Mechanical Issues Delay "Star"

"Star" was late in arriving in Tallinn yesterday due to "mechanical" issues. Had to sail at reduced speed. Engineers are here from Germany working "round the clock" to identify the problem. So far just Berlin has been canceled but no word yet on when we'll be able to leave Tallin for Gdansk. For now safe and a little disappointed but Tallinn is so picturesque among the raindrops. I'll post again when we hear more.

"Star" was late in arriving in Tallinn yesterday due to "mechanical" issues. Had to sail at reduced speed. Engineers are here from Germany working "round the clock" to identify the problem. So far just Berlin has been canceled but no word yet on when we'll be able to leave Tallin for Gdansk. For now safe and a little disappointed but Tallinn is so picturesque among the raindrops. I'll post again when we hear more.

Here we are on Friday in Tallinn.....oops, supposed to be Thursday in Tallinn and yes, we were in Tallinn yesterday, and maybe tomorrow: in fact we may just stay in Tallinn. Why you ask? Because on Wed. Night we had a major engine failure, so have now missed 3 departure times from Tallinn and will definitely miss Gdansk and Germany/Berlin ports.......what a mess for us and what mess for Viking!

Another nite in Tallinn. Still no fix for our engine failure. Latest update has us sailing to Copenhagen with no stops in gdansk or Berlin....major disappointment. But no idea when?

Starting to worry rest of trip might be cancelled. Bummer.

We were on the last voyage, just getting off in Stockholm last Saturday. Tallin was our fav. Go to the chocolate factory if you are "stuck" there longer!

Thanks for the update. No news on VO site at all about this. Altho....to be fair....what good would it do to provide noted on underway cruises? Those who are onboard are fully aware. However, if the issue continues long enough...they'll have to I'd think.

It is now Saturday morning, another sunrise in Tallinn Estonia for the Viking Star. Two ports of call missed to date and no indication of a departure from Tallin. Must be an embarrassment for Viking to continue to fail to fix the problem. Hoping to get good news soon!

Trying to stay positive but doesn't sound good and not sure what our options will be. Maybe they can get us on the Disney ship docked next to us yesterday?

We're not going ashore this morning. All asked to "stand by"for decision from corporate.

We are going on an upcoming cruise and are interested in Viking's PR response. I like to keep a positive attitude and I've heard enough about the wonderful crew to know that they are certainly doing their best to make lemonade. But if there is one recurring negative storyline it's been about corporate Viking being very good with VIP PR but perhaps less so at the individual level. So this is a test of that perception, which I hope proves false. Obviously everyone (including myself) will have their own evaluation of whether their response is adequate, based on the information provided.

Trying to stay positive but doesn't sound good and not sure what our options will be. Maybe they can get us on the Disney ship docked next to us yesterday?

We're not going ashore this morning. All asked to "stand by"for decision from corporate.

I feel so badly for all of you. Hopefully you will get good news today. Thanks for keeping everyone informed.

Cynthia

Any more information on what's happening with Viking Star? We've reached out to Viking PR, but no response so far. :(

Any more information on what's happening with Viking Star? We've reached out to Viking PR, but no response so far. :(

See this thread re ending the cruise :

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241873

And this post on another thread:

We have just been advised from Viking that the mechanical issues can not allow us to leave Tallinn until Aug. 4 at the earliest. Then we go straight to Bergen arriving late Aug. 7. Thus all ports of call cancelled.

 

Options either stay on or let Viking arrange air out. We are choosing to fly home as we have already been in Tallinn since July 30.

 

Good luck, next sailing cruise. Sorry we broke the ship!

I received an email this morning from friends on board. Viking has been waiting for a part. They were told that expected departure from Tallinn will be Mon or Tuesday and that the Star will sail directly to Bergen, bypassing all ports scheduled prior. They also told me that Viking is working to come up with options for the 918 passengers on board - including it sounds like the ability to disembark & travel home or stay on board. I did get the impression that a large number of passengers are looking at going elsewhere or home.

I feel so bad for all on board - yes the Star is a beautiful ship with a fantastic crew, but this is a huge change of itinerary. I sure hope that some good solutions and options are presented to all. And quickly.

I too feel badly for those onboard and the decisions each of them are faced with. VO surely does need to offer some compensation and offer it as a choice: credit for a future cruise OR straight cash. Hang in there guys!

This morning in letter from Captain that Star will remain in Tallinn until at least Tuesday August 4 possibly longer and they will then sail directly to Bergen to arrive late Friday August 7. We were offered 2 options - remain on Star and they will offer more excursions and keep us informed of progress OR cancel the rest of our trip and return home and they will be happy to help make those arrangements within the next 48 hours.

