viking spirit cancelled

[bobnpaml]

Was notified earlier today that our March 27th Paris to Normandy cruise was cancelled because of an accident. We were notified by an e-mail and then later by phone call. Told they would refund all money along with a $500.00ppl future cruise voucher.

Problems: our flight was set to leave tomorrow. We had purchases exit row seat (extra $$$) because the airline had changed types of plane and reassigned seats (not same or even close. Not even together.) Now

Neither Viking or A.A. Will refund the money we had to send to get to set together on a 9 1/2 flight. The second problem is the future cruise vouchers are only good for one year. Our 2016 vacation time off and budget is already booked and spent. So no good there

I understand that this was an accident, however a lot of extra money was spent getting ready for this cruise. Vacation time taken, but we were offered NO option . Just the cruise and all flight arrangements are cancelled. Note checked my flight status right after call. Did not show us booked. We.only want one or the other to do the right thing and take care of flight expense that we would have not ensured if our original seat choices had been honored. Sorry for the rant. Just frustrated.

[pacmom]

We received a voucher after a terrible Russia trip with Viking. When we told V that our plans for the next year were committed, they extended the voucher a year. If you have trip insurance, you may be able to get reimbursed that way. Sorry you trip was cancelled--a bummer!!!!! Pat

[Got2Cruise]

I know that Viking trolls, umm, I mean reads these Cruise Critic boards. I hope that they make it right with you. It doesn't seem right that the consumer has to take a loss through no fault of their own. I don't know what sort of "accident" it could be. Let us know how it works out.

[franski]

If the voucher must be used within the year, it usually means *booked* within a year... so you could use it for a cruise in 2017. I suggest calling Viking and confirming - but doubt you would have to travel within the year.

 

I would also go back and ask about the extra fees paid for the seats. I agree with Pat - what a bummer!!

 

Hopefully you had arranged for travel insurance - they should be able to assist.

 

Fran

[Hydrokitty]

If the voucher must be used within the year, it usually means *booked* within a year... so you could use it for a cruise in 2017. I suggest calling Viking and confirming - but doubt you would have to travel within the year.

 

I would also go back and ask about the extra fees paid for the seats. I agree with Pat - what a bummer!!

 

Hopefully you had arranged for travel insurance - they should be able to assist.

 

Fran

 

 

That is a shame....however I can't help but feel that since none of this was your fault, you should have been given an option of money back instead of they keep the money and offer you another date and if you can't make it?....they keep the money? That doesn't sound fair and equitable to me. I know, fair is for the tennis court....but still......

[Rosethorn40]

That is a shame....however I can't help but feel that since none of this was your fault, you should have been given an option of money back instead of they keep the money and offer you another date and if you can't make it?....they keep the money? That doesn't sound fair and equitable to me. I know, fair is for the tennis court....but still......

 

I think you may have misread the OP post. They are getting a full refund of their cruise, plus $500 vouchers pp to use towards a future cruise. The problem is nether Viking nor AA is willing to reimburse the cost of additional funds that they spent to ensure they got seats together on the plane (Sadly I know only too well the "pain" of forking out additional money for airfare. DH is 6'8" and I always have to pay extra, sometimes a lot extra to ensure him legroom).

 

To OP I am sorry about your vacation being ruined. I would be frustrated too, especially this close to the sail date. Almost impossible to try to book something else.

[bobnpaml]

Thanks to a very special PCC with NCL we are going to be able to get on a cruise to the Carribean leaving the 6th of April. DH does contract work so he didn't book work for the next several weeks for a nice vacation, so being able to find a replacement this quick was very nice.

We had insurance thru Viking and will ONLY review the airfare up charges on a case to case bases. And yes we can booked in 2016 for a cruise later but we must put the down payment at time of booking and as all extra vacation money is accounted for by already booked plans, that is a non starter. Yes we are getting all our money back, but that is this year's allotted funds. And only vacation for this year. Feeling a little better now thanks to a long island iced tea, but this going to be our first trip to Paris.

[YoungDubFan]

I'm sorry that you are losing out on some money. Unfortunately this is a prime example of why you should book insurance through a third party. If you had, you would be able to file a claim and get a complete refund. If you haven't gotten insurance for next years trip yet, go to insuremytrip.com and look at your options.

[No Spin]

We had purchases exit row seat (extra $$$) because the airline had changed types of plane and reassigned seats (not same or even close. Not even together.)

 

We.only want one or the other to do the right thing and take care of flight expense that we would have not ensured if our original seat choices had been honored. Sorry for the rant. Just frustrated.

 

My credit card company includes trip cancellation insurance. Check your credit card terms, if you did pay by credit card.

[Rosethorn40]

Thanks to a very special PCC with NCL we are going to be able to get on a cruise to the Carribean leaving the 6th of April. DH does contract work so he didn't book work for the next several weeks for a nice vacation, so being able to find a replacement this quick was very nice.

