We're Done With The L/A Office

[workaholic1954]

I guess I don't understand why you have to go through the Los Angeles office.  I just call Viking directly when I want to make a reservation or have another issue.  Is is about the airline arrangements?  Is it when the first phone call can't be handled and they pass it off to L.A.?

Edited June 5, 2023 by workaholic1954

[Heidi13]

4 minutes ago, workaholic1954 said:

I guess I don't understand why you have to go through the Los Angeles office.  I just call Viking directly when I want to make a reservation or have another issue.  Is is about the airline arrangements?  

 

If you call Viking from Canada or US you are talking to somebody employed by the L/A Office and managed by those managers.

[FetaCheese]

When I've called V, I've been told by various agents that they're working from home, i.e. 1 from Seattle, 1 from FL. (Could hear barking dogs!) They have always been helpful with my concerns.  Could be basic issues, never had to escalate.

 

Andy, we will miss your educated commentary.  Perhaps you will reconsider.

 

[FlyerTalker]

 

2 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

When I've called V, I've been told by various agents that they're working from home,

 

 

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

If you call Viking from Canada or US you are talking to somebody employed by the L/A Office and managed by those managers.

 

Well described by Andi.

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

When I've called V, I've been told by various agents that they're working from home, i.e. 1 from Seattle, 1 from FL. (Could hear barking dogs!) They have always been helpful with my concerns.  Could be basic issues, never had to escalate.

 

Andy, we will miss your educated commentary.  Perhaps you will reconsider.

 

 

More than happy to book a cruise, if they open an independent Canadian Office, with no links to L/A managers, or even move Canadian bookings to the UK Office.

 

If the status quo remains, then unfortunately no reconsideration.

[Clay Clayton]

On 6/5/2023 at 11:42 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

More than happy to book a cruise, if they open an independent Canadian Office, with no links to L/A managers, or even move Canadian bookings to the UK Office.

 

If the status quo remains, then unfortunately no reconsideration.

Have you had any response from the higherups at Viking?

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Have you had any response from the higherups at Viking?

 

Hi Clay - negative, not at this time.

[Clay Clayton]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Hi Clay - negative, not at this time.

That’s crappy 

[HHI Cruiser1]

On 6/7/2023 at 6:01 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Hi Clay - negative, not at this time.

Same thing happened to us when we contacted home office (Norway), just silence and no replies.  At least Viking is being consistent there.  Not like previous time several years ago when our phone couldn't ring any faster.

[Hanoj]

On 6/8/2023 at 5:14 PM, HHI Cruiser1 said:

Same thing happened to us when we contacted home office (Norway), just silence and no replies.  At least Viking is being consistent there.  Not like previous time several years ago when our phone couldn't ring any faster.

Big boy britches?

[stephenandrew]

On 5/30/2023 at 5:56 AM, Mrs Miggins said:

I am cruising with Azamara from Saturday - lovely itinerary.  Had a few minutes to catch up on the Viking board this morning.  Goodness me !  Tempers are easily frayed here.  Makes me very uncomfortable and possibly off putting for prospective Viking clients.

I can understand this point of view.

[stephenandrew]

I tried to read through all of this thread.  Unless I missed it, I don’t believe I ever saw the OP share what his specific concerns were with the LA office.  I’m totally fine with people sharing as much or as little information they want to.  However with what has been shared, it’s impossible for me to make any assessment about the validity, urgency, significance of those concerns, so I’m not sure how the original post is particularly useful.  If the purpose was just to make an announcement of his intentions…..ok, fair enough.  Clearly the OP has many friends here, and I can see why he would want to share that he may not be around as much, and that his friends would want to know that as well.  Folks can say “thanks”, “good bye”,  “appreciate all of your past input”, etc…..all of which has been done here.  But, seems to me that the value of these Boards is maximized when people who have an issue share what that issue is, so others can be more informed, take action to avoid problems others have experienced, etc.  

[May B]

StephenAndrew, thx for stopping by.

 

You are correct that the OP is extremely well-liked here and we all are sorry to know how frustrated he’s been. His issue is unlikely to impact any of us, I’m guessing, so he chose not to broadcast it. As you can see, we hope he’s taken comfort in the support we’ve tried to offer him and we are still hoping he will find resolution. Three different ways could that happen. I predict none will materialize.

