Final payment due 20 months in advance.

[Nashna]

I just heard from my TA that my final payment for our Viking Ocean Cruise in August, 2020 is due in January, 2019.   This seems to be a ridiculous amount of time to ask for a final payment.  Frankly, I am considering cancelling the cruise as I have no wish to pay that amount of money so far in advance.  This is our first Viking Ocean cruise.  Is this excessively long demand for final payment the norm with Viking?

[Jim Avery]

For the August 31 London/LA WC, final pay is end of Feb.  6 months.  I would not like 20 months out either.

[twodjs]

The written policy on Viking's website states that final payment is due 90 days prior to sailing with some exceptions for special promotions (2 for 1 is not special - it is normal). Our final payment was due 6 months prior to sailing and I thought that was a long time. Anything longer than 6 months would be unacceptable to me! We booked with Viking directly. Does your TA normally work with Viking? This subject comes up often. Interested to see what others suggest. 

[Ready to Sail!]

I also booked directly with Viking and was given a 6 month date for final payment which I just made the end of September for our end of March 2019 cruise.  That date was automatic without any discussion if I remember right.  I booked in December of 2017.

 

I usually do my own air but decided to go with Viking air because the fare was good.  I added the Air Plus to have more say in the flights, but just be aware that they will not ticket you until final payment is made.  We added a deviation and also upgraded from economy and still ended up paying less than we would have booking on our own.  

[Heidi13]

Everything is negotiable. If my TA came back to me advising the best they could get was a full payment date 20 months in advance, they would be fired on the spot.

 

The TA should be negotiating on your behalf and should have been capable of negotiating a shorter payment date. We are signed up for the 2nd half of Jim's WC, boarding Jan 2020. Our final payment is 6 months before, which I negotiated directly with Viking, before handing over to our TA.

 

Don't recommend anything more than 6 months and you may want to consider a new TA.

[Nashna]

Thank you all for your comments.   I thought 20 months was way too long.  I do not want my money tied up for 20 months.  I think six months is still a long time for Viking to require full payment,  but I can accept that requirement.   

[trav25]

That’s what they wanted from us too. Crazy. 

[Peregrina651]

But

 

Note that based on anecdotal evidence, that is, other stories told in this forum, once you have paid your deposit, it is too late to negotiate any changes in the contract.

 

If you have made your deposit and if you still wish to take this cruise and still wish to negotiate your final payment, your only choice is to cancel this reservation. It will cost you $100pp as per the contract you agreed to and you will lose any of the deals that were included in your contract. When you go to re-book, the same cabin may not necessarily be available.

[ebtrip]

My final for April 6 sailing is December 29.. I book thru an online agency.. usually just over 90 days.

[Pushka]

Our May 2019 cruise is due for payment at the end of January. Australia seems to be lucky like that. 

[Peregrina651]

53 minutes ago, ebtrip said:

My final for April 6 sailing is December 29.. I book thru an online agency.. usually just over 90 days.

 

Not arguing with you. Not disputing what you say. Just pointing out that you are the first US person to so report (World Cruise, UK and AUS/NZ have different rules). Up til now, the best we have heard reported on here is 6 months out. This is a tidbit of information we are all interested in and want to follow. Thank you.

[ebtrip]

43 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Not arguing with you. Not disputing what you say. Just pointing out that you are the first US person to so report (World Cruise, UK and AUS/NZ have different rules). Up til now, the best we have heard reported on here is 6 months out. This is a tidbit of information we are all interested in and want to follow. Thank you.

This is the second Viking Ocean, each time 90 days final.  My agent has said that she asked for the 90 final.

[terrydtx]

We are booked on a Sept 2020 cruise and our invoice and documents shows a March 2020 final payment due date. We also booked our air through them too which cant be booked until we are ab0ut 300 days from departure.  Perhaps your TA is mistaken, have you tried calling VO to verify the final payment date? BTW we booked with our TA.

[Nashna]

I have informed our TA that we would not pay more than six months in advance.  He is expecting a visit from his VO sales rep in the next week and is going to discuss it with them.  It helps to know that others on this forum have not had the 20 month payment requirement on their reservation.  

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, Nashna said:

I have informed our TA that we would not pay more than six months in advance.  He is expecting a visit from his VO sales rep in the next week and is going to discuss it with them.  It helps to know that others on this forum have not had the 20 month payment requirement on their reservation.  