We had insurance thru Viking and will ONLY review the airfare up charges on a case to case bases. And yes we can booked in 2016 for a cruise later but we must put the down payment at time of booking and as all extra vacation money is accounted for by already booked plans, that is a non starter. Yes we are getting all our money back, but that is this year's allotted funds. And only vacation for this year. Feeling a little better now thanks to a long island iced tea, but this going to be our first trip to Paris.

 

I so happy to hear that you were able to make lemonade out of lemons and will get some type of vacation, rather then just sitting at home. Although Ft. Worth is a lovely town (I grew up there and graduated from Southwest High). Personally, I think you are taking this rather well. If it had happened to me I would probably still be having a meltdown.

 

9 1/2 years ago we had planned for our honeymoon to go to New Orleans for a few days and then take a week cruise on the American Queen. One month before sailing Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans (And much of the Gulf Coast) and our cruise was cancelled. I had a month to plan something else, and we ended up flying to Denver, CO, renting a car and driving all over the state (Mostly riding trains). It was a great trip, but not the one we had planned. Fast forward to 2014 and we finally got to New Orleans and the American Queen. I hope you get to Paris (And I don't mean Paris TX) in less time then it took me to get to New Orleans. Bon Voyage!

[bobnpaml]

I talk about missing Paris, but the real reason we booked this trip was for DH to go to Obama Beach. His dad landed there D day plus 3. They had planned a trip there together, sadly his dad died before they could go. He way planning on taking one of his dad's dog tags as a memorial. So we will get to France. Just not sure it will be by riverboat.

Thank you No spin for the heads up a credit cards. I had forgotten about that.

Instead of 55/60 degree temps, we are going to the Southern Carribean for 10 days in a suite. My DH rocks. And after 41 years still loves and pampers me .

[JVilleGal]

I'm sorry that you are losing out on some money. Unfortunately this is a prime example of why you should book insurance through a third party. If you had, you would be able to file a claim and get a complete refund. If you haven't gotten insurance for next years trip yet, go to insuremytrip.com and look at your options.

 

 

Ditto, very expensive lesson that I have already learned :(

[sunsetbeachgal]

I talk about missing Paris, but the real reason we booked this trip was for DH to go to Obama Beach. His dad landed there D day plus 3. They had planned a trip there together, sadly his dad died before they could go. He way planning on taking one of his dad's dog tags as a memorial. So we will get to France. Just not sure it will be by riverboat.

Thank you No spin for the heads up a credit cards. I had forgotten about that.

Instead of 55/60 degree temps, we are going to the Southern Carribean for 10 days in a suite. My DH rocks. And after 41 years still loves and pampers me .

 

Did you mean Omaha Beach??!! ;)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I talk about missing Paris, but the real reason we booked this trip was for DH to go to Obama Beach. His dad landed there D day plus 3. They had planned a trip there together, sadly his dad died before they could go. He way planning on taking one of his dad's dog tags as a memorial. So we will get to France. Just not sure it will be by riverboat.

Thank you No spin for the heads up a credit cards. I had forgotten about that.

Instead of 55/60 degree temps, we are going to the Southern Carribean for 10 days in a suite. My DH rocks. And after 41 years still loves and pampers me .

 

Sorry this happened to you, what a bummer.

 

If it had been me, I would have looked into going to Paris anyways, and doing the Normandy Beaches either on your own, or with local private guides. Just a thought, although probably too late now because it sounds like you've made other plans.

[pinotlover]

Re read No Spins post.

 

My credit card likewise has trip cancellation insurance on it. It's an AA Points card also. Realize you don't need it, but this can save you a lot of money in the future by not having to pay the huge insurance bill.

[bobnpaml]

Wendy, everything including air flight was cancelled before we were notified of cancellation... if we had gone in a few days early as we had thought about doing, we would have stayed and spent time in the Normany region on our own. But as we hadn't left, that was not an option.

We have called Viking several times and still haven't gotten an acceptable answer for the reason of the cancellation. Only an "accident" that will only effect this cruise. We have found NOTHING written in any news about this incidence.

[JVilleGal]

According to a passenger on a Viking ship, they hit (crashed into) another Viking ship (showed a picture of a crushed bow) and their cruise was cancelled early. This post was on the Viking FB page but is gone now.

Edited March 27, 2015 by JVilleGal

[Got2Cruise]

According to a passenger on a Viking ship, they hit (crashed into) another Viking ship (showed a picture of a crushed bow) and their cruise was cancelled early. This post was on the Viking FB page but is gone now.

 

 

Wow. Well this is clearly the fault of Viking and the pax should all be compensated for any monetary loss due to the negligence. The OP only wants to be reimbursed for the extra fees they paid.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Got2Cruise

[pully8]

sorry to hear about the cancelled cruise and flights and at very short notice. wonder how those who may have already been in transit or were waiting in Paris fared?

