On 7/7/15 I booked a Paris to Avignon river cruise leaving Sept.14 2016.. This was booked through a reputable travel agent.The web, brochure and communication with the travel agent and Viking had stated that the riverboat was to leave from Paris. At no time was the communication in media stating that the boat was to leave from a suburb of Paris. After checking Cruise critics, there was several disheartening reviews that the boat had left from a suburb of Paris. In fact, Viking had known prior to the riverboat going on its first cruise that the boat was not to leave from Paris proper. My husband and I were very upset about this news and immediately contacted our agent. By that time, miraculously, Viking had changed its website to reflect this change and now was telling travel agents as well. We felt very deceived and as such cancelled our booking on 7/13/15 a mere 6 days after the booking. Viking would only give us back $800 of our $1000 dollar deposit. We feel that considering the deception upon our booking of Viking knowing about the new departure place,(and not informing the travel agent or website ) and the relative immediacy of our requesting a cancellation the only considerate action on Vikings part would be to refund the remaining $200.00 of our deposit. The agent tried to discuss this with Viking and they would not agree. When I personally sent a communication to Viking their “cut and paste” answer was to check the original legal paperwork stating the cancellation policies. My first mistake was not to check Cruise Critic first before booking to notice that several people had noted that the ship was not leaving Paris proper and the second mistake was believing a company with the reputation of Viking would not do a “bait and switch” on its customer and when called to task about it they would not do the honorable thing in refunding my whole deposit. When it comes to Viking…BUYER BEWARE!
Viking River Cruise:Buyers Beware
in River Cruising
Posted
On 7/7/15 I booked a Paris to Avignon river cruise leaving Sept.14 2016.. This was booked through a reputable travel agent.The web, brochure and communication with the travel agent and Viking had stated that the riverboat was to leave from Paris. At no time was the communication in media stating that the boat was to leave from a suburb of Paris. After checking Cruise critics, there was several disheartening reviews that the boat had left from a suburb of Paris. In fact, Viking had known prior to the riverboat going on its first cruise that the boat was not to leave from Paris proper. My husband and I were very upset about this news and immediately contacted our agent. By that time, miraculously, Viking had changed its website to reflect this change and now was telling travel agents as well. We felt very deceived and as such cancelled our booking on 7/13/15 a mere 6 days after the booking. Viking would only give us back $800 of our $1000 dollar deposit. We feel that considering the deception upon our booking of Viking knowing about the new departure place,(and not informing the travel agent or website ) and the relative immediacy of our requesting a cancellation the only considerate action on Vikings part would be to refund the remaining $200.00 of our deposit. The agent tried to discuss this with Viking and they would not agree. When I personally sent a communication to Viking their “cut and paste” answer was to check the original legal paperwork stating the cancellation policies. My first mistake was not to check Cruise Critic first before booking to notice that several people had noted that the ship was not leaving Paris proper and the second mistake was believing a company with the reputation of Viking would not do a “bait and switch” on its customer and when called to task about it they would not do the honorable thing in refunding my whole deposit. When it comes to Viking…BUYER BEWARE!