Viking Air Information

Derrick, are you referring to upgrading to first-class? If so, you will likely not be able to do that thru the airline as the tickets are purchased in bulk and so you have to go thru Viking. The only upgrade we have been able to do when we use Viking Air is to Economy Comfort.

 

Becki

Not first class but economy comfort.

Is it worth the extra $900 a person?

Thanks

Denise

Detroit is our nearest airport and we have flown DTW to AMS and CDG with Viking, no problem.

Becki

I am so confused on airfare. Last June when I booked our April Viking Rhine cruise, I booked the Viking Air also since we've never flown to Europe. In late October I saw that the price Viking was charging for flights on our cruise had gone down $250/person so I called to see if I could get credit for the lower fare or if I could upgrade our air package. I was told that the lower fare was only for new bookings and that to upgrade to premium economy would be $700 more per person. Needless to say, I didn't change anything.

Our home airport is Denver so I know we will need to change planes at least once if not twice. I'm a bit concerned about the long flight from most likely the east coast to Europe which is why I wanted to upgrade our seats but I guess I'll wait till we get our flight info and maybe the airline fairy will be good to us.

I did add two days pre-cruise in Amsterdam to our trip so we can get over jet lag and see Amsterdam. To add that was $549/person...less than what it costs to upgrade our seats.

I spent a couple of days thinking whether I wanted to post to this thread. DW and I returned from a Christmas Market cruise about 3 weeks ago now. Without a doubt, the worst part of the entire trip was the transcontinental flights to and from Amsterdam.

Viking either uses a 3rd party consolidator or acts as a consolidator when it comes to their air. We paid for custom air and that was a joke! Not one, NOT ONE of the flights we were booked on stayed the same! I still have the printout from our TA and every boarding pass and not one seat assignment was honored. The flights were overbooked and completely full. DW and I are about 5'10" and our knees were into the seats in front of us. On the return flight the passenger in front of DW reclined to the point the flight attendant couldn't serve her food & drinks because the seat tray was inaccessible. The expression "sardines in a can" doesn't begin to describe this. We were 2 rows behind economy comfort and to be honest with you...I couldn't tell the difference. The plane on the return flight was so old that I had on my mind it would literally come apart mid-flight. The entertainment system didn't work either. To say it was the worst experience I have had would be an understatement. I haven't flown a lot of transcontinental in the past 20 years but I have flown on flights of 6+ hours quite a few times. This was by far the worst I have ever seen.

Not sure I can name the airline so I'll just keep it to what I've already said. By the way, on the flight over they were offering economy comfort at the gate for $140. No such offer on the return flight. Like I said, on the return flight economy comfort looked no different than economy.

If one goes over to the Cruise Air board there is a large sticky to explain how cruise air works. I'm going to oversimplify the explanation for those too busy to go read. Basically the cruiseline negotiate with the airlines and purchase a bulk amount of seats for a set price. So in effect yes they are operating as consolidators. As ticket holders you are considered the lowest ranking "bulk rate". You do not have the same rights and protections as if you purchased on your own.

As ticket holders you are considered the lowest ranking "bulk rate". You do not have the same rights and protections as if you purchased on your own.

...and just for added clarity, even if you book and pay for a premium priced ticket using your own money, the airlines will still never guarantee you a particular seat, they always reserve the right to move you to a different seat in the same cabin if they deem it necessary.

This aspect at least is beyond the control of Viking or any consolidator, it is purely within the remit of the airline to move you or not as they see fit.

Because "Airline Speak" varies between carriers, be careful about comparing "Economy Comfort" with "Premium Economy".

We are flying AF for our Cities of Light Cruise at end of March. We did upgrade to "PE" 6 weeks after our initial booking at $795 per. On AF, the PE section offers 2 x 4 x 2 across instead of 3 x 4 x 3 in Econ.

We did the initial booking thru our TA, but did the airline upgrade directly with Viking Air. We did pay the extra fees to Viking for Custom Air + Deviation as we are spending an extra week in Paris after the cruise ends.

Be sure and continue to check your reservation periodically directly with the airline.... You will need your 6 digit reservation locator code.

This way if something (like seat assignments) gets changed prior to arriving at the airport to check in you can head off problems rather than being very upset on your day of travel.

Airlines can and do change flight times, seat assignments, and even cancel flights! Amazingly sometimes the people holding the reservation are the last to know! So keep track of your flight arrangements, even if you don't leave for another 8 months :)

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Be sure and continue to check your reservation periodically directly with the airline.... You will need your 6 digit reservation locator code.

 

This way if something (like seat assignments) gets changed prior to arriving at the airport to check in you can head off problems rather than being very upset on your day of travel.

