To Passengers and Crew of Viking Star "Homelands" cruise (July 25-Aug 8)

To our friends (passengers and crew) on the Viking Star "Homelands" cruise (July 25-Aug 8):

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our time on this new vessel (for the few days we got to experience it), although we are disappointed that it had ended with this unfortunate mechanical issue. The onboard staff and crew of the Viking Star was top notch and very accommodating!

We are very sad and disappointed about how this trip ended. We are NOT retired and had taken a large amount of time off from work to be able to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. No ship in the world had this amazing itinerary except for the Viking Star as most others were limited in their destinations! Seeing the fjords in Norway was the main incentive for us to travel with Viking. Upon boarding the ship and setting sail out of Stockholm, we were dazzled and thought this voyage was going to be a dream come true...... What began as a relaxing journey had devolved into a fiasco.

Viking Star Issue

The crew of the Viking Star began providing a few updates with multiple changes to the schedule (beginning Thursday - Sunday) as they learned more about the severity of the ship's dire mechanical problem. My wife and I began discussing what options we might have with the onboard staff; at this point we were provided no guarantee to get to Bergen (and we had booked non-refundable business class seats back home from Oslo on August 11th).

A few observations

1) On Saturday we were initially given 1.5 to 2 hours to decide if we intended to remain on board OR disembark within the next 48 hours. The form they gave us to complete did not provide details and thus we and others grew concerned about which option to select and what consequences would ensue based on our decision. Naturally, we were stressed and confused due to the ambiguity of the situation (and the form) we were concerned about what Viking would do with this information moving forward.

The language deployed in the letter included phrases like, should you stay on board or "choose" to cancel your trip and disembark. To be clear, I was NOT openly choosing to cancel our trip but felt that getting to Bergen was essential so we could eventually make our flight home on our non refundable business class tickets on August 11. This was a goal especially since we didn't believe Viking would do anything to get us on business class seats as we bought them directly through our airline.

As neither option was very clear we began our discussion with the Explorers Desk staff on determining what we should do:

1) After explaining our situation in regard to our non-refundable business class return flight out of Oslo in ten days, they agreed that we should do what was necessary to get to Bergen.

2) After very quickly (remember, we had 2 hours max to declare our decision!) assessing the situation, we relied on our own resourcefulness, tenacity, and optimism to get us out of this dismal pickle. How could we get this trip back on track? So we frantically made alternative arrangements using the ship's spotty, weak wi-fi to book flights out of Tallinn and on to Copenhagen and Bergen. We could not sit idly by. Time is money, after all!

3) On Sunday we were notified that the ship would not sail to Bergen and all passengers were to be flown home or maybe to Bergen. Initially, we felt frustrated because before, Bergen was not a guarantee. We worried that our pro-active plan could backfire on us in the long run!

HOWEVER, after speaking with the Explorers Desk on board again, they indicated that it would be best to NOT cancel our arrangements as they were still trying to work out the details and plans to get people home or to Bergen-- again, none were guaranteed. They suggested that we stay the course and keep our receipts for possible reimbursement later.

4) We decided to listen to the Explorers Desk at that time and not cancel our newly planned trip although we are concerned as now Viking is apparently chartering a plane to transport as many passengers as possible to Bergen today (Tuesday).

We are confident that our decision to find our way to Bergen was logical with the advice we received and limited information we were given overall.

5) We hope that the additional delays we ran into were not due to Corporate being based in Southern CA. Additionally, is it true that the ship's issues began on a Thursday but became a clearer problem over the weekend-- and if this was the case, why was the problem not fully addressed more quickly? Alas, we are left with more questions than answers.

Next Steps

While we were sad to leave the Viking Star since we enjoyed our time with the passengers and crew, we look forward to a future journey with Viking although it will be harder for us as we need to take more time off work which is not easy to do.

We hope that Viking will work with "us all" as passengers as this is a major issue for their first ocean cruise liner and one that many of us have paid dearly for both financially and personally (e.g., emotional and physical stress and anxiety of trying to recover a vacation at the last minute).

We hope our friends-- passengers and crew-- will enjoy the rest of the holidays in whatever decisions they have made under these strange circumstances. Our wish is that everyone ultimately travels home safely!

For now we will remain open and confident that Viking will do the right thing for us all.

