Viking payment in full

Hi Folks,

We have not yet sailed our 1st river cruise, with Viking, in August, but everyone has told me that we WILL do another. Already I have some concerns: When I booked with Viking they wanted payment, in full, up front. Is this the case with all river cruise companies? It sure would be nice to make a down payment then pay some each month.

We booked our trip which included a deposit. Full payment was expected within 30 days. Which we did. I was concerned also because it was 11 months ago. As we count down the days to our first cruise Paris to Normandy on the Rinda. Aug 31st. It is nice to know that we have no other expenses except tips! I also booked our flights and 3 day stay prior to the cruise. I did purchase the insurance because of the 11 months. A lot can happen in a year.

Viking's payment in full wicked early is not the standard. Many/most lines are similar to ocean cruises, an upfront deposit and then the remainder 90 or so days out. Some offer a sizable (10%) discount if you pay cash/electronic check a yer or so in advance.

Most other river companies want payment 90 to 120 days prior to sailing. I booked my Avalon trip in Feb 2014, final pmt is due this Tuesday :) Getting super excited!

I booked with Avalon and only had to put $500 down and our cruise isn't until next year. I'm putting money aside each month in a money market account where I earn a little better interest and I will pay the balance off in full when it's due.

If your final payment is Viking-early, you had better buy third-party trip insurance with vendor default coverage. If you book with one of the industry-standard lines, you can save money by getting insurance from them (since the amount you have at risk of default is very low until shortly before sailing). So that's another factor to consider in comparing the relative cost of different lines.

Some have reported flexibility from Viking if you push back on that point.

Has to be worth a try at least :)

Even Viking don't do it in other markets so the more the USA based people resist the more likely it is that they will eventually change.

If you book with one of the industry-standard lines, you can save money by getting insurance from them (since the amount you have at risk of default is very low until shortly before sailing).

Not sure it the people on the Tom Harper trips would agree with this.

Hi Folks' date='

We have not yet sailed our 1st river cruise, with Viking, in August, but everyone has told me that we WILL do another. Already I have some concerns: When I booked with Viking they wanted payment, in full, up front. Is this the case with all river cruise companies? It sure would be nice to make a down payment then pay some each month.[/quote']

 

This is one of the reasons we will never book with Viking. We are prone to book our cruises as far out as possible and to pay full price within 30 days of booking, in our opinion is ridiculous. So, we have sailed with Vantage, Uniworld and Avalon and will continue to use these companies.

Cole

Some cruise lines will reward you for paying early. We booked with Vantage last year for a cruise this summer and got 10% off for paying in full a year early.

FuelScience

Some have reported flexibility from Viking if you push back on that point.

 

Has to be worth a try at least :)

 

Even Viking don't do it in other markets so the more the USA based people resist the more likely it is that they will eventually change.

I have booked with Viking and twice and said I was not comfortable paying in full a year in advance. Both times they reduced the time for the final payment to 6 months in advance.

If Viking, like Vantage, said we will give you a 10% discount if you pay a year in advance, would you do it ? If Viking raised their price 10% and said we will give you 10% off if you pay a year in advance, would you even notice that their price was 10% higher this year or would you fixate on the 10% savings? Did Vantage raise their price 10%? You tell me what the "real" price of a cruise is. Marketing is a wonderful thing but there is so much slight of hand in the business world it is really hard to know what is going on. In the U.S. the only way car companies can sell cars if they tell the public that there is a "sale" and a rebate. Cruise lines always seem to talk about 2 for 1 pricing which points out that their "list" price is artificially high and then in the fine print they also say that they might not have made any sales at this "list" price. Who would ever pay the "list" price that a cruise lines offers?

If Viking, like Vantage, said we will give you a 10% discount if you pay a year in advance, would you do it ? If Viking raised their price 10% and said we will give you 10% off if you pay a year in advance, would you even notice that their price was 10% higher this year or would you fixate on the 10% savings? Did Vantage raise their price 10%? You tell me what the "real" price of a cruise is. Marketing is a wonderful thing but there is so much slight of hand in the business world it is really hard to know what is going on. In the U.S. the only way car companies can sell cars if they tell the public that there is a "sale" and a rebate. Cruise lines always seem to talk about 2 for 1 pricing which points out that their "list" price is artificially high and then in the fine print they also say that they might not have made any sales at this "list" price. Who would ever pay the "list" price that a cruise lines offers?

Viking and Oceania are the only two cruise lines I'm aware of that do this. Most river cruise and ocean cruise lines have launch fares (which many people pay) and then adjust up or down based on demand. So on the one hand, there is no such thing as a "real" price of a cruise -- but, there are "real" sales and fake constant 2-for-1 sales.

"Took my business elsewhere"

Booked with Avalon, final payment for my Sept 2015 cruise being made tomorrow. Booked Feb 2014 :)

Up until now I wasn't going to post because any post that queries a Viking decision brings out the lynch mobs but as I can not find a record of any Viking customers in Australia that were allowed a final payment 60-90 days out I have to believe that Australians still have to pay 12 months in advance. It reminds me of a "country charity" down here that used to raffle a car every 6 months where the funds from the second raffle paid for the previous car. In the end the "charity" went broke.

Whilst I've had some minor disagreements with our "Host" I consider him a fair and open, impartial Moderator.

Thanks Ozjohnno. Actually, I don't view any of our interactions as disagreements -- I just wish I could get the great deals from Tauck that you have!

