't blame them.

Ditto.... Your feeling (and being) mislead is real! You could go over to Elliott.org and see if they can help you :)

You say that Viking changed what was on its website regarding when the boat departed from?

What exactly did the website say before and after the change?

Are other cruise lines still departing directly from Paris, or is Viking the only line that had moved its port?

I'm sorry you're feeling deceived. If the cruise contract specifies that a certain percentage/amount of any deposit is non-refundable, then I think that's all there is to that argument, regardless of how soon you cancel.

 

Another point, there are many cruiselines (large ship as well as river ships) that say the departure port is the nearest large city (for recognition purposes). I know that many cruiselines say they cruise Los Angeles to (wherever), when the actual ports are in San Pedro or Long Beach, for example.

 

Since you were able to find out that the departure point was not actually in Paris on your own, possibly you should have done a little more research before booking.

Agree...it is amazing to me anyways how people continue to not do due diligence before forking out $$$ for a trip. I would guess before you spent the same amount of $$ on new hardwood floors, or a roof for your house or hired a plumber or redid your kitchen, you went on line, asked friends and found out good companies to deal with that met your criteria.

It has been well discussed here on CC about the port of Paris not really being in downtown Paris. A simple google search would have found that.

Obviously the OP must have typed into a google search 'Viking Paris port' or something similar after the fact to find out that CC existed given that they are new to CC.

I do feel sorry for the OP but only because sadly, the information IS out there. Either a very experienced TA or a few moments online BEFORE you booked, would have given you the information YOU needed before booking. As others have said, the cancellation fee is clearly outlined BEFORE you book.

Perhaps flying into Paris and staying a few days on your own in a hotel THEN joining the cruise would be more to your liking.

Paris is a must see one way or the other so hope you can make it happen.

On 7/7/15 I booked a Paris to Avignon river cruise leaving Sept.14 2016.. This was booked through a reputable travel agent.The web, brochure and communication with the travel agent and Viking had stated that the riverboat was to leave from Paris. At no time was the communication in media stating that the boat was to leave from a suburb of Paris. After checking Cruise critics, there was several disheartening reviews that the boat had left from a suburb of Paris. In fact, Viking had known prior to the riverboat going on its first cruise that the boat was not to leave from Paris proper. My husband and I were very upset about this news and immediately contacted our agent. By that time, miraculously, Viking had changed its website to reflect this change and now was telling travel agents as well. We felt very deceived and as such cancelled our booking on 7/13/15 a mere 6 days after the booking. Viking would only give us back $800 of our $1000 dollar deposit. We feel that considering the deception upon our booking of Viking knowing about the new departure place,(and not informing the travel agent or website ) and the relative immediacy of our requesting a cancellation the only considerate action on Vikings part would be to refund the remaining $200.00 of our deposit. The agent tried to discuss this with Viking and they would not agree. When I personally sent a communication to Viking their “cut and paste” answer was to check the original legal paperwork stating the cancellation policies. My first mistake was not to check Cruise Critic first before booking to notice that several people had noted that the ship was not leaving Paris proper and the second mistake was believing a company with the reputation of Viking would not do a “bait and switch” on its customer and when called to task about it they would not do the honorable thing in refunding my whole deposit. When it comes to Viking…BUYER BEWARE!

I don't mean to be a PITA, but suburb, Paris, what is the difference? It is not leaving from somewhere in California, but somewhere near Paris. If you want to cruise the river in Paris, there are lots of boats doing it every day, that cruise will last a few hours. If viewing Paris is your desire, then go to Paris, a few days before the cruise. I am sure Viking will sell you a package, or you could just go to Paris and stay.

Lots of anger and no substance.

ciao

jc

I am sorry but I agree with OP. Firstly if your next holiday said you started the holiday in LA but actually it started in Anaheim then I'm sure you'd be disappointed as I would if I thought a holiday was starting in Sydney but was changed to Penrith. Secondly the OP clearly stated that when the cruise was booked by their TA the advertisement said it started in Paris and after a query their site had changed it to read that it started in a western suburb of Paris - clearly a change in booking conditions - at least where I live in the world. To me that is doing due diligence.