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I wish I shared your optimism about Viking doing the right thing. We too were on the Viking Homeland cruise that ended in Tallinn. We did not make our air reservations through Viking Air, so when the notice came that we had a choice to go home or remain on the ship until it reached Bergen on August 7, skipping all remaining ports of call, we decided we should go home. Not hearing anything from Viking after we returned our form, and faced with internet access that was so slow that we couldn't reach our travel agency to rebook, I stood in line at the Explorer's Desk for what seemed like hours. They told me that they couldn't guarantee that we would reach Bergen in time to catch our business class flights back home, and that if we allowed Viking to send us home it would most likely be coach. Due to health issues, we had booked (and paid almost $7000 for) business class flights for this trip. So, with assistance from staff at the Explorers Desk, we changed our reservation, incurring a change fee of over $900. Today, when I talked with Viking Customer relations, they told me that Viking's offer to "make things right" would be to refund half of the cruise fee and give us 50% off the next cruise, but they were not authorized to reimburse us for the change fee in our air. We missed 7 of the 11 planned ports of call due to the ship's breakdown, and will probably not be able to fly in the future to take advantage of a discounted cruise. Some passengers were treated well, and were sent to Bergen and given excursions and hotel rooms. Others were shortchanged. We are still waiting to see if Viking comes through.

Dear FLtimes,

We understand you, too, were impacted by the technical issue that kept Viking Star in Tallinn and regret to hear you are unhappy with the compensation package that has been extended. We do recognize those guests, such as yourself, who returned home early had a separate experience than those who are currently wrapping up their trip in Bergen. That being said, we would encourage you to contact us at tellus@vikingcruises.com so that we may discuss your experience further. We look forward to hearing from you!

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

I wish I shared your optimism about Viking doing the right thing. We too were on the Viking Homeland cruise that ended in Tallinn. We did not make our air reservations through Viking Air, so when the notice came that we had a choice to go home or remain on the ship until it reached Bergen on August 7, skipping all remaining ports of call, we decided we should go home. Not hearing anything from Viking after we returned our form, and faced with internet access that was so slow that we couldn't reach our travel agency to rebook, I stood in line at the Explorer's Desk for what seemed like hours. They told me that they couldn't guarantee that we would reach Bergen in time to catch our business class flights back home, and that if we allowed Viking to send us home it would most likely be coach. Due to health issues, we had booked (and paid almost $7000 for) business class flights for this trip. So, with assistance from staff at the Explorers Desk, we changed our reservation, incurring a change fee of over $900. Today, when I talked with Viking Customer relations, they told me that Viking's offer to "make things right" would be to refund half of the cruise fee and give us 50% off the next cruise, but they were not authorized to reimburse us for the change fee in our air. We missed 7 of the 11 planned ports of call due to the ship's breakdown, and will probably not be able to fly in the future to take advantage of a discounted cruise. Some passengers were treated well, and were sent to Bergen and given excursions and hotel rooms. Others were shortchanged. We are still waiting to see if Viking comes through.

Hi Viking Cruises,

I have sent an email to you at tellus@vikingcruises.com. I will repost here when I receive a response to that email.

While we were on board a letter was left on our bed promising a 50% refund and credit on a future cruise and promising that Customer Relations would contact us when we returned home. I have not received a response from tellus. The email I sent to Customer Realtions has not been acknowledged. The true test of a cruise line is not how you handle things when everything is going well on your beautiful new ship--it's in the way you treat customers when things go wrong.

I finally got an email from Customer Relations at Viking. Still no refund deposited into my account, but at least they acknowledge that I exist.

While we were on board a letter was left on our bed promising a 50% refund and credit on a future cruise and promising that Customer Relations would contact us when we returned home. I have not received a response from tellus. The email I sent to Customer Realtions has not been acknowledged. The true test of a cruise line is not how you handle things when everything is going well on your beautiful new ship--it's in the way you treat customers when things go wrong.

I'm a "bystander" to all this, and I agree with you. My sympathies to all of you who were affected by this mess. Here's what I posted on the other thread regarding refunds:

I'm a "bystander" here who has been following this mess. My sympathies to all of you who were affected. Viking should be giving everyone (or at least everyone who was sent home and did not have that time in Bergen) a full refund of what you paid, in cash (not as a credit for a future trip), and they should have done so up front, and not put people through the wringer as they have been doing.

