Viking Sea Still At Sea

[PatriciaF]

Due to heavy fog, the port of Venice is closed.

 

It's 923 am and we haven't moved for hours. If passengers booked their air through Viking, it will be rebooking you. If not, it is your responsibility but difficult to do as we still don't know when we might dock. We are two hours away from our berth.

 

We had planned two extra days in Venice and have notified our hotel that we still plan to check in.

 

It is great to have the free and fairly speedy internet service.

[Spursgirl]

Sorry to hear this and hope that it does not cause too many problems for those who do not have their air arrangements with Viking.

 

Hope the weather improves soon so that you are able to enjoy the beautiful city of Venice

[PatriciaF]

Conditions in Venice are worsening, so we sailing to Trieste which one passenger remarked you can see from Koper, yesterday's port.

 

Hope we at our hotel inVenice by 6 pm!

[Fpacifico]

Be safe folks. This is why I use Viking for air too, let them have the hassle of dealing with airlines. Good luck, enjoy your extra days in Venice

[siggyg]

We are still on the Viking Sea though the debarkation process has started. Majority of passengers are still on the ship.

[1stimecruiser]

We are still on the Viking Sea though the debarkation process has started. Majority of passengers are still on the ship.

 

I hope everyone makes it to their final destination safely

[PatriciaF]

We finally made it to our Venice hotel at 945 PM, 12 hours later than planned.

[Fpacifico]

We finally made it to our Venice hotel at 945 PM, 12 hours later than planned.

 

Now enjoy Venice

[siggyg]

It seems most people were finally taken to the Hilton Venice for a short stay and then began heading to the airport. We arrived and checked into the hotel just before midnight and had to be back at the water to by 7:30am. We know several passengers that had to be ready to go at 4:10am for the airport.

 

All things considered Viking did a great job getting everyone from Trieste back to Venice. I wish the communication was better but I am guessing plans were fluid all day long.

 

Unfortunately we are still at the airport in Venice as we were told one time for our flight only to have it be several hours later. Some folks were told an incorrect time and missed their flights completely. We hope to be home by erlt tomorrow morning as we have 2 connections to go.

[Fpacifico]

It seems most people were finally taken to the Hilton Venice for a short stay and then began heading to the airport. We arrived and checked into the hotel just before midnight and had to be back at the water to by 7:30am. We know several passengers that had to be ready to go at 4:10am for the airport.

 

All things considered Viking did a great job getting everyone from Trieste back to Venice. I wish the communication was better but I am guessing plans were fluid all day long.

 

Unfortunately we are still at the airport in Venice as we were told one time for our flight only to have it be several hours later. Some folks were told an incorrect time and missed their flights completely. We hope to be home by erlt tomorrow morning as we have 2 connections to go.

Safe trip home

[sitraveler]

I was surprised Viking would sail the Med over winter, seeing the usual cruise lines leave. Nice to know they were able to get most of the passengers back home.

[PatriciaF]

I was surprised Viking would sail the Med over winter, seeing the usual cruise lines leave. Nice to know they were able to get most of the passengers back home.

 

If you booked your airfare through a Viking, they rebooked the flight home and paid any additional cost plus a hotel for Tuesday night. If you did not, any additional costs were on you, but it would help you rebook.

 

People made fun of us going into the Auto Park at the hotel just steps from the end of the People Mover, but we were in our rooms within 10 minutes of getting off it. We went out for dinner, really just a snack, and people were rolling their suitcases from the People Mover until almost 11 PM.

[Peregrina651]

If you booked your airfare through a Viking, they rebooked the flight home and paid any additional cost plus a hotel for Tuesday night. If you did not, any additional costs were on you, but it would help you rebook.

 

People made fun of us going into the Auto Park at the hotel just steps from the end of the People Mover, but we were in our rooms within 10 minutes of getting off it. We went out for dinner, really just a snack, and people were rolling their suitcases from the People Mover until almost 11 PM.

 

If you have trip insurance, hopefully it will cover any of the cost incurred because of trip delay up to its stayed maximum.

 

I can imagine that it was a day from hell for Viking as they also had to deal with the arriving passengers.

[PatriciaF]

We were planning to spend two nights in Venice, so other than losing a day of sightseeing did not impact us. We may have a late arrival check in fee as our hotel is very small. If so, I will submit it to our travel insurance if I think it is worth the bother for 25 euros.

 

It was a very expensive day for Viking for the buses, extra hotel nights and airfare change fees for those that had booked through them, and the fuel to stayed moored so long and travel to Trieste and to travel back to Venice during the night.

 

I have cruised about 30 times and while I have had a couple of skipped ports, one changed itinerary due to a hurricane, I have never had this as at disembarkation.

[Peregrina651]

I was surprised Viking would sail the Med over winter, seeing the usual cruise lines leave. Nice to know they were able to get most of the passengers back home.

 

And I am so glad that they don't because I have so little interest in sailing in the Caribbean any more and January seems to be the best time of year for us to travel, at least for now.

[cherylgrrl]

There were many people returned to the Venice port who had NO IDEA of what to do or where to go. I saw no Viking representatives or anyone where the buses returned providing any information or assistance. My husband and I made it to the People Mover only because we had previously sailed into Venice and were familiar with it. Others who had pre-arranged transfers were completely confused when dropped off in a dark, empty port in an industrial area. Most did not know that water taxis cost hundreds of dollars vs. 7.50 euro for a vaporetto ride.

 

Prior to leaving the Viking Sea, I asked the cruise director about the best option for getting to a place where we could catch a vaporetto. He said to get off at the train station, because it was right on the grand canal and there was a vaporetto stop. WRONG! Turned out the train station our buses went to was the station on the mainland. Wouldn't you think the cruise director would provide correct information?

