Lower Price

so I’ve been around a long time and have read all those other poor suckers who ended up paying more than they would have if they waited until closer to sailing to book. And yes I know one should book at a price point one is comfortable and not look back. And I know that I wouldn’t want to pay more if the prices went up after booking....

BUT

When we booked (June 2017 )our March 2018) TA, V1s were supposedly sold out and on a wait list but for only $200 more we were offered and took a guarantee. Now that we are inside of 120 days, V1 and V2 cabins are available at $500 less per person and DV are $200 less pp and PV are only $200 more than what we paid.

Very disappointing.

Talked to Travel Agent hoping we could move to a DV but she says Viking won’t do that or for that matter anything. On other lines, when this has happened (and it’s only been a hundred bucks or so not $1000 total) we have usually been upgraded to what someone’s buying today would pay.

Sorry to vent but just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

so I’ve been around a long time and have read all those other poor suckers who ended up paying more than they would have if they waited until closer to sailing to book. And yes I know one should book at a price point one is comfortable and not look back. And I know that I wouldn’t want to pay more if the prices went up after booking....

 

BUT

 

 

When we booked (June 2017 )our March 2018) TA, V1s were supposedly sold out and on a wait list but for only $200 more we were offered and took a guarantee. Now that we are inside of 120 days, V1 and V2 cabins are available at $500 less per person and DV are $200 less pp and PV are only $200 more than what we paid.

 

 

Very disappointing.

 

 

Talked to Travel Agent hoping we could move to a DV but she says Viking won’t do that or for that matter anything. On other lines, when this has happened (and it’s only been a hundred bucks or so not $1000 total) we have usually been upgraded to what someone’s buying today would pay.

 

 

Sorry to vent but just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I booked our ETA in 2016 at a price I thought was great with a nice air discount. The air discount is less today.

Meanwhile there was a cat 5 hurricane back in Sept, in our port of departure for your ship and mine, sailing March 27. The sold out and wait list categories have waxed and waned since Sept. I have never booked a guarantee on any cruise. It is a gamble as I see it for whatever cabin you finally get.

I am all set for a great cruise, and have never looked backed at the price I paid in 2016.

Hope you in the end enjoy your cruise and find value in the price you paid.

We find ourselves in the same situation as Clay and I agree with every point. It is disappointing to be paying the same price for a V1 category as others today are paying for a DV4.

The gamble we accepted was that we would get a V1 cabin or better for the price of a V1 cabin, though we would not be able to chose the location and we wouldn't know until possibly when we boarded. We have done this sort of guarantee with other cruise lines and it has always worked out to our satisfaction. We have never found ourselves paying the same price as others in categories higher than we paid. I also don't think this has anything to do with the guarantee. If we had paid the going rate for a DV6 cabin, which we could have gotten without a guarantee, it would now have bought us a DV3. So anyone could wind up in the same situation.

We have every intention of enjoying our cruise, but I do think that Viking needs to rethink how they manage price changes. It will certainly be a factor when considering whether I want to book with Viking in the future or another cruise line that will give us a price guarantee.

Doglover,

While I don't expect a price guarantee and haven't sailed with a line that offers such a thing, I agree with the rest of your post - preaching to the choir I guess you and I are! LOL

But like I said, on other lines, when something similar has occurred the line has at least tried to compensate me in some fashion - upgrade to something close to what my old dollars would buy today....or an obc ....or something.

I am considering canceling and rebooking - would still put a little bit of money in my pocket.....

I am going to respectfully say---your TA should at least make the effort to call and see if anything can be done for you. If he/she gets nowhere---get on the phone yourself. It won't hurt anything.

I just had to cancel a Priceline reservation (clearly non-refundable/non-cancelleable) due to medical reasons. To my surprise their Customer Service put me on hold and came back saying they refunded in full to my credit card.

Totally unexpected and saved me filing a claim.

It's worth a phone call.

Trust me, have had a couple of calls and emails...got a response from the agent to let her see what she could do with Viking. Told her she had until next week since if I was going to cancel and rebook had to do it before we got to the 90 day mark.

A few minutes ago got a call direct from Viking to discuss. Offered $200 obc per person and when I said I would really prefer to be moved to a DV, she said she couldn't do that or give me a refund and that the $200 offer was as high as she could go. Since that offer worked out to be higher than what we would have seen if we canceled/rebook (albeit that would have been cash in hand rather than drinks in belly) I accepted.

Still leaves a bad flavor in my mouth given it appears the ship is relatively empty given the lowered pricing and the few "limited availability" showing on the website but I will move on.

But given then is the second instance of less than stellar treatment by Viking, I may have to rethink whether a luxe line is for me!

Clay,

I too have contacted my travel agent and she is hard at work trying to figure something out with Viking I will likely give her till the end of the week and then contact Viking as well. I would be happy to take either an offer of OBC or a cabin upgrade. We'll see if the OBC is offered. If so, hopefully we'll be able to use it for a shore excursion or two while on the trip, since I know you can't use it to pre-book on MVJ. We can't cancel and re-book since we had used some other credits which would not be reusable.

