booking direct with Viking

[oceandream]

I would be interested to read about your experience in booking directly with them, either by phone or on line. 

Any pros and cons? versus booking with a regular travel agent. Thanks

[Paul73]

When you book by phone with a Viking representative, they're very helpful but cannot give you any "good deals."  Whether you book directly with VIking or with a travel agent, you pay the same fare.  A travel agent who has sailed with Viking can be a wealth of good information, and will normally give you some on-board credit as a gesture of appreciation for booking with them.  There's a separate CC thread on current Viking promotion codes.  Make sure you see what's applicable to the cruise you're looking at.

[CDR2001]

If you choose to book with Viking, do it by phone rather than online. Our Viking agent said that staterooms are available to her that are not seen online. Online gives about 5-6 options per cabin category. We have used the same agent with great results. I do know that many TAs give additional onboard credit but we’ve not taken advantage of that as we love our helpful Viking consultant.  It’s a personal choice as others here prefer using a TA. 

[Serendiptydesign]

After our experience in 2020 using a TA, due to the Viking cancellation of our cruise,  20 days out due to covid. The TA still charged us costs for the arranging of the booking which we were unable to undertake. We have now  booked directly with Viking in Australia and depart in December. We received an onboard credit and the best advertised price. We also have had fantastic service, it may be different for others ins the Sates and elsewhere we are based in the Southern Hemisphere.

[Opinica]

I was very pleased with the accommodations we booked as a result of a phone call to Viking.  They don't show up on the web site and I feel fortunate to have snagged them.  On line allows you to see what things are going to cost.  Talking to a Viking rep brings their expertise to bear on executing your travel plans.

[jasardeax]

30 minutes ago, Opinica said:

I was very pleased with the accommodations we booked as a result of a phone call to Viking.  They don't show up on the web site and I feel fortunate to have snagged them.  On line allows you to see what things are going to cost.  Talking to a Viking rep brings their expertise to bear on executing your travel plans.

If you feel that Viking reps have more expertise than a TA, then why not do your original booking directly with Viking and then transfer to a TA who will offer some perk, like OBC. 

[CDNPolar]

We have aways preferred booking directly with Viking because when you have a small question or change to make, then you call and it is dealt with immediately - or faster than going through a TA.

 

Our experience with TA's is that often you cannot get a quick turn around of a question because they are now the in-between entity.  We have worked with a TA that we cannot reach by phone and then we email and then it takes days for a response.

 

We happen to be very experienced in booking all our vacations from cruise to air to hotel, and excursions.  We just feel more "control" in all of our bookings.

 

We have recently booked a cruise however through a "major retailer" travel department because of the rebate, the shop card, and a discount that we got for paying at the time of booking.  We calculated our savings to be $3,000.00 give or take.  For these savings we will "deal with" a TA, but in general we find them to be more challenging and not offering - to us - much value.  (You cannot book Viking through this major retailer, so this is not a Viking booking.)

 

We only use a TA now if there is significant enough financial value to us to do so.

 

And... yes, I agree to the above comment - book through Viking and then transfer to a TA if you get some sort of value.  We have done that too.

 

 

[longterm]

18 hours ago, oceandream said:

I would be interested to read about your experience in booking directly with them, either by phone or on line. 

Any pros and cons? versus booking with a regular travel agent. Thanks

I book online and have always gotten the stateroom that I wanted; I then transfer the booking to my TA, who gives us an OBC. Not being one to need much assistance, I generally don't use my TA much at all.

 

My preferred method though is to book the next cruise during our current cruise, so that we can get the on-board discount. We plan to do that again on our next cruise.

[Moonlion]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

We have aways preferred booking directly with Viking because when you have a small question or change to make, then you call and it is dealt with immediately - or faster than going through a TA.

 

Our experience with TA's is that often you cannot get a quick turn around of a question because they are now the in-between entity.  We have worked with a TA that we cannot reach by phone and then we email and then it takes days for a response.