I also fell victim to the Viking "my way or the highway" payment program. Never taken a river cruise with them and probably never will. My sole future cruise with them is on their new Viking Star and we had to book calm most 2 years in advance for their 2016 "Viking Homelands" tour. Only reason we chose this was the super cool itinerary, not offered by any other lines to my knowledge. The more I read about Viking, the more I support Jazzbeau, and feel that they are taking advantage of the massive growth in river cruising, which could have future detrimental impact. Imagine every 2 out of 3 ships on the rivers of Europe named Viking "something or another". Meanwhile, I am looking forward to my future cruise with them ---what a hypocrite!;)

In reply to Francis M post no. 20 quote "Viking is n#1 in European river cruising" I would like to point out that in river cruising in Europe CroisiEurope up until last year called itself no. 1 but I am not sure if they were referring to number of passengers, popularity or ships on rivers or no 1 European company. The market and market shares look different to a European customer. It is the perspective and what you put into account that makes no. 1. We all know about statistics don't we?

Just to put the comment into perspective.

To the comments on hostjazzbeau's post: I agree, that post went too far in my opinion. Your wording could put ideas in people that Viking might be up to something it should not be, that is not a good thing to happen to people's minds.

I do not at all agree with a policy of paying one year in advance, but that is not something I will dwell on as it does not concern me as a river cruise company customer. Me being in Europe I have different tems and conditions I can agree to, with all companies I have looked at so far.

I am very sceptical of facebook policies and safety and not a member. Therefore I do not comment on the issue of "banning" a person from membership of a group.

I remain sceptical of aggressive marketing.

This morning on marinetraffic I saw that the Viking Idun, the Viking Ingvi and the Viking Idi are docked in Koblenz. All companies usually only have one vessel in Koblenz at a time, safe the beforementioned CroisiEurope who often have two vessels docked there at the same time.

Happy sailing to all river cruisers regardless of which company they will travel with or are travelling with right now.

notamermaid

Up until now I wasn't going to post because any post that queries a Viking decision brings out the lynch mobs but as I can not find a record of any Viking customers in Australia that were allowed a final payment 60-90 days out I have to believe that Australians still have to pay 12 months in advance.

As luck would have it, the Viking Australia T&C are on the web:

http://www.vikingcruises.com.au/terms-conditions/index.html

"PAYMENT POLICY

A non-refundable cruise/tour deposit of $1,500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation within 3 days of making the cruise/tour reservation or your reservation will automatically cancel. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. Full payment is due no later than 120 days prior to your cruise/tour departure date. Important Notice: Promotions or offers may have different payment terms, please refer to the offer conditions specified when making the booking. The final balance is due no later than 120 days prior to sailing unless otherwise stated or within 3 days if cruise/tour departure date is within 120 days of sailing"

So I guess they are not paying 12 months in advance after all...

Likewise from the US Viking website :

PAYMENT POLICY

A deposit for cruise/land of $500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The final balance is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing. All reservations are subject to cancellation if payments are not received by the due date. Air seats are limited; airfares are subject to change and are not guaranteed until full payment of air is received. Upon full payment by the participant(s) of the amount specified as the Full Fare (see Invoice), Viking Cruises agrees to arrange for the provision of the services as described herein and as modified by supplementary materials. Upon either booking the cruise, receipt of your deposit or full payment or upon the issuance of the Passenger Ticket Contract directly or by a travel agent or upon receipt of a confirmation letter or final Invoice from us, both the Passenger and the Carrier will be fully bound by all of the terms and conditions of the Passenger Ticket Contract. Promotions and special offers may have different payment terms – please refer to promotion or special offers.

And not the cancellation 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.

It is worth noting that the US patrons do not have to post a non-refundable deposit of $1500. So perhaps people have their panties in a bunch over special pricing that requires early paymets.

While it may be true that Viking's "special deals" only require payment in full at time of reservation, it begs the question - do they ever NOT have any special deals? I've yet to find a cruise not on sale on Viking and I've got a plethora of high end, pricey, slick and glossy snail mail (and email) advertisements to prove it!:)

Well viking have certainly been asking for, and getting, payment in advance from many of the people posting on here so either that is a recent change or Viking are making an awful lot of use of the 'special pricing' excuse.

The is no mention in that extract of the exception for special promotions or offers, unlike the Australian T&C.

Make no mistake, I certainly don't support a policy of paying very far in advance of the holiday, I just don't see anything inherently malign in the desire to have customers pay as early as you can get.

If enough people keep saying 'yes' then they will keep doing it, if enough say 'no' then it will stop as they lose business...

While it may be true that Viking's "special deals" only require payment in full at time of reservation' date=' it begs the question - do they ever NOT have any special deals? I've yet to find a cruise not on sale on Viking and I've got a plethora of high end, pricey, slick and glossy snail mail (and email) advertisements to prove it!:)[/quote']

 

The difference is that outside the USA they still have the 'special deals' but they don't have the crazy early payment requirement attached to them all.

CarluDawwg's Ma: I agree completely. I also note that it is hard to get an exact price quote from any of the river cruise lines without contacting them directly. All of these companies have business plans as well as advertising campaigns that they have put in place to make money. As consumers we make choices for many different reasons. I try to do my homework and purchase based on this homework. If I find something objectionable I don't purchase nor do I complain. I just go elsewhere.

So as a special favor you still had to pay twice as soon as other cruise lines. I'm not interested in paying for their future ships -- it sounds too much like a Ponzi scheme to me.

Jazz, is a moderator different from a host? is a host required to be impartial?…i think it is a fair question to ask….and a simple yes or no would be appreciated. Is Cruise Critic ok with your pontifications as a host or moderator vs. a poster?

At this point i agree with Mark T and the others who say you crossed the line …as stated before, words are important. Change my mind…thanks!