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My winter Mediterranean cruise is on sale but Viking won’t rebook at lower fare.


HaveDogWillTravel
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The Spring Sale which ends March 20th gives $500 off per person on my Dec 16, 2018 Mediterranean Explorations cruise. A $1000 is a lot of money!

 

Since it is before final payment, I called to rebook at the lower fare and was told they couldn’t do it.

I was told that rebooking was considered a cancellation and I’d have to cancel in writing. I would have to wait until the cancellation was completed to rebook and I should expect my PV3 cabin to be unavailable.

 

The other three lines I’ve cruised: Cunard, Celebrity and Princess all allow you to rebook over the phone and keep the same cabin. I’ve done this easily before final payment. I even did it once after final payment when a cruise dropped by $4000 and paying the penalty was still cheaper.

 

This is our first cruise with Viking and I’m still digesting how I feel about this. It doesn’t feel right that I can’t pay the $200 penalty and get the $800 savings.

 

Would any one else be bothered if this happened to them?

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From your post it seems you are dealing directly with Viking. In the future deal with a good TA and they can usually use their connections with the cruise line to accomplish this task. We have never had a problem while having our TA do this.

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From your post it seems you are dealing directly with Viking. In the future deal with a good TA and they can usually use their connections with the cruise line to accomplish this task. We have never had a problem while having our TA do this.

 

Thank you for the information. I have always had good results working directly with the cruise line. It seems odd that a TA can make this happen but a customer cannot. I am going to call back today and see if maybe someone higher on the food chain can be of more assistance. I have been wanting to try Viking but this really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

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Be careful for what you wish for!

 

If you booked with any of the routine Viking offers such free or heavily discounted Viking Air you might not be able to combine them. A quick look at the Spring promo shows the Viking air discount is not available with the Spring discount.

 

As far as TA's some of them offer price protection, as do some credit cards, and they may be able to make up the difference. They may have some tricks that will allow you to cancel and rebook without losing your original cabin as long as the class is not wait listed.

 

I specifically asked Crystal about their policy last month for a future 2020 cruise and they told me that they would not adjust the price through reservations, but if I called the main office they might might be able to do something.

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Be careful for what you wish for!

 

If you booked with any of the routine Viking offers such free or heavily discounted Viking Air you might not be able to combine them. A quick look at the Spring promo shows the Viking air discount is not available with the Spring discount.

 

As far as TA's some of them offer price protection, as do some credit cards, and they may be able to make up the difference. They may have some tricks that will allow you to cancel and rebook without losing your original cabin as long as the class is not wait listed.

The details of the sale outline that is combinable with the reduced airfare. I received no special perks or other fare reductions other than the 2-1 fare everyone pays all the time. We will see what happens.

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The Spring Sale which ends March 20th gives $500 off per person on my Dec 16, 2018 Mediterranean Explorations cruise. A $1000 is a lot of money!

 

Since it is before final payment, I called to rebook at the lower fare and was told they couldn’t do it.

I was told that rebooking was considered a cancellation and I’d have to cancel in writing. I would have to wait until the cancellation was completed to rebook and I should expect my PV3 cabin to be unavailable.

 

The other three lines I’ve cruised: Cunard, Celebrity and Princess all allow you to rebook over the phone and keep the same cabin. I’ve done this easily before final payment. I even did it once after final payment when a cruise dropped by $4000 and paying the penalty was still cheaper.

 

This is our first cruise with Viking and I’m still digesting how I feel about this. It doesn’t feel right that I can’t pay the $200 penalty and get the $800 savings.

 

Would any one else be bothered if this happened to them?

 

Not the same thing, but while I was onboard Viking Sea on Viking Homelands last June, they made a special offer of $400 off per person for booking onboard. I wanted to go on Med Odyssey. However the fall 2018 cruise was not yet posted on the web. Viking Sea onboard sales agent says no problem and calls LA. LA says the cruise will be posted next week and I can book right away to get the $400pp discount. We booked to get the deal. Get home and I see that the listed price is $500 less per person than they told me. So I paid $100 more per person than anyone else.

Contacted Viking in every which way but could not get the "deal" redone at their ACTUAL price discounted by $400pp.