 

We happen to be very experienced in booking all our vacations from cruise to air to hotel, and excursions.  We just feel more "control" in all of our bookings.

 

We have recently booked a cruise however through a "major retailer" travel department because of the rebate, the shop card, and a discount that we got for paying at the time of booking.  We calculated our savings to be $3,000.00 give or take.  For these savings we will "deal with" a TA, but in general we find them to be more challenging and not offering - to us - much value.  (You cannot book Viking through this major retailer, so this is not a Viking booking.)

 

We only use a TA now if there is significant enough financial value to us to do so.

 

And... yes, I agree to the above comment - book through Viking and then transfer to a TA if you get some sort of value.  We have done that too.

 

 

We book through a TA (and get the maximum OBC allowed) but have never had a problem calling Viking directly for questions or to make a change in our booking.  The Viking call agents are more than willing to help us.  In fact, on our last Viking ocean cruise this year, we booked two future cruises while on board.  The onboard Viking TA was very helpful in providing advice and booking the cruises.  When she mentioned that both cruises would be automatically transferred to our TA, we asked whether this would be a problem for her (e.g., would she lose any commission, etc.). She said no, that this is Viking's standard practice and she doesn't lose any compensation when the booking is transferred to an outside TA.

[need2travel1]

We're thinking of taking a Viking Ocean cruise for Summer '23 & I was considering booking directly w/ Viking.  I always book our river cruises (Uniworld) & land vacations (Tauck) on my own-I prefer it that way.  Can I assume that booking by phone is relatively straightforward if I know most of what I want beforehand?

[Opinica]

We booked our first Viking cruise directly.  A representative called us at our request and it was straightforward, no hassles.

Our second and third Viking bookings were even easier as all our particulars were all in the computer.  I think I used a new credit card, otherwise no problems.

Booking our forthcoming trip with one of their representatives revealed a stateroom availability that we otherwise wouldn't have been aware of.

[Mitina]

Related to the booking options, we’ve always used the same Viking representative.  Great guy.  With the ease of booking online, will this impact his compensation or performance goals if he’s not involved?  It’s pretty straightforward to book online if you already know what you’re looking for.

[longterm]

12 hours ago, Mitina said:

Related to the booking options, we’ve always used the same Viking representative.  Great guy.  With the ease of booking online, will this impact his compensation or performance goals if he’s not involved?  It’s pretty straightforward to book online if you already know what you’re looking for.

No, it won't affect the credit he might get (if any); I always find what I want, book online, then I email my TA and transfer it to him. I don't know what he makes, but assume it's enough to justify the onboard credits we get. 

I always get nice agents when I call Viking; some are more knowledgable than others, but they're always friendly and as helpful as possible. 

On one of our recent cruises, we booked a cruise to the British Isles, and the agent there actually used the online pages, just as we would have done ourselves; the only advantage is that we got the on-board discount. 

[Clay Clayton]

On 10/14/2022 at 8:23 PM, Mitina said:

Related to the booking options, we’ve always used the same Viking representative.  Great guy.  With the ease of booking online, will this impact his compensation or performance goals if he’s not involved?  It’s pretty straightforward to book online if you already know what you’re looking for.

I confirmed with a Viking telephone agent that transferring our booking to an agent would not affect his compensation.  In fact when you book onboard, they confirm that you want it to be transferred to your TA. 
 

We have booked online and on the phone (and directly with our TA) BUT we always transfer to our TA for the onboard credits.  She offers us Viking’s max allowable-$150pp for cruises up to 7 nights, $300pp for 8-14 nights, and $500pp for cruises of 15+ nights. This covers our gratuities and leaves a little for the bar bill 🍸🍸🍸

[Mitina]

3 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

confirmed with a Viking telephone agent that transferring our booking to an agent would not affect his compensation

I was aware of that.   My question had to do with booking a trip exclusively through the Viking website. Would Viking reps start to see diminished sales credit/activity that might affect their compensation.  Their longstanding customer contacts would eventually migrate to the Viking website for bookings.