Viking should give back all the deposit but you and I know that won't happen. From all I read on CC Viking don't care if they anger one customer as there are still tens of thousands out there to attract to their product. One day they might just run out of people to offend.

To be clear about this, 3 (THREE) of Vikings older boats do depart from Paris, while a Longboat departs from just outside of Paris (45 to 60 min depending on traffic). It was nearly impossible originally to know the difference until about late May of Early June when passengers started to get "embarkation" changes. And at that time Viking was saying this was an unexpected temporary situation that would be resolved in mid July. That has not happened.... The Marketing and website were very misleading and you had to really search and know what you were looking for to figure out this particular ship did not dock in central Paris as the other 3 Viking ships did.

This sounds similar to some budget airlines who say they fly to a certain city but the fly to an airport some way away. In mitigation Viking may be having a similar problem with French red tape that Scenic had last year, they advertised that they would be actually docking in Honfluer but because the required permits took so long to pass through the various levels for verification it took some months before they could. A lot of problems are down to the same old reason, communication - communication - communication, and this is what the likes of CC helps so much with.

Happy cruising CA

Viking's website states that they were assigned the docking location in LePecq by the Paris port authority. Perhaps they should have been more efficient in posting that information to their website, not sure what the timing was or when that assignment was made. They also state that free shuttles will be offered to the city center. However, that said, it would take alot more than that little inconvenience to get me to cancel such a fabulous trip. The Paris portion is a small part of a very lovely trip. You don't get alot of time in any one spot on a river cruise unless you schedule extra days in a hotel. River cruising does seem to have more things that can go "wrong" than ocean cruising or land trips and that is just the nature of it. Anyone travelling the world needs to be flexible and not let small stuff upset them because there is always stuff that will happen. Not trying to be judgmental or diminish your unhappiness over what has happened, just trying to say that things happen. This is not ideal, but for me, definitely not a deal breaker.

This is really a non-issue. Many cruise lines do this. In Alaska -- cruise lines often say Anchorage when they mean Whittier or Seward. Seward is more than 2 hours away by car and 4 hours in train. They also often mention Rome when it is really Civitavecchia and 2-3 hours away. Very amazed someone would get upset about this.

The OP has the right to feel deceived. Viking has known about the non-Paris docking for some time. Forty-five minutes - one hour from Paris is not docking right in the city as is claimed.

One of the major advertising claims of river cruises is the ability to walk off the boat and enjoy the port city. Riding a bus 1 hour each way through Paris traffic is not my idea of enjoying Paris. From the brochure:

Wake up to a full day in Paris. After breakfast, embark on a half-day tour of this dazzling city and take in its most remarkable sights, including the iconic Eiffel Tower. You’ll also see the École Militaire, Orsay Museum and Latin Quarter and the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame. Then we’ll drive past the Louvre and Opera House and along the famed Champs-Élysées. Return aboard for lunch. This afternoon you’re free to take in the Louvre, shop the fashionable boutiques, visit the artists’ district of Montmartre or enjoy a cruise along the Seine.

I don't think anyone is returning to the ship for lunch and then returning to Paris. That's four hours on a bus for two RT.:eek:

I can also understand why the OP cancelled. Who would want to continue to do business with a deceptive company?

This does not fall into the category of the right of the cruise company to change ports. Viking knew they would not be docking in Paris.

The OP has the right to feel deceived. Viking has known about the non-Paris docking for some time. Forty-five minutes - one hour from Paris is not docking right in the city as is claimed.

 

One of the major advertising claims of river cruises is the ability to walk off the boat and enjoy the port city. Riding a bus 1 hour each way through Paris traffic is not my idea of enjoying Paris. From the brochure:

 

Wake up to a full day in Paris. After breakfast, embark on a half-day tour of this dazzling city and take in its most remarkable sights, including the iconic Eiffel Tower. You’ll also see the École Militaire, Orsay Museum and Latin Quarter and the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame. Then we’ll drive past the Louvre and Opera House and along the famed Champs-Élysées. Return aboard for lunch. This afternoon you’re free to take in the Louvre, shop the fashionable boutiques, visit the artists’ district of Montmartre or enjoy a cruise along the Seine.