 

Airlines can and do change flight times, seat assignments, and even cancel flights! Amazingly sometimes the people holding the reservation are the last to know! So keep track of your flight arrangements, even if you don't leave for another 8 months :)

 

 

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Excellent advice! We have reservations for a cruise next April and recently received notification that there was a change in one of our flights. I went in to check our seats and found that though we still had our economy comfort seating, because the plane had been changed to a 747, I was now in a window seat and my husband in an aisle, with a seat in-between us. So, I needed to go in and put us back in adjoining seats.

Becki

When someone offers you something to good to be true, it often is. If one for any reason decides to accept the air arrangements of the various cruise companies, they often (not always) are going to be inconvenienced. That is what comes with the very cheap tickets. Viking ( for example since this thread is about them) is offering incredibly low air fare rates to China. What does one think they are going to get for that fare? If price is one's only concern, take the offer and go with the flow. If your expect or want more experiment with their custom air offerings or do it yourself.

I have to say, regarding Viking's free or low-cost air add-on's, that we were very pleasantly surprised with our experience last March. We purchased a Portraits of Southern France cruise with $99 air from Detroit. It was agony for me to give up the control over my air arrangements and I was certain we would have multiple connections or ibterminable layovers. Instead, we had the same flights I myself would have booked. I could nt have been more pleased.

Becki

I have to say, regarding Viking's free or low-cost air add-on's, that we were very pleasantly surprised with our experience last March. We purchased a Portraits of Southern France cruise with $99 air from Detroit. It was agony for me to give up the control over my air arrangements and I was certain we would have multiple connections or ibterminable layovers. Instead, we had the same flights I myself would have booked. I could nt have been more pleased.

 

 

 

Becki

You got really really lucky! I don't necessarily blame Viking either but when you are offering Free or Cheap air these are generally the bottom of the barrel. The cruise line is giving you a good deal and they will get you there..... But that is all they are doing is providing you a seat in an airplane and you should not expect anything else.

If you are a large person or a tall person be very very careful as you are likely in for some real discomfort!

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I spent a couple of days thinking whether I wanted to post to this thread. DW and I returned from a Christmas Market cruise about 3 weeks ago now. Without a doubt, the worst part of the entire trip was the transcontinental flights to and from Amsterdam...

 

Not sure I can name the airline so I'll just keep it to what I've already said. By the way, on the flight over they were offering economy comfort at the gate for $140. No such offer on the return flight. Like I said, on the return flight economy comfort looked no different than economy.

Thank you for posting this.

I didn't go into this blindly.

Our last transatlantic flight in 2008 was taken care of by the land tour company.

Other than being stuffed in the middle of row the flight times and layovers were fine.

I believe economy comfort is wider and has more leg room.

Can't decide if I want to upgrade now or take my chances at the airport.

We are flying in July.

I wish I had an idea what airline Viking uses from NY.

Thanks for being honest. We all need a dose of reality.

Denise

derrick22;

Not sure where you are going, but if it's Europe, there is a good chance it will be on Delta or Delta partner such as Air France.

If the airline will allow you to upgrade now to economy comfort, I would jump on it. Those seats typically go fast, and waiting until the departure day could get you bumped by a ff on their system.

You got really really lucky! I don't necessarily blame Viking either but when you are offering Free or Cheap air these are generally the bottom of the barrel. The cruise line is giving you a good deal and they will get you there..... But that is all they are doing is providing you a seat in an airplane and you should not expect anything else.

 

If you are a large person or a tall person be very very careful as you are likely in for some real discomfort!

 

 

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Oh, I think we did get lucky. I think in part it may have been that Detroit has a regularly scheduled Delta n/s to AMS, so it was fairly easy to get booked on that. We then upgraded ourselves to economy comfort on the way over, as we are both tall. But, economy comfort was not available on theflight home. Still, we again got lucky as the seating wasn't terribly cramped and my hubby had a seat on the aisle, so it was managable.

Becki

Thank you for posting this.

 

I didn't go into this blindly.

 

Our last transatlantic flight in 2008 was taken care of by the land tour company.

 

Other than being stuffed in the middle of row the flight times and layovers were fine.

 

 

 

I believe economy comfort is wider and has more leg room.

 

 

 

Can't decide if I want to upgrade now or take my chances at the airport.

 

We are flying in July.

 

 

 

I wish I had an idea what airline Viking uses from NY.

 

 

 

Thanks for being honest. We all need a dose of reality.

 

 

 

Denise

Don't wait! Summer is one of the busiest times of year. There will NOT be anything available at the airport or even 60 days before flying.

Best to just bit the bullet and protect yourself now.

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derrick22;

 

Not sure where you are going, but if it's Europe, there is a good chance it will be on Delta or Delta partner such as Air France.

 

If the airline will allow you to upgrade now to economy comfort, I would jump on it. Those seats typically go fast, and waiting until the departure day could get you bumped by a ff on their system.

Yes we are doing the Viking Grand European Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest.

I will call the TA to upgrade now.

Thanks

Denise

Don't wait! Summer is one of the busiest times of year. There will NOT be anything available at the airport or even 60 days before flying.