 

great to have all the money refunded albeit less seat allocation fees. yes there does not seem to be any details about the accident on line? suppose other passengers will simply be absorbed if possible to another Viking ship.

[Alberta Quilter]

According to a passenger on a Viking ship, they hit (crashed into) another Viking ship (showed a picture of a crushed bow) and their cruise was cancelled early. This post was on the Viking FB page but is gone now.

 

You didn't happen to see the name of the other Viking ship that was hit, did you? I suppose you would have mentioned it if you did.

 

I'm wondering if the next cruise or two would be cancelled for that other ship.

 

As for pax being absorbed into other sailings, that could be challenging, couldn't it, since these cruises tend to sell out so far in advance? I realize it's early in the season right now but I thought they still sold out.

[notamermaid]

I could not find anything on the accident either after a quick search in French and German.

 

According to marinetraffic the Viking Spirit has been in Rouen for at least three days now.

 

notamermaid

[GrandmaMD]

We, too, were to be on the Viking Spirit Paris to Normandy tour this week. We are really bummed that the trip was cancelled due to the Spirit being in an "accident". Like many others, we have been unable to find anything about the "accident". And--we are further bummed that in order to re-book this tour this year we would have to ante up another $4,000.00 due to pricing for the other tours available during 2015. Not happening!!! Needless to say, the $500.00 voucher won't cover THAT!! In addition, we are having some difficulty dealing with getting our refund. We changed credit cards earlier this year, so our refund CANNOT be put back on a non-existent credit card account and Viking has not yet agreed to send us a check. Anyone out there ever had this issue with them and success in resolving it? While we have heard many, many good things about Viking, we have a bad taste in our mouths right now! Like some others, Normandy was a big draw for us with this trip. We are now looking into other options in order to make our dream come true this year without paying an additional $4,000.00!!!!

[JVilleGal]

We, too, were to be on the Viking Spirit Paris to Normandy tour this week. We are really bummed that the trip was cancelled due to the Spirit being in an "accident". Like many others, we have been unable to find anything about the "accident". And--we are further bummed that in order to re-book this tour this year we would have to ante up another $4,000.00 due to pricing for the other tours available during 2015. Not happening!!! Needless to say, the $500.00 voucher won't cover THAT!! In addition, we are having some difficulty dealing with getting our refund. We changed credit cards earlier this year, so our refund CANNOT be put back on a non-existent credit card account and Viking has not yet agreed to send us a check. Anyone out there ever had this issue with them and success in resolving it? While we have heard many, many good things about Viking, we have a bad taste in our mouths right now! Like some others, Normandy was a big draw for us with this trip. We are now looking into other options in order to make our dream come true this year without paying an additional $4,000.00!!!!

 

 

GrandmaMD do you still bank with the Bank that issued the now closed CC?? You need to speak with them about how they deal with this situation. It actually happens more often than you would imagine.

 

In our case we closed one card at B of A, and opened another. Their was a slight delay but we got the refund. Another time we actually got Chase Bank to reopen the closed account to receive a large refund.

 

Hope you find a replacement trip. I believe Viking should offer to hold your price and give you that $500 Credit.

 

Be persistent, and good luck!

[DrivesLikeMario]

We, too, were to be on the Viking Spirit Paris to Normandy tour this week. We are really bummed that the trip was cancelled due to the Spirit being in an "accident". Like many others, we have been unable to find anything about the "accident". And--we are further bummed that in order to re-book this tour this year we would have to ante up another $4,000.00 due to pricing for the other tours available during 2015. Not happening!!! Needless to say, the $500.00 voucher won't cover THAT!! In addition, we are having some difficulty dealing with getting our refund. We changed credit cards earlier this year, so our refund CANNOT be put back on a non-existent credit card account and Viking has not yet agreed to send us a check. Anyone out there ever had this issue with them and success in resolving it? While we have heard many, many good things about Viking, we have a bad taste in our mouths right now! Like some others, Normandy was a big draw for us with this trip. We are now looking into other options in order to make our dream come true this year without paying an additional $4,000.00!!!!

 

This is one of the reasons I don't like working with Viking. I had a client who had a Viking voucher from a previous cruise that he needed to use and oh boy! The rules attached to that voucher were incredible! We'd follow the rules to a "t", only to find out they added more rules and fees. It was very frustrating. It left a very sour taste in this very, very well-traveled client's mouth.

 

All I can say to help is to continue to work with them. If you don't feel you've been satisfied, write a snail-mail letter to them (with a return receipt) and explain your dissatisfaction. That should open up some type of negotiations. This is just one thing Viking is not good at in situations like this - customer service.

[roberts2005]

Is this a one cruise cancelation or have they canceled other trips? Doesn't Viking run more than one ship on this itinerary?