[gr8-2travel]

Since ours was a spur of the moment decision in June to take our first Viking Cruise this November, I submitted the “online” request for information and was contacted by an extremely professional, knowledgeable and patient Viking agent. I was extremely pleased with the way he explained the ins and outs of the booking, asked questions about our preferences and got everything done during one telephone call. When I had a specific question and reached out to him, he was again extremely prompt in getting back to me. I would definitely contact him again for future bookings. 

[mnocket]

I'm looking at booking my first VO cruise.  The impression I have is that the perks offered by TAs for Viking cruises are not as generous as for some other lines (e.g. less OBC offered).  Is my impression off base or is the "penalty" for booking direct with VO less than for other lines? 

[OneSixtyToOne]

8 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I'm looking at booking my first VO cruise.  The impression I have is that the perks offered by TAs for Viking cruises are not as generous as for some other lines (e.g. less OBC offered).  Is my impression off base or is the "penalty" for booking direct with VO less than for other lines? 

Viking limits the OBC that TAs can offer because they can. They do everything they can to protect their base cruise price and discount in other ways (free air, limited OBCs, free SSP)

Edited February 20, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[Clay Clayton]

23 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I'm looking at booking my first VO cruise.  The impression I have is that the perks offered by TAs for Viking cruises are not as generous as for some other lines (e.g. less OBC offered).  Is my impression off base or is the "penalty" for booking direct with VO less than for other lines? 

I’ve found the opposite. Our TA provides the max allowable onboard  credit that Viking allows-$150pp on cruises up to 7 nights, $300pp on 8-14 night cruises, and $500pp on cruises of 15 nights or more. This is enough to cover the daily service charge/gratuities and leave a little left over for the bar tab. 🍸. I’ve never come close on other lines. 

[MikeyB]

Clay-Are you cutting and pasting your replies?

[Clay Clayton]

25 minutes ago, MikeyB said:

Clay-Are you cutting and pasting your replies?

Sometimes🤫

[MikeyB]

That's a relief!

I thought you were AI.

[CILCIANRQTS]

1 hour ago, MikeyB said:

That's a relief!

I thought you were AI.

Absolutely Intelligent?? 😉😎😁

[Insanityx4]

We always book by calling Viking directly and then turning our reservation over to our TA. On our upcoming cruise next month our TA gave us $1,000 OBC which we will use on gratuities and "not included" excursions. It's a win, win for us every time.

[leishirsute]

On 10/12/2022 at 2:51 PM, oceandream said:

I would be interested to read about your experience in booking directly with them, either by phone or on line. 

Any pros and cons? versus booking with a regular travel agent. Thanks

Just make sure to have all your questions written down before talking to them.

Here's my experience with booking for the first time with Viking (I used a travel agent once before):

+ they were very courteous and patient

+ they only answered questions, did not seem to give advice or warnings of things to be made aware of

+ When I said I would wait until the final due date to pay for trip insurance, they emailed me an invoice while I was on the phone and it stated that I declined trip insurance.  When I questioned why would they state that when I said that I would pay at final payment, they stated that's how the system worked.  So I decided to pay for trip insurance during the phone call, but the trip insurance cost went up by $200's during the call.  When I asked how that happened, they said that's just what happens sometimes. Since it seemed like almost a penalty for not buying trip insurance at time of booking, the agent and her supervisor felt bad about how it looked and gave me shipboard credits but only $100.

+ When I read the Client Contract, it states that Viking can arbitrarily raise the cost of the cruise depending on fuel prices.  So, if not paid in full and locked in, the price of the cruise can change from the time of deposit.  The supervisor and agent said they have never seen that happen, but after the trip insurance increase, I was concerned.

+ Anyway, just make sure to ask the questions.

+ I also had them follow up key answers with an email, which they graciously did.

+ All in all, it was an okay experience to book direct.  However, some folks on here have mentioned that they get pricing deals from travel agents.  I haven't had that good fortune.