Viking Ocean and River Combined Cruise Questions

(This was originally posted to the Cruise Questions thread. Moved to here and Viking River boards at suggestion by long time CC member.):

We have cruised a number of times, on both Holland and Celebrity, and are now considering a combined Viking Ocean and River Cruise for out 50th anniversary. CC apparently does not have any way to zero in on the combined cruise experience, possibly because it is relatively new and limited in popularity. We have a number of questions and would appreciate any advice anyone wants to give:

1. It looks like one must book very early, nearly as soon as the cruise is released, which is a year and a half before departure. What effect does this seem to have on pricing, cancellation and cabin choices? Do cabins open up later in the year?

2. Since they are one-way cruises, what is the best way to coordinate air travel? Fly from the arrival port back to the departure port, or are there other alternatives? Economics of two one way flights vs. round trip? If one books air through Viking how do they handle it?

3. With the combined experience different than the normal cruise, is it best to do the ocean portion first then the river, or vice versa? Why?

Anything else important I have missed?

Thanks, all. we appreciate the help.

I can provide some information regarding the airfare portion of your question. There are flights know as "open jaw" where both legs of a journey with different middle destinations are booked as one ticket. On an airline website or booking agency like Expedia, there is usually a "multi-city" button rather than the round trip or one way buttons. Our upcoming trip from Philadelphia to Beren, Norway, and then home from Barcelona to Philadelphia is treated as one trip. It is much less expensive than if you booked two single one way tickets.

Would any of these work? We are thinking of doing one too!

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/ocean-river-voyages/index.html

More loose thoughts.

As far as flights go, Viking will offer a price for booking through them. Accept the offer; it can always be canceled (up to x many days before the cruise) if you can then beat the price on your own (and feel comfortable doing it) including the cost of arranging your own transfers, then do so. With the three river/ocean itineraries that Viking offers, the two ships actually dock in Amsterdam on the same day, so the transfer from river to ocean involved is really not much more than a short bus ride--no planes, no trains to worry about.

Yes, Viking fills up quickly but most in most cases, what is sold out more than a year in advance will still have availability come and go. Don't put your name on a wait list; you will do better to monitor for availability on your own.

My other thought is it is possible to make your own river/ocean combination. It will take some homework to find itineraries and dates that mesh. Look at combining the Fjords itinerary with any of the river cruises that sail out of Amsterdam even if it means a couple of days layover in Amsterdam.

I’m glad to see this thread introduced. I am beginning to plan a trip for 2020 in which we combine Western Med. Odyssey from Venice to Barcelona, then stay about a week in Barcelona, and then fly to Amsterdam to catch the Rhine river cruise to Basel ( the river cruise dates aren’t up for 2020, so waiting on that). So we would have an internal flight from Barcelona to Amsterdam. I can easily book multi city flights, but I sort of suspect Viking won’t be able to do that for us. Also wondering if Viking can provide an insurance policy for all that.

Would any of these work? We are thinking of doing one too!

 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/ocean-river-voyages/index.html

That is what we are looking at. Just hoping for more information, either specific or general.

I’m glad to see this thread introduced. I am beginning to plan a trip for 2020 in which we combine Western Med. Odyssey from Venice to Barcelona, then stay about a week in Barcelona, and then fly to Amsterdam to catch the Rhine river cruise to Basel ( the river cruise dates aren’t up for 2020, so waiting on that). So we would have an internal flight from Barcelona to Amsterdam. I can easily book multi city flights, but I sort of suspect Viking won’t be able to do that for us. Also wondering if Viking can provide an insurance policy for all that.

Sounds lovely!

I would get insurance through Viking only if you are sure that it covers everything that you expect should be covered -- such as both cruises, your flights regardless of who has booked them, any non-refundable bookings for hotels, tours or entrance fees, etc.

Since both of your cruises are with Viking, I would suspect that they can book all of your flights (for a fee, most likely). Let us know what you find out when you ask them. I would be curious to hear the answer.

We are on Homelands next month, so if the River Cruises for 2020 are posted by then I might visit the booking agent then. If not, we are on the 2019 WC, and have at least two week long sea “days,” so will probably book then. We are lucky to have friends with an apartment in Barcelona that they will let us use. I will ask Viking about insurance, but I think you are right—we will probably have to look elsewhere. I have found a few suggestions on these boards, but would welcome anything else.

My experience with purchasing insurance has been that going with non-cruise insurance companies gives broader coverage at less cost. (We use USAA). Fortunately have no experience with claims.

Insuremytrip.com is a great comparison website for travel Insurance. You can drill down to exactly what kind of coverage you want including pre-existing medical as well as cancel for any reason. Their customer service reps are very Knowledgeable to speak with if you have questions or concerns. You can add to the insurance as you add expenses such as Hotels and flights if you just want to get coverage initially for the cruise. If pre-existing is important be sure to note the timeframe (commonly 2 weeks) from when you booked the cruise to when you pay for the insurance. They carry many of the major players in the market. Also check with Viking and compare their costs and coverage so you will know.

I have been trying to see if the combined cruise fare is less than the fare for each leg, but apparently the combined cruise does not coincide with any individual cruises. In general terms it looks like the combined cruise is cheaper than two individual cruises B2B. Works out to about $200/day.

I have been trying to see if the combined cruise fare is less than the fare for each leg, but apparently the combined cruise does not coincide with any individual cruises. In general terms it looks like the combined cruise is cheaper than two individual cruises B2B. Works out to about $200/day.

They do discount because if they didn't, they would be charging you twice for the day for the change-over day--once as last day of the first cruise and once as the first day of the second.

Here is what I could pry out of the website for the two 2019 combos. Both are based on the Bergen to Amsterdam itinerary which will sail just twice in 2019, June 2 and June 9. Cost of a DV6 on the June 2 is $3699pp (and more for the June 9).

For the river portion, June prices for all of the sail dates listed for the 8 day Amsterdam to Basel are the same price, $3599pp for a French balcony D. I think that the June 9 Amsterdam to Basel is not listed because they reserving it for the combined itinerary. These are the prices before the returning guest discount (if available) and any other discounts/perks you can get out of your TA.

On the combined, French balcony + DV is $6898 and the website says it is a $400 savings (which is double what you figured the for the per diem). I priced for the least expensive cabins in the categories..

When you check on the river prices, click on the year and then click on the month you are interested in to see all of the cruises in that month (seems they hide dates unless you prod them a bit). A quick scan of the the lowest cabin prices will give you an idea of the pricing for the month even if you don't see the particular sail date you are interested in.

Insuremytrip.com is a great comparison website for travel Insurance. You can drill down to exactly what kind of coverage you want including pre-existing medical as well as cancel for any reason. Their customer service reps are very Knowledgeable to speak with if you have questions or concerns. You can add to the insurance as you add expenses such as Hotels and flights if you just want to get coverage initially for the cruise. If pre-existing is important be sure to note the timeframe (commonly 2 weeks) from when you booked the cruise to when you pay for the insurance. They carry many of the major players in the market. Also check with Viking and compare their costs and coverage so you will know.

Excellent advice. Just used them for a non-Viking Alaska cruise booking, VERY knowledgeable discussion. Reasonable $.