travelnn

For those who have already been on the Viking Capitols of Eastern Europe -  Where does the ship dock in Budapest? We read good things about Tram #2 - has anyone taken the tram to sightsee? We also would like to know how far Lukacs Thermal Baths is from the ship. Thanks

4 hours ago, gnome12 said:

On a longboat the aisle is offset. The smaller French balcony rooms are on one side, and the larger balcony rooms are on the other. So the choice of cabin determines the side of the ship (except for the aquarium class cabins where there is very little view on either side).

Thanks! Do you know if they have handicapped accessible cabins?

On 3/16/2015 at 5:01 PM, FuelScience said:

Pontac has given a good summary. My last cruise was in a French balcony room on a long ship, and I found it very small. Standard rooms are 150 sq. ft., and the French balcony rooms are only 135 sq.ft. Getting around in the room was always a problem with almost no space beside the bed or between the bed and the desk counter.

 

We did our sightseeing from the lounge or the top deck, and as others have mentioned, a lot of the time when you're docked, the ship is rafted, so there's a good chance that your only view will be a cabin in the neighboring ship.

 

FuelScience

Hi there

Is there a better side on a longboat?

Thanks

6 hours ago, molymoo said:

Check your invoice … the one sent via email right after you book.  The last page will have a detailed itinerary which includes each port, times in and out, and, on the far right an anchor (red) will indicate that it is a tender port.  There are several on our July BI cruise but as I recall (this is a repeat cruise for us) none were particularly troublesome.  

1 minute ago, travelnn said:

Thanks- found the anchors. 

6 hours ago, molymoo said:

Check your invoice … the one sent via email right after you book.  The last page will have a detailed itinerary which includes each port, times in and out, and, on the far right an anchor (red) will indicate that it is a tender port.  There are several on our July BI cruise but as I recall (this is a repeat cruise for us) none were particularly troublesome.  

Thanks- found the anchors. 

4 hours ago, worldtraveler1234 said:

The tender ports on our Sept cruise:

Greenwich

Uliiapool  highlands

Kirkwall

Edinburgh

They have the red anchor on the invoice.

Thanks!

Would like to find out which are the tender ports on this cruise.

Thanks!

9 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

Nope, but it’s pretty reasonably priced.  I have sent several shirts that I have dribbled down the front of, and they are great at getting out stains.  
 

There are always the free washers and dryers in the laundry room on each deck.

Thanks!

15 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

You can still have laundry done as often as you wish.

Is taundry  included with DV cabin?

thanks

On 4/11/2021 at 11:06 AM, vslparis said:

I gather then that you are not trying to use miles from  AA .  Not sure about other airlines, but AA charges 25,000 miles and $350 per ticket to upgrade from a discounted economy ticket to the next class of service.  Using miles to upgrade your cabin with AMEX points  or other airline miles may not cost that.  I am sure that others on here have experience with that, I just know about AA.  

I didn't even know that there are people that charge to do mileage tickets for you ;unless it is your travel agent that is charge a fee for that service. That I can understand. 

Yes, if you really want to know right up front that you are flying business class then you need to buy a business class ticket using miles ( or money of course) .  

Thanks for the advice. Just saw this.I booked Virgin Air from London direct to JFK on points and a lot of taxes but it's done!!!

2 hours ago, dressagenow said:

We expect our Trade Routes cruise will be cancelled again this year. We cancelled and rebooked last year before the official cancellation. So we rebooked at the 100 percent. this year we are holding out.

 

Does anyone know if we can potentially apply our vouchers to 2 trips? Looking at Russian river cruise.

Ask your TA. Mine said it had to be used on the same trip on a later date

Elaine

9 hours ago, vslparis said:

I gather then that you are not trying to use miles from  AA .  Not sure about other airlines, but AA charges 25,000 miles and $350 per ticket to upgrade from a discounted economy ticket to the next class of service.  Using miles to upgrade your cabin with AMEX points  or other airline miles may not cost that.  I am sure that others on here have experience with that, I just know about AA.  

I didn't even know that there are people that charge to do mileage tickets for you ;unless it is your travel agent that is charge a fee for that service. That I can understand. 

Yes, if you really want to know right up front that you are flying business class then you need to buy a business class ticket using miles ( or money of course) .  

Not sure which airline or airline partner I will be using. Depends on who is giving the "most bank for the buck", or points, in this case!

There are several online booking services that will find award space for a fee. The one I use has excellent reviews and has never failed to find space for us.  

Elaine

12 hours ago, vslparis said:

I safest way to ensure that you get Business class is to either buy ( using a credit card, cash or check )  that class of service from Viking or the airline directly or to use miles to purchase a Business Class ticket. 

