Clay Clayton

7 minutes ago, Pappri said:

Yep, no help at all.  Also talked with his boss, Sam, who is very supportive.  She doesn’t understand why the “shore” won’t help the boat fix these issues with the passengers.  Apparently we aren’t the only ones going through this.

Just FYI-as Hotel General Manager is everybody but the Captain’s boss. 

6 hours ago, Pappri said:

I sure wish #3 was how you state Andy - not on board the Viking Sky right now.  DW and I are SOOO frustrated and upset with Viking LA that we are now talking about getting off the ship.  ANY SUGGESTIONS on how or who we should talk to will be greatly appreciated.  We got the $3K pp pre-cruise credits and used those up when excursions were open for booking, even went over $700pp which we put on the CC.  Then the India overland became available a week later, which @Jim Avery recommended, so we purchased that for $2.5K pp on the CC.  When we diverted to Africa, we decided to cancel the India Overland and get a refund.  There were multiple pages of people on the waiting list, so it was easy to fill our slot and they paid Viking $5K cash to take our place.  Then our refund showed up on the TV as $5K non-refundable credit.  We paid the full amount via CC pre cruise.  We went down stairs to customer service, and they agreed that should’ve been refunded to the credit card or as refundable credit to the account.  After a week of constantly checking with them on the status (and having to re-explain the entire situation every time) they finally said they were unable to change it onboard and that they referred it back to LA.  We called LA last night at 9pm (8:30am pacific time) and the condescending lady could not explain how refunds are handled.  She changed the rules several times during the conversation when her arguments contradicted what Viking had already done.  We did receive some refundable credits onboard for excursions that were canceled that were purchased pre cruise with non-refundable credits.  We also received a direct payment to the CC a couple of weeks ago after Viking canceled the Europe excursions.  Those payments were $1Kpp so it didn’t account for the $6K total we put on the CC.  We even said that we would accept partial payment to the CC (to cover our actual CC expenditures and taking into account the refunds they sent) and the rest non-refundable - which is the most fair for each party.  NOT A CHANCE was their answer.  So we now have $7100 in non-refundable credit and 2 months left with nothing left for us to spend it on.  Viking not only keeps our $5K (actually effectively half that with the other refunds) but also got an extra $5K from the folks who took our place.  Anyone else on board getting ripped off?  Andy, I can see why you went hardline against the LA folks and every minute we think about this grow the same way.  We have 4 other cruises scheduled with Viking (including the longitudinal WC) totaling over $150K that we are now about cancel and go with another cruise line because of this and especially the condescending way we were talked to by the LA office.  Is the WC help desk still open and could they help or are we stuck working with LA?  Oh, and when I asked who do we escalate this to, like her supervisor, she said that they were all equal and didn’t have anyone higher to escalate to.  PLEASE HELP!  Poor Chris, our Explorers lounge bar keep, for having to listen to this and having to restock the Makers Mark.

I presume you have spoken to Makesh?

We did the optional tea excursion yesterday afternoon and evening after we arrived in Columbo about 2. It was interesting but the four hours sitting sideways in an uncomfortable van going and coming was a bit tiring.  
 

videos available on Instagram 
 

Just now, FetaCheese said:

Non refundable credits posted a couple days after boarding.  App had an early notification saying when they would appear, to preempt many questions.

 

TA Refundable credits were available in onboard account upon app setup.

Ours posted as a single entry of $540 (per person) rolled together with the $40 of unused nonrefundable excursion credit  that Viking provide upon booking.  We have been going back and forth since Jan 8th about this and finally this morning our TA informed us that Viking switched our September booked excursions which we “paid” for with the non refundable Viking credits, to being paid for with the refundable credits the TA directed Viking to apply to our account in December.  Never had this issue before.  I’ve asked the TA to try to get Viking to “switch”’it back🤞

6 hours ago, Penspack said:

Yes to #1, but no to #2 …

Just now, Heidi13 said:

 

Clay,

 

1. Affirmative, the TA's refundable credits only showed once we boarded the ship

 

2. Negative, existing optional shore-ex paid pre-cruise with credits or cash were not refunded, so the TA credits could be used.

