Excursion Black Friday

[vcgeno]

My wife and I are joining two other couples on the Viking Jupiter on July 1th for the "Iceland's Majestic Landscapes" cruise. 

 

We are in a DV4 level room.  Which I am aware does not get high priority in making excursion reservations. 

 

At noon Pacific time on Wednesday May 10th we were eligible to make excursion reservations. 

 

We had a video conference the night before with the other couples to coordinate which excursions we wanted to do together and all planned to be on line at exactly 12 Noon to make our reservations. 

 

When I signed on at noon a couple of the excursions we wanted were already sold out.  But we were able to get a few of the excursions that we wanted. 

 

One of the other couples was delayed at an appointment and could not sign on until about 1:30 and found that several of the excursions they had planned to go on with us were already sold out.  My wife and I decided to change some excursions so that we could join them on a some excursions that they were able to sign up for.  To do that I had to cancel the original excursion and sign up for the new one. Come to find out we were charged for both the canceled and new excisions immediately but Viking does not issue a credit for canceled excisions for 21 days. 

 

This has led me to the following thoughts:

 

1) When \you spend upwards of $20,000 to go on a cruise you would think the excursion sign up process would be more elegant.then that of a Walmart with a limited number of the hot new toy with customers faces pressed against the door before the store opens on Black Friday.  

 

2) There should be a better way for groups traveling together to make excursion reservations together.  

 

3) Viking should respect their customers and issue refunds with the same speed it charges them. 

 

Perhaps there are ways around all this that we were not aware of but it seems like they could come up with a better way. 

 

Thanks for reading, I feel better now. 

 

[ReaderGirl57]

My husband and I are on the same cruise in a DV6 so I was part of the mad dash for excursions on May 10 as well. I agree, it was very stressful. And this is a cruise where many of the smaller ports don’t have the infrastructure to book tours privately, especially post-Covid, so you are really at Viking’s mercy. The excursion booking went live at exactly 3 PM EDT - I was set to go with my first excursion and kept refreshing the screen until it popped up. I went with the strategy of booking the one that I thought might sell out first and that I wanted the most (Vigur Island) and paying for that immediately as I had read on Cruise Critic (thank you all!) that just because it’s in your cart doesn’t mean it’s reserved for you. I then booked the others that I really wanted and finished up with ones that were less important to me. Booked the included tours in Reykjavik and Seydisfjordur last. I only missed out on the all day tour in Akureyri but I had tried to book that last as I knew I could  book a similar small group tour with Saga Travel that hit the same spots. I thought I had booked the Vestmanna Sea Cliffs in the Faroe Islands for us both but it turned out that between putting it in my cart and actually paying for it, there was only one spot left, which I hadn’t realized before paying. So I had to go back, cancel my spot and book us in at our second choice time. I used the chat function to ask when I would get my money back for the spot I canceled and was told 21 days as well. But, lo and behold, it appeared on my credit card this morning. So I think that’s just their standard response - you may get your refund earlier.

This is our first cruise with Viking. We’ve only done two other cruises - a HAL Alaska cruise in 2006 with our kids and an Oceania Baltic Cruise last year. I mostly used Tours by Locals for the Baltic Cruise, or we just explored on our own, but we did do a couple of Oceania excursions and they were easy to book. This was crazy. If not for all the advice on Cruise Critic, I would never have mapped out my strategy in such detail, but there has to be a better way, although I’m not sure what it is. If we ever cruised with Viking again, I would seriously consider a PV just to avoid this - although I hate to spend the extra money on a cabin that we will just use to sleep in.

This is a trip that was postponed twice due to Covid so we are really looking forward to it!

 

[Peregrina651]

Insider tips:

 

Keep trying for sold out shore excursions. People change their minds and, given the demographic, people cancel at the last minute. Try again when you board the ship.

 

Another trick is to e-mail Viking at tellus@vikingcruises.com. Tell them how every disappointed you are that thus and such shorex is sold out and ask them if they will be adding more buses to the tour. Just remember, lots of honey and no vinegar. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't -- but it can't hurt, especially if every booking in your party writes.

 

We did this very same itinerary when Viking offered as one of the Welcome Back itineraries in 2021. It was an amazing adventure in spite of the limitations caused by Covid and all the pre-cruise hassles (like shorex not opening until just weeks before departure).

 

Be patient. Viking will not inform anyone of changes in availability so you do have to keep checking for openings on MVJ.  All advanced booking (shorex, spa, restaurants) will close 7 days prior to sailing.

