Viking Air Plus - on hold over an hour!

[crimmj]

I called the Viking Air Plus phone number today and have been on hold over an hour.  Is there a secondary number to call?  Or a better time of day?  Very discouraging. Any tips?

[CCWineLover]

28 minutes ago, crimmj said:

I called the Viking Air Plus phone number today and have been on hold over an hour.  Is there a secondary number to call?  Or a better time of day?  Very discouraging. Any tips?

They certainly are swamped these days!!  Too many cruises at once, too many airline issues, more people taking Viking Air Plus than ever as a % (they told me) due to COVID.   I've had better luck at the end of the day Pacific time.   Or since you appear to be in CDT try really early.

[JeriGail]

1 hour ago, crimmj said:

I called the Viking Air Plus phone number today and have been on hold over an hour.  Is there a secondary number to call?  Or a better time of day?  Very discouraging. Any tips?

I had my TA have the Air Plus conversation with Viking.

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, crimmj said:

I called the Viking Air Plus phone number today and have been on hold over an hour.  Is there a secondary number to call?  Or a better time of day?  Very discouraging. Any tips?

 

Put your phone on speaker and just go about doing your usual stuff.  And when someone comes on the line, then deal with them.  No reason to sit and wait with the phone to your ear.

[greydog]

Wow - I feel better about my 20-min wait this am.  Air+ lady was very helpful.  GOOD LUCK

[Louhut1]

I was on hold with Delta for 4 hours and then it took them 8 hours to get back to me a couple weeks ago.   I consider an hours wait not too bad.  I think a lot of the problem as they haven’t really upstaffed  for the amount of people who are trying to fly now.  Good luck all.  Wishing all better experience.  

Edited June 3, 2021 by Louhut1
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[mhb1757]

I called 4 days in a row last week, at various times of the day, staying on hold anywhere from 30-60 minutes each time and never did get to speak to anyone. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was actually answering the phone there at all. So I sent an email to the magic tellus@vikingcruises.com. I got a phone call within a few hours from a lovely lady that had my preferred flights booked in short order.  So if all else fails you might try the email. 

[CLBSC]

After waiting numerous times for a half hour or more I noticed that the number is Pacific time and so I coordinated a call 30 min before their closing time and it worked. Very nice lady who said it is a zoo and they are swamped with constant changes of air, canceled cruises, etc.

[CILCIANRQTS]

So I guess the OP is not one of the people who say “I don’t need a travel agent, I enjoy dealing with Viking directly.” 😉😎

[Squawkman]

1 minute ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

So I guess the OP is not one of the people who say “I don’t need a travel agent, I enjoy dealing with Viking directly.” 😉😎

We always deal with Viking directly - but we use the same agent, so we call his personal extension. If he doesn’t answer it, I always get called back right away. We will stay on as long as necessary to get the issue resolved which sometimes means I’m put on hold until he gets an answer before our call ends.

[godfreyb]

We have a Viking South East Asia cruise booked for April 2022. Under normal circumstances I would have contacted Viking Air Plus to arrange our flights but reading here it seems that they are not booking anything more than 75 days out.  Any advice?

[greydog]

1 hour ago, godfreyb said:

We have a Viking South East Asia cruise booked for April 2022. Under normal circumstances I would have contacted Viking Air Plus to arrange our flights but reading here it seems that they are not booking anything more than 75 days out.  Any advice?

Hi -  I am aware of their 75-day-out restriction BUT I was hoping that if one had paid Air+ custom fee, especially if added upgrade like Prem-Econ, that they would process reservation sooner and that their 75-day policy applied to their default economy air offering.  Can only try.

 

OF course they're probably short-staffed like many businesses AND the airlines may be imposing tighter restrictions on timing of their vendor partner contracts.

 

I was unhappy to read another CC-board poster say that they had their long-advance preferred-seat V. Air+plus res for Prem-Econ air and airline later bumped them (presumably for full-fare customers). BTW, the 'low' priority class fare Viking books doesn't qualify for later add-on upgrades - I planned to later add my own Delta Comfort+ upgrade and Delta agent said my airfare class excluded upgrades. (knowing this I later have added Comfort+ upgrade at self-pay add-on with the Viking air+ rep when making initial booking)

GOOD LUCK

[FlaGirl13]

Our TA was on hold over an hour as well, only to find out they don’t have a contract with the airline we need.  Gave up on Air Plus and TA booked for us for a cheaper fare, with Viking refunding airfare charge and Plus fee and still honoring airport transport.   No complaints….yet. 🤞

[rbslos18]

3 hours ago, FlaGirl13 said:still honoring airport transport.   No complaints….yet. 🤞

Please explain! They will still pick you up at the airport if you do not use Viking air?

[janetcbl]

26 minutes ago, rbslos18 said:

Please explain! They will still pick you up at the airport if you do not use Viking air?

If you book the transfer @$49 per traveler you can join the group transfer. Just be aware of the times the group flights arrive/leave.

[Jchivers]

Twice this week I had near 1-hour holds with Viking Air.  But once I got through, the service was excellent. As someone else said: just put the phone on speaker and go about your business.

 

Although it would be nice if they rotated through multiple music selections and announcements.  "Morning Mood" and "Did you know that you can use My Viking Journey...." over and over and over and over and over...

Edited July 3, 2021 by Jchivers

[rbslos18]

On 7/3/2021 at 12:58 PM, Jchivers said:

Twice this week I had near 1-hour holds with Viking Air.  But once I got through, the service was excellent. As someone else said: just put the phone on speaker and go about your business.

I got a Viking Air Plus agent immediately today, but it was an emotional  roller coaster ride. First go round the agent was clearly having an off day. I just got a lot of misinformation. He told me we could not get to Rome a day early due to all flights being sold out. Whoa….Adding to my stress was being told disembarkment was at midnight! Wait, it gets better. Our departing flight was going to involve a 12 hour wait in the Istanbul airport. Lord have mercy!

 

My initial impulse was to cancel the cruise and find something else. I decided to try a different Air Plus agent and it was a totally different experience. It turns out the flights to arrive a day before the cruise weren’t sold out; the cruise doesn’t not require we disembark at midnight and we were able to get an early morning flight out of IST. Even Viking periodically has an agent that needs better training. Lesson: Don’t assume what a Viking Plus agent tells you is always accurate. Persistence can pay off.

Edited July 4, 2021 by rbslos18