 

3. When shore-ex are cancelled for missed ports, or change of plans, the shore-ex cost was returned as a refundable credit (paid pre-cruise by Visa) or non-refundable credit (paid pre-cruise with credits). New onboard optional shore-ex bookings were always charged to refundable credits, if available.

Just now, CCWineLover said:

Andy - so concisely stated!  You have a great way of netting it out.  Makes sense

Thanks- so I have not gone crazy and should continue to push for the refundable credits that we haven’t used to be available to us rather than the non-refundable ones they say we have after they “switched”’(their words per our TA) the excursions we booked last September using the WC excursion credits to have them paid for from the refundable credits our TA provided in December. 
 

Thanks for confirming I wasn’t loosing my mind. 

20 minutes ago, Wavetripper said:

Great to hear you are home safe and sound. Today Phuket excursion Coral Beach by speedboat we will see how it goes. Sea is a little choppy could make for an interesting 20 min boat ride. 

Cheers 🍻

 

From what friends who did it the other day, it’s not the ride that is tough, it’s the floating pier and having enough strength in your core that is really interesting!  Good luck

Questions for fellow cruisers who used a Travel Agent who provided REFUNDABLE credits as a perk:

1. Did those refundable credits show up as refundable on your onboard account upon boarding?

2. Did Viking “switch” any excursions purchased with Viking provided non-refundable credits prior to embarkation and use the refundable credits instead?

3. If like us, this happened to you, have you had any luck in getting them to “switch” them back?

TIA!

Questions for fellow cruisers who used a Travel Agent who provided REFUNDABLE credits as a perk:

1. Did those refundable credits show up as refundable on your onboard account upon boarding?

2. Did Viking “switch” any excursions purchased with Viking provided non-refundable credits prior to embarkation and use the refundable credits instead?

3. If like us, this happened to you, have you had any luck in getting them to “switch” them back?

TIA!

Just now, BobCatter said:

What happened to Bruce? He was our CD on a previous cruise. 

He was MIA for about a week before Singapore and we were told a bad cold. He was taken ashore there for consultation and it was our understanding he expected to return to the ship. That didn’t happen and we were told he was he was in the hospital for treatment. Today at Verity’s first coffee chat, she said he was hoping for clearance to fly home to Florida on Friday.  

14 hours ago, Fellini said:

Hi Clay, did Viking gave any compensation for those who stay aboard ? i read for those who left its "we will see after disembarking" , i did 2 WC that also never did the original itinerary the 2020 teh covid year disembark in Bali and 2022 which also just turned to be a European meddley, Asia stiil have closed ports.. i made reservation for 2025 and afrais will happen the same of this one ... 2023

None that I’ve been offered…but not sure I expect any since I’m staying aboard and getting world cruise just to different parts than I expected.  Biggest difference is that rather than being about 50/50 old and new ports for us, it’s now about 80/20 new ports to old!😀

So it’s official, Bruce isn’t coming back🥲. Verity Brown was just introduced as our new Cruise Director. She said she had a message from Bruce earlier today and he is hopeful to get out of the hospital in Singapore on Friday. 
 

Wonder why they didn’t just make Roseanna the new CD? 

Just now, SJD117 said:

Back in 2019, we sailed on a Viking cruise that was the second segment of a world cruise. This didn’t bother us at all. But apparently the presence of “segmenters” did bother some who were going all the way through. One person even suggested on CC that folks like us might have an “agenda” that would disrupt the rhythm and atmosphere on the ship. Who knew?   😀😀

Crazy! I for one hate to see most segmenters leave but there are a couple I’d gladly help pack😳.  I’m sure there are also many on board who wouldn’t mind if I was leaving😂

Reminder time-if you’re able to have a FaceTime/Speaker phone call in a public area, it is also possible to have it in the privacy of your stateroom. 

