More Viking Air Follies

[mc_reeve]

@PKNG - lesson learned the hard way.  I traveled extensively on business for years and it was very well known around my US company that you only transited through CDG when there was absolutely no other option - and then never with checked luggage.  It creates problems when Delta is your preferred airline because they partner with Air France and use CDG for a lot of their own flights into Europe.  With the Northwest acquisition, there are now quite a few Delta and Delta partner flights through AMS - a very nice airport.

 

I had to laugh at the comment by Flytalker about the "old days" at CDG - some of the stuff that went on there was so crazy it made for great stories over a drink with colleagues.  I have been able to avoid CDG after retirement 14 years ago so I haven't seen any of the great improvements.  

 

 

[CJANDH]

I too am having problems with Viking Air. We are booked on a Great Lakes cruise in August 2022. The cruise came with "Free Economy Air". We asked to upgrade to first/business class and were told they could not do that. Our TA asked what would happen if we booked our own air and declined their "free" offer. We were told that we would get the $499 pp value of the "free" air refunded to our credit card. We proceeded to book our own flights and then were informed that we would not get the discount for the air we were not taking as it was a promotional giveaway with no value. So Viking are now saving whatever it would have cost them for our "free" air and we are out of pocket. Plus we lose the transfers because we are not taking their air package.

 

Every other cruise line we have sailed with gives a discount if you opt out of an included flight package. It seems Viking works to different rules (and ethics).

[dwlmg]

Back to the original post. There is a happy ending. Our travel agent got us our round trip flights on KLM. It appears KLM held out booking the flights we were interested in from Viking. All is well now and we are very  happy.

[Pegct]

I have used Viking Air Plus several times but only for economy class.  I find it helpful to investigate flights online to see what flights are  available from airports I will be using and costs and request specific flights. They have always been able to honor my requests. Once the fare  was above their "special fare" but it was only $30 more per passenger but well worth it for direct flights. I also had a pleasant surprise that a flights that had limited(very expensive) or no availability online was available through Viking Air plus for no additional charge of Vikings stated air cost for that cruise.

 

I believe that your travel agent is supposed to contact Viking air plus but I call them directly and pay the additional charge when I contact them before flight is ticketed.

[uktog]

Our first Viking cruise, being UK guests our flights were included and at the time we saw no reason not to use them.  The flight times offered were very reasonable and the carrier was KLM so that was ok.  However we are now less than impressed to discover they have booked us on a fare that does not include any checked baggage allowance.  (This has been confirmed by KLM).  The cost to add the bags is more than the difference price to the upgraded ticket which is even more annoying as we cant upgrade the ticket.  I am going to get my TA to take Viking to task as that is not what you would expect from a non budget cruise line.

[FlyerTalker]

The devil is in the details, which cruiselines sadly tend to gloss over.

 

Caveat emptor.

[Pegct]

So I checked the My Journey portal on Viking website today and was surprised to see that the return flights I requested on my May Viking Homelands were changed.  I did not receive any official notification even though I had confirmation numbers. Not thrilled but think I will wait awhile before contacting Viking Air Plus hoping better  flights might become available by then. The question is will i be credited for the $100 pp for using Viking Air when they were not able to fulfill my requests. 

[Heidi13]

14 hours ago, Pegct said:

So I checked the My Journey portal on Viking website today and was surprised to see that the return flights I requested on my May Viking Homelands were changed.  I did not receive any official notification even though I had confirmation numbers. Not thrilled but think I will wait awhile before contacting Viking Air Plus hoping better  flights might become available by then. The question is will i be credited for the $100 pp for using Viking Air when they were not able to fulfill my requests. 

 

The Viking Air Plus program clearly states the fee is non-refundable.

 

https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/my-trip/air-services/index.html

 

 

[dwlmg]

12 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The Viking Air Plus program clearly states the fee is non-refundable.

 

https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/my-trip/air-services/index.html

 

 

Viking has to dance to the tune played by the airlines. I use Viking Air Plus and have frequently had flights changed by the airlines underneath the Viking reservation with no notice. I have also had occasions where flights that were previously not available became available so keep looking and checking. Last week, there were a ton of schedule changes and more are coming as the airlines adjust to COVID circumstances. Your reservation is subject to change by the airlines or at your request to Viking.

[Australia08]

On 12/30/2021 at 9:43 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

The Viking Air Plus program clearly states the fee is non-refundable.