What a day this has been! It has been so hard to make a decision as there was no word on whether Viking will pay for this flight home. My husband and I were not on Viking Air so they weren't able to help except by giving us a phone to call the airline. Never did get through to United by phone. Online option showed cost would be over $5000 and we don't want to take a chance it will be reimbursed either byViking or our trip insurance. We have decided to stick it out for now as they promised they will get us to Bergen by late Friday in time to take the extension train ride to Oslo and our flight home. Sure hope this works.

Some have given up and are flying home. Others like us are in limbo on the cruise to nowhere. We were laughing tonight (hard to believe) that we all need to grab an oar and start rowing like the ad.

This is definitely a disaster for which we paid big bucks! The jury is out for many of us as to whether we will ever take Viking again. For us it will depend on how willing they are to reimburse us for a majorly ruined trip.

The only good that may come out of this is meeting our wonderful new Roll Call friends and supporting each other through it all.

So sorry for everyone facing tough decisions and watching a dream cruise fall apart! Hope everyone can make the most of their vacation time.

Here is the current statement from the Viking Oceans website:

"All Viking itineraries are currently sailing on schedule."

Good to know . . .

Sincere condolences to those who suffered this extreme disappointment.

I'm sure there will be plenty of PA&E* to go around. In the end, however, ensuring the availability of logistics support for a ship rests with the operator.

* - Promises, Alibis, and Excuses

JMHO - but this is the window of opportunity for Viking to shine or fail.

Any additional financial portion (flights, hotels, transfers) as a result of your cancelled itinerary should be covered by VO - if they were smart CEO Torstein Hagen, and his team would be on their way to communicate with and reassure all of you in person. I honestly believe that how VO handles this crisis will communicate what kind of company that they are - and most certainly will decide for us whether we cruise on them ever again (we were 29 days on maiden voyage).

And as mentioned - reimbursement to you all should go without saying - as well as some enticement to give them another chance.

All that said, I admire and respect the positive position you are all taking. You are showing what a classy group YOU are. Let's hope VO shows the same to you. Wishing all of you the very best.

This morning in letter from Captain that Star will remain in Tallinn until at least Tuesday August 4 possibly longer and they will then sail directly to Bergen to arrive late Friday August 7. We were offered 2 options - remain on Star and they will offer more excursions and keep us informed of progress OR cancel the rest of our trip and return home and they will be happy to help make those arrangements within the next 48 hours.

What a day this has been! It has been so hard to make a decision as there was no word on whether Viking will pay for this flight home. My husband and I were not on Viking Air so they weren't able to help except by giving us a phone to call the airline. Never did get through to United by phone. Online option showed cost would be over $5000 and we don't want to take a chance it will be reimbursed either byViking or our trip insurance. We have decided to stick it out for now as they promised they will get us to Bergen by late Friday in time to take the extension train ride to Oslo and our flight home. Sure hope this works.

Some have given up and are flying home. Others like us are in limbo on the cruise to nowhere. We were laughing tonight (hard to believe) that we all need to grab an oar and start rowing like the ad.

This is definitely a disaster for which we paid big bucks! The jury is out for many of us as to whether we will ever take Viking again. For us it will depend on how willing they are to reimburse us for a majorly ruined trip.

The only good that may come out of this is meeting our wonderful new Roll Call friends and supporting each other through it all.

Do you have trip insurance? I would think this might fall under a trip interruption. You should be able to call and ask. And for PR purposes.... Viking should buy your ticket home. Everyone is looking to see how they handle this.

JMHO - but this is the window of opportunity for Viking to shine or fail.

Any additional financial portion (flights, hotels, transfers) as a result of your cancelled itinerary should be covered by VO - if they were smart CEO Torstein Hagen, and his team would be on their way to communicate with and reassure all of you in person. I honestly believe that how VO handles this crisis will communicate what kind of company that they are - and most certainly will decide for us whether we cruise on them ever again (we were 29 days on maiden voyage).

 

And as mentioned - reimbursement to you all should go without saying - as well as some enticement to give them another chance.

 

All that said, I admire and respect the positive position you are all taking. You are showing what a classy group YOU are. Let's hope VO shows the same to you. Wishing all of you the very best.

I'm also interested to see how they compensate...we were onboard Insignia for it's fire and most were happy how Oceania handled that situation.

Here we are on Friday in Tallinn.....oops, supposed to be Thursday in Tallinn and yes, we were in Tallinn yesterday, and maybe tomorrow: in fact we may just stay in Tallinn. Why you ask? Because on Wed. Night we had a major engine failure, so have now missed 3 departure times from Tallinn and will definitely miss Gdansk and Germany/Berlin ports.......what a mess for us and what mess for Viking!

