Group rates on Viking Ocean?

[Clay Clayton]

I know that some (most?) cruise lines have a system of providing benefits (drink packages, comped staterooms, etc.) when doing a group booking.  Mike and I are looking at a cruise for his big birthday in 2023 and have a number of friends interested in joining us.  Does anyone know if Viking offers something to a group and how large a group is needed?

TIA!

[Paul73]

Clay: Viking has a group sales office: 1-888-505-7984.  Groups are typically 10 staterooms or more.  Each stateroom gets a bottle of sparkling wine and each person gets a $125 discount.  Your travel agent should be able to help you interface with Viking.  Your TA may be able to sweeten the deal by offering you and your guests OBC.

 

[Mich3554]

I think with the other 2 couples who went with us on our river cruise, we got $100 off for each referral, and so did they.  But we as a group only booked 3 cabins.  

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, Paul73 said:

Clay: Viking has a group sales office: 1-888-505-7984.  Groups are typically 10 staterooms or more.  Each stateroom gets a bottle of sparkling wine and each person gets a $125 discount.  Your travel agent should be able to help you interface with Viking.  Your TA may be able to sweeten the deal by offering you and your guests OBC.

 

Thanks! So not as good a deal as some other lines. 

[DrKoob]

This is how Viking does groups:  For River and Ocean.

• Viking gives you one free TC (cruise only) for every 15 paid guests. (Note: a maximum of 4 TCs can be earned per sailing) Note: Complimentary TC berth given in category in which majority of berths are booked. TC not offered on hotel extend-your-stay packages. What this means is that for every 15 guests, the 16th is free up to a max of four total. 
• All groups receive a $125 discount per person. Group discounts are combinable with Early Booking Discounts, valid for all group bookings. Offer expires on December 31, 2023.

 

• Viking Explorer Society Member Travel Credit is combinable with group discounts.

 

If your group is on a river cruise:

If you have 16-24 staterooms you get a bottle of champagne in every stateroom and a cocktail party for the group. If you have 10-15 staterooms you get a bottle of of champagne in every stateroom. There is also a $250 discount per stateroom.

 

Hope this helps you decide. 

[Clay Clayton]

11 hours ago, DrKoob said:

This is how Viking does groups:  For River and Ocean.

• Viking gives you one free TC (cruise only) for every 15 paid guests. (Note: a maximum of 4 TCs can be earned per sailing) Note: Complimentary TC berth given in category in which majority of berths are booked. TC not offered on hotel extend-your-stay packages. What this means is that for every 15 guests, the 16th is free up to a max of four total. 
• All groups receive a $125 discount per person. Group discounts are combinable with Early Booking Discounts, valid for all group bookings. Offer expires on December 31, 2023.

 

• Viking Explorer Society Member Travel Credit is combinable with group discounts.

 

If your group is on a river cruise:

If you have 16-24 staterooms you get a bottle of champagne in every stateroom and a cocktail party for the group. If you have 10-15 staterooms you get a bottle of of champagne in every stateroom. There is also a $250 discount per stateroom.

 

Hope this helps you decide. 

Great information. Thanks so much!

[mhb1757]

Clay, I think we use the same TA and they have pretty good referral credits….if the majority of your group have not used them before that could be a pretty substantial credit that could be applied to your trip as well. Annette could run the numbers for you. 

[Clay Clayton]

Agreed. At this point only have folks interested…but suspect we might end up at best with half who might join us.  

[DrKoob]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Agreed. At this point only have folks interested…but suspect we might end up at best with half who might join us.  

Don't be surprised it you under estimate. We helped a friend plan his 40th Birthday cruise and he thought we might get 12 people. Once the word got around how much fun it would be, we had 63.

[DrKoob]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:55 AM, Paul73 said:

Clay: Viking has a group sales office: 1-888-505-7984.  Groups are typically 10 staterooms or more.  Each stateroom gets a bottle of sparkling wine and each person gets a $125 discount.  Your travel agent should be able to help you interface with Viking.  Your TA may be able to sweeten the deal by offering you and your guests OBC.

