AggiePilot

On 4/25/2022 at 9:41 AM, MarkTapley said:

Doug,

 

Enjoying reading your posts here.  Not sure what Viking has for “hold music,” as our TA has to endure it.  LOL  However, Viking commissioned a piece for their 20th anniversary called “The Traveler,” by Debbie Wiseman.  That may have been what was played during tea time.  They did a feature on its composition for Viking TV.

I love that song and have been looking everywhere to get an mp3 copy to add to phone and iPad.

Ditto to what CC WineLover said. We also have a couple days on our own before the Exploring Western Europe Coastline and I appreciate the information. Thanks ALL!

Sold Out and just going through the process at 0 dark thirty in the morning to book and finding Vikings server slow as a snail is a complaint on every ocean cruise we have taken with them. Our last cruise Midnight Sun was particularly frustrating as by the time I picked and adjusted choices and went to check out. I found two excursions we wanted were Sold Out, did not say that when I selected them. I complained and likened it to being in a grocery store where I had picked up the last item of a particular product and had it in my basket when the manager walked by and said I need that as I have a customer ahead of you who is checking out and wants this item. We really like Viking and have has issues with them and they have come through. But this issue has been totally ignored. Just my 2 cents worth. We still can't wait to get on board.

13 minutes ago, just_dont said:

Viking Ocean Meet & Mingle

Ok, we are in. Now back to the Roll Call.

On 2/8/2019 at 5:09 PM, OneSixtyToOne said:

Same here. Have you signed up for the meet & mingle?

It has been a long time since I have been on here and had to look up how to reply. Now that I have that back, no I have not signed up for the "meet & mingle", where do I do that? Thanks in advance.

Will be onboard Jupiter Apr-May on re-positioning cruise along Europe's Western Coast. 🤩

Dear aquidneck1,

 

We are listening, and appreciate your feedback on our shore excursion booking procedure. Our records indicate you were able to further discuss your suggestions with a Viking representative today, and we’re pleased that we had the opportunity to hear and address your concerns.

 

Should you ever need additional assistance, as Peregrina651 noted, you’re always welcome to email us at tellus@vikingcruises.com. We look forward to cruising with you, and thank you for reaching out to us.

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

After reading all the posts in this thread, there is much good information here but I would like to add our experience. We are on the Star again, this time Midnight Sun Embarking on Sat Jun 3 in Bergen. This is our second Viking Ocean Cruise and second on the Star. Hopefully this one will complete, last time we exited early in Tallinn. But that is another story. Anyway on the Homelands Cruise we had no problem booking shore excursions, did do it at 3 AM but things went nice and smooth also did not check out until all days were booked. This time the web site was ridiculously slow between pages and kept spinning and spinning when selections were made. Took about an hour to go through everyday. When I went to the checkout page to pay I got a message saying one of the excursions we booked was full, even though it was available when I put it in my 'basket'. I went back to check after paying for those that were still available and sure enough FULL. Now that kind of ticked me off as I felt it was like being in a store with an item in your basket and a store employee comes along and says I have a customer at the checkout counter that wants one of you items and takes it out of the basket and sells it to the customer who is ready.

Those who book higher level cabins (Suites and Penthouse Veranda get earlier choice and I am just fine with that. We booked DV2 Deluxe Veranda on the Homelands and DV4 Deluxe Veranda on the Midnight Sun, both can book the same number of days ahead of sailing along with everyone in cabin . I think it would be be a good idea to either split the Deluxe Veranda into two sections and Veranda V1 & V2 into another section so many people are not on the site at the same time or update the web site to accomodate a higher level of traffic on excursion booking days. We will just rent a car at the particular location we could not get on the shore excursion we wanted.

krill sister,

sounds like you have had a decent trip. we board in Wittenberg and looks like we will sit there 3 nights then bus to Dresden and sit 4 nights. Not at all what we wanted and our 3rd Viking cruise in a row with problems. maybe our last!!

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notamermaid,

We were going to board in Magdeburg but again to low so we will now board in Wittenberg, had a good time in Berlin even with a bit of rain. Thanks for your messages.

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notamermaid,

Appreciate the update. We leave USA tomorrow for 3 days in Berlin prior to embarking on Sunday Oct 2 aboard Beyla. Just checked the Viking Updates on sailing and they still have the low water and possibility of modified itineraries and say those affected have been notified individually but so far no contact from Viking so maybe things are looking good for that cruise. Again thanks for your posts.