 

https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/my-trip/air-services/index.html

 

 

As with all things Viking, it depends who you talk with. We had changes resulting in crazy layover times and flight times with our Iceland trip this summer and they refunded our AirPlus fees. 

[Heidi13]

55 minutes ago, Australia08 said:

As with all things Viking, it depends who you talk with. We had changes resulting in crazy layover times and flight times with our Iceland trip this summer and they refunded our AirPlus fees. 

 

or, how well you negotiate😁

[dwlmg]

Does anyone know if there is any indication in My Viking Journey to indicate a flight is actually ticket? Alternatively, does anyone know how far out Viking actually tickets a flight? I have a reservation where I apparently have to wait until the flight is ticketed to select seats. 

[JeriGail]

3 hours ago, dwlmg said:

Does anyone know if there is any indication in My Viking Journey to indicate a flight is actually ticket? Alternatively, does anyone know how far out Viking actually tickets a flight? I have a reservation where I apparently have to wait until the flight is ticketed to select seats. 

I returned 12/13/2021 from a Barcelona to San Juan cruise.  I paid for Air Plus and was able to select seats immediately (and way before the posted 90 day limit).  Since I had seats so early, there were some changes as the airlines changed flights, but I was always able to get the seats I requested.  When our flights were ticketed, there was a notification in MVJ to that effect.  Before you are ticketed, you see a booking number in MVJ, but after you are ticketed, you see a different ticket number for each person.

[dwlmg]

Thank you JeriGail.

 

[FlyerTalker]

Locators are six characters.

 

Tickets are 13 digits.

[mtnestr2011]

On 12/16/2021 at 5:16 PM, CJANDH said:

I too am having problems with Viking Air. We are booked on a Great Lakes cruise in August 2022. The cruise came with "Free Economy Air". We asked to upgrade to first/business class and were told they could not do that. 

 

On 1/6/2022 at 10:40 AM, dwlmg said:

Does anyone know if there is any indication in My Viking Journey to indicate a flight is actually ticket? Alternatively, does anyone know how far out Viking actually tickets a flight? I have a reservation where I apparently have to wait until the flight is ticketed to select seats. 

CJANDDH and dmlmg, I understand your frustration with Viking Air as we also planned to use Air Plus for our September Great Lakes trip thinking it would be “easier and hassle-free” especially now. I knew “economy  air” could be the basic economy with no seat assigned and paid extra to ensure comfort+ reservations. I called Viking as soon as I saw flights available to book, was told comfort+ was not available to them yet, but they could book economy and I could upgrade later.  I paid for flights, requesting specifically they be ticketed ASAP, that did not appear on MVJ nor the airline account and realized after repeated calls with different Viking Air agents their contract with my preferred carrier would not permit them to ticket this early.  Catch 22 - You can’t upgrade until you are ticketed .
Easy to cancel with no ticket, I took a refund for what I paid (supposedly for comfort+ on top of “free” economy air) and booked my own flights - in first class - for only $30 more per ticket. Another reminder of “ there is no free lunch.”

You can add on Viking air-to-ship transfers independently or use Lyft/Uber or other ride apps.
 

 

[55Division]

It's been suggested several times to check your air reservations.  I'm glad I did because today I discovered a major screw up.  After our tickets were issued, with the 13 digits referenced by FlyerTalker, I upgraded our return tickets to Delta's Business Class.  When I checked today, we lost the upgrade and are currently in Basic Economy.  First, I called Viking Air Plus, who had no idea why it was changed. (Yea, right) After spending three hours on hold with Delta, they informed me on December 22, Viking Air had changed our return tickets from Main Cabin to Basic Economy.  Delta could no longer honor the upgrade from Basic Economy to Business Class!  Delta advised Viking Air needs to change the tickets back to Main Cabin and they will honor the upgrade already purchased three months ago.  Call back to Viking Air, acknowledging they made the change to Basic Economy.  It will take 2-3 days to sort it out?  Ironically when I asked Viking Air to make a change to our outbound due to a 12 hour schedule change, they refused stating once ticketed, no changes allowed unless I wanted to pay an additional $350 pp.

[Ceegeefl]

We had our flights and  Premium  Economy seat assignments booked through Viking Air for our May 2022 cruise. There was a change in the itinerary about a month ago but seat assignments  still great. Now there is another change back to our original itinerary and one leg-from Philly to Venice- is showing our seats are unassigned and must be done at airport checkin with only one middle seat left in Premium Economy.  Any suggestions on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[FlyerTalker]

If AA says that there is only one unassigned seat in PE, then there's one seat available.

