mhb1757

I totally agree with Peregrina651 on this. I have done it both ways and there isn’t a single right answer. If booking air yourself is $900/pp cheaper, you have a good cushion in case “stuff” happens. Although you would have the aggravation of making new arrangements yourself.
I would also throw into the mix that since covid Viking has out sourced their Air Plus service to some company that uses agents based in the Philippines that are very poorly trained for the most part and know very little about air travel  and virtually nothing about Viking. Dealing with them has become a MAJOR pain in the neck (and elsewhere🤪). The good news is you can now select from several flight options on MVJ without paying the Air Plus fee or bursting a blood vessel in your brain from trying to work with their Air Plus “agents” that can’t figure out how to book flights. 
But you can always leave it on your reservation until you find something you want to book yourself or see what’s available thru Viking and then drop it as long as the flights have not been ticketed (which is usually just 60-75 days in advance). 

Not sure that our situation is the same but we had booked a Russia and the Baltic cruise for June, 2020 (we chose this cruise because it gave us 3 days in St Petersburg and a day in Tallanin) It was canceled due to COVID so we took vouchers, rebooked same cruise for June, 2021… canceled again because of COVID.  Rebooked with the vouchers again for June, 2022…. But then Putin couldn’t keep his mitts off Ukraine so our Russia and the Baltic became a Scenic Scandinavia cruise with no StPetersburg or Tallanin .  I certainly understand why the itinerary changed and it definitely wasn’t Vikings fault, but we were not particularly keen on the new itinerary. Since the itinerary had changed substantially Viking allowed us to transfer that booking to a completely different cruise.  The vouchers were originally from funds we paid back in 2019 and the original vouchers had long ago expired, however each time a cruise was canceled, new vouchers were issued with new expiration dates. And when the Russia itinerary changed significantly, they changed the booking to a different cruise using the same booking number we had for Russia. 
 

You didn’t specify how much your itinerary had changed but if Viking makes substantial changes you might want to make a case for having new vouchers issued or transferring the booking to a different cruise that’s more to your liking. If the itinerary changes were relatively minor I suspect you are out of luck and must abide by the terms of the vouchers. 

20 hours ago, longterm said:

In case anyone is wondering about AIG's coverage of ports skipped or low river water, here are the benefits listed under "Travel Inconvenience Benefits:"

 

1. (f)  Cruise Diversion – the Insured’s cruise does not stop at a scheduled port of call due to Inclement Weather, a Terrorist Incident, a medical incident involving another passenger on the ship, or a Natural Disaster;

2. (g)  River Cruise Diversion – the Insured’s river cruise is unable to sail due to insufficient or excess water levels, and the Travel Supplier provides only land-based alternative accommodations;

 

Now that I've read section G again, it sounds like they cover the entire cruise if they are unable to sail; this doesn't sound like it would cover a day or two if they shlep the passengers onto a bus for a day, then put them back on another ship upriver.

 

So my question about the missed port coverage is this….do they just pay you the $200 if a port is missed or do they reimburse you up to $200 for non refundable excursions you had booked independently in that port and you submit a claim for those expenses?

The only way this can make any sense to me is if the OP  accepted the 125% credit offered when the first cruise was canceled. Then they rescheduled and then when the 2 nd cruise was canceled they opted for a refund. Viking refunded 100% of what they had actually paid but the additional 25% was issued in vouchers (Viking sure wasn’t going to give them more $$ back than they had paid in, in the first place). And now they are mad because they are not going to use those vouchers. 
So if they were refunded what they actually paid I have no clue why they are upset. 
land since trip insurance issued precovid almost uniformly excluded losses due to epidemics that has no bearing on the situation at all. 
 

Or do I smell a troll?

GTYs often get “upgrades” but most often within the same category (I.e., you have a DV6 GTY and you get a DV3 or a DV4). I have read here of a few people with a V2 GTY that got a DV. But since they are all the same cabins just different locations on the ship I don’t think it makes much difference. I think it would be really rare for a V GTY to wind up in a PV cabin. There just aren’t that many PV cabins and I think they generally book up quickly. I have not read here of anyone in a GTY getting an upgrade for cash offer, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. 

Don’t know what your next cruise is but generally speaking I have seen folks with walkers do fine. If your cruise has tender ports, that may well be a problem but getting on and off the ship when docked should not be an issue assuming you are stable and fit enough to handle the incline. 

At that price you will likely be better off booking your own air. But the good news is you can leave Viking air on your reservation until the final payment (or sometimes even up until they ticket the flights) and then just drop it if you find better arrangements on your own after flight schedules for your dates are available. 
if you are going to Reykjavik early on your own, Viking wouldn’t provide transfers from the airport anyway so that’s no loss. And the ship is easy to get to from hotels in town. 