 

No one would pay for a 50% vacation, or a 35% vacation. This is not about the percentage of ports the Star managed to visit. This is about a major trip that people book well in advance and that requires a good bit of planning. (Not to mention Viking's policy of requiring full payment up front.) A partial refund doesn't begin to compensate for all of that loss (nor the mess that some folks had flying home, overseas, on the hastily arranged flights).

 

I have only traveled with Viking once, on their land/river cruise in China. It was awesome, one of the best trips we've ever taken, and I've said so repeatedly and for years on the Viking China thread in the River cruise forum. My spouse and I have mostly been ocean cruisers, but we are looking very seriously now at river cruising in Europe, and have been considering Viking there. I am dismayed, however, by how Viking has handled this mess on the Star, and it is giving me pause about traveling with them in the future.

 

Again, I'm sorry for everyone affected here, and I hope Viking makes it right.

I finally got an email from Customer Relations at Viking. Still no refund deposited into my account, but at least they acknowledge that I exist.

Are you getting a full refund or 1/2?

Dear FLtimes,

 

We understand you, too, were impacted by the technical issue that kept Viking Star in Tallinn and regret to hear you are unhappy with the compensation package that has been extended. We do recognize those guests, such as yourself, who returned home early had a separate experience than those who are currently wrapping up their trip in Bergen. That being said, we would encourage you to contact us at tellus@vikingcruises.com so that we may discuss your experience further. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

Viking might become a first class operation IF they spent half as much time and money on treating their customers fairly as they do on advertising. As evidenced by their meagerly reimbursements and cavalier treatment of those on the recent Star fiasco, that's probably never going to happen! I'm not sure if their top management are all completely inept or just don't care.

Their right hand does not seem to know what the left hand is doing. When we were told something while in Tallinn, it was almost always the opposite of what we had just been told! It appears that those who went on to Bergen were also fed false promises similar to those of us who got booted home from Tallinn.

We have just been told by a Viking Customer Relations Agent that Viking management is ADAMANT that a 65% refund and 50% voucher is their final offer. What a way to win customer loyalty!! :mad::mad::mad::mad:

I'm waiting to hear from Viking which is even more disappointing since after emailing tellus@vikingcruises.com I initially received an email stating that the following person is my contact person and now after emailing that person I am told that if I don't hear back via email or phone in 10 days to try emailing or calling them!

I now feel like a fish out of water... With no one willing to help.

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Are you getting a full refund or 1/2?

They have agreed to refund 65% of the fare and give a voucher of 50% on a future cruise as well as pay my change fee on the airline. They have provided no details on the terms of the voucher, and given that Viking routinely advertises 2 for 1 fares, I am not sure what the value of this voucher would be. I know we will never take an Ocean cruise with them, as beautiful as the Star is. I love their math. In the email, it says we have been reimbursed 115% (65%+50%). They make no mention of or apology for either the wasted airfare or the lost vacation with our traveling companions. This was to have been the celebration of my husband's 65th birthday and his brother's 75th birthday. This reunion time was very valuable to us. We planned it over 2 years ago. We could have done any number of other things, but we chose the low hassle way of traveling and cruising together for our reunion. Viking's attitude has been insulting and dismissive. Good thing Masterpiece Theater is on break and I don't have to listen to their ads for a while.

Can't wait to see if the 50% is off the real fare or the brochure fare....

Interesting...

USA June 7 2013

Kohl's must face a consumer class action alleging false advertising for goods that the retailer said were on sale when they were routinely sold at the advertised "sale" price, according to a decision from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Looking to take advantage of a bargain, Antonio Hinojos purchased a Samsonite suitcase at Kohl's advertised as 50 percent off the "original" price of $299.99 and shirts that were said to be marked down upwards of 30 percent from their "original" prices. He then sued the retailer for violations of California's Unfair Competition Law, Fair Advertising Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, claiming that the items were not actually on sale and that Kohl's routinely sold them at the advertised "sale" price. Hinojos purchased the merchandise on the basis of false price information – and would not have done so but for the misrepresentation, he claimed.

