Why such early final payment deadline?

[MomC]

I have booked—-and cancelled—two Viking cruises.  Why?  Because they ask for final payment months before every other line.  I need your help.  Viking has a very loyal fan base so I want to know WHY Viking has this policy, and HOW do you justify paying it?    I am not being critical, but I have always found CC subscribers to be savvy business people.  Thus, giving money to the cruise line months earlier than other cruise companies mystifies me.  I like what I see in Viking’s ships and itineraries, but I need your help with this policy that keeps me from booking—and sailing—Viking.

 

Thanks for your help.

[duquephart]

They get away with it. That's why.

[Lexus550]

23 minutes ago, MomC said:

I have booked—-and cancelled—two Viking cruises.  Why?  Because they ask for final payment months before every other line.  I need your help.  Viking has a very loyal fan base so I want to know WHY Viking has this policy, and HOW do you justify paying it?    I am not being critical, but I have always found CC subscribers to be savvy business people.  Thus, giving money to the cruise line months earlier than other cruise companies mystifies me.  I like what I see in Viking’s ships and itineraries, but I need your help with this policy that keeps me from booking—and sailing—Viking.

 

Thanks for your help.

We have always been able to make our final payment 6 months out whether we have another cruise booked or not.  If it was further out than that, I doubt we'd book.  With their current promotion of $25 down (although in some cases the penalty is $100 for cancellation) and with payment 6 months out, we think it's a good deal.

[hersheyhughes]

23 minutes ago, Lexus550 said:

We have always been able to make our final payment 6 months out whether we have another cruise booked or not.  If it was further out than that, I doubt we'd book.  With their current promotion of $25 down (although in some cases the penalty is $100 for cancellation) and with payment 6 months out, we think it's a good deal.

I am curious how you manage that.

[irishwitchy]

I’m got a cruise on hold for Jan 2025 and they want their money basically a year in advance.  I’m not a big fan of it either, but we can cancel it up to September and only be out $100.   I’m normally on Regent, but the cruise I’m going on - Regent doesn’t quite have what I want.   It may be the only time we sail with Viking, because I also have an issue with paying them a year in advance.  We will see what happens.  

[Lexus550]

56 minutes ago, hersheyhughes said:

I am curious how you manage that.

It's all has to do with who you get on the phone.  If you don't like the answer they give you, just call right back.  

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, duquephart said:

They get away with it. That's why.

 

Sorta like the dog on the porch.

 

 

[Azulann]

3 hours ago, MomC said:

I have booked—-and cancelled—two Viking cruises.  Why?  Because they ask for final payment months before every other line.  I need your help.  Viking has a very loyal fan base so I want to know WHY Viking has this policy, and HOW do you justify paying it?    I am not being critical, but I have always found CC subscribers to be savvy business people.  Thus, giving money to the cruise line months earlier than other cruise companies mystifies me.  I like what I see in Viking’s ships and itineraries, but I need your help with this policy that keeps me from booking—and sailing—Viking.

 

Thanks for your help.

It is their business model since they started Viking Ocean.

I always thought it was to stop the folks who  put deposit down for a number of cruises when they first come out a s a place holder , and then cancel before final payment. That is what happened in the old days on other US cruise lines ...

 Viking is not a US cruise line. 

My first TA on Viking Ocean  I paid  a year and half in advance.

Since , I  have only booked a cruise when on a cruise and get 6 months  before cruise for final payment.

Or if you have a  cruise already booked you can request a 6 month  final payment  on a new cruise you are adding.

 Otherwise I booked a few  Welcome Back cruises  during the Pandemic and paid in full at time of booking.

 Currently, they have $50.00  deposit promotion on all  sailings.

 If It found the right  itinerary I would have no problem booking it and paying far in advance.

 I always pay  with e- check  and get a 3.3% off the price too. 