You could try and go the route of purchasing an economy class ticket and then try to use miles to upgrade. However, this is a risky thing to do unless you do it very soon after the flights become available. For the last 5+ years or so airlines have become very stingy with giving out upgrades using miles and some like AA charge about $350 per ticket in addition to the miles . They offer a few upgrades  when the flights first come out and if none are available when you buy your economy ticket then you can get on the waitlist. So you may or may not get the upgrade.  If you can't live with that uncertainty, then pay for a Business Class seat totally with money or miles (directly with the airline only) .

 

Not sure if anyone answer your question about using points with Viking.  The answer is no as fare as I know.  That needs to be done directly with the airline. 

 

@CCWineLover is correct in that these days Viking is holding off on early ticketing for their air.  They don't want to have to go thru the hassle of refunding a lot of client's airfare. What a nightmare that would be as many people on here know. 

Thanks - I'm not going to chance having to pay a fee of $350 to upgrade . I  use someone to book award flights for me and his price is less than that for two people.

13 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

When we booked an Ocean/River combo onboard the Viking Sun during the 2020 World Cruise, the Cruise Consultant advised that we could use our points/miles to book/upgrade to first/business.

 

When booking flights, we provided our TA with our preferences and BA membership numbers. Viking Air advised her that Viking accepted points/miles for upgrades a couple of years ago, but no longer offer that option.

 

This left us with 2 options - pay cash to Viking to upgrade to First or Business, or book the flights ourselves with reward points.

Thanks SO much for the information. I guess I'm going to book my own flights. Was hoping to use some of the extra FCC for air, but we're doing a pre-cruise excursion instead.   

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

The one disadvantage of Viking Air is they don't ticket with the airlines until 45, 55, or 70 days (I've heard all 3 amounts from various Travel Agents and Viking reps the past week so who knows for sure) ahead of time right now and possibly into the future.  If you go through the airlines you can do it obviously as soon as it is published and available in their systems.  (usually 11 months out).  We've usually done that on cruises and used miles and/or bought or upgraded seats to Prem Econ. or Bus class early so that they were available.    However, when we had a Viking cruise cancelled last fall, it took me 7 months and much pain to get a credit back from the airlines for our Biz class seats to Europe.  Not sure I'll do that again until COVID at least dies down a little and there is a bit more certainty out there!

I hear you! Our cruise was cancelled last year too. We had 4 airlines to deal with and 3 of the 4 redeposited the miles rather quickly. The other one took months 

44 minutes ago, What was that? said:

Elaine, ticketing is important to me when I use Viking Air, partly because seat assignments are not set in stone until that point. So I will keep an eye on how full the aircraft are and if they start getting too full for my comfort - and feel I might be at risk of losing the chosen seats or even the routing - I will call Viking air and request they ticket it for me. Sometimes it takes a few days (and a few calls) but they always do it. I have done this far in advance, 8 months or so, and had one less thing to worry about.

The other aspect of ticketing is that once the tickets are issued, you can not initiate changes without incurring a charge. Of course, if the airline changes the schedule equipment, or routing - I'm looking at you, American Airlines - you can request a change without charge. Again, I have done it.

Cheers, and Bon Voyage!

Thanks - trying to figure out how to do business class tickets. 

On 4/9/2021 at 10:31 AM, vslparis said:

You can add Viking Air on a booking once it is booked ( pretty sure you can even add it on after it is paid in full ) ; you can even take it off after it is booked ( up until a certain point of course ) . 

 

She is correct in that normally you have to wait until the return air is available ( no more than 331 days before the return air date ,although Usually with Viking they can’t be booked until about 300-315 days out  ) in order to get your flights ticketed. You can get them ticketed early ; usually for a fee. 

If you are trying to use miles for a particular airline, you need to make sure that your Viking flights are on that airline and for that you will need

Air Plus . That allows you to pick what airline and flight schedule you want as long as Viking has them available . They have air contracts and not every flight with every airline is in those contracts . Nor is every fare that they have with your airline one that can be upgraded with miles. 

My advice would be to work with your TA to find the flights that you want when they become available, have her call Viking’s  Air department and ask them what additional charge ( if any beyond Air Plus ) there would  be to get those flights.  Have them put the flights on hold for 24 hours and then she can contact your airline to see if the fare for those tickets is one that allows upgrades with miles ( if and when then upgrades become available of course ) .  

Some airlines allow you to use miles to purchase preferred seat assignment ( aisle, closer to the from, and a bit extra leg room ) which is a lot easier to do than upgrading cabins such as economy to business .

Thanks for the explanation

It was my understanding that airlines will not ticket before the 331 days.

You mentioned that it is possible to get the return tickets early, usually for a fee. Can you please explain how that is done?

Thanks

Elaine

On 4/8/2021 at 9:29 PM, CCWineLover said:

Not sure I totally understand you questions, but . .