We received a voucher, via email pdf format, for a set amount, actually 2, one for me and one for my husband. The amount is for 50% of the cruise cabin value that we purchased for this trip. So whatever cabin you paid for, the voucher will be for half of that amount. It is not 50% off any cruise. You will have one year from the issue date of the voucher to book a cruise. You don't have to sail within that year, just book it. Also, if the company continues to offer 2 for 1 pricing, that will stand as is, then you will use your vouchers against that pricing. Also if you have any other discounts (i.e. referral program or past cruiser) those will also come onto play. This seems fair to me. Although we were extremely disappointed, as was everyone else that we didn't get to finish the cruise, I absolutely loved the ship. We will definitely plan another cruise with VO, just not sure where we will fit it in. Most likely sometime in 2017. Hope this clears up the confusion about the vouchers.

I have been watching the posts regarding the Star's problems and the impact on the passengers of that cruise and the subsequent one. Was first made aware of the problem the evening before we sailed into Tallinn (port where the ship was awaiting repairs) on a different cruise line. We had previously booked the Viking Homelands cruise on the Star for an earlier date than the ill fated cruise. We cancelled last fall after becoming increasing dissatisfied with communications, or rather the lack of communications and some very abrupt and negative responses to questions we had about services on the ship. We cancelled early enough to have everything but $100 pp. refunded, deciding to wait at least another year to book the Star or one of the upcoming ships, hoping that our issues would be resolved.

As with many who booked the Star we have sailed on Viking river cruises. Our first, in April 2014 in Bordeaux was fabulous. Our second, in April 2015 had some problems. How Viking dealt with these echos some of the response to the Star's situation.

If you check the River cruise forums for the posts on the Viking Rinda Paris to Normandy cruise for 2015 you can see more information on what happened to our April 2015 cruise. Also several of the reviews posted for this cruise on this ship, including mine, give more information.

First problem was that the Rinda did not dock in Paris in April, but docked about an hour away in a small town. Lot's of expectations were blown for spending the first several nights of our cruise docked in the heart of Paris. We were told it was a temporary situation (several different answers given as to why), so did not complain greatly, just expressed our disappointment. But, you can see by the recent posts that the ship is still docking in Le Pecq, outside Paris. Passengers are either finding this out shortly before the cruise if they have a travel agent, or are finding out when they go to the Paris location and are then bussed to Le Pecq. The only compensation provided is a $25 pp. credit onboard. When I returned home I did make my TA aware that we were charged for transfers from Le Pecq to CDG when others were transported for free. He connected me with a Viking custumer rep and we did receive a cash refund for the transfer. If I had not complained this would not have happened.

Second problem for me is that I missed 2 days of the cruise due to illness, for which I hold Viking responsible. I am on a special diet (gluten issues) and spent considerable time with the chef and Maitre d' early in the cruise discussing my diet. They promised to take care of my needs. I only ate on the ship, and only ate food that was cleared through the chef an/or Maitre d'. However about midway through the cruise I woke up one morning very ill, with all the signs of having been fed food that caused the problem. Was sick and in bed for 2 days. I made the appropriate staff aware of the problem and all I got from them was surprise. In conversation with the same customer relations rep as above I described the dietary problem in detail. And the resolution...A voucher for an amount equivalent to the cost of my days of illness to be used on a future Viking cruise.

So some patterns here....communication issues, minimal refund compensation for problems, and any further refunds in the form of a voucher on a future cruise.

Rephrasing what has been stated on other posts...When they are good they are very, very good. But when there is a problem don't expect wonderful results. Book with caution.

...Also if you have any other discounts (i.e. referral program or past cruiser) those will also come onto play. This seems fair to me.

My wife and I were on a 2013 Viking river cruise that was disrupted by flooding - moored and bused for more than half of the two week trip. In return we received vouchers for 50% of the cost of the cruise portion of the trip, to be used for a future Viking cruise. The “flooding” vouchers totaled $6361.50. For our future cruise we selected a fifteen day Viking Homelands cruise of the Baltic for 25 July, 2015, aboard the Viking Star.

We were compensated only for the cash paid for the Homelands trip. I contended that those vouchers should be treated as cash paid for the current trip. Viking relented, somewhat, by offering us vouchers for half of the $6361.50 from the previous 2013 trip, because of our “unique” situation. When I said I wasn’t satisfied, that when we were provided those vouchers in 2013, Viking had not said that the vouchers would be worth only half if our next trip was also disrupted, the Viking agent said that Viking was doing far more than necessary, because as soon as we had applied those vouchers they were worth nothing. I still contend that we should have receive the other half of the “flooding” vouchers. Viking does not agree and said their offer was firm. Good luck with your future vouchers. I hope you have no problems on your next cruise.