 

 

[SJD117]

1 hour ago, stephenandrew said:

I tried to read through all of this thread.  Unless I missed it, I don’t believe I ever saw the OP share what his specific concerns were with the LA office.  I’m totally fine with people sharing as much or as little information they want to.  However with what has been shared, it’s impossible for me to make any assessment about the validity, urgency, significance of those concerns, so I’m not sure how the original post is particularly useful.  If the purpose was just to make an announcement of his intentions…..ok, fair enough.  Clearly the OP has many friends here, and I can see why he would want to share that he may not be around as much, and that his friends would want to know that as well.  Folks can say “thanks”, “good bye”,  “appreciate all of your past input”, etc…..all of which has been done here.  But, seems to me that the value of these Boards is maximized when people who have an issue share what that issue is, so others can be more informed, take action to avoid problems others have experienced, etc.  

 

I’m surprised you didn’t direct your comment to @Heidi13. I’ll do so for you. Perhaps he’ll respond to the issues you raised.

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, stephenandrew said:

I tried to read through all of this thread.  Unless I missed it, I don’t believe I ever saw the OP share what his specific concerns were with the LA office.

 

What I perceived was that the overarching issue is the intransigence and unresponsiveness of both staff and management to customer problems and issues.

 

The details of what prompted this are of little concern, IMO.  What is important, and what is relevant to all of us, is the way that the company is responding to those concerns.  Or, as it seems to be, not responding to the concerns.

 

THAT is far more relevant, and more widely applicable, than the precipitating issue - and as noted by many, it's not an uncommon situation with Viking.

 

I don't care what Andi's situation is....but I do care about how the company treats its customers.  And if they treat a world cruiser like that, what does that say for how the run of the mill cruiser is viewed?

 

 

[Hanoj]

9 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

What I perceived was that the overarching issue is the intransigence and unresponsiveness of both staff and management to customer problems and issues.

 

The details of what prompted this are of little concern, IMO.  What is important, and what is relevant to all of us, is the way that the company is responding to those concerns.  Or, as it seems to be, not responding to the concerns.

 

THAT is far more relevant, and more widely applicable, than the precipitating issue - and as noted by many, it's not an uncommon situation with Viking.

 

I don't care what Andi's situation is....but I do care about how the company treats its customers.  And if they treat a world cruiser like that, what does that say for how the run of the mill cruiser is viewed?

 

 

While I agree “I don't see any point in getting into details of both incidents, other than noting that their treatment of customers fell well below our expectations, not once, but twice (from OP post #1),” it begs the question of what character the mistreatment took.

 

I, too, have read all the comments. Inferring from these comments combined with my own experiences (both direct and via our TA), I conclude the treatment “well below” expectations was a combination of dismissive, aggressively hostile, condescending and or belligerent. In a word, paternalistic.

[Heidi13]

15 hours ago, stephenandrew said:

I tried to read through all of this thread.  Unless I missed it, I don’t believe I ever saw the OP share what his specific concerns were with the LA office.  I’m totally fine with people sharing as much or as little information they want to.  However with what has been shared, it’s impossible for me to make any assessment about the validity, urgency, significance of those concerns, so I’m not sure how the original post is particularly useful.  If the purpose was just to make an announcement of his intentions…..ok, fair enough.  Clearly the OP has many friends here, and I can see why he would want to share that he may not be around as much, and that his friends would want to know that as well.  Folks can say “thanks”, “good bye”,  “appreciate all of your past input”, etc…..all of which has been done here.  But, seems to me that the value of these Boards is maximized when people who have an issue share what that issue is, so others can be more informed, take action to avoid problems others have experienced, etc.  

 

Our primary issue with the L/A Office, is as I stated - their deplorable customer service, and more importantly the competence of the management group in resolving issues. Over the years, many posters have mentioned issues with the booking process, so our issues are not something new.

