Full payment due a year in advance True? Or not

[sawtooth]

Is this true?

We are looking at a Viking Ocean cruise (have not cruised Viking before)

Our TA is telling us payment is due in June for a June 2019 cruise!

Experienced cruisers, is there anyway to postpone that payment?

Please clue me on to how to get Viking to loosen this requirement?

Any advice is welcome.

[retiredman]

Is this true?

We are looking at a Viking Ocean cruise (have not cruised Viking before)

Our TA is telling us payment is due in June for a June 2019 cruise!

Experienced cruisers, is there anyway to postpone that payment?

Please clue me on to how to get Viking to loosen this requirement?

Any advice is welcome.

 

I booked "Icelands Majestic Landscapes" last September for the Aug 1st, 2019 cruise. Viking wanted full payment this past January, more than a year and a half before the trip. I shopped a few TA's until I found one who had a good relationship with Viking and got final payment pushed back until January '19. It can be done. Other agencies just said "that's the Viking way, they get it".

[Richard2]

If you book a Viking Ocean cruise while on a cruise, the final payment is not due until 6 months before departure. It is part of the "deal" they give you when you book on board. I don't recall seeing any mention on other threads of a payment date closer to departure than that. As retiredman suggested, it appears that some travel agents can be of help.

[Azulann]

Is this true?

We are looking at a Viking Ocean cruise (have not cruised Viking before)

Our TA is telling us payment is due in June for a June 2019 cruise!

Experienced cruisers, is there anyway to postpone that payment?

Please clue me on to how to get Viking to loosen this requirement?

Any advice is welcome.

 

 

Are you from the US or from UK?

Here in the US one can get Viking to accept final payment at 6 months out according to some. But it must be done at the time of booking with a deposit.

I paid final payment 15 months before my sailing which was better than the original date of 20 months with the help of my TA.

Booking from the UK have different rules.

[twodjs]

We recently booked our first Viking Ocean cruise for next January. Our final payment is due in June - six months before the cruise date. We did go on a Viking River cruise recently, but thought the 6 month "full payment" was Viking's normal policy. We are in the U.S. and booked directly with Viking. I would strongly object to full payment a year or more in advance!

[KathyA]

If you've been on a previous Viking cruise, and ask at the time you make your booking, they will give you six months before (at least that's been my experience). Six months out is as good as it gets. Perhaps if you're not a previous Viking customer but ask nicely they may accommodate you. You can always say if they can't give you six months out you will not book now.

 

If you don't negotiate this at the time of booking, you're most likely not going to get it.

[Riocca]

We are in the U.K. so I looked at Vikings U.K. web site for their terms and conditions and found the following:

 

“A2.2 When you make your booking you are required to pay a deposit of 25% of the total price. If applicable, Visa fees must be paid in full with the deposit if facilitated by Viking. If your travel is due to commence within 10 weeks of your booking then the total price shall be payable at the time of booking. In any event the balance of the total price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 10 weeks prior to travel commencing. Your booking will not be confirmed until we receive your deposit and if the balance is not paid by the due date then we shall cancel your booking and retain any deposit. Any monies paid to any Travel Agent in relation to your booking are held by such Travel Agent on our behalf at all times.”

 

So for us it’s balance due 10 before travel, travel agents normally ask for the money 4 weeks beforehand.

 

 

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[Hockeyump]

Are you from the US or from UK?

Here in the US one can get Viking to accept final payment at 6 months out according to some. But it must be done at the time of booking with a deposit.

I paid final payment 15 months before my sailing which was better than the original date of 20 months with the help of my TA.

 

Booking from the UK have different rules.

 

In the UK it's 12 weeks and we have flights included in the price.

[Rawmac]

No, Hockeyump, it's TEN weeks, not twelve in the UK. Ten weeks is also the trigger time for cancellations (D1).

[Homosassa]

We also just booked a cruise leaving on July 30, 2019. Deposit was $500 a person; final payment is due June 25, 2018 (a little over 13 months from the cruise).

 

I knew from doing research that Viking has final payment a long way out from the cruise and was willing to comply with their requirements when booking.

[sawtooth]

Okay, I got my TA to ask gently but firmly for a 6 month prior pay in full date.

He called Viking and they agreed to the 6 month rule so we are happy.

[retiredman]

Okay, I got my TA to ask gently but firmly for a 6 month prior pay in full date.

He called Viking and they agreed to the 6 month rule so we are happy.

Nice! Congrats. Enjoy your cruise.

[Maggers]

I booked a June 2019 Viking Ocean cruise some months ago, working directly with Viking. They requested final payment 18 months before sailing, but when I asked if that could be changed the agent agreed to final payment 6 months before sailing. My in-laws just decided to join us and booked a week ago. They were also able, upon request, to get a final payment date 6 months prior to sailing. Enjoy your cruise!