 

During the many hours we were waiting to disembark the ship at Trieste, there was ample time to hold briefings in the theater to tell people how to navigate the port and get to the city of Venice. Obviously, people should have been prepared but it is different getting into port in the morning vs. at 9 or 10 pm.

 

It was also interesting that our first stop on the bus was at the airport. The bus did not drop off people at the terminal, but at quite a distance out in the parking lot. There was a group of 8 or 10 people on our bus who wanted to pick up a shuttle to go to the Courtyard at the airport. After we dropped them off in the airport parking lot, the bus left and drove right by the Courtyard!

 

All in all it was confusing, hectic, and very stressful. Viking could have made it a much better experience.

[PatriciaF]

I agree with you, Cherylgrrl--it was a mess.

 

I was surprised with all the people who were taking water taxis--so expensive and usually on an open boat.

 

If you were the one who helped us find the people mover, thank you. Our hotel was right there in Piazalle Roma just steps from the people mover. I know some people thought we had lost our mind when we walked into the parking garage, but that's where they did late check in. If we didn't arrive by 1 AM, we would have had to find a place to sleep.

 

I asked what train station of one of the Viking reps on our bus--I was told THE train station. I said there are two--Mestre on the mainland and Santa Lucia actually in Venice--which I thought wasn't accessible by vehicle. She repeated her answer.

 

People had a very bad taste in their mouth after our disastrous last day.

[Vineyard View]

It sounds like it all went really sideways.....and at that time of night even more frustrating. I am sorry you all experienced that.

 

Have you contacted Viiking since your return? I honestly believe that they will want to hear from you. They want very much to have their passengers wanting to come back.....and it might be worth your time to speak live with them about your experience.

[PatriciaF]

It sounds like it all went really sideways.....and at that time of night even more frustrating. I am sorry you all experienced that.

 

Have you contacted Viiking since your return? I honestly believe that they will want to hear from you. They want very much to have their passengers wanting to come back.....and it might be worth your time to speak live with them about your experience.

 

I got a call this evening from the Viking representative that booked this cruise for us. I told him everything was great with the cruise BUT the last day had some major problems and lots of disgruntled people. We knew how and where to get where we needed to in Venice, but many did not. I don't know if he was going to share the information up the line or not.

[Peregrina651]

I got a call this evening from the Viking representative that booked this cruise for us. I told him everything was great with the cruise BUT the last day had some major problems and lots of disgruntled people. We knew how and where to get where we needed to in Venice, but many did not. I don't know if he was going to share the information up the line or not.

 

Write the folks at tellus@vikingcruises.com and tell them what you told the sales rep. If you don't want to write pages and pages, give them a phone number and ask them to call you to talk about your experience.

[OBX Cruisers]

Hmmm - takes me back to 2015 when we were on the July 25 sailing of the Viking "Star" which was supposed to be from Stockholm to Bergen. On July 30, Day 6 of our cruise, we arrived late in Tallinn, Estonia due to "mechanical issues." We were in Tallinn until August 4 when we were flown to Bergen at Viking expense. Missed 6 ports, but Viking did arrange for us to take excursions by bus to the fjords, paid for our hotel in Bergen, etc. In the end, they also came through with partial refunds and vouchers. Will use the vouchers this January for a West Indies cruise on the "Star."

 

During the 5 days we were docked in Tallinn, however, communication from Viking was nonexistent or very confusing. There was a huge amount of stress, particularly for those of us who hadn't used Viking Air. (We had used our United miles.) We didn't know which airport we would need to be leaving from as we were given a different story every day. (In the end, we were able to take our extension from Bergen to Oslo and fly home as scheduled.) In the meantime there were many unhappy "campers" and lots of teary faces - both passengers and the Viking ship's staff who were trying their best to help us but were told something different by corporate every few hours. We would have taken more of the extra tours they offered in Tallinn but were afraid to leave the ship in case we missed breaking news.

 

Sounds like Viking Oceans still doesn't have a plan in place to deal with these emergencies!

[PatriciaF]

I have since received an email saying we would receive a credit for a future Viking cruise--river or ocean. The email also asked me to call to discuss the problem I discussed with our customer representative. I haven't called and probably won't.

[deec]

I think that is an amazing compensation for 2 bad days of a lengthy cruise....I imagine all passengers would be compensated with the generous offer. BUT Viking better figure out how to deal with major problems WHILE they are happening........they need to have a crisis team in place to be able to quickly swoop in, communicate truthfully and effectively and keep stress and worry to a minimum for the passengers.

[Peregrina651]

I think that is an amazing compensation for 2 bad days of a lengthy cruise....I imagine all passengers would be compensated with the generous offer. BUT Viking better figure out how to deal with major problems WHILE they are happening........they need to have a crisis team in place to be able to quickly swoop in, communicate truthfully and effectively and keep stress and worry to a minimum for the passengers.

 

And that is why you should call them and talk with them.

[DrBanjo]

I have since received an email saying we would receive a credit for a future Viking cruise--river or ocean. The email also asked me to call to discuss the problem I discussed with our customer representative. I haven't called and probably won't.

 

PatriciaF,

I also received an email concerning Viking compensation for our Venice debarkation inconvenience. It was not a fully-paid future cruise, but a $250 per person credit towards the cost of a future Viking cruise. Maybe your offer was more generous than the one that was made to me.

DrBanjo

P.S. Yes, since returning home, I have been playing my banjo and guitars quite often. I missed doing that when we were on the ship.