 

Every company or individual employee can have a bad day, but the quality companies are the ones that readily identify issues and have a desire to expeditiously resolve them to the customer's satisfaction. What actually triggered our issues and those of the many others complaining about the booking process is frankly irrelevant, the key issue is how the company's chain of command resolves the issues.

 

In our experience, the chain of command within the L/A Office is not responsive to customer issues and even managers do not perform at the level I expect of a quality company.

 

[HHI Cruiser1]

18 hours ago, Hanoj said:

Big boy britches?

Huh?

[Hanoj]

2 minutes ago, HHI Cruiser1 said:

Huh?

Mixing metaphors. 

 

Perhaps the Viking Ocean management has become arrogant after great success during its rapid expansion. Growing too fast and becoming distant from its customers. 

 

Many were (are) willing to endure difficulties dealing with land based operations since the ship based experiences have consistently met or exceeded expectations. However, there is a significant risk the ship based expereinces may deteriorate due poor management.

[stephenandrew]

41 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Our primary issue with the L/A Office, is as I stated - their deplorable customer service, and more importantly the competence of the management group in resolving issues. Over the years, many posters have mentioned issues with the booking process, so our issues are not something new.

 

Every company or individual employee can have a bad day, but the quality companies are the ones that readily identify issues and have a desire to expeditiously resolve them to the customer's satisfaction. What actually triggered our issues and those of the many others complaining about the booking process is frankly irrelevant, the key issue is how the company's chain of command resolves the issues.

 

In our experience, the chain of command within the L/A Office is not responsive to customer issues and even managers do not perform at the level I expect of a quality company.

 

Makes complete sense about your disappointment regarding the company’s responsiveness (or perhaps more appropriately, their lack of responsiveness).  Certainly, nobody likes to raise an issue that they feel is important, and then be ignored by the entity providing the service, especially when a lot of money has changed hands.  Whatever your issues were, and whatever level of response you received before, I hope that Viking is able to “make things right” for you.

[Vineyard View]

On 6/4/2023 at 8:52 AM, lackcreativity said:

 

On 6/4/2023 at 8:52 AM, lackcreativity said:

We too have been big Viking fans, and really expected to finish out our cruising years with them. Now, as I sit here with my print outs of three Oceania itineraries, to compare with the one new Mediterranean cruise from Viking, I am a bit sad about this. 

 

Our experience cruising with Viking has been an almost entirely positive experience. A few glitches were minor, and we never got involved in any difficulties with the shore-based operations, as most of our bookings were pretty straight forward. We have managed the early pay issue by always booking a second cruise while we have one already booked, so again, not an issue for us. 

 

Our primary difficulty with Viking is our focus on sailing the Mediterranean, and Vikings constant repetition of the same ports in that area. Marketing the same ports in different variations under different names does not provide the variety we were seeking.

 

I thought the new Malta, Morocco, and the Mediterranean itinerary had solved the problem for us. However, while we like travelling in shoulder season, I am not certain if the off-season dates for these cruises are to my liking, and the price does seem to really have jumped over what we have paid previously. While Tunis and Algiers are of interest, I also know that those ports have frequently been cancelled, which would leave six sea days in a sixteen day itinerary. Hence the investigation of another cruise line.

 

I am not sure where we are going to end up in this search. Old loyalties are strong, and comparing the apples vs. oranges of what is included by different companies gets confusing. It was easier when we just knew where to go. 

 

Thanks to everyone for their input in this interesting topic that Heidi13's sad decision has begun.

I will write up the review that I promised between our Viking experiences and our recent Seabourn cruise in the next several days.

 I have been busy doing an in-depth pricing  comparison between Viking, Oceania, and Seabourn in anticipation of the upcoming pricing changes at Oceania. I wanted to put together a true cost per day comparison between the three with as close as possible cabins and their locations, length of days on ship, similar time frames (April/May) in the Mediterranean next year. They are not totally matched up in areas/ports but I chose what was of greatest interest to us.  I used the comparison with Seabourn verandah midship as my base. There are other cabins of less or more cost available on all companies. I don’t think this is the correct thread to post it, but you can find it on Oceania ‘looking for greener grass’ thread. If someone thinks it should be,ported here on Viking in its own separate thread I will be happy to do so. It was eye opening. It further cemented that depending on what is important to you individually certainly helps define what lines may be a better option for you. That said, with Oceania’s changes on July 1 the game will change with them. Likely significantly. 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Vineyard View

[CHammond]

34 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

 

I will write up the review that I promised between our Viking experiences and our recent Seabourn cruise in the next several days.