Have you called VO directly on this? Something doesn't smell right with your TA. I doubt if any one would book with Viking if they have to pay 20 months in advance, I know I wouldn't. 

[Peregrina651]

22 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Have you called VO directly on this? Something doesn't smell right with your TA. I doubt if any one would book with Viking if they have to pay 20 months in advance, I know I wouldn't. 

 

Actually, a lot of people have paid that far out. We booked our first cruise with Viking in June, 2014 and paid in full in December, 2014 for a June, 2016 cruise. It was the same for most everybody who booked cruises with Viking Oceans in its first years.

 

I knew when I booked that I would be asked to pay in full almost immediately and in fact I was thrilled to have payment delayed for 6 months. Every cruise I had booked with Viking thus far had been due in full by the end of the month. 

 

It is only in the last 18 months or so that Viking has relaxed its pay in full date. 

[terrydtx]

22 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Actually, a lot of people have paid that far out. We booked our first cruise with Viking in June, 2014 and paid in full in December, 2014 for a June, 2016 cruise. It was the same for most everybody who booked cruises with Viking Oceans in its first years.

 

I knew when I booked that I would be asked to pay in full almost immediately and in fact I was thrilled to have payment delayed for 6 months. Every cruise I had booked with Viking thus far had been due in full by the end of the month. 

 

It is only in the last 18 months or so that Viking has relaxed its pay in full date. 

That may be true in the past,  but that should have no effect on the OP booking now. We booked our 2020 cruise in August and our final payment is 6 months before we leave. No way I would tie up over  $12,000 for 20 months to take a cruise with any company. Even in the VO early years why pay that far out with no guarantee the company would stay in business long enough for your cruise, to me that borders on insanity.

Edited November 1, 2018 by terrydtx

[LilaC123]

We have booked a cruise - Iceland's Majestic Landscapes for August 2020 and we are required to pay by Dec. 31, 2018.  I don't mind paying early - gives me a year and a half to put money away for the First Class flights and the excursions we hope to take.

I think I would rather pay now, than have all the bills come at the same time just before the trip. 

That being said, we have also purchased trip and health Insurance that took effect the day I booked the trip, so if Viking Ocean does per chance cease operations, my insurance will get the money back. It is in writing.

But, that is just us - and we are fine with the rules. 🙂

 

[terrydtx]

Yesterday, I reconfirmed with both Viking and my TA that our final payment for our Sept 2020 cruise is March 1, 2020. After seeing this thread and discussion I got worried and wanted to make sure we hadn't misunderstood anything.

[angelhelly]

I think Viking might be more difficult on payment depending on what you book and what promotion you get.

We booked for our Alaska cruise in January 2017 (the week they announced the booking), Full payment in December 2017 for sailing in June 2019 (18 months).

 

However, we payed about 1300 pp less than the rates 6 months after booking, and we got free air. Looking back, what I saved paid for our flight upgrade to business/first class and our Vancouver extension. For me, was worth paying ahead.

[jono mono]

IsViking payment different in the uk ? booked months ago,payed 25% deposit,final payment next week for january 19 cruise !!

[CharTrav]

5 hours ago, jono mono said:

IsViking payment different in the uk ? booked months ago,payed 25% deposit,final payment next week for january 19 cruise !!

25% deposit???? That must be the difference. And why your final payment date is later. US customers pay a deposit of $500pp. And if you make sure to ask, the final payment is 6mos before the cruise date.  And that is the best you can do. 

[Heidi13]

Viking has different requirements for World Cruises, so our deposit was $10K pp, which is about 16%, with balance due 6 months out.

 

We also paid for the insurance up front.

[Peregrina651]

5 hours ago, jono mono said:

IsViking payment different in the uk ? booked months ago,payed 25% deposit,final payment next week for january 19 cruise !!

 

Yes, the rules are different in UK and in the antipodes (Aus & NZ). The Payment dates and cancellation penalties are different as well. Look for the complete Terms and Conditions on the website of whichever country you are booking in.

[Pushka]

On 11/2/2018 at 8:55 PM, terrydtx said:

Yesterday, I reconfirmed with both Viking and my TA that our final payment for our Sept 2020 cruise is March 1, 2020. After seeing this thread and discussion I got worried and wanted to make sure we hadn't misunderstood anything.

If it is true it only referred to cruises booked after 1st November anyway.