VIKING POLARIS TO BE REPAIRED SOON

[Insanityx4]

We just received notification a few days ago that our Viking Polaris cruise has been cancelled and the Polaris will be taken out service, presumably for repairs from damage done by the rogue wave. We have been rebooked on the Octantis for the week prior to our scheduled cruise, same itinerary. Apparently the repairs will take place beginning in March and into April. Our cruise was to start April 1st. I assume the repairs will take place on South America as our cruise is from Santiago, through the Panama Canal to Ft. Lauderdale.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Insanityx4

[cruisesoon]

That is strange because we just booked the Polaris for departure the 6 March yesterday!!!  Have not heard anything about this.

 

[Jim Avery]

24 minutes ago, cruisesoon said:

That is strange because we just booked the Polaris for departure the 6 March yesterday!!!  Have not heard anything about this.

 

Not trying to start a conspiracy theory but cruise lines, including Viking, are quick to take your money then when cancelling want to give you credit.  Takes some effort to get full cash refunds.  Again, not just Viking.

[Insanityx4]

We were offered a full refund of monies spent and an extension of our vouchers should we decide to cancel. We have to make our decision by today.

[cruisesoon]

On the Viking site I do not see any cruises after ours.  Ours ends the 19th so I guess it might be fixed have our cruise???

 

[katlew]

There is currently a Live from the Polaris thread does that mean it sailing without having begun repaired?

 

[CurlerRob]

7 minutes ago, katlew said:

There is currently a Live from the Polaris thread does that mean it sailing without having begun repaired?

 

Not at all. The ship was made watertight with various repairs, including steel plating placed over the broken windows. There have been some pictures posted of this on other threads.

 

Full repairs of the affected cabins, including windows, etc. will require some dock time, which appears to be the subject of this thread. @Heidi13 and @chengkp75 have posted a number of items on this process - check out their past posts if you are interested. 🍺🥌

[Heidi13]

54 minutes ago, katlew said:

There is currently a Live from the Polaris thread does that mean it sailing without having begun repaired?

 

 

After the incident, the Engineering Dept will draw up a scope of work required to return the vessel to full operations. This scope of work falls within the owner's insurance coverage, so will be issued a specific tracking number to capture all costs, regardless of when the work is completed.

 

On reviewing the full scope, they will determine lead time for materials, which in this case includes multiple windows and most likely a number of entire cabins, which are built in factories off-site. The windows must be Class rate for fire, so in my experience when replacing windows, replacing just the glass was not an option. We had to replace the entire unit, which had to include Flag and/or Class rating.

 

Therefore, a number of materials are clearly long lead items, so they could not return the entire ship to full operations in the short term.

 

To return the ship to operations, with temporary repairs, the Engineering Dept develop a plan to ensure the ship is returned to full Class, or a condition of Class, if so issued to the Master. Class will approve the temporary repair plans.

 

When the ship was out of service for a cruise they simply welded steel plate over the damaged windows and probably did weld testing and hose tests to ensure it was secure and watertight. The damaged cabins remain out of service when the ship resumed operations.

 

So yes, the ship has been operating without being fully repaired, but it was repaired to the extent that it is safe to operate. If my memory is correct, the repairs completed in Chile, resulted in the vessel returning to full Class, so the Master was not issued a Condition of Class prior to departing the shipyard. 

[katlew]

Thank you @CurlerRob & @Heidi13, that makes total sense. I was surprised to see a Live From already & thought, "wow, that was quick fixing all that." 

[chengkp75]

41 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

If my memory is correct, the repairs completed in Chile, resulted in the vessel returning to full Class, so the Master was not issued a Condition of Class prior to departing the shipyard. 

That's correct, Andy, there are no outstanding conditions of class for the Polaris.  One of the notations on the condition from the rogue wave incident was to ensure emergency routes are maintained, so I would guess that those living in the adjacent cabins to those damaged, see some plywood along the passageway, to keep them from harm in the damaged areas.

[lcand1923]

I was scheduled for an Atlantic Coastal on the Polaris starting in Ft. Lauderdale from mid-April through the first week of May.  I have received an email notice that my flights (booked with Viking Air) were moved up a week.  When I went on MyVikingJourney, I see that my booking was moved to the Octanis.  Neither my travel agent nor I have received any official information from Viking.