 

 I saw this and I had to comment. It is something that just get me. 
 

This is a comment for everyone else who talks about getting OBC or a cheaper price from their TA. I have a question for you. When you go to a store and buy something, do you ask the person who helped you to put their hand in their own pocket and give you some money back?

 

For instance, when you buy a pair of shoes at a shoe store, a nice person who works on commission helps you find just the pair you want. He or she brings you a number of pairs or shoes. When you find the pair you want, you go to check out and pay for them. Then would you turn to the sales person who helped you and say, “Could you please give me $10 out or your own pocket since I bought the shoes from you?” Not the shoe store’s money, the sales rep's money who just spent the last half hour finding you shoes that you love.

 

Expecting refundable OBC from a TA is pretty much the same thing. TAs (not the online booking agents) make commissions from the cruise line, not from you. And unlike that shoe salesperson, TAs don’t get paid an hourly wage. They work on commission only. If you ask them to do a ton of work, then book with someone else, they don’t get paid for any of that time. You are charged the same price whether you book through them or not. When they give you OBC, it comes out of their own pocket. Why would you expect them to do that? They are doing a bunch of work for you for free and yet you still think that a “good” TA will give you OBC out of their own pocket.

 

Now if they give it to you without asking...that's awesome. But I just have a problem with new cruisers who have heard that their friends get x-amount of freebies. That's their first question (even before they book the cruise)...how much are you going to give me.

 

My TA gives us lots of great stuff but I also never ask for it, come to her with just about everything finished (or, maybe we booked on board) so she has little work to do other than a single phone call or computer booking. And believe me, there are lots of small moms and pops everywhere. We accompanied our TA on a ship visit last summer here in Seattle. She and about 100 other travel agents got to tour and have lunch on the NCL Bliss (quite a ship) and I would say that more than 80% of the agents were either booking from home, working with a franchise (which means they make at most 7.5%) or working for another small agency. None of those people get paid by the hour. They get paid when they sell a cruise and every penny that they give back, is one they don't get to feed their families, take their cruises or whatever they do with their money.

 

And I totally understand the sales job thing having been in sales and marketing for more than 38 years. I can't count the number of presentations I have done where the client has gone another way. I have no problem with that (yes I do, but I get it--they like something that someone else has better than what I have) but when they go into the sales process having already decided that no matter what this person does for me, I am buying from the absolute cheapest I can find, that's wrong. If you want the cheapest, go to Costco. You will get the service you deserve (God help you if you have a problem) but you will cruise cheaply.

 

Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine.

[Clay Clayton]

19 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

Don't be surprised it you under estimate. We helped a friend plan his 40th Birthday cruise and he thought we might get 12 people. Once the word got around how much fun it would be, we had 63.

Wow!  All our friends think Viking won’t be there scene. 

[Clay Clayton]

13 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

 I saw this and I had to comment. It is something that just get me. 
 

This is a comment for everyone else who talks about getting OBC or a cheaper price from their TA. I have a question for you. When you go to a store and buy something, do you ask the person who helped you to put their hand in their own pocket and give you some money back?

 

For instance, when you buy a pair of shoes at a shoe store, a nice person who works on commission helps you find just the pair you want. He or she brings you a number of pairs or shoes. When you find the pair you want, you go to check out and pay for them. Then would you turn to the sales person who helped you and say, “Could you please give me $10 out or your own pocket since I bought the shoes from you?” Not the shoe store’s money, the sales rep's money who just spent the last half hour finding you shoes that you love.

 

Expecting refundable OBC from a TA is pretty much the same thing. TAs (not the online booking agents) make commissions from the cruise line, not from you. And unlike that shoe salesperson, TAs don’t get paid an hourly wage. They work on commission only. If you ask them to do a ton of work, then book with someone else, they don’t get paid for any of that time. You are charged the same price whether you book through them or not. When they give you OBC, it comes out of their own pocket. Why would you expect them to do that? They are doing a bunch of work for you for free and yet you still think that a “good” TA will give you OBC out of their own pocket.