 

I don't think anyone is returning to the ship for lunch and then returning to Paris. That's four hours on a bus for two RT.:eek:

 

I can also understand why the OP cancelled. Who would want to continue to do business with a deceptive company?

 

This does not fall into the category of the right of the cruise company to change ports. Viking knew they would not be docking in Paris.

In your magnificient description, I never read walk off the ship and see the Louvre. I saw, embark on a half day tour. Not walking tour. That says bus to me. So bus around Paris, and eventually have lunch on the ship because we are way too cheap to feed you in a lovely French restaurant.

Just saying it is crap, but not exactly lying. Caveat emptor.

jc

The OP has the right to feel deceived. Viking has known about the non-Paris docking for some time. Forty-five minutes - one hour from Paris is not docking right in the city as is claimed.

 

One of the major advertising claims of river cruises is the ability to walk off the boat and enjoy the port city. Riding a bus 1 hour each way through Paris traffic is not my idea of enjoying Paris. From the brochure:

 

Wake up to a full day in Paris. After breakfast, embark on a half-day tour of this dazzling city and take in its most remarkable sights, including the iconic Eiffel Tower. You’ll also see the École Militaire, Orsay Museum and Latin Quarter and the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame. Then we’ll drive past the Louvre and Opera House and along the famed Champs-Élysées. Return aboard for lunch. This afternoon you’re free to take in the Louvre, shop the fashionable boutiques, visit the artists’ district of Montmartre or enjoy a cruise along the Seine.

 

I don't think anyone is returning to the ship for lunch and then returning to Paris. That's four hours on a bus for two RT.:eek:

 

I can also understand why the OP cancelled. Who would want to continue to do business with a deceptive company?

 

This does not fall into the category of the right of the cruise company to change ports. Viking knew they would not be docking in Paris.

And unless people hold their feet to the fire, they're going to continue this practice. They can do what they want, but they risk losing customers. I agree with all you have said ... :)

can understand the disappointment between what was presented as fact and what actually occurred. a lot of that happens in travel the glossy pictures advertising the product does not always faithfully represent what is delivered.

1 travel agent once told me they were selling dreams, people have an idea of what a place will be like. the reality can be so different for many reasons. Paris is such a romantic sounding place and it can be but like any city not everywhere is beautiful. takes time and many visits to find what is the real Paris for you, like any other city.

some docking areas are very ordinary and none of us would like to spend $$$ to see or stay there. but sometimes that is what we do get.

In your magnificient description, I never read walk off the ship and see the Louvre. I didn't say that they walked off the ship in Paris. I said that they had a 2 hour RT bus ride. I wasn't addressing the actual Paris tour, only the wasted time on the transport bus.I saw, embark on a half day tour. Not walking tour. That says bus to me. So bus around Paris, and eventually have lunch on the ship because we are way too cheap to feed you in a lovely French restaurant. And then have another 2 hr RT bus ride if you want to do personal touring. What time is "all aboard". Is there even time to go back to Paris?

 

Just saying it is crap, but not exactly lying. Caveat emptor.

 

jc

My point about the walking off the ship wasn't specific to the Paris tour, but in response to so many comments that an advantage of a river cruise over an ocean cruise is that you dock "downtown" and can walk off the ship and tour at your leisure. No pesky buses.

And Viking handles their ocean cruises very differently. For example from their brochure: Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy , Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy , Athens (Piraeus), Greece . Very clear that you are not going to Rome, Florence, or Athens. You are docking in Civitavecchia, Livorno, and Piraeus.

My point about the walking off the ship wasn't specific to the Paris tour, but in response to so many comments that an advantage of a river cruise over an ocean cruise is that you dock "downtown" and can walk off the ship and tour at your leisure. No pesky buses.

On our cruise there wasn't a lot of walking off into town and most of the tours were bus tours. The ports where you could walk off the ship didn't have anything to really offer for more than about an hour. Other than Belgrade, but then you would probably have wanted a cab to get to the main center of town.

