Viking River Cruises - Any Confidence?

[Viking Cruises]

Dear 9stilton,

 

We’re truly sorry to hear that you’re not looking forward to your upcoming trip. We ask that you contact us directly—even if you have done so previously—at TellUs@vikingcruises.com so that we may discuss your cruise, concerns, and possible options based on your particular booking. We would also like to address some of your points here…

 

We respectfully beg to differ with your assessment of our cancellations and modified itineraries during the past few weeks. We made sincere efforts to provide updates on conditions as we knew them and honestly answer concerns and questions about future sailings based on assessments made by our Swiss nautical and operational teams, who rely on an extensive, established network of local authorities and port operators—along with decades of experience with past high and low water situations—to determine navigability of all rivers on which we sail.

 

Weather, soil conditions and water levels are routinely monitored and evaluated. This is particularly crucial under rare circumstances where a few hours or a few centimeters of difference can have an enormous impact on a ship’s sailing schedule. With conditions changing quickly, we did the best we could to provide each crew with complete information as it became available. We understand frustrations over instances where a crew could not provide answers on contingency plans that were beyond the next day, and we apologize for this, to both our guests and our crew, as it was surely frustrating for both parties. We wish that circumstances could have been different during many of the affected sailings, particularly those at the beginning of June that were met with more challenges.

 

Not all of our assessments were perfect and as conditions quickly changed, not all of our contingency plans always occurred exactly as we had planned them. But a good many of them did. We understand the concern that has been raised here on this site. We have been members of Cruise Critic for years—and we have always tried to be respectful, unobtrusive, and helpful members of the community. Please know how seriously and we have taken the concerns and feedback voiced here. But please also try to understand that the viewpoints raised here, while valid, are a minority percentage of our guests. We of course have had guests contact us directly with similar concerns and feedback, but what we’ve also heard directly that we haven’t necessarily seen here on Cruise Critic, are the many emails and phone calls from those whose cruise did not go perfectly, but who still enjoyed themselves.

 

Timing of compensation has varied by cruise, based on that sailing’s particular set of circumstances. In the vast majority of these cruises our guests were alerted that they would be compensated for the ways in which their itinerary had to be altered either while they were still onboard or upon arriving home. For each affected cruise, ship-wide compensation has been provided. With that said, there are 2 areas where our standard speed of response has unfortunately been hindered by the magnitude of this situation:

1. we were delayed beyond our standard timeframe in delivering compensation, and
   
2. while ship-wide compensation was provided, we understand that certain individuals might believe that they have an extenuating set of circumstances or that their experience was particularly unique – and we of course want to discuss these cases directly with each guest, but unfortunately the process has been slower than normal due to circumstances.
   

Our Customer Relations department has experienced a very high volume of communications and we do understand that the delays this volume have caused have been frustrating for all parties involved. Again, as sailing conditions have returned to normal, Customer Relations is also returning to more normal levels of volume and is attempting to re-double efforts to connect with all affected guests who would like to speak with them.

 

There is a team of people who diligently work to keep current with the happenings on each sailing and stay up-to-date with the feedback from guests and members of the Cruise Critic community. In our posts we often try to help (when and if possible) and provide information, along with our occasional point of view. Behind the scenes we try to relay guest feedback throughout the organization. Please know that in good faith we have made a sincere effort to be a welcome member of this community and we really did try to the best of our ability to keep up with the conversations and with the multiple sailings that they centered around. We sincerely regret that you found our posts to be those of platitude.

 

Once again, 9stilton, we hope that you will contact us directly so that we may discuss your upcoming cruise. It worries us that you state that even if you had a “flawless cruise” you would still lack confidence in us; we’d of course like to address your concerns and talk about your particular booking in further detail. We hope to hear from you soon at TellUs@vikingcruises.com so that we may connect you with the team in our organization best suited to discuss your trip at this time.

 

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

 

 

I have read with horror at some of the experiences that many have encountered in the wake of the recent floods. I have a Viking river cruise to come in a few weeks time and certainly do not want to receive the treatment that has been handed out to many in the past few weeks. Neither do I want the ongoing hassle of seeking to get reasonable recompense for a sub standard holiday.

 

I realise that there are some unavoidable situations and Viking & others have to make the best of the hand they are dealt but I would want the confidence that my interests are looked after as opposed to those of the just the tour operator. I also realise that not everyone is complaining - however looking at wide range of postings there are common threads running through them all, namely:-

 

• Despite seeking assurances before leaving home Viking ALWAYS tell customers all is well and cruise is fine.
  
• It is only when the holiday has began that the problems unfold & only then AT THE LAST MINUTE. The staff are ALWAYS waiting for instruction & do not know what is happening!!
  