Krillsister,

Appreciate the update. We leave States on Wednesday Sep 28th and embark from Berlin on Oct 2nd. We have been following river levels and have hope for enough of a rise to do some cruising. Sounds like you are doing some.

notamermaid, Thanks for the update. Thought the forecast looked promising, but like you say, need a few more days of rain. AggiePilot

krillsister, We embark Beyla on Oct 2nd. Would appreciate any info you can post during your cruise. Thanks AggiePilot

notamermaid,

Been away for a few days and really appreciate your comments and messages from others who have been on the Elbe River. Does not look promising. I see Europe and even the UK are having unusually warm weather and not much rain. Similar to our situation in Texas a couple years ago. Last year and this year has seen quite a lot of rain. Went to Viking web site to see their latest report and see they are putting up more detail. We embark on Oct 2nd so does not look good.

Dresden is at 74cm this morning, Dessau at 94cm. No rain forecast for the next three days.

 

notamermaid

Been looking at weather as far ahead as possible and looks like lower temperatures coming as expected for late September, clouds & some rain but accuracy not so good that far out. Still have hope of full cruise on Elbe and look forward to seeing Berlin as last time was April 1989

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Hello Ron,

 

 

 

Forecasts are made only for days in advance, but there is a so-called 15 day trend that German websites give. I am not too familiar with the Elbe region, so I cannot say much. Of course, there will be more rain during the autumn and temperatures will go down a bit soon. For anything more specific you will need to wait. What they post is a little tentative, but this website I find good (I have put in Dresden for you as an example): http://www.accuweather.com/en/de/dresden/01067/september-weather/171239

 

notamermaid

Danke

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notamermaid,

Been reading posts the past couple weeks and want to thank you for the water level readings. We lived in Germany from Oct 1986-Aug 1989 and thinking the fall brings rain, but not sure. Is there any forecast for rain along the Elbe in the next few weeks. We start our cruise on Oct 2. Thanks Ron

Very interesting. Pretty much the same story when I talked to the "Customer Service" people on board. Still not a single contact from Viking regarding this fiasco. :mad::mad:

So much for being contacted as soon as we get home. :(

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Since we had booked the post cruise rail journey to Oslo, we had asked to go to Bergen. Instead, we were kicked off the ship on short notice and flown home from Tallinn via Air Baltic on a small regional jet to Paris. Four of the ten or so couples were not given food or drink because Viking forgot to tell the airline that we were all on Air France flights to the USA. The flight attendant called her HQ, but came back with a negative.

 

They split up a group of four couples who were traveling together. Two were on the flight with us, one went to Bergen and the others flew somewhere else. These people had marked their paperwork requesting to stay together as one women was in a wheelchair and need lots of care. Another couple was told after getting to the airport, on two different days, that they had no tickets! The second day they had no place to go as the ship was shut down. They asked about hotel arrangements, but the Viking people there was clueless. Four Viking reps got us on the bus and to the ticket counter at the airport. That was it; they could not answer any questions for us.

 

Viking "Customer Service" and "Travel Specialist" are the worst that I've ever seen. We have yet to be contacted by a Viking representative regarding reimbursements. I'm not sure if they are all completely inept or just don't care. The right hand does not seem to know what the left hand is doing. When we were told something it was almost always the opposite of what we had just been told!

 

The ship visited slightly more than a third of the scheduled ports; only four out of eleven! We are still waiting to hear from Viking regarding a refund for the cruise and expenses incurred during the trip home. The "50% in cash and 50% in voucher" may be fine for those sent on to Bergen, but I don't believe that it is equitable for those set home from Tallin.

Norman,

I would like to invite you to go to the thread "Abandoning Ship" and read the 4 part story of our experience and let me know what you think. I agree totally with your last paragraph as do many other here. If you have not already contacted your trip insurance company you need to do that also. Stay in touch.

---

Hi All,

Thought today would be the last post but it got a bit long so cut it off and will post the last part tomorrow, you can find the Title to that post at the end of this post. Everyone hang in there, so far I am and feeling a bit better today than yesterday, only a cough & no fever