My point still is that the OP, expected to be right in the heart of Paris, and that is probably an unrealistic expectation. That said, it would be awesome if Viking would clean up their advertising. Almost all of the cruise line web pages, whether ocean or river make every port sound like Paris. When some of them just plain suck. :D I think that is in some ways a courtesy to the people in those ports. Nobody wants to have their town called garbage.:eek::D

jc

On our cruise there wasn't a lot of walking off into town and most of the tours were bus tours. We walked off in Vienna and Budapest, in addition to all the small towns on our Danube cruise. The ports where you could walk off the ship didn't have anything to really offer for more than about an hour. Other than Belgrade, but then you would probably have wanted a cab to get to the main center of town.

 

My point still is that the OP, expected to be right in the heart of Paris, and that is probably an unrealistic expectation. Why is that unrealistic? That said, it would be awesome if Viking would clean up their advertising. Almost all of the cruise line web pages, whether ocean or river make every port sound like Paris. When some of them just plain suck. :D I think that is in some ways a courtesy to the people in those ports. Nobody wants to have their town called garbage.:eek::D

 

jc

...

On our cruise there wasn't a lot of walking off into town and most of the tours were bus tours. The ports where you could walk off the ship didn't have anything to really offer for more than about an hour.

I don't think it unreasonable to expect this as routine, especially if one is willing to contact the cruise line to confirm one's expectations. And if it's not going to be that way, then it's helpful to reinforce that fact here if the cruise line is not forthcoming.

With all that said, obviously caveat emptor, and assumptions are dangerous.

In your magnificient description, I never read walk off the ship and see the Louvre. I saw, embark on a half day tour. Not walking tour. That says bus to me. So bus around Paris, and eventually have lunch on the ship because we are way too cheap to feed you in a lovely French restaurant.

 

Just saying it is crap, but not exactly lying. Caveat emptor.

 

jc

AMA bussed us back to our river boat in St. Petersburg all 3 days for lunch which was approx an hour each way. Does that make AMA a bad line? All river boats in St. Petersburg and Moscow were docked pretty far from the heart of those two cities.

I was critical of them bussing us back for lunch as opposed to eating in town but knew they had no choice but to dock that far out.

AMA bussed us back to our river boat in St. Petersburg all 3 days for lunch which was approx an hour each way. Does that make AMA a bad line? All river boats in St. Petersburg and Moscow were docked pretty far from the heart of those two cities.

 

I was critical of them bussing us back for lunch as opposed to eating in town but knew they had no choice but to dock that far out.

I am sorry, but when we went with Vantage they put us up in high class hotels at both ends. This eliminated the long drives from the boat to the city.

The traffic in both cities is a horror!. Some of the lower price lines keep you on the ship rather than paying for hotels at both ends.

See our trip story at

http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/russia2013.pdf

I cannot believe all the experts on this thread telling the OP how unreasonable he or she is being.

I was on the Paris and the Hearts of Normandy cruise last month on Viking. When I booked it was advertised as being in Paris very close to the Eiffel Tower. It would be in Paris for a total of three nights (out of 7). Two nights at the beginning and the last night. Well, the Viking Rinda has been stationed in Le Pecq, instead of paris. Only recently did Viking feel it necessary to update their website. Given the choice to cancel without penalty, I would have done the same. I would have been happy to have taken another Viking cruise.

Le Pecq for three days? Viking- Are you serious?

OP- More power to you!

We could walk off in the towns in Eastern Europe too, but there wasn't anything to do after about an hour. Now Budapest and Vienna are great cities to walk into.

Unrealistic, ok how about wishful thinking. When I see pictures of Paris, I sometimes see River cruise ships sailing, but I have never seen a dozen or more lined up along the bank like on the Pest side of the Danube in Budapest.

My primary point is and was, that you need to do more research if you don't want to be dissappointed when booking a trip. People see something on TV or the internet and they think they know what they are getting. If something is a deal breaker for you. Such as being docked in Paris next to Notre Dame, then you had better specifically ask that question of your reputable TA. I have been using the same reputable TA for over a decade now, and I have to hold her hand when we get out on these crazy river cruises world. A cruise to the Caribbean she is all over, a river cruise... she is not quite all over.

Travel getting the best room the best tour the best meal is hard. Sometimes you wander into it, but usually you have to dig it out and that is hard.

jc<---- JMHO and YMMV

PS I don't mean to be controversial, but when I read posts like the OP's I kind of go into really.... what the heck did you think you were doing mode. I have met lots of bad travelers in my 30 plus years of international travel.