 

You got the short end of the stick with the itinerary changes.  But that's a result of using Viking (or any cruiseline) air.  They give you a "reservation", but you are not actually ticketed.  So they can (and often do) move you from flight to flight.  This is often done to adapt to the current bookings from passengers and trying to fit them into the contracted blocks that they have to work with. Or it may be a function of the specific contract between the cruiseline and the airline, particularly in regard to hard and soft blocks of tickets.

 

You got moved.  Then you got moved back.  But in the interim, AA likely sold additional PE seats, taking them from what Viking may have been using.

 

Of course, actual dates and flight numbers could help - there are folks who have access to tools that would confirm the lack of PE availability.

 

And for everyone else -- let this be a word to the wise.  When using cruiseline air, no matter from whom, until such time that you are actually ticketed, you have bupkis.  That locator you have indicates a reservation.  One that can be changed or cancelled at any time.  Those seats you have reserved - same thing.  The airline and the cruiseline are under no obligation to give you those particular seats.

 

The OP was "booked".  Was he ticketed?  Dollars to donuts he wasn't - and we see the result.

 

Wish I could be more upbeat and encouraging, but it's another dose of reality from Mr FT.

[miami mama]

Just checked MVJ regarding my Viking flights as the Booking Summary indicated they would be available by today, 2/2. I have been nervously waiting as I want to purchase seats with more leg room and obviously those are limited. However, the tickets have not been purchased and I'm wondering if the trip is even going to occur. I have never used Viking Air and probably never will again. Even though the air was to be included (up to a certain limit), I was charged extra even though I could see online at the time of booking that the tickets were less than the maximum amount advertised. I have never used Viking Air and probably never will again. I have booked two more cruises since booking the one with Viking Air and I have answered with a loud NO when asked if I wanted to purchase it for those cruises. 

[FlyerTalker]

55 minutes ago, miami mama said:

Even though the air was to be included (up to a certain limit), I was charged extra even though I could see online at the time of booking that the tickets were less than the maximum amount advertised.

 

That doesn't matter at all.

 

When you buy tickets through the cruiseline, 95+% of the time, you are purchasing a negotiated bulk ticket - which is drastically different from a published fare ticket that you would buy from the airline directly.  It is that negotiated price, in the airline contract with the cruiseline, that Viking (and others) use as the basis for all rate issues.

 

So if the negotiated price was for X dollars, it doesn't matter what you might find online at the time. Even if the going spot rate for the routing would be less than X.  Or more.  All extras start with that negotiated price as the baseline, since that's the price the cruiseline is paying.

 

And, of course, all of those details are part of the confidential contract between the airline and the cruiseline.  That also includes the fare rules, which are those details that spell out just what the limitations on those tickets are.  Such as rerouting or endorsing the ticket in the case of irops.

 

 

[Ceegeefl]

Thank you very much for your information Flyer Talker. I learned a lot that I had no clue about regarding  cruise air. Appreciate you taking the time to answer.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, Ceegeefl said:

Thank you very much for your information Flyer Talker. I learned a lot that I had no clue about regarding  cruise air. Appreciate you taking the time to answer.

 

Glad to answer questions.  And FYI, there is a "Cruise Air" forum here on CC, where a number of very well informed folks answer air questions.

[Ceegeefl]

Thank you again! 

[moatenote]

We love Viking Ocean cruises--we've been on 4 and have 2 more booked (rebooked with vouchers, actually).  That's the good part...We were booked on a Mediterranean Odyssey cruise for May 2021 but canceled and rebooked with vouchers and great discounts for May 2022.  We usually book our own flights but because of the great discounts, we decided to book with Viking and got Air Plus too.  For our return flight from Barcelona we booked Delta Comfort seats many months ago.  We asked (via our TA) to be ticketed on the flights right after we paid Viking in full for the cruise.  Viking Air said no, that they would ticket flights in February 2022.  Well, February has arrived and Delta has now booted us out of our reserved Comfort seats and relegated us to the back of the plane in Economy seats. And of course, now all the Comfort and Delta One seats are taken.  Our TA says she's working with Viking but we've heard nothing now for several days.  Lesson learned--MAKE VIKING TICKET YOUR FLIGHTS AS SOON AS YOU PAY THEM THE FULL AMOUNT.  We're two senior women in our mid-70's and the thought of Economy seats for a 10+ hour flight is agonizing.  Don't make our mistake.......