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Guest Ticket Contract - Overbooking Clause 22?


Flashman181
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Having booked a Sept 2021 Cruise and paid deposit we now have access to My Viking which certainly has a wealth of useful information. However, did note with interest/concern Clause 22 of the Guest Ticket Contract where Viking states that they reserve right to overbook accommodations and if that happens you may be denied boarding? I realise this may be a very rare condition but did not see it mentioned in Terms and Conditions which is all that you see before you pay deposit 🙂 The term "refused boarding" implies it is a last minute issue rather than something that may happen at the Final Payment date which you could maybe accept more easily ?  Given that you may have booked and paid for flights, hotels and tours based on the dates of cruise it would be a major inconvenience. Yep, understand that travel insurance is a must but a late cancellation like that would seem a bit rich. Anybody ever heard of it happening? 

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I recall reading a similar clause in the N/Amercia Conditions of Carriage. While I am aware that cruise lines may overbook some cruises/segments, I am not aware of any pax being denied boarding due to overbooking.

 

They will normally negotiate with one of more passengers prior to departing for the cruise.

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It happened on one of my cruises that they overbooked, which was over New Year's. They sent out emails about 2 weeks before offering passengers an upgraded stateroom and all airline change fees reimbursed if they would switch to a later cruise.  We had 3 guaranteed rooms booked, so we were most likely to get denied boarding. Fortunately, within just a couple of hours, they had enough people call in and take the offer to switch dates.

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Ok thanks for replies. Just seems odd that they would wait until so close to the cruise to realise it was overbooked given final payment is at least 120 days before hand ? Dont understand the concept of "guaranteed rooms" - do they have a different final payment date?

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With guaranteed bookings you don't get to pick your cabin at time of booking. The cruise line selects the cabin, which is guaranteed to be a stated class, or better.

 

You are advised of your cabin number a couple of days to a couple of weeks before the cruise.

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Plus, there are always last minute cancellations, especially considering the demographic that Viking markets to and attracts.

 

7 hours ago, Flashman181 said:

Dont understand the concept of "guaranteed rooms" - do they have a different final payment date?

 

No. We pay in full on the same schedule as everyone else. I've done a guaranteed cabin twice now, on one-week cruises (because I can put up with any cabin on a Viking ship for a week). Last year we booked a NYE cruise in the second week of December, a GTY cabin (ended up in a DV4, exactly the category I normally book in). Payment in full was due immediately. A few days after we booked, folks on the roll call started reporting that the "we've overbooked, can we offer you a deal on a different sailing" e-mail had gone out. We learned out cabin assignment just a few days before we flew out.

 

A few weeks ago, I booked another end of year cruise and again I booked GTY. Payment in full was due at the end of the month, just a few weeks later (and with enough time for me to decide that making my own flight arrangements would be cheaper). The ship is not sold out and I assume that they are busily upgrading PS bookings into ES and PVs into PSs and so on down the line until they clear some space for those of us who booked GTY.

 

 

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57 minutes ago, flashman69 said:

Ok thanks. What exactly is the attraction of a GTY then ? The chance to get a better class of room than you pay for? Apologies for my ignorance 🙃. So much to learn 

 

There are two sides to the equation. Why does Viking offer them and why do people book  them.

 

Viking uses it to sell cabins and it is easier to sell a V cabin than a higher priced cabin; so they will offer upgrades to guests and put the new bookings into the vacated cabins. GTY is not limited to V cabins. If you want a PV and there are only a few available, they may offer you a PV GTY and then work on upgrading someone else (and if that fails, they will put you into the upgraded cabin).  So GTY is a way for Viking to make bookings without having to assign a precise cabin at the time of booking.

 

As a guest, I have only booked a GTY twice. Both times have been on one-week cruises and both have been booked within 120 days of sailing when there were very few cabins unsold on the ship--and no DV cabins at all (which is my preferred category). If you book GTY, you have to be willing to take what you are assigned. I would do it for a week in a V GTY (since I could put up with even the most complained about cabin for a week, especially since I have been reading here for a while now and have been paying attention to which cabins should be avoided and for what reasons) and I would do it for almost any sailing in a DV GTY. Booking GTY is not a good idea unless you are willing to take whatever cabin you are assigned.