• It seems that Vikings onboard staff assurances are also questionable -- I find it unthinkable to make an allowance for lunch only to give it back against onboard spend.
  
• Viking are VERY SLOW in getting back with compensation deals
  
• The MD of Viking NEVER answers correspondence
  
• The Viking postings are ALWAYS platitudes & of no worth in responding to concerns of those posting
  

The above tell me a lot about Vikings company policy & certainly do not inspire me with confidence. Whilst many may have had a good experience to retell, I believe it is only in adversity & with problems that you see the real Company and its values.

 

I do not have a good feeling about what has happened / the forthcoming cruise I have booked & question if it ultimately results in a total lot of confidence. Even if I have a flawless cruise the poor experiences of so many will make me question if I have the confidence to spend yet more in the future with a company that has seemingly let down so many with little or no regret & recall.

[Viking Cruises]

Dear Arizonasunshine,

 

We hope you will contact us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com if you would like to discuss any specific concerns you may have regarding your January cruise. We’d be very happy to hear from you.

 

Kindly,

Viking Cruises

 

I agree. We are booked with Viking in January and are seriously considering canceling it. Viking has to know that there is a good deal of concern with customers who are booked or are considering upcoming cruises. It seems that Viking's attitude is to keep quiet and hope that it passes.

[loriwentworth]

Viking completely redeemed themselves in my eyes with this current booking of mine.My clients are die hard Viking fans. They booked in June 2012 fortheir 15day Amsterdam to Budapest June 2013 cruise.Although we had not been getting updates from Viking about this cruiseas quickly as the clients were we still took the information we had and ran with it.Our clients were in Europe when the last phone call came in about4days prior to their sailing. We were advised that they would be on a new ship in Amsterdam ( which we knew about) but that in Nuremberg they would be taking a bus the rest of the way.I was not able to advise this to our clients in time sothey went to the cruise pier in Amsterdam not knowing what wasgoing to happen. As luck would have it even those plans had changed come sail date.my clients were very happy to learn that Viking would be pickingup the tab for their laundry on board, alcoholic beverages andeven throwing in some extra tours that are not normally included.Our clients could not sing enough praises for the way theirViking ship switches ( 3 in total) were handled and even laughedthat they felt deja vu hopping from one ship to another and being in the same cabin just different color schemes.To top off their wonderful trip was a truly wonderful surpriseof having such a large cruise credit that they can use on their next Viking adventure.Thank you for having a company that I can put my faith backin to after the initial bad taste left in my mouth from the booking of another set of clients from the week prior who's cruise was canceled last minute (they also received a refund in fulland a credit for a future cruise and were able to re-bookon another trip 3days later than their original cruise was to take place).Lori

[Osnab]

Viking completely redeemed themselves in my eyes with this current booking of mine.My clients are die hard Viking fans. They booked in June 2012 fortheir 15day Amsterdam to Budapest June 2013 cruise.Although we had not been getting updates from Viking about this cruiseas quickly as the clients were we still took the information we had and ran with it.Our clients were in Europe when the last phone call came in about4days prior to their sailing. We were advised that they would be on a new ship in Amsterdam ( which we knew about) but that in Nuremberg they would be taking a bus the rest of the way.I was not able to advise this to our clients in time sothey went to the cruise pier in Amsterdam not knowing what wasgoing to happen. As luck would have it even those plans had changed come sail date.my clients were very happy to learn that Viking would be pickingup the tab for their laundry on board, alcoholic beverages andeven throwing in some extra tours that are not normally included.Our clients could not sing enough praises for the way theirViking ship switches ( 3 in total) were handled and even laughedthat they felt deja vu hopping from one ship to another and being in the same cabin just different color schemes.To top off their wonderful trip was a truly wonderful surpriseof having such a large cruise credit that they can use on their next Viking adventure.Thank you for having a company that I can put my faith backin to after the initial bad taste left in my mouth from the booking of another set of clients from the week prior who's cruise was canceled last minute (they also received a refund in fulland a credit for a future cruise and were able to re-bookon another trip 3days later than their original cruise was to take place).Lori

 

Wow, thanks for taking the time to post something positive!

Felicia

[2onboardagain]

We have only had the pleasure of enjoying one Viking river cruise so far but we enjoyed our trip last year so much that we will be sailing with Viking again this year and have already booked another Viking river cruise for next year. Can things go wrong or weather be a problem? Of course but there are few guarantees in life and travel is, after all, an adventure; that is in great part why we all travel! Cruise Critic has given us all the capacity to learn from the experiences of our fellow travelers and I have gotten many good tips and hints from these boards but I have also been astonished sometimes to read reviews of the very cruises that we were on (and had absolutely wonderful times) only to learn that some of our fellow passengers thought that this, that, or the other thing that they experienced was absolutely dreadful. If you read these boards long enough you will start to recognize some of the same posters who over and over again perceive unimaginable faults with whatever cruise line they are sailing (ocean or river) and I can't help but wonder why they continue to travel since they seem to hate it so much. I long ago learned that no trip will be absolutely perfect but every trip has engendered a wonderful memory that lasts a lifetime and the anticipation of that next wonderful memory is what keeps us traveling.