 I can live with their business model. I love cruising on Viking Ocean ships. 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Azulann

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, MomC said:

I have booked—-and cancelled—two Viking cruises.  Why?  Because they ask for final payment months before every other line.  I need your help.  Viking has a very loyal fan base so I want to know WHY Viking has this policy, and HOW do you justify paying it?    I am not being critical, but I have always found CC subscribers to be savvy business people.  Thus, giving money to the cruise line months earlier than other cruise companies mystifies me.  I like what I see in Viking’s ships and itineraries, but I need your help with this policy that keeps me from booking—and sailing—Viking.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

The early payment dates are only applicable to the US market and since we Canadians must use the L/A Office, by default we are also subject to early payment.

 

Markets in UK and Australia/NZ do not have these early payments.

 

During our last attempt at booking a Viking cruise, they wanted full payment 18 months in advance, with our TA phoning repeatedly for a number of days, getting the same message from every agent. While not the root cause of the cessation of our relationship with Viking, it was a contributing factor.

 

While discussing issues with a Manager, I advised that hell will freeze over before I give you money 18 months before providing us a service. When interest rates were negligible, it was the principle, but now rates have rebounded, I prefer to give my money to my financial advisor, than pay early for a future service.

[MomC]

Thank you for your responses.  I respect everyone’s point of view.  Guess I will just try to book inside six months.  May not have the cabin selection as I would a year out, but I too prefer to have my money invested for the 6-12 months rather than have Viking investing it—or whatever.

[kctwinmommy]

Not sure why, but it didn't bother us any. We booked our first one this past January, with a final payment due at the end of June, which is still 9-10 months in advance. Honestly, I like having it all paid off now, not having to worry about anything. And we know there's still an ability to cancel, but we have no intention of doing that. Now, when we do go, our expenses will be mostly limited to any little extra things we do or things we end up buying (which we don't have plans of really dong that much buying).

[lackcreativity]

My explanation for why we have done so mirrors some opinions already expressed. We paid maybe 18 months in advance for our first ocean cruise, and we were so new that we didn't know that was not standard. After that, we have pretty much always used the one cruise already booked policy to get six months final pay for the next one. 

 

In the early days, as mentioned, interest rates were practically negligible, so it didn't matter anyway. In addition, we are budget luxury travelers, so the standard cabins for our typical 10 to 15 day cruises do not seem like such a hit to our financial worth. Since we do like those least expensive cabins, we saw that if we waited to book, those cabins would already be sold. 

 

Our self imposed rule that we only have one cruise and a spare booked at a time has sometimes caused us to miss out, as with the new Malta, Morocco and the Mediterranean itinerary that  excited me. That is now completely sold out through 2025. That is another reason why some Viking cruisers are willing to pay on Viking's terms.

[Azulann]

18 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Markets in UK and Australia/NZ do not have these early payments.

You re correct. UK and Australia always have different rule for cruising .  

I was only speaking as someone from the US. 

[pavementends]

When I booked my first Viking cruise I asked for a couple of months delay in the final payment and that was granted.

 

I don't have a problem with advance payment. The cruise was completely sold out a few months later so trying to book later would not have been an option.

 

[calvin81]

I've just booked my first Viking cruise for Oct. 2024. My final payment is due in a couple weeks! Over 14 months out seems absurd, and I'm wondering how to try to delay this? Ask my TA to request a delay? I'm certainly not going to book another cruise; I don't even know if I'll like Viking. I chose this cruise based on itinerary and time of year. Any advice on how to delay? 

[RD64]

As mentioned previously, it prevents the looking loos from booking cruises they have no intention of taking, tieing up inventory.

 

Case in point -  Holland America just had a $1 deposit sale - and coincidentally they announced that they broke all booking records. Smoke and mirrors as nobody can predict how many of those $1 deposits will turn into fully paid for cruises two years from now. One poster said that he booked 15 cruises but will probably cancel 25% of them. Even if the deposits are non-refundable, the $3-$4 that he will lose should not be a major loss.

Edited July 16, 2023 by RD64
Spelling

[May B]

52 minutes ago, calvin81 said:

I've just booked my first Viking cruise for Oct. 2024. My final payment is due in a couple weeks! Over 14 months out seems absurd, and I'm wondering how to try to delay this? Ask my TA to request a delay? I'm certainly not going to book another cruise; I don't even know if I'll like Viking. I chose this cruise based on itinerary and time of year. Any advice on how to delay? 