[CILCIANRQTS]

We got adjustment to 6 months - at time of original booking, through TA.

Once Viking processed our deposit, they made the final payment day adjustment, which was on our confirm.

Viking needs to set a firm policy, not a “squeaky wheel”one...

 

 

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[stretchcruz]

Maggers, did you also get the large shipboard credits that you could have gotten from a TA when you asked about the final payment date?

[Peregrina651]

We also just booked a cruise leaving on July 30, 2019. Deposit was $500 a person; final payment is due June 25, 2018 (a little over 13 months from the cruise).

 

I knew from doing research that Viking has final payment a long way out from the cruise and was willing to comply with their requirements when booking.

 

So, now you know for future cruises that at booking you can ask for final payment at 6 months out BUT that you must do it when you book and before you make your initial deposit.

[Hockeyump]

No, Hockeyump, it's TEN weeks, not twelve in the UK. Ten weeks is also the trigger time for cancellations (D1).

Oops! Can hang on to the money for another couple of weeks then. :) Just can't get my head round having to pay for a holiday a year before you travel.

[Maggers]

Hi stretchcruz - no I did not, to answer your question. I only worked directly with Viking and did not shop around.

[stretchcruz]

Bummer!!

[Homosassa]

So, now you know for future cruises that at booking you can ask for final payment at 6 months out BUT that you must do it when you book and before you make your initial deposit.

 

Ah, no, not with my recent booking. I already knew that some people can get a shorter final payment date before making my reservation.

 

My travel agent at very large company that books many cruises including Viking. did ask when making the reservation.

 

The answer was a firm no. It is a popular cruise and the cabins in many categories are already sold out or have a limited number of cabins left.

[Redtravel]

Several months ago, I got a brochure. I called to inquire as to the availability on a July 2019 cruise to Alaska. I asked how much the deposit was. The agent told me that the entire payment was due when booking. At that time, it was more than 1.5 years before the cruise. She also told me that I must buy trip insurance too. I might have booked if I only had to put down a deposit ($500-$1000). There is no way that I would prepay over $10000. I did not book. As it turns out, there are many cruises going to Alaska in 2019. Booked on another line that only asked for a small deposit.

[Richard2]

Several months ago, I got a brochure. I called to inquire as to the availability on a July 2019 cruise to Alaska. I asked how much the deposit was. The agent told me that the entire payment was due when booking. At that time, it was more than 1.5 years before the cruise. She also told me that I must buy trip insurance too. I might have booked if I only had to put down a deposit ($500-$1000). There is no way that I would prepay over $10000. I did not book. As it turns out, there are many cruises going to Alaska in 2019. Booked on another line that only asked for a small deposit.

 

That's really odd. I don't think there has been any discussion of being told that one has to purchase Vikings trip insurance, and it certainly is not true. Was this a Viking brochure, or was it from a travel agent office or an online cruise consolidator?

[Homosassa]

The trip insurance was really pushed by Viking for our booking. We could and did decline the Viking insurance.

 

We have purchased our own insurance with better coverage for a lot less than Viking's offer.

[Heidi13]

We just received a quote for the 2020 world cruise and the final balance is due 6 months before departure. Deposit is about 17.5%

[VicBR]

Absolutely TRUE and RIDICULOUS.  We called Viking on February 12, 2019 to reserve spots on their China cruise leaving on May 28, 2020.  They told us full payment was due by June 30, 2019, eleven months prior to leaving.  We told them it was a deal breaker as I received my bonus later in the year and that I would be happy to put a deposit down today if they could offer some flexibility on the final payment date. They were completely unwilling to budge with basically a "tough luck, that's not our problem" attitude.  They would rather walk away from a $12,000 cruise deal than allow me a few more months to pay.  And, we're repeat Viking customers (or at least would have been) so it's not like they don't have their own records to verify we're good for it.  That's arrogance at it's finest.  Glad Vikings business is so good that they can enforce whatever rules they want but I hope some day when they need business, cruise vacationers will remember their arrogance and book elsewhere.

 

They gave me some lame excuse about having to arrange things with their travel partners so far ahead of time that they can't hold the price without payment that far out. I know that's not true as they send us one of their booklets virtually every week with consistently the same pricing only with a new, later 30 day deadline.  Sorry, to me there is no legitimate explanation for requiring full payment that far in advance.

 

Why would I hand over $12,000 that far in advance?  We're taking a Rick Steves tour this June and they require full payment in April, 60 days in advance.  Seems significantly more reasonable and I'm sure they have to arrange things in advance with their travel partners also.  I'm confident we can find some other cruise company that would be more than happy to have our business.