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I reached out again and was told that TA and individuals alike would be treated the same. No way to rebook into my current stateroom even with paying the cancellation fee. Seems like a poor customer service policy to me. I am not cancelling at the moment, but I am now looking see what cruises are available for our time frame on other premium lines. I can't see how this is going to be a win for Viking Ocean. There are several other lines I have been wanting to try.

 

I think Viking may be one I try on a last minute deal only.

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Not the same thing, but while I was onboard Viking Sea on Viking Homelands last June, they made a special offer of $400 off per person for booking onboard. I wanted to go on Med Odyssey. However the fall 2018 cruise was not yet posted on the web. Viking Sea onboard sales agent says no problem and calls LA. LA says the cruise will be posted next week and I can book right away to get the $400pp discount. We booked to get the deal. Get home and I see that the listed price is $500 less per person than they told me. So I paid $100 more per person than anyone else.

Contacted Viking in every which way but could not get the "deal" redone at their ACTUAL price discounted by $400pp.

We got the same offer on Sky Homelands last June and were told by the agent that we can apply all of the credits to any River or Ocean cruise with the same number of days or more up to the time we had to pay. About two months latter we switched from the original Ocean to a River with no fees and got the free air offered on river. Made a call our TA and everything was done while on hold. Of course there was and is the usual aggravation with Viking Air. Ironically the Ocean cruise was revamped and is now being offered for about $2000 less so if available we will probably rebook while on the river cruise.

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The Spring Sale which ends March 20th gives $500 off per person on my Dec 16, 2018 Mediterranean Explorations cruise. A $1000 is a lot of money!

 

 

 

Since it is before final payment, I called to rebook at the lower fare and was told they couldn’t do it.

 

I was told that rebooking was considered a cancellation and I’d have to cancel in writing. I would have to wait until the cancellation was completed to rebook and I should expect my PV3 cabin to be unavailable.

 

 

 

The other three lines I’ve cruised: Cunard, Celebrity and Princess all allow you to rebook over the phone and keep the same cabin. I’ve done this easily before final payment. I even did it once after final payment when a cruise dropped by $4000 and paying the penalty was still cheaper.

 

 

 

This is our first cruise with Viking and I’m still digesting how I feel about this. It doesn’t feel right that I can’t pay the $200 penalty and get the $800 savings.

 

 

 

Would any one else be bothered if this happened to them?

 

 

 

You might consider writing an email to tellus@vikingcruises.com. They might be able to help you. Good luck. I hope you ar able to get the credit. It seems only fair.

 

 

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In Australia, Viking has in it's terms and conditions that re-booking to a promotional fare is regarded as a "cancellation" and the $500pp deposit is lost. I think it is an extremely restrictive practice and one that will not prove popular at all in our market where guests routinely are able to re-book (with other cruiselines), to secure lower fares. I suspect passengers are not aware of this "fine print" when they book with Viking.

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Thanks for sharing. This is concerning. I have never experienced a cruise line not allowing you to rebook at the lower fare especially if you had not paid the final payment. I just did this on silverseas and saved $6000 when I noticed a reduced fare , and I had paid in full several months earlier. They gave us full credit for the difference, did not have to cancel and rebook.

 

I specifically asked the Viking agent if the price dropped, would they honor it, assume as long as it is before final payment is made. He said yes, but it won’t drop he said. Guess will find out. Good luck to you.

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Thanks for sharing. This is concerning. I have never experienced a cruise line not allowing you to rebook at the lower fare especially if you had not paid the final payment. I just did this on silverseas and saved $6000 when I noticed a reduced fare , and I had paid in full several months earlier. They gave us full credit for the difference, did not have to cancel and rebook.

 

I specifically asked the Viking agent if the price dropped, would they honor it, assume as long as it is before final payment is made. He said yes, but it won’t drop he said. Guess will find out. Good luck to you.

 

Please read the fine print on your booking. Mine says that any changes to a fare is considered a cancellation and will incur a penalty (which for me this far out is $200 and I am happy to pay). Moreover, it says that all cancelations must be done in writing so you can not do it over the phone and rebook your same room. If your booking says this then I find it really concerning that a Viking rep would tell you otherwise.

