Wondering why Viking is not cancelling South America cruises like other lines are doing?

[slewis7]

No changes announced yet for the February 28th sailing.  Does anyone seriously expect that cruise to sail with the original itinerary?

[SJD117]

Isn't the February 11 SA sailing covered by Viking's Risk-Free Guarantee? If it is, then folks who don't like the revised itinerary can cancel under the RFG and receive a voucher for future travel. 

[slewis7]

1 hour ago, SJD117 said:

Isn't the February 11 SA sailing covered by Viking's Risk-Free Guarantee? If it is, then folks who don't like the revised itinerary can cancel under the RFG and receive a voucher for future travel. 

Absolutely right, but given that the cruise is now so different from what they booked, they should also be entitled to get a refund instead of having Viking holding their money for an extended period.  At the very minimum, Viking should allow folks to shift to a sailing of the same cruise in a later year without paying any extra.

Edited January 20, 2022 by slewis7

[Twitchly]

3 hours ago, slewis7 said:

Absolutely right, but given that the cruise is now so different from what they booked, they should also be entitled to get a refund instead of having Viking holding their money for an extended period.  At the very minimum, Viking should allow folks to shift to a sailing of the same cruise in a later year without paying any extra.

I believe they’re doing the latter, at least with some cruises that significantly change. Viking had to drop Israel from the Antiquities and Holy Land cruise (that just started today), so they offered customers who cancel the chance to book a future cruise at no additional cost. We canceled and are going on the more expensive British Isles cruise next fall, and Viking is making up the difference.

[uktog]

6 hours ago, SJD117 said:

Isn't the February 11 SA sailing covered by Viking's Risk-Free Guarantee? If it is, then folks who don't like the revised itinerary can cancel under the RFG and receive a voucher for future travel. 

Anyone booked in the UK will be entitled to a refund not credit certificate under ABTA rules if the itinerary is substantially different. A good travel agent should be able to advise.  (Be aware an agent might still push you to a certificate as they get their commission if you keep the money with the cruise line.  A good agent tells you what’s actually your options regardless of their commission). 

[Heidi13]

On 1/19/2022 at 5:52 PM, SJD117 said:

Isn't the February 11 SA sailing covered by Viking's Risk-Free Guarantee? If it is, then folks who don't like the revised itinerary can cancel under the RFG and receive a voucher for future travel. 

 

The RFG depends on when you booked the cruise.

 

The earlier RFG were cancel up to 24hrs, but then last year it was changed to 14 days. Based on information posted here, apparently no RFG is offered for cruises booked this year.

[Insanityx4]

It is all incredibly confusing. We booked our Southern America Crossing in 2019 for 2021. Last year we cancelled before Viking did and rescheduled for March of this year. We also paid for part of the cruise a few months ago with FCV from our Viking Sun cruise Feb/March 2020. There is a chance we might also cancel again because all but one of the ports on our itinerary are still closed, however that can change in the next month and a half. We have found that you can talk to several Viking reps and get a different answer every time. We did a deep dive into what our options are if we do cancel. Two Viking reps, a supervisor, and our TA have all said we have the 24 hour cancellation period. The question was what about the FCV which stated could be only used once? We have been told that they can be reused for a future cruise but has to be booked in 12 months, not 24 months. As I said very confusing! 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Insanityx4

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, Insanityx4 said:

It is all incredibly confusing. We booked our Southern America Crossing in 2019 for 2021. Last year we cancelled before Viking did and rescheduled for March of this year. We also paid for part of the cruise a few months ago with FCV from our Viking Sun cruise Feb/March 2020. There is a chance we might also cancel again because all but one of the ports on our itinerary are still closed, however that can change in the next month and a half. We have found that you can talk to several Viking reps and get a different answer every time. We did a deep dive into what our options are if we do cancel. Two Viking reps, a supervisor, and our TA have all said we have the 24 hour cancellation period. The question was what about the FCV which stated could be only used once? We have been told that they can be reused for a future cruise but has to be booked in 12 months, not 24 months. As I said very confusing! 

 

That seems very generous, even although the terms & conditions state they can't be re-issued, as a good faith gesture, Viking are permitting them to be used again. Even if they must be used within 1-year, I still consider it a generous offer. Kudos to Viking.

 

This could also answer one of the questions about FCV on another thread.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I cruise on Viking about a third of the time, and Oceania the other two thirds of the time.  I love both lines.  Honestly, I've heard complaints about the risk free policy on Viking.  But I wanted to point out that Oceania (and likely other lines) has no such policy right now.    I have a cruise booked on O this summer which before then may or may not be substantially changed, or possibly even canceled.  But I can't be the one to cancel it with no charge after early March when I make final payment unless I have an emergency covered by my travel insurance.  (I didn't purchase cancel for any reason insurance.)  From what I've seen on Facebook groups and here, Viking is doing a fantastic job of juggling ports, making replacements as feasible, and not canceling cruises despite a very unsettled period of time.  And possibly this extra effort, plus their risk free cancel policy, has paid off in that they re-started cruising earlier than most lines (including Oceania, which only has part of their fleet going now).  And their cruises in South America weren't canceled, whereas Oceania's are pretty much a no-go until much later in the year.   

 

Just my opinion, in trying to answer the original question of why Viking hasn't canceled South American cruises.