 

Do I do it for the chance of getting better than I paid for? Of course I do. Who doesn't like a little gamble every now and then.  But I also understand that I am more likely to end up in V or maybe even a DV than a cabin category ending in S. That is just being realistic.

 

Finally, this is how Viking handles GTY bookings. It may be done differently on other cruise lines.

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12 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Plus, there are always last minute cancellations, especially considering the demographic that Viking markets to and attracts.

 

 

No. We pay in full on the same schedule as everyone else. I've done a guaranteed cabin twice now, on one-week cruises (because I can put up with any cabin on a Viking ship for a week). Last year we booked a NYE cruise in the second week of December, a GTY cabin (ended up in a DV4, exactly the category I normally book in). Payment in full was due immediately. A few days after we booked, folks on the roll call started reporting that the "we've overbooked, can we offer you a deal on a different sailing" e-mail had gone out. We learned out cabin assignment just a few days before we flew out.

 

A few weeks ago, I booked another end of year cruise and again I booked GTY. Payment in full was due at the end of the month, just a few weeks later (and with enough time for me to decide that making my own flight arrangements would be cheaper). The ship is not sold out and I assume that they are busily upgrading PS bookings into ES and PVs into PSs and so on down the line until they clear some space for those of us who booked GTY.

 

 

Where will you be cruising this year?  We’re doing Journey to Antiquities but will be home by the new year this time!  Would be fun to cruise with you again!

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1 hour ago, molymoo said:

Where will you be cruising this year?  We’re doing Journey to Antiquities but will be home by the new year this time!  Would be fun to cruise with you again!

 

Sorry, E, we are doing the Barcelona to London repo in early January. It would be fun cruise together again and I know our paths will cross again, eventually! 

 

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We were offered a DVGTY on one of the popular Midnight Sun cruises in 2018 and took it.  We wanted a V because there is no big difference between V and DV (free snacks and drinks).  We asked for the lowest DV but got a well located  DV 2 in the end.  If it was a guarantee because of overbooking, no one talked about it.  Sometimes it is due to those of us who would just as soon have the V but there are not enough for all who do not care since even the V cabins have a balcony and are perfectly nice.  But as Peregrina651 said above, there are some cabins that are undesirable in every category and you should pay attention to negative reviews about noise etc.  Our V cabin far forward was quiet and well located on deck 3 and our DV cabin on deck 6 aft was well located and quiet both starboard.  In between is good too.

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2 hours ago, flashman69 said:

Is there a thread specific to cabin reviews?

 

Not really. The conversation keeps coming up over and over again but no attempt has been made to corral the conversation into one thread. Or, if has been attempted it has not done well; handling this group of people is like herding cats.

 

Maybe one day someone will talk to the forum manager about adding a cabin review sticky to the top of the forum.

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I would book a GTY cabin on Viking in a heartbeat. But they are never offered on cruises we have booked. Maybe because we book we book well in advance? 

 

If it is just 2 of us traveling in one cabin we really don’t care where it is located. On our first VO Cruise we booked the last available DV6 cabin and figured it had to be pretty much the bottom of the barrel since it was the last to go. Then I read very negative comments on these boards about the cabin next door, so I was prepared for the worst. We ended up loving the location so much we booked the same cabin for the next 2 VO cruises!  

 

On other cruise lines lines we always book GTY and have never been disappointed. Often the upgrade is modest and occasionally spectacular but somehow it always works. Just wish it was an option on all VO cruises. 

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21 minutes ago, idonthaveahobby said:

 

Agreed. I would book them because I don't care where my cabin is located for most itineraries. Plus, finding out your room assignment right before the trip makes for a fun surprise. 

 

It does add a dimension to the countdown to departure. I keep checking MVJ to see if the GTY has changed into numbers. Then I check the website to see what cabin categories are available. Three of us on the roll call are sailing GTY, so that gives us something to talk about.

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