Yes, definitely ask your TA to request a delay. Then, watch availability. Viking very politely indicates which categories are running out of inventory. Cancel the reservation (if you haven’t paid the deposit) to buy yourself some time.

 

Also, b/c they change promos pretty much ALWAYS on the first of a calendar month, I had success booking on the 30th, then waiting to deposit until I saw the new promos on the 1st of the following month. Then I could pay the deposit for what I booked on the 30th, or cancel that one, watch availability all month, then book again on the 30th of the next month. Promos are fluid. Air may go up while Silver Spirits offer or OBC may be an added perk. Then decide if you want to make the deposit on the already-booked one. You might buy yourself a few months that way.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, MomC said:

Thank you for your responses.  I respect everyone’s point of view.  Guess I will just try to book inside six months.  May not have the cabin selection as I would a year out, but I too prefer to have my money invested for the 6-12 months rather than have Viking investing it—or whatever.

 

To return to your original questions, here is one person's opinion.

 

Viking does this because it is so clearly advantageous to them to have the free loans AND because there is no evidence to date that the policy is keeping them from filling their ships. They are simply charging what the market will bear. If that changes in future, they'll have to adapt.

 

Justifying having one's capital tied up is a personal value decision. Those who accept Viking's payment terms (including me, at times) have decided that the Viking experience is worth the opportunity cost of the early payment. I have no doubt that this equation changes frequently, even for the same person - a function of timing, itinerary, financial status, etc.

 

One other item I keep in mind - anyone who has booked an airline ticket as early as it is available has experienced a similar approach - payment in full on booking. Because there are no competing models, we tend not to question that policy. If the airlines offered bookings 18 months in advance, I'm certain that you'd have to pay the full shot then as well.

 

Only you can weigh the value of having your money tied up for longer versus the certainly of capturing an attractive itinerary, cabin or similar availability on another line - enjoy the analysis! 🍺🥌

[Murt22]

If I am spending this much for a cruise, I want the dates and the cabin that I want. Some cruises book up very early. When we booked our first cruise, a river cruise, I balked at paying right away and said so - so they delayed the payment (but it was still a year from the sail). When we booked our upcoming Alaska cruise, I wanted the date and cabin so we booked it 2 years ago. Again, they wanted me to pay right away - but I asked to move it and they moved it to a year again. We have booked a European cruise for next year and just paid for it. All of these cruises sold out before the 6 month time slot - but i might try that trick next time. We did remove the Viking Air and our pre-tour from our European trip because we are going to plan our own thanks to the comments on this board. 

[stephenandrew]

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The early payment dates are only applicable to the US market and since we Canadians must use the L/A Office, by default we are also subject to early payment.

 

Markets in UK and Australia/NZ do not have these early payments.

 

During our last attempt at booking a Viking cruise, they wanted full payment 18 months in advance, with our TA phoning repeatedly for a number of days, getting the same message from every agent. While not the root cause of the cessation of our relationship with Viking, it was a contributing factor.

 

While discussing issues with a Manager, I advised that hell will freeze over before I give you money 18 months before providing us a service. When interest rates were negligible, it was the principle, but now rates have rebounded, I prefer to give my money to my financial advisor, than pay early for a future service.

If your total cruise fare totaled $50,000, paying 18 months in advance effectively means paying about $3100 more at today’s risk free interest rates.  Seems to me by saying you don’t want to pay, you are balking at paying $53,000 for a cruise that you would willingly pay $50,000 for, which is of course a perfectly reasonable perspective.  I just sort of add the lost interest to the base price of the cruise and decide how to proceed on a cost basis.

[Heidi13]

27 minutes ago, stephenandrew said:

If your total cruise fare totaled $50,000, paying 18 months in advance effectively means paying about $3100 more at today’s risk free interest rates.  Seems to me by saying you don’t want to pay, you are balking at paying $53,000 for a cruise that you would willingly pay $50,000 for, which is of course a perfectly reasonable perspective.  I just sort of add the lost interest to the base price of the cruise and decide how to proceed on a cost basis.