[Insanityx4]

Apparently you were supposed to get on the Polaris when we were to disembark in Ft. Lauderdale. It makes sense that you would be moved to the Octantis but I can't believe you weren't notified. Viking just rebooked our reservation a week earlier but at least sent an email telling us what they did.

 

Dear Viking Guest,

Thank you for choosing Viking for your upcoming voyage, Panama & Scenic South America. We would like to take a moment to advise you of a change to your journey.

In order to complete necessary stateroom repairs, the Viking Polaris needs to be taken out of service for a short time beginning in March 2023, and unfortunately, this will impact your voyage.

However, our identical sister ship, the Viking Octantis, is sailing the same itinerary, within a week of your original departure. To ensure you are still able to enjoy this fantastic region near your planned dates of travel, we have automatically transferred your booking. We have also secured your booking in the same stateroom category or better.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Insanityx4

[lcand1923]

I reached out to my Travel Agent again this morning.  She reached out to her Viking contact.  No email had been sent regarding my booking to either one of us.

 

I had been on a Viking River Cruise in the early 2000’s and thought they had done a great job.  Family matters kept me from traveling until very recently.  I was quite excited about trying the “new Viking” and booked this and a Mississippi River cruise.  I am questioning my decision.

[Cienfuegos]

On 1/25/2023 at 10:48 AM, Insanityx4 said:

We were offered a full refund of monies spent and an extension of our vouchers should we decide to cancel. We have to make our decision by today.

 

We cancelled our Viking trip under a Cancel for any Reason plan in October. Full refund of money paid, they said.  We are still waiting.  They may be quick to take your money, but they and their plan administrator Trip-Mate  are certainly slow to make refunds.

[Insanityx4]

Curious as to how you paid for your trip? We also had "cancel for any reason" which we used when we cancelled a cruise last year.  We had paid using e-pay and the money was refunded into our checking account right away.  We got a check for the $1,000 deposit within a few weeks which we had paid for with a credit card. 

[Insanityx4]

7 hours ago, lcand1923 said:

I reached out to my Travel Agent again this morning.  She reached out to her Viking contact.  No email had been sent regarding my booking to either one of us.

 

I had been on a Viking River Cruise in the early 2000’s and thought they had done a great job.  Family matters kept me from traveling until very recently.  I was quite excited about trying the “new Viking” and booked this and a Mississippi River cruise.  I am questioning my decision.

Just got another email from Viking saying due to a system error many people have not received emails about their changed/rebooked cruise. Our decision to cancel has been extended a week. Don't know if this helps!

[CurlerRob]

7 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

 

We cancelled our Viking trip under a Cancel for any Reason plan in October. Full refund of money paid, they said.  We are still waiting.  They may be quick to take your money, but they and their plan administrator Trip-Mate  are certainly slow to make refunds.

 

I'm a bit puzzled by your statement. CFAR cancellation under Viking's policy is a voucher - not a refund. Viking underwrites the CFAR part of the policy. TripMate does the "covered reasons" (like illness) part of the cancellation / trip interruption policy, and a small medical coverage.

 

I'm not sure if TripMate is the admin for a CFAR claim, or if it goes directly through Viking. In either event, 90 days is not unusual for a CFAR claim. 🍺🥌

[lcand1923]

12 hours ago, Insanityx4 said:

Just got another email from Viking saying due to a system error many people have not received emails about their changed/rebooked cruise. Our decision to cancel has been extended a week. Don't know if this helps!

 

Thank you so much for following up with me.  I got a similar email late yesterday.  My Travel Agent is following up with Viking on my Cruise Cancellation.  (The Octanis dates don’t work for me.)

[Insanityx4]

11 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

I'm a bit puzzled by your statement. CFAR cancellation under Viking's policy is a voucher - not a refund. Viking underwrites the CFAR part of the policy. TripMate does the "covered reasons" (like illness) part of the cancellation / trip interruption policy, and a small medical coverage.

 

I'm not sure if TripMate is the admin for a CFAR claim, or if it goes directly through Viking. In either event, 90 days is not unusual for a CFAR claim. 🍺🥌

We were offered a voucher or a full refund (which we received immediately) when we "Cancelled for any reason" with Viking. We did not have Tripmate but were using another insurance company which gave us a voucher for further bookings

Our cancellation for our cruise was when Viking was offering a "No risk cancellation" which might be a different type of CFAR cancellation, just to clarify.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Insanityx4

[Heidi13]

18 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

 

We cancelled our Viking trip under a Cancel for any Reason plan in October. Full refund of money paid, they said.  We are still waiting.  They may be quick to take your money, but they and their plan administrator Trip-Mate  are certainly slow to make refunds.