 

I did not mind paying the fee but I was loathe to give up my carefully chosen cabin.

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Thanks for sharing. This is concerning. I have never experienced a cruise line not allowing you to rebook at the lower fare especially if you had not paid the final payment. I just did this on silverseas and saved $6000 when I noticed a reduced fare , and I had paid in full several months earlier. They gave us full credit for the difference, did not have to cancel and rebook.

 

I specifically asked the Viking agent if the price dropped, would they honor it, assume as long as it is before final payment is made. He said yes, but it won’t drop he said. Guess will find out. Good luck to you.

 

Completely UNTRUE in my unfortunate experience with Viking corporate office.

 

See Post #7 for a real life example.

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The Spring Sale which ends March 20th gives $500 off per person on my Dec 16, 2018 Mediterranean Explorations cruise. A $1000 is a lot of money!

 

Since it is before final payment, I called to rebook at the lower fare and was told they couldn’t do it.

I was told that rebooking was considered a cancellation and I’d have to cancel in writing. I would have to wait until the cancellation was completed to rebook and I should expect my PV3 cabin to be unavailable.

 

The other three lines I’ve cruised: Cunard, Celebrity and Princess all allow you to rebook over the phone and keep the same cabin. I’ve done this easily before final payment. I even did it once after final payment when a cruise dropped by $4000 and paying the penalty was still cheaper.

 

This is our first cruise with Viking and I’m still digesting how I feel about this. It doesn’t feel right that I can’t pay the $200 penalty and get the $800 savings.

 

Would any one else be bothered if this happened to them?

 

We, too, were victims of booking way too soon. We could have gotten free airfare, but instead paid $1200 each. Others were offered premium drink package...for free...and OBC's. I called and tried to deal, but no luck. The staff on the ships are great. The Viking office staff are not as cooperative.

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I contacted tellus@vikingcruises and received an almost immediate call back. The answer was that the moment you put a deposit, you lock the current price of the cruise. It means that if the price will go down on my cruise, I wouldn’t be able to get a credit or cancel and rebook (I’m less than 3 months away from cruise)

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We, too, were victims of booking way too soon. We could have gotten free airfare, but instead paid $1200 each. Others were offered premium drink package...for free...and OBC's. I called and tried to deal, but no luck. The staff on the ships are great. The Viking office staff are not as cooperative.

 

I am a long term planner. I have 7 cruises booked through spring of 2020 on Cunard, Celebrity and Princess not counting this Viking cruise. I don’t cancel cruises. I like to get particular cabins and booking early is how I do that. For example, the Island Princess has wonderful 700 plus sq ft aft full suites with huge wrap around balconies for under $400 pp per day. Also reasonably priced on Grand Princess is a 700 plus sq ft aft Owners suite with a 180 sq ft balcony that I love. I often get these suites for these low prices including beverage packages. On Viking, Celebrity and Cunard we have to settle for under 350 sq ft to stay in that price range.

To many, the size of the cabin is unimportant, however to us it is the most valued criteria of choosing a cruise. We use these cruises to reconnect and focus on each other. We do enjoy taking excursions and having a social drink and dinner with our ship mates but we spend most of our time on our balcony or in our suite. About half of the time we will have MDR room service brought up and eat on our balcony (with LED candles... so romantic!).

 

Viking is the only one of these 4 lines that insists on penalizing early bookers such as myself.

I think Viking, for me at any rate, will be a wonderful cruise to take if I ever want a “last minute deal” and if they happen to have an itinerary, cabin and price that interests me.

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I contacted tellus@vikingcruises and received an almost immediate call back. The answer was that the moment you put a deposit, you lock the current price of the cruise. It means that if the price will go down on my cruise, I wouldn’t be able to get a credit or cancel and rebook (I’m less than 3 months away from cruise)

I did as well, however I am still waiting for a phone call.

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After a conversation with a lovely Viking representative, the result is an offer of $400 OBC. I was told this can be used for gratuities (as well as the usual expenses). There was also a mention of taking this to a “round table discussion”.