Was your guarantee cabin assigned or are you still waiting to see where you land with that? Maybe you'll get a nice upgrade that way. Either way, I hope you enjoy your trip once you're onboard.

We booked a cruise direct with VO. The very next day the prices went down $250 pp. I am used to Princess who will let you rebook at the lower fare (before final payment), but got nowhere when I called VO. I tried emailing and pleading my case, but again was politely told that there was nothing they could do. So we decided it was worth it to cancel, pay the $100 pp penalty, and rebook at the lower rate since we'd ultimately save $300. This time the agent thought to ask us if we had been referred by a former cruiser, which we had, so we got the $100 pp discount for that, meaning we ended up getting the full $500 discount.

The agent couldn't just rebook the same cabin, but had to book us into a new cabin with a new $1,000 deposit, then we had to send an email cancelling the original cabin and wait for the refund on that. Fortunately, the agent kept a lookout and moved us back to the original cabin when it was returned to inventory.

This seems like a ridiculous way to handle this situation. We are taking this cruise as a test to see if we like the line as we might consider their World Cruise, but we aren't off to a good start!

Clay,

 

I too have contacted my travel agent and she is hard at work trying to figure something out with Viking I will likely give her till the end of the week and then contact Viking as well. I would be happy to take either an offer of OBC or a cabin upgrade. We'll see if the OBC is offered. If so, hopefully we'll be able to use it for a shore excursion or two while on the trip, since I know you can't use it to pre-book on MVJ. We can't cancel and re-book since we had used some other credits which would not be reusable.

 

Was your guarantee cabin assigned or are you still waiting to see where you land with that? Maybe you'll get a nice upgrade that way. Either way, I hope you enjoy your trip once you're onboard.

I didn't know it until I went to MyVikingJourney to confirm the price we paid and the cancellation dates but we were assigned a stateroom in the category we had guaranteed....so while I too was hoping for an upgrade, no such luck:loudcry:

Hope your TA works some magic...be sure and come back and let us know...especially if you end up with an upgraded stateroom...might give me some leverage! Thanks for your good wishes regarding our voyage...I am sure it will be fine, but was hoping for something magical....oh well.

 

This seems like a ridiculous way to handle this situation. We are taking this cruise as a test to see if we like the line as we might consider their World Cruise, but we aren't off to a good start!

Sounds like several of us are having the same thought!

I didn't know it until I went to MyVikingJourney to confirm the price we paid and the cancellation dates but we were assigned a stateroom in the category we had guaranteed....so while I too was hoping for an upgrade, no such luck:loudcry:

 

Hope your TA works some magic...be sure and come back and let us know...especially if you end up with an upgraded stateroom...might give me some leverage! Thanks for your good wishes regarding our voyage...I am sure it will be fine, but was hoping for something magical....oh well.

I checked MyVikingJourney and we are still unassigned. Now I'm sort of hoping that they wait to assign us, since it seems like that might mean a higher category cabin? (yn) The lowest are supposedly sold out, though that has changed back and forth over the last couple of months. I will have to keep an eye on that. I will let you know what happens. Our trip is later than yours, so I may not have a final answer for some time.

Maybe the magic will still happen for both of us once the trip starts. We loved our Viking river cruise and the experience on board is what clinched it, despite some hiccups along the way.

Not unexpected predatory behavior from Viking corporate.

I booked a cruise while onboard in June. I could not check the price because it was just announced for 2018 had yet to be posted online. When I got home also in June it had been posted. At $550 less per person. Over $1,000 less. Same low price June-Sept. After weeks of emails and phonecalls I got a couple hundred bucks onboard credit. Not at all satisfied with Viking customer service. Looking to book my next river cruise elsewhere.

I think that Viking is taking advantage of its customers because their cruises are booking so well. They have made other mistakes in the booking process and would not honor the customer's request. In the long run, it will not be a wise decision to lower prices and not allow a previously booked customer to take advantage of it as it will discourage people from booking early. I hope that they will revisit a number of their policies as there are quite a few customers who are unhappy with their procedures. I am planning on having a great cruise but I will see if the experience beats other cruise lines who do not require such advanced deposits, honor price reductions, ensure reservations at specialty dining venues, release excursions and pricing at an earlier date and do not determine excursion booking by room category.

Did any of you check with your credit card company which you used to pay for your trip. Could be something to try.

Our experience with Viking is not satisfactory, weird policies.

I think that Viking is taking advantage of its customers because their cruises are booking so well. They have made other mistakes in the booking process and would not honor the customer's request. In the long run, it will not be a wise decision to lower prices and not allow a previously booked customer to take advantage of it as it will discourage people from booking early. I hope that they will revisit a number of their policies as there are quite a few customers who are unhappy with their procedures. I am planning on having a great cruise but I will see if the experience beats other cruise lines who do not require such advanced deposits, honor price reductions, ensure reservations at specialty dining venues, release excursions and pricing at an earlier date and do not determine excursion booking by room category.