 

Here's a tease:

 

 

 

 

 

[ReaderGirl57]

Peregrina, I love your puffin picture!! Do you remember where it was taken? I made a special effort to book Vigur Island because I read that there are lots of puffins there!

[FetaCheese]

Last cruise, I purchased V shorex with OBC.  Cancelled 1 later, and price was immediately added back to OBC.

 

Suppose refund is dependent upon orig. purchase method.

[Peregrina651]

At Skalanes Nature Reserve with a wonking powerful telephoto lens. We did Vigur Island as well but I got better shots at the nature center. 

 

BTW, my little point and shot had a high powered zoom lens on it. Instead of dealing with one body and multiple lenses, I use two different point and shoot cameras with different telephoto capabilities.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Peregrina651

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

At Skalanes Nature Reserve with a wonking powerful telephoto lens. We did Vigur Island as well but I got better shots at the nature center. 

 

BTW, my little point and shot had a high powered zoom lens on it. Instead of dealing with one body and multiple lenses, I use two different point and shoot cameras with different telephoto capabilities.

Good to know!  We are doing the Skalanes Nature Reserve in June!

Also - re excursions:  People do cancel.

We with DV were shut out for Vigur Island tour in June.  I kept checking nearly every day and suddenly a few days ago 2 slots opened up, so I snagged them!  It does happen!!

[Peregrina651]

7 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Also - re excursions:  People do cancel.

We with DV were shut out for Vigur Island tour in June.  I kept checking nearly every day and suddenly a few days ago 2 slots opened up, so I snagged them!  It does happen!!

 

Patience and perseverance!  

[ReaderGirl57]

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

At Skalanes Nature Reserve with a wonking powerful telephoto lens. We did Vigur Island as well but I got better shots at the nature center. 

 

BTW, my little point and shot had a high powered zoom lens on it. Instead of dealing with one body and multiple lenses, I use two different point and shoot cameras with different telephoto capabilities.

Oh good - I booked that as well. Thanks!

[BootsyGhost]

On 5/12/2023 at 6:18 PM, Peregrina651 said:

At Skalanes Nature Reserve with a wonking powerful telephoto lens. We did Vigur Island as well but I got better shots at the nature center. 

 

BTW, my little point and shot had a high powered zoom lens on it. Instead of dealing with one body and multiple lenses, I use two different point and shoot cameras with different telephoto capabilities.

That really is a terrific picture!  Do you mind sharing the camera(s) and how you split uses? I need a new camera for our upcoming Iceland cruise, and have been really torn on investing in/lugging around a bunch of new new lenses to take wildlife pics and also macros.

Edited May 17, 2023 by BootsyGhost

[Peregrina651]

I can't handle the weight of a DSLR anymore let alone the weight of additional lenses.  I have a Sony Mirrorless but, again the weight and the hassle of extra lenses.

 

A compromise was necessary, a big compromise.  I found the Panasonic Lumix ZS models. The two I have now are the ZS40 and the ZS100. Both of them can be used like a simple point&shoot and like a DSLR. As a DSLR it has plenty of bells and whistles including RAW, automatic bracketing and other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head. And macro. Neither is full frame and I bought them second hand

 

The compromise is depth of field. You'll see when you check the specs on line. On the other hand, they fit in a pocket and they are fairly light.

[BootsyGhost]

Thanks so much!  This is very helpful.
 

I’ve been looking at used cameras, too.  I’m not at a level where I’m probably going to appreciate the incremental improvements in the latest and greatest (enough to justify the cost, anyway.)

[scottam]

On 5/12/2023 at 7:42 PM, Peregrina651 said:

Insider tips:

 

Keep trying for sold out shore excursions. People change their minds and, given the demographic, people cancel at the last minute. Try again when you board the ship.

 

Be patient. Viking will not inform anyone of changes in availability so you do have to keep checking for openings on MVJ.  All advanced booking (shorex, spa, restaurants) will close 7 days prior to sailing.

 

 

How does one check for new available times on a booked, included excursion? I have a time booked and confirmed but don’t care for it and would like to watch for another choice to open up. The system on myvikingjourney doesn’t appear to allow you to see the other times without first canceling the existing excursion booking. Any tips or is there something I’m missing? 
 

Thank you!

[LindaS272]

53 minutes ago, scottam said:

How does one check for new available times on a booked, included excursion? I have a time booked and confirmed but don’t care for it and would like to watch for another choice to open up. The system on myvikingjourney doesn’t appear to allow you to see the other times without first canceling the existing excursion booking. Any tips or is there something I’m missing? 
 

Thank you!

Use the Chat function and they can tell you what else is available.