 

When this issue started I began looking at other cruises and found two that really interest me for this time frame. The OBC is a nice offer however it isn’t $800. Quite honestly, I feel it should even be more to compensate for the amount of work this has been. We are not yet retired and have busy work schedules.

I suppose sleeping on it for a few days is best.

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If you had used a TA you would have at least a large OBC when you booked, maybe other benefits...and you would have had an advocate for when the price went down....they should have been able to match it for you or at least get a larger OBC.

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If you had used a TA you would have at least a large OBC when you booked, maybe other benefits...and you would have had an advocate for when the price went down....they should have been able to match it for you or at least get a larger OBC.

I appreciate your feedback. You are the second poster to state that a TA would have been able to take care of this.

 

Yet, when I asked on my first phone calls, Viking representatives insisted that TAs and customers dealing direct get identical treatment. No one should be penalized for dealing direct without a TA. I find it concerning that this may be the case.

 

Viking’s business model is ....just....so... tiresome....

 

When I first booked this cruise the final payment was due over a year in advance. From CC I learned that if you call and insist you can get it moved to 6 months ( which I did and really? 6 months?) . But, my goodness! Viking makes me work really hard to get basic good customer service policy in place. I find it unreasonable.

 

I received an email from the tellus rep, Kory, that Viking has issued us a $200 per person credit on our cruise fare in addition to the $400 OBC. Certainly a fair enough offer.

 

We will discuss this seriously as there are many reasons we want to try Viking: no casino, no children, port intensive, a real sauna and snow grotto, minimal entertainment, an infinity pool.........

 

Even if we decide to take this cruise over the other 2 that I found interesting to replace it, I would never early book on Viking again until this policy changed.

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I appreciate your feedback. You are the second poster to state that a TA would have been able to take care of this.

 

 

 

Yet, when I asked on my first phone calls, Viking representatives insisted that TAs and customers dealing direct get identical treatment. No one should be penalized for dealing direct without a TA. I find it concerning that this may be the case.

 

 

 

Viking’s business model is ....just....so... tiresome....

 

 

 

When I first booked this cruise the final payment was due over a year in advance. From CC I learned that if you call and insist you can get it moved to 6 months ( which I did and really? 6 months?) . But, my goodness! Viking makes me work really hard to get basic good customer service policy in place. I find it unreasonable.

 

 

 

I received an email from the tellus rep, Kory, that Viking has issued us a $200 per person credit on our cruise fare in addition to the $400 OBC. Certainly a fair enough offer.

 

 

 

We will discuss this seriously as there are many reasons we want to try Viking: no casino, no children, port intensive, a real sauna and snow grotto, minimal entertainment, an infinity pool.........

 

 

 

Even if we decide to take this cruise over the other 2 that I found interesting to replace it, I would never early book on Viking again until this policy changed.

 

 

 

They won’t change, just think - if you bought a New Benz and signed the paperwork for a price- waited for the car to be shipped to your dealership . In the mean time” The Company “ ran a short term deal to move cars , they would never apply the new deal to previously sold cars . What sold is sold !

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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I appreciate your feedback. You are the second poster to state that a TA would have been able to take care of this.

 

Yet, when I asked on my first phone calls, Viking representatives insisted that TAs and customers dealing direct get identical treatment. No one should be penalized for dealing direct without a TA. I find it concerning that this may be the case.

 

Viking’s business model is ....just....so... tiresome....

 

When I first booked this cruise the final payment was due over a year in advance. From CC I learned that if you call and insist you can get it moved to 6 months ( which I did and really? 6 months?) . But, my goodness! Viking makes me work really hard to get basic good customer service policy in place. I find it unreasonable.

 

I received an email from the tellus rep, Kory, that Viking has issued us a $200 per person credit on our cruise fare in addition to the $400 OBC. Certainly a fair enough offer.

 

We will discuss this seriously as there are many reasons we want to try Viking: no casino, no children, port intensive, a real sauna and snow grotto, minimal entertainment, an infinity pool.........

 

Even if we decide to take this cruise over the other 2 that I found interesting to replace it, I would never early book on Viking again until this policy changed.

I am sure Viking treats customer same as TA, but TA knows when they are getting BS from rep and knows how and when to escalate from experience.

 

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A8-50F using Forums mobile app

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