Over a month and refund still not processed

My ta chased up today, “sorry it got stuck in the queue”, this is just another of several problems we have had pre cruise. Not a great start, hoping the onboard experience is much better.

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Thanks, I posted on their social media page and got a response, I have since found out that if I didn’t chase it up we would never have received the refund as it was “stuck”, this is just another issue we have had along the way. They have been at best very unlucky but my feeling is they are sneaky and deceptive. I hope it is more professional onboard. After this cruise I am also trying crystal, Seabourn and Azamara so will time will tell who becomes our new favourite.

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In fact someone on crystal just posted their refund was posted immediately! I have been informed that despite already waiting for over a month that my refund has been “released” and now I only have to wait another 7 BUSINESS days.

So when I want to purchase something on my cruise can I tell Viking I will pay them 6 weeks later?

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Don't know the details of your situation. Getting a refund before your cruise. But I can say that (a) you will be very happy with the crew onboard and (b) our experience during a cruise last January that when all excursions were cancelled because we were not able to make a port (sea conditions) the refund for our paid excursions was near immediate. After the cruise - maybe less than a month later - we received vouchers for each of the ports (2) we were forced to skip.

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Don't know the details of your situation. Getting a refund before your cruise. But I can say that (a) you will be very happy with the crew onboard and (b) our experience during a cruise last January that when all excursions were cancelled because we were not able to make a port (sea conditions) the refund for our paid excursions was near immediate. After the cruise - maybe less than a month later - we received vouchers for each of the ports (2) we were forced to skip.

 

 

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Thanks, the refund was due to a reprice, we were told the refund would take 3 weeks which seems a long time but we accepted it, after more than 4 weeks we contacted our TA. She has since told us if we hadn’t chased this we would not have received the refund due to a “technical fault”. This is bad enough but now that it has been “released” it is still another 7-9 business days ie 2 weeks! So that could be 6 weeks plus the fact we have to keep diarising and chasing it!

This was on the back of our original booking being told that there were no V cabins available (low behold we see a sale with them advertised), response we will lower you to a V category (at the initial higher price now higher than the advertised deluxe balcony). So lied about availability and then had the gall to try and charge us more for a downgrade while openly advertising deluxe balconies and FREE ( we had paid) air.

Thankfully our TA got them to do the right thing but now clearly they have tried not to give us this refund.

It is going to need to be a good cruise for me to trust Viking.

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Thanks, the refund was due to a reprice, we were told the refund would take 3 weeks which seems a long time but we accepted it, after more than 4 weeks we contacted our TA. She has since told us if we hadn’t chased this we would not have received the refund due to a “technical fault”. This is bad enough but now that it has been “released” it is still another 7-9 business days ie 2 weeks! So that could be 6 weeks plus the fact we have to keep diarising and chasing it!

This was on the back of our original booking being told that there were no V cabins available (low behold we see a sale with them advertised), response we will lower you to a V category (at the initial higher price now higher than the advertised deluxe balcony). So lied about availability and then had the gall to try and charge us more for a downgrade while openly advertising deluxe balconies and FREE ( we had paid) air.

Thankfully our TA got them to do the right thing but now clearly they have tried not to give us this refund.

It is going to need to be a good cruise for me to trust Viking.

 

 

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I do understand your frustration, but your statement that Viking "lied" about the availability of a Veranda cabin at the time you booked seems an unfair assumption on your part. We always book Veranda cabins and we book very early because those cabins go quickly. However, the inventory fluctuates, as people are offered a courtesy hold of a cabin for a brief period to make a decision, or people pay the deposit but then change their minds before final payment, or have emergencies which cause cancellations.

I hope you can set aside your frustration before boarding, so that you don't allow it to influence your experience. Our first Viking ocean cruise was perhaps our best vacation ever. Wishing you the same.

I do understand your frustration, but your statement that Viking "lied" about the availability of a Veranda cabin at the time you booked seems an unfair assumption on your part. We always book Veranda cabins and we book very early because those cabins go quickly. However, the inventory fluctuates, as people are offered a courtesy hold of a cabin for a brief period to make a decision, or people pay the deposit but then change their minds before final payment, or have emergencies which cause cancellations.

 

 

 

I hope you can set aside your frustration before boarding, so that you don't allow it to influence your experience. Our first Viking ocean cruise was perhaps our best vacation ever. Wishing you the same.

Thank you, we love the look of the ship, are excited about the fact it is adults only, no casino etc. Also it will be our first Caribbean cruise.

I completely agree about cabin holds and availability being fluid but it was strange that there was no availability and within less than a week not only was there availability but there were promotions of free upgrades. This matter by itself was not a big one but when you add it to the others it adds up to questionable behaviour. Which is a shame as other aspects of their pre cruise experience such as their website are excellent.

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I find myself in a similar position. I am waiting for Viking to process two refunds. One for $800, the other for $1,000. Viking arbitrarily decides that it will take 21 business days to process a refund. That is a business decision and nothing else. Viking gets to hold your money longer. By comparison, Regent issued a refund that showed up on my credit card within 3 business days.

Viking has the advantage of having high demand and could care less about the customer. They demand full payment months earlier than other cruise lines and now apparently wait weeks longer to process refunds simply because they can. Since I am still a few days away from their self-imposed 21 business day requirement, I don't yet know if I will receive the refund. In the meantime, my credit card bill will have come due and I have a feeling that the credit card company won't like the excuse that I am waiting on a refund for the amount so I am not going to pay.

I find myself in a similar position. I am waiting for Viking to process two refunds. One for $800, the other for $1,000. Viking arbitrarily decides that it will take 21 business days to process a refund. That is a business decision and nothing else. Viking gets to hold your money longer. By comparison, Regent issued a refund that showed up on my credit card within 3 business days.

 

Viking has the advantage of having high demand and could care less about the customer. They demand full payment months earlier than other cruise lines and now apparently wait weeks longer to process refunds simply because they can. Since I am still a few days away from their self-imposed 21 business day requirement, I don't yet know if I will receive the refund. In the meantime, my credit card bill will have come due and I have a feeling that the credit card company won't like the excuse that I am waiting on a refund for the amount so I am not going to pay.

The 21 days is extreme but in our case we are past that so I would encourage you to check you actually get the refund. We have been told that if we didn’t chase it up the refund would not have been processed. On top of that we have to wait an additional 7 business days! I would keep chasing them.

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Thank you teamflames. I did check again today and got the same old 21 business day story. It is a choice the Viking is making because they have the demand. I won't know for another few days if they comply with their own policy.

We have had the refund paid, so the second delay was much quicker than the 7 days so that is good, little in the way of apology.

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I have been waiting a few weeks for a refund on a cancelled cruise. I guess that I will need to contact Viking for a refund. Can I do it myself or do I need to go through my lazy travel agent?

I have been waiting a few weeks for a refund on a cancelled cruise. I guess that I will need to contact Viking for a refund. Can I do it myself or do I need to go through my lazy travel agent?

Both, email tellus@vikingcruises.com they do tend to respond.

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Dear Wheelhouse & mjobtx,

Your feedback has not gone unheard, and we are certainly interested in investigating your individual cases in more detail. While we regret to learn of your disappointment in the refund process, we are happy to have this chance to connect with you. If you haven’t already, please reach out to us with your booking information at TellUs@vikingcruises.com, as teamflames kindly provided. We hope to hear from you soon, and wish you both a restful weekend.

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

I have been waiting a few weeks for a refund on a cancelled cruise. I guess that I will need to contact Viking for a refund. Can I do it myself or do I need to go through my lazy travel agent?

I find myself in a similar position. I am waiting for Viking to process two refunds. One for $800, the other for $1,000. Viking arbitrarily decides that it will take 21 business days to process a refund. That is a business decision and nothing else. Viking gets to hold your money longer. By comparison, Regent issued a refund that showed up on my credit card within 3 business days.

 

Viking has the advantage of having high demand and could care less about the customer. They demand full payment months earlier than other cruise lines and now apparently wait weeks longer to process refunds simply because they can. Since I am still a few days away from their self-imposed 21 business day requirement, I don't yet know if I will receive the refund. In the meantime, my credit card bill will have come due and I have a feeling that the credit card company won't like the excuse that I am waiting on a refund for the amount so I am not going to pay.

I hope the others had their matters dealt with. I just had a similar experience with Crystal, refund issued in 3 days.

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I did contact the email provided and they did take care of it. I would have preferred that it be taken care of more promptly on a routine basis rather than asking someone to intervene but the matter is now closed and my refunds have been processed.