You can always take your own luggage off the ship and leave as soon as the ship has been cleared by the local authorities… no clue exactly what time that will be on your specific cruise but you are welcome to take your own bags off. 

It won’t be a problem booking excursions or dining. Your booking window will open with all the DV cabins since that is the category you booked. We have booked a DV GTY twice. Once the cabin was assigned within a few days of booking and once it wasn’t until we checked in. Both times we were “upgraded” from the DV6 we paid for to a DV 3 and DV4. But honestly it makes no real difference. Same cabin, just a different deck.
It seems people have reported getting assigned a cabin anywhere from months in advance to check in.  Keep an eye on MVJ because your cabin number often appears there a few days before they notify you by email. 
Never had any trouble getting our luggage either. 

We have sailed twice in a DV6 cabin right by the forward elevators. Honestly they are my favorite cabins on the ship. Love deck 3. Sitting by the atrium overlook  on deck 3 in the evening listening to the lovely music is one of my favorite places on the ship. Also like being close to the stairs and elevators. Laundry access is handy too. I wouldn’t hesitate to book a V1 or 2 cabin for a minute, they just aren’t ever available when we book. They are a bit farther from the elevators but that’s not a big deal IMHO. 

We have also done both Viking Air and made our own arrangements. If the costs were close I tended to favor using Viking Air because of included transfers and then if something changed (cruise dates, port arrival time etc,) Viking would take care of it. We always paid the $50 fee for Air Plus and could pick our flights and have them ticketed long in advance so we could upgrade to medallion or extra legroom seats, etc. 

However, since Covid, Air Plus has been outsourced to some company in the Philippines that has very poorly trained agents that seem to know virtually nothing about air travel. Dealing with them ranges from laborious to the stuff nightmares are made of. Additionally, the fee has gone up from $50 to $100-150. So unless Viking offers free or almost free air I think I’m done using them for the foreseeable future. The awful service has reversed the equation. 

I wouldn’t risk anywhere near a 1 hour connection at LHR. Even if it’s all BA you may have to change terminals. Everyone has their own risk tolerance but if you aren’t flying business it can take 15+ minutes to get off the plane and you have to be in the security line 35 minutes before scheduled departure.  If you flight is even a few minutes late arriving and/or you have to change terminals you are out of luck. 

We have had a GTY cabin twice on Viking. Once they posted a cabin assignment just a few days after we booked (many months before the cruise) and the other time we found out at the port. I have read reports of those getting cabin assignments at all points in between.
 

Both times we were “upgraded” but within the same cabin category. From a DV6 to a DV4 once and a DV3 the other time. But honestly on Viking that just means you are on a higher deck and personally I like being on Deck 3 where the DV6 cabins are located and you have the nice atrium to sit by and listen to music in the evenings. But that’s just me. Others may prefer the higher decks. the staterooms are all the same until you get to the PV’s so there’s not much difference. 

Can you give us some examples of low carb desserts? Except for some fruits I’m not coming up with any ideas here. 

If you look on the excursion page for each port where there is a tile with a picture and short description, when an excursion is sold out it will move to the bottom of that list and it will be labeled as sold out. Also if you click on the individual excursion it will also show if it is sold out. Usually if there are only a few spots left it will show there as “Only 2 spots left” or similar. 

8 hours ago, Selion said:

Somewhat off-topic, but in the spirit of the discussion on hand...  @mhb1757 I had a Delta flight booked by NCL in Dec 2021 that was delayed to the point that I wasn't able to make the connecting flight.  I was able to rebook the flight via Delta app at no charge.  Have you tried changing the itinerary directly with Delta, either online or via phone?

I did try via the Delta App and it told me to contact my booking agent. 
 

But just as an update, An agent from Viking Air called me back from within the US last night really late and he had made the needed change to give me a workable connection time and had me booked on the flight I had requested. He apologized for the delay and just stated “It really was more complicated than it should have been”. I don’t know what that meant exactly but all’s well that ends well. 

Just a heads up about working with Viking Air… in pre COVID days we used them several times with great service, knowledgeable agents and it was great. Since resuming after COVID Viking has outsourced their Air Plus Department. You will now be dealing with an agent in the Philippines that apparently has an internet connection about the speed of a 1980’s dial up modem. Occasionally you will get someone that actually knows what they are doing, but more often it is someone very poorly trained that has not got a clue about air travel. They are very polite and I’m sure are doing their best but they are not well trained. 

