We are contemplating booking some Viking cruises, but I would like some input from Viking regulars to help me understand the “value proposition” of Viking cruises.
When I complete apple to apple comparisons of Viking against competitors, I am trying to comprehend why Viking costs on a per passenger-day basis, are more than similar cruises on similar lines. While I fully understand that there is not an identical cruise for which to compare, I have been able to analyze trips that would appear almost the same in duration and itinerary. So this is not an exact science, but when looking at the numbers, Viking is in the range of 20 to 45% more on a per person-day basis. I have read the inclusions for each line and leveled the numbers in this analysis, but cannot make sense of the greater cost Viking is charging.
I called Viking to have them justify this anomaly and the items they promote do not make sense for the difference. For example, Viking brag that they offer included beer or wine at “meal time”, where the others offer full drink service 24/7, so Viking are behind on this. Viking also tell me they include an excursion at each port, but when you read the description of the offer, their included excursion is typically a three hour or less mass bus tour. Compare that for example to Silversea and their included excursions are a wider variety of longer more in-depth options, so again Viking’s claim of this value is not driving the number analysis. And even though Viking promotes their offerings as “all included” they don’t include gratuities which most luxury or ultra luxury lines do…so another negative adjustment.
The Viking product appears to be very nice, but I am having trouble understanding this discrepancy. While I have read a number of the CC articles about Viking, I was wondering what the latest is on this cost analysis from anyone that is able to offer an opinion. Your feed back is appreciated.
Thank you.
Tim
Toronto, Canada