 

Now if they give it to you without asking...that's awesome. But I just have a problem with new cruisers who have heard that their friends get x-amount of freebies. That's their first question (even before they book the cruise)...how much are you going to give me.

 

My TA gives us lots of great stuff but I also never ask for it, come to her with just about everything finished (or, maybe we booked on board) so she has little work to do other than a single phone call or computer booking. And believe me, there are lots of small moms and pops everywhere. We accompanied our TA on a ship visit last summer here in Seattle. She and about 100 other travel agents got to tour and have lunch on the NCL Bliss (quite a ship) and I would say that more than 80% of the agents were either booking from home, working with a franchise (which means they make at most 7.5%) or working for another small agency. None of those people get paid by the hour. They get paid when they sell a cruise and every penny that they give back, is one they don't get to feed their families, take their cruises or whatever they do with their money.

 

And I totally understand the sales job thing having been in sales and marketing for more than 38 years. I can't count the number of presentations I have done where the client has gone another way. I have no problem with that (yes I do, but I get it--they like something that someone else has better than what I have) but when they go into the sales process having already decided that no matter what this person does for me, I am buying from the absolute cheapest I can find, that's wrong. If you want the cheapest, go to Costco. You will get the service you deserve (God help you if you have a problem) but you will cruise cheaply.

 

Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine.

Sorry to have to disagree. Our agent provides the maximum kickback Viking allows and I see no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth. I’ve spoken with the agent and confirmed that this money in my pocket doesn’t affect the amount she sees personally in hers. Therefore, I keep booking through her and referring others who appreciate getting enough credit to cover the daily gratuities. 

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, DrKoob said:

TAs don’t get paid an hourly wage. They work on commission only. If you ask them to do a ton of work, then book with someone else, they don’t get paid for any of that time. You are charged the same price whether you book through them or not. When they give you OBC, it comes out of their own pocket.

 

Sorry, but this doesn't apply to our TA, who works for a national agency, from a brick & mortar store. She is paid a salary and any OBC we receive comes from the company's advertising budget, not out of her pocket.

[FetaCheese]

Recently wanted to learn about V agents' commission policy.  Web search:  found V's agent agreement doc. with terms and conditions.  (Max. rebate/discount allowed $300, $600, $1,000 based on # of days, among many other provisions).   During additional web search, saw an article from Travel Weekly 2017), that V dropped Costco as an agency, due to their rebating/discounting.  Just checked Costco Travel site:  cruises.  V not listed.  If others have any later info, please post any corrections.

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Viking-turns-away-Costco-agents-grateful

Edited July 8, 2022 by FetaCheese
addl info

[Clay Clayton]

2 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

Recently wanted to learn about V agents' commission policy.  Web search:  found V's agent agreement doc. with terms and conditions.  (Max. rebate/discount allowed $300, $600, $1,000 based on # of days, among many other provisions).   During additional web search, saw an article from Travel Weekly 2017), that V dropped Costco as an agency, due to their rebating/discounting.  Just checked Costco Travel site:  cruises.  V not listed.  If others have any later info, please post any corrections.

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Viking-turns-away-Costco-agents-grateful

Your information is correct.  We booked our first Viking River via Costco in the early 00s and received a Costco gift card based on the amount we paid to Viking.  As I recall, it was around $500 which was about 10% but was more than the $300 we would receive today from our current Travel Agent who provides the amounts you note in your post as refundable shipboard credit.  They are enough to pay our gratuities and mostly cover our bar tab if we don’t splurge and get the SS.  Seems like last cruise where we didn’t drink much we got a check from Viking after the cruise for $45 which was the balance on our account when we disembarked. 

[DrSea]

On 7/7/2022 at 2:45 PM, DrKoob said:

Don't be surprised it you under estimate. We helped a friend plan his 40th Birthday cruise and he thought we might get 12 people. Once the word got around how much fun it would be, we had 63.

Damn. My friends are all too busy working to take a week off for my birthday.