• We have our cruise already booked with just a deposit.  We can add AirPlus and Air now until the moment of final payment due, according to our TA.   For certain cities and routes, not all, you are able to get a price and also book the flights for Business or Premium Economy through Viking - immediately when you book the Viking Air.  We would do that now, except that the flights don't come open until 9-10 months out and we are 11 months out.
• If you are going to upgrade through the Airlines themselves (via Miles or awards or paying for upgrade), you cannot do so until you have Economy seats ticketed.  And that may be not until 75 days ahead of the sailing, which means they may not be available at all at that time.

Thanks so much for the explanation of when Viking Air can be added. Our TA apparently was mistaken in saying it can't be added after booking.

Important to know that you cannot pay with miles of awards until we have economy seats ticketed and I agree - it will be too late for them to be available.

So one more question-

If I book business class air with Viking, can I pay for it with points?

Many thanks

Elaine

On 4/5/2021 at 9:51 PM, CCWineLover said:

You bet, Dee!!   Still looking forward to this one.  Hope it happens.

Have to look into the VIking Air soon here....

Thinking of flying Bergen to Amsterdam and spending some days.  We love Amsterdam so much - have been there so often (when I was working) that we feel so comfortable there.  Then fly home from there.

Hi again

Questions about Viking Air

• Are you already booked with your cruise or are you booking it after booking the cruise? My TA said I could not add it on after the cruise was booked.
• She also said if we used Viking Air, we would have to book upgrades from economy to business class dating from the END of the cruise. At that time, there may not be award seating and we would not be able to cancel the Viking Air.

Is this incorrect information?

Many thanks, This whole thing is making me want to join you for a drink!!!! 

13 hours ago, Homerody said:

First, sorry about the double cancellation.

 

We are in a similar disappointing situation.

 

TLDR version:

 

No you do not lose any remaining FCV balance with one big stipulation.  The balance must be used before the cruise starts.  The balance will not transfer over to your ship board account for use during cruise.  Use it or lose it before cruise starts.

 

Long version:

 

Here is what I have been told by Viking Customer service and is consistent with my cruise MVJ details and post #10 in this thread (by @ What Was That?).

 

There are two distinct entries (for each passenger) in MVJ account details.

1.  Ship Board Credits - this OBC amount may be used before and/or during cruise.  If not used before cruise, it will transfer over (7 days before sailing date) to your ship account to use during the cruise.

2.  Voucher -  this is any remaining balance from FCV.   This has to be used before sailing.  I have been consistently told by my TA and Viking that it must be used on pre sailing expenditures (excursions, alcohol package and pre-paid gratuities) or it will be gone.  It will not be transferred over to ship account to use during cruise.

 

I think it would be prudent, unless someone at Viking moves  voucher balance to Ship Board Credits, not to risk losing the voucher balance it and plan on spending as stipulated by Viking - before the cruise. YMMV.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

It IS very helpful - thank  you

After reading these posts I contacted my TA and she said that is correct; use it before or lose it.

One more reason for me to go back to Oceania and say farewell to Viking

On 12/14/2020 at 12:50 PM, What was that? said:

Peggy, you are partially correct. The voucher can be used to purchase anything that can be paid for in advance of sailing - including the SSBP, optional tours, and pre-paid gratuities - but only if ordered and paid in advance of boarding.

I did have several opportunities to discuss the exact details of voucher usage with Viking Customer Relations agents and it was made very clear to me that this is Viking Policy. I was able to receive special dispensation to apply a small amount of excess voucher value to a second cruise, but since all those cruises were canceled I am guessing I won't get that consideration again.

The thing that I really had trouble with was that MY voucher could not be applied to cruise fares and other expenses for my DW (and vice-versa). It can be transferred in its entirety, but not shared. Viking Policy.

Eventually, I determined that I would use as much of the voucher as possible - remembering that the extra 25% was not my out of pocket money - by upgrading and buying everything in advance that I could. My Policy is working out pretty well for rebooking our canceled 2021 Northern Lights cruise to 2022.

Hi - Now I'm totally confused! Would love to get your input.

I was checking information about Viking Vouchers and as I understood it, I was shocked to learn that the voucher “expires” if not used before the cruise.

We received a 125% voucher for a May 2020 cancelled cruise.

We rebooked for May 2021. We cancelled ahead of Viking’s cancellation for that cruise and had the voucher applied to the same cruise for 2022.    

After applying the voucher from 2020 tot he 2022 cruise, we have more money than the cost of the cruise. Do we lose it??? 

Thanks!

On 3/22/2020 at 9:59 AM, kcpvwill said:

Dublin has a good hop on hop off open top bus which takes in the major sites, and the centre is easily walkable.  

Hi - FYI

I read that Dublin has heavy traffic. We took a HOHO in London where traffic was heavy. We were so delayed that we got off and took the underground

Pls let me know if you have information that is better than mine because I love taking HOHOs

Thanks 

Thanks!

Hi

Is there a description of the Dublin included tour?

On 12/14/2020 at 8:22 PM, zalusky said:

 

What's the issue with July just personal schedule issues or weather/something else?

Personal preference. We live in a beach town and hate to miss the summers here!