[Negma]

We just returned from a wonderful Viking experience 7-7-13. I am not going to tell you they are perfect, but we had no problems. We also just avoided all of the weather issues.

 

I can tell you that all of the people we talked to in the towns affected by the flooding, NO ONE expected it to be as bad as it was. This was truly historic.

 

The hotels in Budapest were all sold out and they had no place to put people. A total mess, much of it surprised everyone that was there.

 

I would book Viking again. Our day by day is posted in another thread. I understand everyone's frustration, but I saw what they had to deal with. I hope it works out for all of you

[susan123]

We got back yesterday from the Rhine Getaway on Viking Sun with a post-cruise extension in Lucerne. The cruise exceeded our expectations, and we had no complaints. It was our first river cruise after a number of ocean cruises, and we enjoyed the small boat, personal attention and pampering. We were impressed when the staff arranged a July 4 celebration, and the many British passengers joined in the fun. The chef even baked and decorated a Happy Birthday to the USA cake in addition to the regulars dessert offerings at dinner. I'll post a complete report soon, but we plan to take more cruises with Viking. We still will take ocean cruises, but this was a completely different experience and better in many ways. I talked to only one person on the boat who was unhappy with the cruise, and her complaint was that we didn't have enough time at some of our ports for individual exploring. I don't think she had read our itinerary before she booked the trip, and everyone else was very happy with the amount of free time we had.

[TravelBugM]

susan123 - Great news as we are booked for this cruise next June (our second with Viking). Looking forward to your report.

 

Which Viking ship were you on? Which direction did you sail?

 

Thanks

[remydiva]

Just got an email today from Viking for Past Guests with '2/1' deals (hahah) BUT killer air fare deals ($299 from west coast) for the Nov and Dec Europe cruises. We got a deal last Dec with $400 air fare from Vancouver so this beats that.

 

Check it out

 

NEW! Past Guest Travel Credit Bonus

Save an additional $600 per couple on

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/river-cruise-offers/europe-danube-austria/070813_02_dawa_pricing.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1281185882&segment=PAX&itn=DEFAULT&sdr=CB&ep_mid=10767145&ep_rid=1780342033

 

Nov & Dec 2013 Europe cruises.***

 

Offers expire July 31, 2013.

Ask for 15Echo or 03Echo.

 

ADD ALL-INCLUSIVE ROUNDTRIP AIR & TRANSFERS NOV-DEC

BROCHURE FARE SPECIAL AIR

Boston, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh $1,295 FREE

 

Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, Orlando, Raleigh, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Washington D.C. $1,495 $199

 

Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver $1,595 $299

[susan123]

susan123 - Great news as we are booked for this cruise next June (our second with Viking). Looking forward to your report.

 

Which Viking ship were you on? Which direction did you sail?

 

Thanks

 

We were on the Sun and sailed from Amsterdam to Basel and took the post-cruise option in Lucerne.

[Bet & Peg]

After many ocean cruises, we were looking for something "different" and took our first Viking River Cruise last October ~ I had a big ? in my mind as to how I would like it and how much of the "big ship" experience I'd miss! Needless to say I fell in love with RCing and we booked 2 future cruises upon returning home!

 

For the past few weeks I've been reading SO much on these boards about the river flooding and the poor response of Viking - and, in some cases, other RC lines. I can't explain away their response but I do believe the intensity of the 500-year record floods caught everyone by surprise - cruise companies, passengers, local residents - and thus caused havoc throughout the area - for everyone. Local people lost homes and businesses, historic towns have been wrecked, river locks damaged. Maybe Viking could have, should have done more for their passengers - I don't know.

 

But, with my fingers crossed, I do still have enough confidence in Viking to have just recommended a friend take a 2014 Bordeaux cruise on the line - only disappointment is that, because of work, she has to go a month after us!!

[muddlethrough]

I am currently cruising on Viking from Budapest to Amsterdam and having a wonderful relaxing time. I don't think I could be happier with the staff and service we have so far received.

 

We will be cruising this route in September. Do you see much flood damage. Is sight-seeing affected? Any route changes? Buses substituted for cruising?:)

[molymoo]

We will be leaving for our 4th Viking tour next week (China!!!) and have already book our 5th to Portugal in December. We have had wonderful experiences with Viking and would guess that for every "horror" story" there are probably 3 positive ones ... generally people with complaints are the vocal ones.