It is now the morning of Aug 3rd and I decide to take the itinerary we received last night and go down to the Explorer Lounge to talk to one of the Customer Service agents. I will say the itinerary was pretty good, but does start early, but that is not unusual for flights from Europe to the USA. Estonia to Amsterdam to Minneapolis to our home airport and also had us on our preferred airline, Delta. As I get off the elevator and turn the corner I go “Uh Oh”, long line and much loud grousing and complaining. I can see this is a very unhappy bunch of people. As I stand in line and watch and listen to others, I begin to focus on how each of the three agents is handling their customers. One is very attentive and taking notes, one is a bit argumentative and pushing back, the third one is calmly discussing things in a soft voice and the passenger does not seem agitated. I hope I get to talk to the first or third agent. My turn finally comes and I go to the first agent, the note taker. Before I even sit down the agent sees I am carrying my itinerary and says, “I am sorry there is nothing I can do for you, those flights are locked in and cannot be changed” Unfortunately, later I will find out this was not the case. I sit down anyway and start going down a list of questions and statements I had prepared. The agent listens and takes notes, making comments only when I ask a question. The first thing I say is that we understand this is a difficult situation and events such as this just happen and no one is at fault. However, Viking must be made to understand how they react and handle their customers is a very big deal and will either provide them with wonderful public relations or a tarnished reputation. I ask what priority was put on those with post cruise extensions booked with Viking and the answer is “I do not know, that decision was made at corporate level and there are only 150 rooms available in Bergen, so not everyone can be accommodated”. This agent was either totally out of the loop or misinformed, as those of you here can see in a post by Viking Cruises Viking Guest Relations on August 3, 2015 @ 05:44 PM on page 1 of the Thread Titled ‘Abandoning Ship’ started by OBX Cruises in a reply to OBX Cruises, AggiePilot (Me) Viking Guests & Cruise Critic members the first sentence of paragraph 3 states, “Currently we have over 500 guests scheduled on charter and commercial flights from Tallinn to Bergen.” That pointed out, let’s go back to the story. I am thinking, here we go, either the buck is being passed or upper levels have given orders and expect these agents to follow them. I then proceed to what later seems a waste of my time and the agent’s time, asking if there was any thought of getting post cruise Iceland folks to Trondheim, as the scheduled flight from Bergen to Keflavik, Iceland makes a stop in Trondheim, to catch their flight to Iceland or even directly to Iceland. The agents answer again was I do not know. I then requested that suggestion be passed on and was told it would be. My point here was that they failed to fully work a plan to preserve as many flight reservations as possible. I then told the agent I was not happy with the way things have gone and that besides losing most of the cruise I was also going to lose money on Coach Plus Seats I had purchased for our flights home from Iceland to New York and our home airport in the amount of $142.50, and this will not be the last money we lose on Coach Plus Seats as you will see as things continue to unfold. No comment from the agent, guess it is so sad to bad, my loss. I then broach the subject of refunds and amends, and right away the agent says “I am not authorized to handle that issue”, I say I understand but I am requesting my position be passed on to those who are authorized. I proceed to say that since Viking decided to cancel the cruise and send some folks home, like me, but others to Bergen to enjoy 3-4 days in a hotel with included meals and free excursions, the offer in the letter everyone received on Sunday is not fair for those who are not going to Bergen. Those of us going home only visited 4 of 11 ports, thus missing about 65% of the ports. We also only got to day 6 of the cruise itinerary out of 15 days, thus missing 60% of the itinerary. Furthermore, we are being forced onto alternate flights. There needs to be different levels of compensation and amends. We did not cancel this cruise, Viking did! For those reading this if you have a map of the cruise routing, look at it and see if you think Stockholm-Helsinki-Saint Petersburg-Tallinn is even close to 50%. Yes they are also offering the other 50% of the cruise portion as a voucher for another cruise to help keep us as customers. We and 3 others from our group already have a river cruise booked for next year, but whether we keep that reservation is contingent on how we feel about being fairly compensated for this unfortunate cruise.. I end my one sided discussion with this agent by saying once again that Viking had no control over the unfortunate failure of the Star, but does on how they handle the situation with their customers. I also said in our case we are former, current and future customers and expect to be treated fairly. The agent’s last comment to me is that everything I have said will be passed on to the supervisor and to expect a call from the supervisor. Well I never received that call and no message was left on our cabin phone.

After this I met my wife for breakfast and we decide to go into Tallinn for one more walk around before we start packing in preparation for departure from the ship at 04:30 AM tomorrow morning Aug 4th. Had a nice time in Tallinn, it was a Sunday and only one other cruise ship in port so not very busy and weather was great. We are still trying our best to keep a positive attitude and make the best of what we have been dealt. On return to our cabin I got on my smart phone with a Delta App to see if I could get us Coach Plus Seats. I was able to find the flights pick the seats but the app would not let me pay and finish the process. I then just decided to call Delta and got a very helpful agent. He was unable to get the seats we wanted from Amsterdam to Minneapolis but could get them from there to our home airport. He said the first leg was locked out and no longer accessible, but we were confirmed on both of these Delta Flights. I paid for the Coach Plus seats for the last leg home, $58. This evening all 8 in our group sit down for our last meal together in The Restaurant at our usual table. We thank our two waiters for their wonderful service and hand them tips directly. We did the same for our cabin attendant as we were not sure if any tips were put on our bill as we had not a final statement yet and no details for this were showing up on our account via the TV screen in our cabin. We never did get any type of statement before leaving the ship, maybe we left to fast as you will read about it in the next post. After dinner we went to the pool area where again, The Cruise Director and performers put on a great show. They really tried hard to keep up everyone’s spirits, I cannot say enough and give enough thanks and kudos to The Cruise Director and his whole staff. BRAVO!!