We are so sorry that this happened and that your cruise was badly interrupted or discontinued. We were lucky it didn't happen on the week before, but still it is never good to hear this. I hope Viking does something very special - like giving a whole new cruise - to those who were affected. Viking has its good name and that is one of its main advertising means.

Very sorry to hear the news. I agree this is a major opportunity for Viking to show what they are made of. If they do this right, it will give them years of positive PR.

We are booked on this ship in 2016 and hope they get all the kinks worked out before then.

This morning in letter from Captain that Star will remain in Tallinn until at least Tuesday August 4 possibly longer and they will then sail directly to Bergen to arrive late Friday August 7. We were offered 2 options - remain on Star and they will offer more excursions and keep us informed of progress OR cancel the rest of our trip and return home and they will be happy to help make those arrangements within the next 48 hours.

What a day this has been! It has been so hard to make a decision as there was no word on whether Viking will pay for this flight home. My husband and I were not on Viking Air so they weren't able to help except by giving us a phone to call the airline. Never did get through to United by phone. Online option showed cost would be over $5000 and we don't want to take a chance it will be reimbursed either byViking or our trip insurance. We have decided to stick it out for now as they promised they will get us to Bergen by late Friday in time to take the extension train ride to Oslo and our flight home. Sure hope this works.

Some have given up and are flying home. Others like us are in limbo on the cruise to nowhere. We were laughing tonight (hard to believe) that we all need to grab an oar and start rowing like the ad.

This is definitely a disaster for which we paid big bucks! The jury is out for many of us as to whether we will ever take Viking again. For us it will depend on how willing they are to reimburse us for a majorly ruined trip.

The only good that may come out of this is meeting our wonderful new Roll Call friends and supporting each other through it all.

You can always book the ferry across to Stockholm, then the train to Bergen via Oslo in time for your flights home. Would cost a bit, but might be more interesting than just waiting for the ship to get you to Bergen. Probably get the money back from Viking for the days you don't spend on the ship.

We are scheduled to depart Bergen on the the Star next Saturday 8/8. There may be those on board doing B2B. What is Viking telling them?

We are set to leave Phoenix on Wednesday 8/5 to arrive in Bergen late on Thursday. We have already booked "Norway in a Nutshell" for Friday the 7th.

If we hear from VO prior to 8/5 about a cancellation we will try and cancel all our plans. If they cancel after we leave, we'll at least get to tour Norway and then find a way to come back home.:(

We are scheduled to depart Bergen on the the Star next Saturday 8/8. There may be those on board doing B2B. What is Viking telling them?

 

We are set to leave Phoenix on Wednesday 8/5 to arrive in Bergen late on Thursday. We have already booked "Norway in a Nutshell" for Friday the 7th.

 

If we hear from VO prior to 8/5 about a cancellation we will try and cancel all our plans. If they cancel after we leave, we'll at least get to tour Norway and then find a way to come back home.:(

I would go even if the cruise is cancelled. Rent a car in Bergen and spend the time exploring the western fjords. We did it several years ago with our oldest son and his wife. One of the very best trips we ever did. If you are interested in details pm me.

Craig & Susan

Dear Cruise Critic members & Viking guests,

As you now know, Viking Star is currently docked in Tallinn after experiencing a mechanical issue during the July 25th departure of our Viking Homelands itinerary. The mechanical issue is related to the electric transformers in one part of the ship’s propulsion system. This particular issue is highly unusual, and while the malfunction had no impact on the engines or generators, it does require effort to repair it. While the work continues, we are unable to proceed with the cruise and after considerable deliberation we have made the difficult decision to cancel the remaining portion of the itinerary. We understand that our guests are disappointed with this outcome – and we are too. Please rest assured that we have carefully considered all possible options. Your enjoyment of the cruise and your safety are paramount in all decisions we have made.

We have presented a plan to our 900+ onboard guests to either bring them home or to their next destination should they have scheduled further travel, and we have developed two options.

Option 1: Viking will make flight arrangement for guests to return home from Tallinn in the timeliest manner possible.

Option 2: For guests who wish to remain in the Baltic for as long as they had planned, we are happy to host them aboard Viking Star until Tuesday, and then fly them to Bergen, Norway. There, we will accommodate them in a local hotel for the remainder of the scheduled cruise and show them the best this beautiful region of Norway has to offer. At the end of their stay, they may continue their onward journey as scheduled.

We thank you in advance for your patience; please bear with us as we work as fast as we can to address each individual traveler’s needs and concerns. Our Customer Relations team will contact all impacted guests upon their return home. Our guests’ satisfaction is important to Viking and we will be looking to make amends for these disruptions.

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises