What a disappointment Viking has been so far....

We are very experienced travelers (been to over 40 countries) and cruise takers. We loved Cruise West and the small ship experience and took several of their cruises before they went out of business. We then cruised with both Celebrity and Holland America and although there were a few glitches from time to time, enjoyed all of the cruises we took with both. We chose Viking because of its support of Masterpiece Theatre and because we missed the small ship experience we enjoyed so much with Cruise West. We expected Viking's service to be at least a few steps up from budget wholesalers like Vantage. Our experience has been nearly disastrous. The booking agent told us that we would have our flight arrangements in 48 to 72 hours after booking as we were within 60 days of departure when we booked. I suffer from fairly extreme allergies and needed to insure I was not placed in a cabin near a smoking area, and wanted to make airline arrangements that I could upgrade or alter so as not to be in danger of a scented person reclining into my lap. No flight information ever arrived, and on our last request for information, we were told to call customer service, no phone number provided.

Today when we still had not received any flight information, we called Viking customer service which then e-mailed us our flight itinerary. Viking had us booked on flights that would NOT get us to Saigon in time for the two day stay we already paid for, and possibly not in time to board the Viking Mekong before it left Saigon. Finally after hours, a representative of Viking got us on the correct flights, presumably on the correct day, which now involves us having to make alternative plans with house and pet sitters. Further,the representative informed us that Viking could/would not handle upgrades for us on the flights and told us to phone Cathay Pacific which we did. Cathay Pacific told us we could not upgrade thru them because we bought our airfare thru Viking! So we are in a chicken and egg situation. This is outrageous for a travel company that prides itself on being a cut above. I would expect a few minor glitches with Vantage or *************.com, but not even these budget consolidators EVER arranged flights for us that would not get us to our destination until after the ship sailed, as did Viking. We could have saved more than $5,000 by using a consolidator and if this is the standard treatment Viking clients receive, from now on we will.

You have posted on the Viking Ocean forum NOT the Viking River. My husband and I have been on two Viking River cruises and had WONDERFUL experiences on both. I am sorry yours has not been the same. We always book our own flights because I am a control freak and would rather pay a little more and get exactly what I want so I have never had any issues like you are experiencing. I hope your cruise will make up for the flight problems and I bet that it will. We have met wonderful people, shared excellent food, and been on wonderful excursions on both of our two river cruises. The staffs could not have been any more professional or caring. Karl was our chef on the Danube River and I would book another cruise just to get to travel with him. The food was delicious but HE was fabulous. He even let me go on a shopping trip with him in Vienna on my birthday and I, along with a few fellow travellers, picked the cheeses we had for dinner that special night. It was such fun. I will never forget that birthday!

I had read a lot on Cruise Critic before taking our first river cruise and I was not convinced that Viking was the company we should have used based on some of the things I read BUT, after the first trip, we immediately booked the Rhine for the next summer. I am not saying that other companies don't offer excellent trips, I have just never used another company. I do know that people are much more prone to write reviews when something goes wrong than when something goes right . Again, I hope you have a wonderful cruise and tell us all about it when you return! Safe travels

Moved to River Cruising

I'm betting the problem may be a couple problems with the air tickets. Viking has purchased a class of ticket that can't be upgraded "wholesale" and/or the ticket has not been paid for and is not yet released. I think it's likely a combination of both things is keeping the seats from being upgradable!

Seems like Viking did not do a very good job of explaining to the OP that her tickets are not upgradable and instead sent her to talk to the airline knowing darn well that nothing can be done. They should have offered a different price for Economy vs Upgradable seating and assisted the OP.

And then she needs to fire her TA for not dealing with this upfront!

Just checked this sailing and it included a special deal for airfare, so definitely not a class of air that can be upgraded .

JMHO

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Did you actually use a Travel Agent or did you book direct with Viking?

It sounds like OP booked directly with Viking and not through a TA. If you book through a TA, Viking (like other cruise lines) will not then deal with the customer. Situations like this are why some prefer to have a TA on their side. We recently took a Viking cruise (which we LOVED) but had a problem regarding some OBC we were supposed to receive but did not. We had TA handle it and did not have to call customer service, be on hold for long periods, etc. She did all the follow ups and we received a refund.

We had a similar problem with Viking last year for a Christmas cruise. The flights were issued, we had a TA, we never had a choice and we arrived about a half hour before the ship departed (10pm) in Amsterdam. Dinner menu was limited because we were so late, barely even got the chance to have dinner. Last people to arrive. We fired the TA before we left and a new TA tried to help us but she wasnt allowed to intervene for us. I fought with Viking with it for quite some time before we left, nothing. Basically we missed the whole first day. After we got back I posted how disappointed I was with Viking on their Facebook page....low and behold I get a call and they bent over backwards to make it right, but it couldnt be made right because you cant get the day back and who knows that we will get back to Amsterdam one day. I did negotiate a good sized credit tho and we had already booked on the Viking Star so it was used there. Long story short....the cruise was excellent, as was our China cruise with them but the customer service on the front end, thru booking and flights and all that is the worst I have ever dealt with. We are currently trying to get our airfare for a May trip we have booked and are running into the same difficulty....we may end up booking the air ourselves at this point.

We are cruising on the Viking Rhine Getaway this December 20th, we received our itinerary with flights from JFK and they had us traveling all day Saturday and we would have missed Basel and the first day of our vacation. We called Viking and were on the phone with them for an hour and we were able to change flights and work out the details which works best for all of us. They even gave us a 100.00 ship credit for making the changes and being patient with them. This is our 4th river cruise, 3rd with Viking and we have another booked for next August with them. I have always found their customer service outstanding and never had a issue dealing with them. Whatever changes we needed to make they were always helpful, courteous and positive about making any changes so we would have a pleasant trip.

When are the folks at Viking making air arrangements going to learn?? They are suppose to be professionals and Yet they just keep repeating the same mistakes like it's their first time at the Rodeo! Unbelievable .....

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Why such negative remarks about Vantage? We've sailed two wonderful European river cruses with them on beautiful new ships, and never felt we were having a "budget" experience. A third one is booked for 2015! Have you sailed with them or is this just hearsay?

I don't think the OP has a clue about Vantage. Certainly not a budget River cruise, I would actually rate them higher than Viking. Based on reports on this board!

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I'll never understand why people allow a travel company to book them flights over which they have no choice.

I'll never understand why people allow a travel company to book them flights over which they have no choice.

Ditto

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Problems like these are why I always book my own flights!

I don't think the OP has a clue about Vantage. Certainly not a budget River cruise, I would actually rate them higher than Viking. Based on reports on this board!

 

 

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I was going to respond to OP's classification of Vantage as a budget consolidator too, but I was in a bad mood at the time and thought better of it. I have had 7 trips with Vantage, and have 2 more booked, and while I might not put them on an even level with Tauck or AMA, I would not put them much below them either and I would certainly rate them higher than Viking. I have let Vantage make my travel arrangements on all but 2 of my trips and I have to say I've never had a problem that they didn't correct....and those problems usually involved seat assignments plus once when they forgot and booked me on Delta. One call and both times it was fixed within 24 hours. Of course living within driving distance of JFK, makes travel arrangements much easier since there are so many airline choices and so many non-stops every day, but if Viking is making travel arrangements and Cathay Pacific won't allow changes or seat assignments, then they are probably dealing with an airline consolidator, who buys seats in bulk, sells them at discount and if there's a problem, many times the airline will feel no urgent need to help you until after all of THEIR customers are taken care of. This was a lesson learned the hard way, like most travel lessons.

I agree with Nana and Hydrokitty. I admit I am a Vantage cheerleader, because I have been totally satisfied on all the trips with them, either land trips or river cruises.

On the one river cruise where we were stuck for 2 days because of high water, they arranged for tours of Straubing, an outdoor museum, and Regensburg.

The main reason I now make our airline reservations is I have enough miles and a companion ticket to fly business class. At our ages (we will never see 65 again) 10 or more hours in a coach seat is brutal.

We are with you on that too! We now fly Business Class even if we have to pay for it! The poor body just can stand so much!

You can book business class through Viking, but you have to request it. If you book economy with Viking, don't expect that you can upgrade your reservation to business or first class. Regardless of any of Viking's "free air" offers, I would never have Viking, or any other cruise line, book my air. Flying is too stressful, especially to places across the world, and keeping air comfort under my control is too important to me.

You can book business class through Viking, but you have to request it. If you book economy with Viking, don't expect that you can upgrade your reservation to business or first class. Regardless of any of Viking's "free air" offers, I would never have Viking, or any other cruise line, book my air. Flying is too stressful, especially to places across the world, and keeping air comfort under my control is too important to me.

Ah Mackenzie....so nice to meet another control freak like myself. :D Interestingly though, when I'm traveling to Europe and need to be in a specific place at a specific time, I let Vantage do the air. I'm 65+ and always book business air. Somehow I tell myself if anything goes wrong, it's up to Vantage to fix it. Never happened so I don't really know. I find it interesting that Viking won't let you upgrade once you've booked, which leads me to believe even stronger that they purchase plane tickets from a consolidator. The first time I flew business I upgraded a couple of weeks before departure with no problem at all. Vantage gives me my seat assignments but I can call either Vantage or the airline and change my seat and arrange for a wheelchair. I know there will be people who disagree, but I have priced what I pay for business with Vantage and what I would pay on my own and only twice did I save money doing it myself. Usually it's a wash or I save less than $100 and Vantage handles my luggage and transfers me to the hotel or boat. I'm not getting any younger so I like not having to worry about my bags.