Just now, Frisky070802 said:

Putting talks on MVJ would be fabulous! Also, does CC have a place to aggregate comments and maybe ratings of tours? Or TripAdvisor? 

No but Frisky, sounds like a great idea, let us know when you have the spreadsheet ready for us to fill in! 😂

I have added a suggestion to my usual list of recommendations (I include this in the final survey) that port talks be taped and made available in MVJ for exactly the reasons CDNPolar mentioned.  We happened to go to the Living Room after the port talk on Ho Chi Minh City and there was a line for Guest Services almost to the Chef’s Table podium.  When I asked what was up, found out it was everyone who had heard about the difficulty in getting in and out of the tiny boats on the Mekong Delta as well as finding out how claustrophobic the tunnels were all trying to change their excursions.   It sure would be easier for those who aren’t like us and go down a YouTube rabbit hole most nights (we watched 2 minutes of some 20 yo influencer’s video about the tunnel and KNEW it wasn’t for us😂), to be able to hear the port talk in advance. 

Just now, millybess said:

Possibly there are incentives to depart early — future cruise vouchers, etc?

There weren’t on Sky. No reason for Viking to encourage guests to leave.  We didn’t need to discuss any details, but from what I could gather, it appeared that all financial arrangements for those who decided to leave would be handled by the “office after you return home”.  Presumably a prorated return of the monies paid on a voucher, perhaps the WC credits also?🤔 

I know that our friends who left were relatively pleased with the air arrangements and such so Viking appeared to be doing everything they could to make the guests happy

8 hours ago, BobCatter said:

My understanding was that as of Singapore, ~250 people had left. India Overland has ~150 going, plus several other privately organized India tours totally another 60 people or so. We started with 848 world cruisers as we left LA. 
 

 

Wow-we had figured not as many would be leaving Neptune as have left us. 

Just now, Goosebear Mum said:

Thanks. I find it interesting so many on a Viking WC have ‘done’ Africa already, but not Europe (or maybe they are happy to ‘do’ Europe again!) I see quite a few posts on the WC forum asking which WC go via Africa and not Europe, as so few do.  

I think for some, it was the strings of multiple sea days that was the deciding factor. Rather than “doing” Africa which is typically a land trip, the World Cruises have become more like a transatlantic repositioning cruise-some interesting ports but further apart. If I remember my count correctly we only have four or five more sea days, but they are more bunched up than on the original itinerary. 

Forgot to mention the great (and final until we get to Greenwich) tendering system here in Phuket.  The larger local comfortable tender boats being a floating platform out to the ship which makes getting aboard a breeze!  Sorry I failed to take any photos from the shell door or on the tenders but here are a couple of the tender taking the platform back to shore. 

Great included excursion in Phuket today.  The south point was beautiful and the 1000 Elephant Buddha amazing.  The big temple complex was incredible albeit crowded and of course hot.  The cashew stop was interesting-now I know why they are so expensive. Upon our return to Patong Beach we had a great (and too big) lunch of Coconut and Chicken Soup (Tom Kai Gai), Pad Thai, Tom Yum Fried Rice, morning glory greens (my epiphany from this trip-I LOVE them), complimentary fruit, mango & sticky rice, and a Thai milk tea.  All was yummy and only $18US.  I’m sure it would have been half of that or less if we had of walked away from the beach but it was hot so….  
 

Love the beautiful colors and sights here-if they could just get the air conditioning to work I’d be ready to move 😂
 

Looking forward to two and a half sea days to recover before we get to Sri Lanka. 

So what’s the Neptune’s population after leaving Singapore.  Sky reportedly now has 620 with over a hundred doing the Indian overland. 

10 hours ago, Moby_Spout said:

Ok, sounds like dinner is a winner.

What comes in 2nd - breakfast or lunch? Which is your favorite, and which place (world, poolside, etc.)?

Breakfast of Champions-grilled lamb chops, eggs, mushrooms, hash browns and a side of hollandaise at The Restaurant. 

the tree with the baby in the trunk is entitled, “The Last Tree”

Oh, the caftan is Verr-Sache