 

Based on my heritage, I have a completely different perspective.

 

I consider the cruise fare a separate entity, with the loss of investment income, due to early payment, being a loss of potential income. My heritage dictates you don't pay anyone early.

 

With current GIC rates, a 50K investment over 18 mo, I expect to earn over $4K in interest.

[stephenandrew]

11 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Based on my heritage, I have a completely different perspective.

 

I consider the cruise fare a separate entity, with the loss of investment income, due to early payment, being a loss of potential income. My heritage dictates you don't pay anyone early.

 

With current GIC rates, a 50K investment over 18 mo, I expect to earn over $4K in interest.

Always interesting to see different perspectives on financial matters.  I’m sorry Viking’s early payment policy seems to be an impediment to your continued travels on their ships.  Fortunately there are many other options.

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, RD64 said:

As mentioned previously, it prevents the looking loos from booking cruises they have no intention of taking, tieing up inventory.

 

Case in point -  Holland America just had a $1 deposit sale - and coincidentally they announced that they broke all booking records. Smoke and mirrors as nobody can predict how many of those $1 deposits will turn into fully paid for cruises two years from now. One poster said that he booked 15 cruises but will probably cancel 25% of them. Even if the deposits are non-refundable, the $3-$4 that he will lose should not be a major loss.

 

But does it?  If you have the cash to pay as much as 12-18 months in advance, then you can book, pay, but there are no penalties - other than the $100 pp cancellation - up to 121 days in advance.  If you cancel more than 120 days in advance they have to refund everything.

However, probably more people that are paying that amount in advance are more serious about travelling.

Our challenge is that we have friends that want to travel with us on Viking but they cannot fathom the 12+ months in advance payment, and it scares them off.  We have several couples that if they could have 6 month terms on payment they would book, but because it is so far out they walk away.  At least Viking could consider a referral to have the same booking payment terms as the referee?

We have booked for 2025 already but because we have multiple bookings, we get 6 months payment terms.

[CDNPolar]

7 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

To return to your original questions, here is one person's opinion.

 

Viking does this because it is so clearly advantageous to them to have the free loans AND because there is no evidence to date that the policy is keeping them from filling their ships. They are simply charging what the market will bear. If that changes in future, they'll have to adapt.

 

Justifying having one's capital tied up is a personal value decision. Those who accept Viking's payment terms (including me, at times) have decided that the Viking experience is worth the opportunity cost of the early payment. I have no doubt that this equation changes frequently, even for the same person - a function of timing, itinerary, financial status, etc.

 

One other item I keep in mind - anyone who has booked an airline ticket as early as it is available has experienced a similar approach - payment in full on booking. Because there are no competing models, we tend not to question that policy. If the airlines offered bookings 18 months in advance, I'm certain that you'd have to pay the full shot then as well.

 

Only you can weigh the value of having your money tied up for longer versus the certainly of capturing an attractive itinerary, cabin or similar availability on another line - enjoy the analysis! 🍺🥌

 

This is a very good point about airlines... we tend to book our air on our own, or probably a 60/40 split.  We will take Viking's air when it is free, or reduced, or a deal over booking ourselves.

Because we tend to fly Premium or Business, we are paying more and we also tend to book air at least 270 days out.  Most flight schedules are out 310 days in advance and we wait for them to settle then book.  We often can have 10K or more in airfare paid as much as 9 months in advance.

[May B]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

But does it?  If you have the cash to pay as much as 12-18 months in advance, then you can book, pay, but there are no penalties - other than the $100 pp cancellation - up to 121 days in advance.  If you cancel more than 120 days in advance they have to refund everything.

However, probably more people that are paying that amount in advance are more serious about travelling.

Our challenge is that we have friends that want to travel with us on Viking but they cannot fathom the 12+ months in advance payment, and it scares them off.  We have several couples that if they could have 6 month terms on payment they would book, but because it is so far out they walk away.  At least Viking could consider a referral to have the same booking payment terms as the referee?

We have booked for 2025 already but because we have multiple bookings, we get 6 months payment terms.

Hopefully your buddies will be able to join you, when it’s six months from one of your cruises.