Best to just bit the bullet and protect yourself now.

Valid point.

Calling the TA Monday.

Thanks

Denise

We got our flights for our mid-April cruise from Viking earlier this week. I was quite pleased with the flights although I did call and request more layover time between flights since the connections were very tight and not what the Viking Air website said would be the minimum layover time. We fly United Denver to Chicago and then Chicago to Amsterdam. Coming home we fly Lufthansa Basal to Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to Denver.

If I understand correctly, we can't upgrade to economy plus on the United flights until the flights are actually ticketed. About how soon before the cruise will that be?

Also Viking told me that we won't know our seats on Lufthansa until the day of the flight and only then is there a possibility to upgrade. I'm concerned about a 10 hour flight in a very cramped seat and I'm concerned that my DH and I won't be sitting together. After all I'm not sure anyone else would want to deal with possibly cranky me on a 10 hour flight :-)

At this point, I figure I'll deal with one thing at a time. I'm happy with the flights. Next I'll work on the seats.

Soccermom, can you not log into the airlines site and get seat assignments with your confirmation number? That's what I did.

Soccermom, can you not log into the airlines site and get seat assignments with your confirmation number? That's what I did.

It says my reservations is not ticketed yet. I'll call Viking Air on Monday and see what can be done. Sitting in the last row of an 8 hour flight to Amsterdam sounds horrible :-(

I booked a complete package direct from Viking that included air. I got my flights today. I logged onto manage my trip to view the flights that Viking booked. The flights were excellent. If I had picked myself, I couldn't have done a better job.I did not make any requests. I got good flights at good times. Thanks Viking.

I hope these questions makes sense!

 

It's almost time to book our air for our 2015 China trip. We are planning to use Viking's Custom Air service because we like to book early and are picky about seats. I'm curious about the way the process works, though. We definitely do our homework, and have a general idea of what we want, but we are certainly open to options. Is it more of an "order-taker" situation, or does the Viking agent take time to go over choices that we may not know about? Also, has anyone been in a situation where they use one carrier/group for the departure leg and a different carrier for the return leg? For example, Delta out and American back rather than being forced (because of pricing) to stay with one carrier?

Just finished using Viking Custom Air to book our flights for our Portraits of Southern France cruise in October. I had a very good idea of the flights we wanted when I called Viking so I don't know what they would have done if I had no idea of the flights. In my case I guess that you could say that they were an 'order taker'. We are using one carrier/group to go to Paris (United) and Lufhansa for the return flights. I am satisfied with my experience with Viking so far. I have the booking confirmation codes for both carriers and have been able to make seat assignments on the United flights - not able to make seat assignments on Lufhansa however. Still have work to do to get those seats. We'll have to see if the seat assignments hold up and don't get changed as some have mentioned on CC.

Prdancer;

I believe it is possible to get an early seat assignment on LA; but

1. LA may require you to go through Viking for any such request since they bought the ticket.

2. You will have to pay a fee to LA to choose your (any) seat.

3. You will then have to additionally pay for any upgrade in seating you choose.

Airline Rules for seat assignments are changing rapidly. It is hard to keep up with it all. Added to the difficulty is who the purchaser of the ticket (in this case Viking Air) actually buys the ticket from. They may have bought one leg from United directly, and the other directly from LA, which will further affect seat assignment choices.

Prdancer;

 

I believe it is possible to get an early seat assignment on LA; but

 

1. LA may require you to go through Viking for any such request since they bought the ticket.

2. You will have to pay a fee to LA to choose your (any) seat.

3. You will then have to additionally pay for any upgrade in seating you choose.

 

Airline Rules for seat assignments are changing rapidly. It is hard to keep up with it all. Added to the difficulty is who the purchaser of the ticket (in this case Viking Air) actually buys the ticket from. They may have bought one leg from United directly, and the other directly from LA, which will further affect seat assignment choices.

pinotlover,

You are right on as this is basically the scenario that I was involved in yesterday as I tried to find out way Lufthansa (LH) flight seat maps came up 'undefined' on their website.

Because I am using one carrier (United UA) to go overseas and a different carrier (LH) to return to the States when I called LH they said that Viking has not ticketed their reservation which must be completed in order to get seat assignments. LH also said that there would be an addition fee for reserving seats now as the seat map won't normally be open until 23 hours prior to the flight.

Next I called Viking Air and was told that since we are using UA and LH that it was really a UA booking. Viking also said that if they ticket the flights now (both UA and LH) that there would be a $300 charge for any changes to the flights that were made after ticketing.

I made the decision to have Viking Air ticket all the flights as I don't anticipate any changes.

After a couple of days to allow Viking time to complete the ticketing process I'll call LH and pay any extra fees to them in order to access the seat maps and reserve our seats.

Quite a learning experience. Maybe the best thing that I learned from this experience is to make our own flight arrangements and leave Viking Air out of the mix or use only one carrier for all the flights or wait till the seat maps do open up.