It is always better to book your air yourself. If the cruise line books it, it is booked under a group rate and if something goes wrong, there is very little the airline will do to help you. You will be at the very bottom of the list. There is an very large sticky under the Cruise Air forum here on Cruise Critic that explains the entire airline fare structure.

Hi Hydrokitty, I don't know whether you can upgrade to business or first class through Viking after booking economy with them, but the OP was disappointed when "Cathay Pacific told us we could not upgrade thru them because we bought our airfare thru Viking!" Even though I book air on my own, I've always booked the transfers with Viking, and other cruise companies. It makes it so much easier, especially when landing in foreign countries where their currency immediately available.

It doesn't seem like anyone has mentioned custom air with Viking yet. On our first Viking cruise for the Christmas markets last season (with their free air), and an upcoming China cruise with Viking in April, we paid the custom air deviation fee with Viking so we could choose our own flights. For $100 which is a minor charge considering the cost of the cruise, you can handpick your flights. It is true that if the chosen flight is a pricier choice, you will have to pay the difference, but both times the flights we chose (what I considered the ideal flights), were offered with no up charge.

As an example, for the upcoming China cruise, my choice was to fly nonstop from Newark into Beijing and out of Shanghai on United. That flight was agreed upon by Viking. Then you need to request early ticketing. You will have to understand that if the flights are early ticketed, any changes elected will result in exorbitant airline charges, but Viking will book early upon request. The reason they don't normally do early ticketing is so the cruise doesn't pay the air charges too far up front.

After the air was ticketed, I got my record locator number, called United and used miles I had to upgrade to business, so it is possible to do an upgrade even on these "group/bulk" fares as long as you request early ticketing.

IMHO, paying the air custom fee to select your own flights is the best way to go on booking flights. Consider that if you use Viking's air, the transfers are included, so the $100 custom air fee is covered by what you will pay most times to book your own transfers.

Mike

I'll never understand why people allow a travel company to book them flights over which they have no choice.

Absolutely. This. In a nutshell...book your own airfare, use your points, make the connections you want to make, get there when you choose, upgrade if you can, and no complaints. :) It is so easy, really. They are not offering such a great price anyway.

Mike;

I agree that United Airlines will typically let one move seats and buy up. However, the costs are not always the same. If you look at United's Mileage Award system, they charge a different amount of points based on the Class of ticket you purchased. My guess is that upgrade to Business probably cost you at least 125,000 miles plus ~ $s.

Let me add that many airlines will only allow the ticket purchasers to make changes to the ticket, up to 24 hours before the flight. So, if you want to us mileage points with those carriers, you would have to go through Viking. If you utilized a TA, you would have to go through your TA to Viking to the airline.

UA's policy of allowing the ticket holder to change seats and make changes, in lieu of the ticket purchaser often makes UA a good choice for these types of arrangements. A warning from personal experience. We had agreed on the flight arrangements and they were United flights. Got the typical seat bounce around, about a month before the flight, and didn't like where I was relocated. Called United, Oops! It was an United code share flight operated by the European partner, and the international portion of that ticket had not been bought from United. That Alliance partner won't talk to me, only the ticket buyer. So, even if you use United, you'd better know from whom the ticket is being purchased for the flight you are paying for.

Mike;

 

I agree that United Airlines will typically let one move seats and buy up. However, the costs are not always the same. If you look at United's Mileage Award system, they charge a different amount of points based on the Class of ticket you purchased. My guess is that upgrade to Business probably cost you at least 125,000 miles plus ~ $s.

 

Let me add that many airlines will only allow the ticket purchasers to make changes to the ticket, up to 24 hours before the flight. So, if you want to us mileage points with those carriers, you would have to go through Viking. If you utilized a TA, you would have to go through your TA to Viking to the airline.

 

UA's policy of allowing the ticket holder to change seats and make changes, in lieu of the ticket purchaser often makes UA a good choice for these types of arrangements. A warning from personal experience. We had agreed on the flight arrangements and they were United flights. Got the typical seat bounce around, about a month before the flight, and didn't like where I was relocated. Called United, Oops! It was an United code share flight operated by the European partner, and the international portion of that ticket had not been bought from United. That Alliance partner won't talk to me, only the ticket buyer. So, even if you use United, you'd better know from whom the ticket is being purchased for the flight you are paying for.

It actually ended up being 30,000 miles each way plus the $550, which I thought was reasonable. Converting the miles to $ plus the fee $, ended up being about half the cost of booking Business directly. Also, Viking charge for the air for East coast flights was $400 less per person than booking directly. I have been monitoring the flight costs direct since my purchase, and the lowest it has dropped was still $200 per person more than the Viking cost for these nonstop flights.

I rarely take the air from the provider, but in the two Viking cases, it was cheaper to do so, than booking directly (not even factoring in the transfers included). On our Oceania cruises, I have never taken their air, as pulling it back out of the cost has always saved me over $200 per person.

Mike