 

If you are referring to the CFAR available from the Tripmate insurance sold by Viking, it does not provide a refund. If your reason for the cancellation is not a covered risk, as noted in Part B of the policy administered by Tripmate, Viking only issue Future Cruise Credits, under the CFAR, and those are only valid for 12 months.

 

To get any refund, you must submit the claim to Tripmate, with the required very extensive supporting documentation, proving the reason is one of the covered risks and it isn't included as one of the exclusions.

 

In our experience, we have waited 3 - 6 months from submission of claims to being paid.

[Cienfuegos]

On 1/27/2023 at 12:04 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

snip

 

To get any refund, you must submit the claim to Tripmate, with the required very extensive supporting documentation, proving the reason is one of the covered risks and it isn't included as one of the exclusions.

 

In our experience, we have waited 3 - 6 months from submission of claims to being paid.

We did, finally, receive our checks from TripMate for the Cancel for Any Reason Coverage .  Took a bit over three months and two months from Viking's confirmation that we had cancelled.

 

The checks came as an email attachment. If we wished to receive our $8,000 as a direct deposit to a checking account or credit card, that would cost us 5%.

 

It definitely sours us on Viking and Trip-Mate, that's for sure. Even the email was delayed five days from the date on the check. Viking can, and should, do better.

[Heidi13]

5 minutes ago, Cienfuegos said:

We did, finally, receive our checks from TripMate for the Cancel for Any Reason Coverage .  Took a bit over three months and two months from Viking's confirmation that we had cancelled.

 

The checks came as an email attachment. If we wished to receive our $8,000 as a direct deposit to a checking account or credit card, that would cost us 5%.

 

It definitely sours us on Viking and Trip-Mate, that's for sure. Even the email was delayed five days from the date on the check. Viking can, and should, do better.

 

Just to clarify.

 

If you received a cash refund from the insurance company (Tripmate), you did not cancel under the CFAR terms and conditions, as those cancellations only receive vouchers, which come directly from Viking.

 

Since you received a cash payment from the insurance company, you cancelled using one of the covered risks in Part B of the insurance policy. This is managed entirely by the insurance company, not Viking. When you make a claim under Part B, Viking are only the sales agent, similar to your local insurance broker.

 

Should anyone receive one of these emailed cheques from Tripmate, here is my experience

 

I received an email from a 3rd party - Deluxe Cheques, which included a link to the actual cheques. I printed them at home and on presenting them at the bank, it did take some time, as nobody at the bank had heard of this service. They could not be processed as per normal cheques. If you receive these types of cheques, the bank has to follow the instructions printed on the cheque and call the included number, which provided verified me as the depositor and provided the bank a reference number to process. At least this is the process in Canada, might be easier in the US.

 

Other than printing at home, they provided 3 other options for an online direct deposit, but they all reduced the amount by about 5%. Since the cheques are different, my bank advised it could take up to 10 days to clear, rather than the normal 3 - 4 days.

[Cienfuegos]

Yes, this is correct.  I'm not expert on travel insurance.  I just filled out the info and sent in the paperwork.

 

I left out the part of our US bank putting a hold on the checks until the balances cleared.  The teller had to call a manager, who called someone on the telephone to receive instructions.

 

It took a few minutes to process, I expect the hold to be lifted by next week

[Haqdeluxe]

1 hour ago, Cienfuegos said:

Yes, this is correct.  I'm not expert on travel insurance.  I just filled out the info and sent in the paperwork.

 

I left out the part of our US bank putting a hold on the checks until the balances cleared.  The teller had to call a manager, who called someone on the telephone to receive instructions.

 

It took a few minutes to process, I expect the hold to be lifted by next week

So you agree that disparaging Viking here is not completely appropriate. You do seem to be holding Viking responsible for the Tripmate process. 

[Cienfuegos]

I consider that Viking has partnered with Trip-Mate. Distributing its insurance through Viking sales people. I don't consider them to be at arms length   Trip-Mate describes itself as a "plan administrator" for Viking.

 

Viking has an obligation to assure that its customer package has been vetted. That's  no different than its responsibility for air packages and hotels it selects for its customers. Reporting on my experience is not disparaging Viking.