Not my situation. When I booked onboard in June I asked if the price quoted would be THE published price once the cruise was posted online (days later in JUNE). I was told "Of course", but that was NOT the case. As a long time customer I trusted the statements made by Viking corporate who keep deliberately misinterpreting my request as asking for a booking at the lowest fare quoted.

No, I want my booking to be at the initial fare PUBLISHED which was what I was told my onboard verbal booking fare would be. It wasn't. Paying a list price over $1,000 more than anyone else who booked,

If Viking months or so later on a promotion reduced the fare to stimulate bookings , I would not complain.

Not my situation. When I booked onboard in June I asked if the price quoted would be THE published price once the cruise was posted online (days later in JUNE). I was told "Of course", but that was NOT the case. As a long time customer I trusted the statements made by Viking corporate who keep deliberately misinterpreting my request as asking for a booking at the lowest fare quoted.

No, I want my booking to be at the initial fare PUBLISHED which was what I was told my onboard verbal booking fare would be. It wasn't. Paying a list price over $1,000 more than anyone else who booked,

If Viking months or so later on a promotion reduced the fare to stimulate bookings , I would not complain.

Phil,

I know you are a regular here, so I assume you have already tried this, but have you emailed Viking at the TellUs@vikingcruises.com ? That does seem to be the method that gets the most successful outcome based on what I read in these forums.

Yes I did. Normally that is an excellent suggestion. Thank you.

We are first time Viking (Ocean) customers. We are booked on the Orion for its "Far East Discovery Tour in October 2018. We were displeased with Viking's handling of compensation for the drastic change in itinerary compared to the general price reduction. I telephoned two times and sent two E-mails without any response. I was completely ignored. I read on CC's Message Boards about writing to "TellUs@vikingcruises. I sent copies of my e-mails and summaries of my telephone conversations with a cover letter. Within one day I was contacted by Corey R. She was courteous, apologetic and very responsive. She worked with my TA and satisfactorily resolved my concerns within two hours. This is how a service company ought operate! I am thankful for both Cruise Critic and Corey from Viking Ocean.

Joel Barry Brown

Exact opposite of my experience with the same person. Never got back to me in person.

Then again, I've only purchased 6 cruises from Viking.

We are booked on the Orion for its "Far East Discovery Tour in October 2018. We were displeased with Viking's handling of compensation for the drastic change in itinerary

Out of curiousity, what was the itinerary change?

Viking dropped two days in Seoul, Korea and two days in Taiwan. Replaced with an additional day in Xiamen, China and added two days in Japan (National Park and Naha) and an additional sea day.

Joel Barry

Viking still trying to figure out selling ocean cruises - their reservations department is on a learning curve. They price their V2,V3,V4,V5,V6 cabins differently but when they assign you your cabin they claim there is no difference. They tried to say that a V3 was the same as a V5 but then cannot explain why they charge more for V3 cabins. Hopefully they will get their act together. And the shore excursion pecking order.......!

Viking still trying to figure out selling ocean cruises - their reservations department is on a learning curve. They price their V2,V3,V4,V5,V6 cabins differently but when they assign you your cabin they claim there is no difference. They tried to say that a V3 was the same as a V5 but then cannot explain why they charge more for V3 cabins. Hopefully they will get their act together. And the shore excursion pecking order.......!

As with any cruise, all cabins are based on sq footage and LOCATION on the ship.Nothing new about this.

All curise lines do this type of pricing.

Viking Ocean has 6 categories: Veranda(V,2,1,); Deluxe Veranda( DV 6,5,4,3,2,1); Penhouse Veranda( PV 3,2,1); Penthouse Junior Suite( PS 3,2,1) Explorer Suite(ES 2,1) and one Owners Suite.

Your example is about DV catergories cabin: DV 3 vs DV 5. These all have the same square footage and various LOCATIONS . You pick your cabin and price point.

One thing I like about Viking is that all cabins have verandas, no inisde or oceanview tpyes on their ships.

When you are talking about being assigned a cabin , are you talking about booking a guarantee?

I have never been assigned a cabin, but always pick a cabin after looking at the ship's layout.I also always use a TA

And various categories have different windows of time to begin to book their excursions and their speciality dining reservations. This might be unique to Viking.

Just two general comments: 1. It seems that “corporate” and “on board” are two different animals. (“Tell us” seems to stand somewhere between.) I saw this exact comment on another thread comparing Viking Ocean with a similar line. I also saw this as I was researching our first river cruise causing us to choose another company. 2. When questioning our TA on some of the pricing quirks on another trip (not Viking), her reply was “There’s always a catch.” We had an exceptional experience on our VO cruise and hope to be repeat ocean cruisers. Still not sure about our next river trip.