I got an email over the weekend from Delta with a schedule change for our flight home from Barcelona in April. The new flight times left me with an inadequate connection time in Atlanta. If I had booked the flight myself I could have changed to a later flight from Atlanta-home online in about 3 minutes.  But since I used Viking Air, they must make the change and they can’t figure out how to do it. I spent over an hour on the phone with some poor lady who tried to reroute the entire trip, then tried to convince me I needed to pay $350 to change my flight, then got the “supervisor” at my request and between them they couldn’t figure out how to change just the last leg and suggested I just keep my current flight and “if you are lucky the flight from Atlanta to your home will be delayed”. After an hour and 10 minutes they said they would continue working on my “complicated problem” and call me back. But of course they did not. 

I really don’t think I’m going to use Viking Air anymore unless it’s free or something close to it. 

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Requiring reservations now on Jupiter.

 

So much for my plans.

 

At least there will be an excellent entertainer tonight.  I've seen him before and been quite happy.

Really?  The spa on Jupiter is requiring reservations?  We are doing the TA on Jupiter in March and was hoping those reservations were a thing of the past. 

On 1/15/2023 at 6:42 PM, Snowcat1 said:

Does anyone know how long the bus ride would be if you took the bus all the way to Bergen?

I’m not sure if you meant riding the bus from Oslo to Bergen or from the ferry at Gundvagen to Bergen. If you wanted to know the latter I think it was about 2 1/2 hours and a very beautiful ride. 

On 1/17/2023 at 10:42 AM, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks for the info!  A couple more questions if you don’t mind.

How much was the fare and how did you pay? Credit card? cash? If cash did you need exact change?

How comfortable was the bus?  I’m six foot seven inches tall and therefore don’t fit in most bus seats-I usually sit on the benches that face into the aisle rather than in a seat that faces forward.  Did you bus offer such a seat?

 

TIA!

I don’t remember the exact fare but it was quite reasonable. It was less than the train fare from Voss to Bergen was going to be. I want to say it was about 300 kroner for the 2 of us (so roughly $18 per person). We paid the driver in cash, DH said he had exact change because it was an even hundred. But he can’t remember the exact amount either. 
 

DH is 6’3” and said the bus was very comfortable. It was more like a standard tour bus configuration than a city bus with center facing seats. But there weren’t more than 6 or 8 people on the bus either time so room to spread out. 

We boarded in Bergen, had some lunch, left luggage and went back out again to do a walking tour. Returned to the ship late afternoon. We could come and go as we pleased. This was precovid, so I would check with Viking but I think you should be fine if you do the Flam trip independently. 

Pre COVID if you had ship credit provided by a TA or Viking it could not be used before you boarded the ship. Not sure when or exactly why the rules changed but now that credit can be used prior to boarding for excursions, prepaid gratuities etc. or it can be used on board. If you have credit and book shore excursions in advance they are deducted from that credit automatically. If you have voucher credit that must be used before you board (or it is forfeited) anything you book in advance like excursions will be deducted from that pool first. When the voucher funds are exhausted then they will deduct from your shipboard credit. 
Also as a FYI shipboard credit from your TA will be refunded to you if it is not used. We just returned from a cruise that we paid for with vouchers from a COVID era cancelled cruise. We had enough on the voucher to pre pay gratuities and book all the optional excursions we wanted. Got a check in the mail from Viking less than a week after our return for the unused credit that had been provided by our TA. 

Amsterdam is a hot mess these days. And as others have said you will have to go through passport control there. The good news is they do have a line at passport control for short connections. So if you are within one hour of your flight departure time an attendant will let you into that line and they rush you through. But I’d still want 3 or more hours to feel safe. 

Personally I’d be uncomfortable with that short a connection. CDG can have long waits for passport control in the morning hours when most of the transatlantic flights get in. First thing I’d suggest is get on line and find flights that would work better for you. Then If you have AirPlus with Viking you can call them and tell them what you want. If you don’t have air plus talk to your travel agent and have them call. Also check your MVJ site and see if there are other options there that would work better for you. Sometimes you can just change it yourself from MVJ online. 

We have booked air ourselves and via the cruise line. Generally if it’s less expensive or about the same price I book with the cruise line. When we book with them they meet us at the airport and provide transfers to and from the ship (assuming you are arriving and departing at the beginning and end of the cruise). By booking with them then if the cruise line changes or cancels the cruise they are responsible for any airfare change costs. 
 

However if it provides substantial savings we often book our own. It gives us more flight options and the flexibility to arrive early or remain after the cruise at no additional cost (no dreaded deviation fee). 
 

Either way will work. But a word to the wise about insurance…. It is never a good idea to purchase it thru the cruise line. You can get a much more comprehensive policy for less cost if you buy a separate policy. You insure the entire cost of your trip, including airfare, cruise, additional hotels etc. you do not need a separate policy for airfare. There are several sites that will let you compare policies. I use insure my trip dot com but there are others that do pretty much the same thing.