Will be trying to contact Viking on Monday and next post will be Monday or Tuesday and titled “The Bitter End”

I give the person from Viking that is posting credit..unfortunately I dont believe he/she has the authority to change anything...

Having dealt in the past many times with Viking, (River and Ocean) I had decided last year never to have anything to do with them again..their on board product may be good but their office in California is impossible to talk to and work with..the only answer they know is NO..so fortunately I never have to talk to any of them again..

Jancruz1

Not really what I want to hear Jancruz, but having had some experience you may be right, only time will tell. I usually take a pessimistic view of things but have hope that since this is a new foray into ocean cruising they may be more inclined to come around to the the prevailing views here so as not to tarnish their image from the get go. I appreciate the comments of support folks on this thread have made and hope Viking keeps reading it, but it seems to have been hijacked by the ship trackers. At least they will know where the ship really is. :D

We are in the same boat - sorry couldn't resist - got home Monday and I called Viking Tuesday. I started posting my experiences here and then I got a call from Viking assuring me that they would be reviewing their refund policy for this cruise on an individual basis. I was told by Valerie that Viking would contact me by the end of the week, or beginning of next week. The other five couples we were traveling with just arrived home from Norway and I found out that Viking has posted the same credit amount for all of us on our credit card. It is extremely difficult to hear about their trip, knowing that we all paid Viking the same amount and those that received an additional week of vacation and accommodation by Viking are being given the same refund as us. I am hoping that Viking will contact me tomorrow to tell me that this was their initial refund for us and more is coming our way. I will keep you posted and please do the same for us. My travel agent will also be talking to them on our behalf tomorrow. She would have done this earlier, but she was part of our group that just got back from Norway - ouch!

I hear you loud & clear occruiselady & HMforcruise and in similar situation. Out of our group of Eight, we had 5 that had the Iceland Post extension and 3 going home after Bergen. Since not all us got to go to Bergen, only 3 of them, hope to hear their story later in the week. Have emailed the others 3 that came home and no word from any of them about any refunds yet. I did some bill paying yesterday and see I have credits on a card for port excursions we did not get to use and the 50% refund we were told about in Ltr 2 for the 'cruise' portion. However, nothing yet for the $$$ we paid for the post cruise extension to Iceland. I am trying to stay positive but it is a bit difficult, especially since I am feeling really bad with an upper respiratory infection. Also have not finished my last section and may cut it into two separate posts. Depends on how I feel later today. I really do think there will be an amicable settlement for those of us who only visited 4 ports. It is Sunday, a good day to reflect and think positive. I appreciate all who are discussing this. Will be trying to contact Viking on Monday, and I am sure it is a mad house for them. My wife keeps saying "Patience" and I know I lack it at times. Cheers to all of you.

I think what you need to do is send a 'friend request' via Cruise Critic to specific people using their CC handle and then I think you can contact them directly. Privately via CC. You can converse privately via CC or later using your real world email addresses. Does that help?

Thanks. I was searching around CC and figured out one could have "friends" then found out how to do that and sent 4 requests out so hopefully will be able do what you are saying. Thanks [emoji1]

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Just wanted to join in and give my 2 cents. Up until Estonia the trip was good. There are some small issues with things on the ship but nothing compairs to how they handled the issues of who goes where. The way that the main office handled the who goes where was Bad, Bad, Bad. They make the people in Washington look like geniouses. I opened my checking account yesterday and found money deposited by Viking. Don't know why and I can not get an answere from them. They also posted adjustments to my CC, no reason. You would think that you would get a call or e-mail letting you know that maney is coming. The amounts do not even make sense. I am not posting any more until I get some answeres. In my opinion anyone who was sent home and did not get to Norway or their extended trip to Iceland should get all their money. back.

Agree, planned to contact Viking today and finish my story but not feeling well today. Head feels like a balloon and hutrs. Think the lack of sleep and stress over this is catching up with me

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