 

We have approached each trip (especially our December Danube trip last year) with a "what will be will be" attitude. We trust Viking to do their best to make the trip as enjoyable as they can ... even in extraordinary circumstances.

 

There is an account in the "Viking China 2" thread (last page) that involved bad weather and a cacelled flight to Beijing. This could have been a big problem on an itinerary that is as tight as the China trips tend to be but apparently the travellers were thrilled with Viking's solution which was another night in the beautiful hotel they had all enjoyed, a special tour of Xian, a gourmet dinner and a high speed train trip into Beijing the next morning. Sounds like a pretty reasonable solution to a problem ... I believe the poster referred to it as "making lemonade out of lemons". ;)

[Negma]

We will be cruising this route in September. Do you see much flood damage. Is sight-seeing affected? Any route changes? Buses substituted for cruising?:)

 

We just came back and it is amazing how they have bounced back. Many people were hurt financially but our cruise was basically unaffected. I posted this as we went..http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1860217

[REBCRUISER]

Been reading the Viking posts. Sounds depressing, even with the lengthy response from Viking the other day. We're booked on the VAR starting from Budapest to Amsterdam on the 21st of July 2013.

 

Also been tracking the current VAR cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest (see link)

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=269057417

 

Turns out the VAR turned around yesterday south of Koblenz heading back to Amsterdam. This is probably due to LOW water on the Main River. The link below (in German) gives the current water levels and deviations from normal for the German rivers, including the Main and Danube.

http://www.wetteronline.de/?gid=HES&pcid=pc_pegel_data&sid=River&iid=Main

 

I asked (per email) about this deviation, but Viking has not yet responded. For me, the stop in Nuernberg will be very important - I have family there - so I don't want to be hauled off to take a bus right after arriving.

 

I have their "Travel Protection with Cancel for Any Reason". Has anyone taken that option? If so, how did it work out when canceling the last minute?

Thanks

[davidrw]

Been reading the Viking posts. Sounds depressing, even with the lengthy response from Viking the other day. We're booked on the VAR starting from Budapest to Amsterdam on the 21st of July 2013.

 

Also been tracking the current VAR cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest (see link)

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=269057417

 

Turns out the VAR turned around yesterday south of Koblenz heading back to Amsterdam. This is probably due to LOW water on the Main River. The link below (in German) gives the current water levels and deviations from normal for the German rivers, including the Main and Danube.

http://www.wetteronline.de/?gid=HES&pcid=pc_pegel_data&sid=River&iid=Main

 

I asked (per email) about this deviation, but Viking has not yet responded. For me, the stop in Nuernberg will be very important - I have family there - so I don't want to be hauled off to take a bus right after arriving.

 

I have their "Travel Protection with Cancel for Any Reason". Has anyone taken that option? If so, how did it work out when canceling the last minute?

Thanks

Have a look at the lock strike thread as that explains the deviation as there was about 2 days of no travel. the main is fine at the moment - I am currently on it !!

[REBCRUISER]

I am currently cruising on Viking from Budapest to Amsterdam and having a wonderful relaxing time. I don't think I could be happier with the staff and service we have so far received.

 

I'd appreciate an update. Wonder if you were bussed from Nuernberg to Mainz because the Main River was low. If so please tell us about the itinerary details for that part of the trip.

Thanks.

[REBCRUISER]

Have a look at the lock strike thread as that explains the deviation as there was about 2 days of no travel. the main is fine at the moment - I am currently on it !!

 

Please tell me more about where to find the lock strike thread - where exactly are they striking? I'm aware of the possible delays at the Altenwoerth lock on the Danube - because of damage to one of the two locks.

Thanks.

[davidrw]

Please tell me more about where to find the lock strike thread - where exactly are they striking? I'm aware of the possible delays at the Altenwoerth lock on the Danube - because of damage to one of the two locks.

Thanks.

 

Lock strike thread is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1874991

 

The Austrian lock delayed us by a few hours, however the schedule was juggled a bit and it all worked out ok.

 

The main thing about river cruising is to relax and go with the flow, problems get sorted out for us , the companies boast of having a plan B,C and D

[REBCRUISER]

Lock strike thread is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1874991

 

The Austrian lock delayed us by a few hours, however the schedule was juggled a bit and it all worked out ok.

 

The main thing about river cruising is to relax and go with the flow, problems get sorted out for us , the companies boast of having a plan B,C and D

 

Thanks for all that. I jumped to conclusions when I connected the advertised draught of the VAR (Longship) as 1.8m with the current water levels on the Main, which are reported much below that at the moment.

Have a great remainder of your cruise!!

 

P.S. I did find some news on the strike. Thanks again.