 I have been busy doing an in-depth pricing  comparison between Viking, Oceania, and Seabourn in anticipation of the upcoming pricing changes at Oceania. I wanted to put together a true cost per day comparison between the three with as close as possible cabins and their locations, length of days on ship, similar time frames (April/May) in the Mediterranean next year. They are not totally matched up in areas/ports but I chose what was of greatest interest to us.  I used the comparison with Seabourn verandah midship as my base. There are other cabins of less or more cost available on all companies. I don’t think this is the correct thread to post it, but you can find it on Oceania ‘looking for greener grass’ thread. If someone thinks it should be,ported here on Viking in its own separate thread I will be happy to do so. It was eye opening. It further cemented that depending on what is important to you individually certainly helps define what lines may be a better option for you. That said, with Oceania’s changes on July 1 the game will change with them. Likely significantly. 

If you would be willing to port it here I would be interested, I am thinking of trying those other 2 lines....

[LindaS272]

3 minutes ago, CHammond said:

I don’t think this is the correct thread to post it

I agree, as this is a Viking board.

 

[that quote is from Vineyard View—but since I quoted it in that post, it shows up as his/hers.]

Edited June 28, 2023 by LindaS272
wrong poster

[SJD117]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

 

I will write up the review that I promised between our Viking experiences and our recent Seabourn cruise in the next several days.

 I have been busy doing an in-depth pricing  comparison between Viking, Oceania, and Seabourn in anticipation of the upcoming pricing changes at Oceania. I wanted to put together a true cost per day comparison between the three with as close as possible cabins and their locations, length of days on ship, similar time frames (April/May) in the Mediterranean next year. They are not totally matched up in areas/ports but I chose what was of greatest interest to us.  I used the comparison with Seabourn verandah midship as my base. There are other cabins of less or more cost available on all companies. I don’t think this is the correct thread to post it, but you can find it on Oceania ‘looking for greener grass’ thread. If someone thinks it should be,ported here on Viking in its own separate thread I will be happy to do so. It was eye opening. It further cemented that depending on what is important to you individually certainly helps define what lines may be a better option for you. That said, with Oceania’s changes on July 1 the game will change with them. Likely significantly. 

 

The OP discussed customer service at one Viking office, whereas your comparison will focus on pricing among Viking and two other cruise lines. A separate thread for your comparison would be appropriate.

 

As a side note, a non-pricing comparison among the three lines would be interesting, too. For example, an Oceania cruiser on the thread you quoted wrote approvingly: "There are several other small issues that boost O, such as the casinos." I'm guessing, however, that more than a few people choose Viking precisely because its ships don't have casinos. The differences among the lines go on from there, including but not limited to price.

[aungrl]

3 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

 

I will write up the review that I promised between our Viking experiences and our recent Seabourn cruise in the next several days.

 I have been busy doing an in-depth pricing  comparison between Viking, Oceania, and Seabourn in anticipation of the upcoming pricing changes at Oceania. I wanted to put together a true cost per day comparison between the three with as close as possible cabins and their locations, length of days on ship, similar time frames (April/May) in the Mediterranean next year. They are not totally matched up in areas/ports but I chose what was of greatest interest to us.  I used the comparison with Seabourn verandah midship as my base. There are other cabins of less or more cost available on all companies. I don’t think this is the correct thread to post it, but you can find it on Oceania ‘looking for greener grass’ thread. If someone thinks it should be,ported here on Viking in its own separate thread I will be happy to do so. It was eye opening. It further cemented that depending on what is important to you individually certainly helps define what lines may be a better option for you. That said, with Oceania’s changes on July 1 the game will change with them. Likely significantly. 

I would appreciate it if you would post the comparison here on the Viking board, and I'm sure others would, as well.  Thanks for doing all this legwork.  I'll check into what's happening with Oceania on July 1, as I wasn't aware.