Viking Air Services from Australia - is it worth it?

[Hopeful Viking 2024]

I’m planning a Viking cruise next year and am wondering about included airfares (to Europe). What experiences have people had? Would you recommend? Any concerns? 

[CDNPolar]

10 hours ago, Hopeful Viking 2024 said:

I’m planning a Viking cruise next year and am wondering about included airfares (to Europe). What experiences have people had? Would you recommend? Any concerns? 

Would you provide more information?

 

Do you mean FREE AIR as part of the Viking Cruise price?

 

Or, are you talking about an airfare with a price attached to it above and beyond the cruise fare?

 

Free air is a deal that you don't want to pass up, and if you want to upgrade to premium or business, generally that is available, but best to pay for Air Plus and do that.  Why would you do your own air when air is included.

 

If you are talking about air that has a price above the cruise fare, then it could be a good deal or you may be able to get a better price booking the air on your own.

 

We have done and still do both - we book air through Viking and we book on our own.  It all depends on if we can get the air we want through Viking.  Even if we are paying Viking for the air, we use Air Plus and go to the Air Plus agent with the airline, and schedule of flights we want.

 

If you book on your own, then you potentially have the responsibility to book your own transfers to and from the ship (or pay Viking to be included in their transfers) and you have to deal with cancelations and changes to your air on your own.

[Hopeful Viking 2024]

Thank you for commenting. I meant flights organised by Viking as an add on to a cruise; I doubt we ever get free flight offers from Australia to Europe. I was asking about the practicalities, the carriers Viking uses, the connections, the value, etc. 

[Peregrina651]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I can't tell you anything about using Viking Air in Australia. Little details differ from market to market, so you really need to hear from someone who has actually dealt with the Australian office. What I can talk about is strategy.

 

When you book your Viking cruise, ask if the air portion can be cancelled should you decide to book your own air ( you will have decided long before the pay in full date).  Be sure to ask when the last day to drop the air portion is. Book your air around 275 days prior to departure. If you still haven't booked the cruise at this point, start what watching the air fare prices and Viking promo prices. That way you have a better handle on who has the cheaper rates for your flight plan. Sometimes Viking wins and sometimes booking on your own wins -- and there is no way  of knowing until you do the math.

 

Since the air portion can be cancelled in the US, I always include air in the booking

 

If you end up booking after the pay in full date (121 days out), do your homework before you book and know just how much air will cost you if you book on your own. You will probably have to make the Viking vs 'on your own' decision at booking.

 

If you book your own airfare, transfers can be purchased from Viking only if you are landing at the airport on Day 1 of the cruise and/or departing from the airport on Day Last of the itinerary. You can buy transfers only for arrival or only for departure.

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by Peregrina651

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, Hopeful Viking 2024 said:

Thank you for commenting. I meant flights organised by Viking as an add on to a cruise; I doubt we ever get free flight offers from Australia to Europe. I was asking about the practicalities, the carriers Viking uses, the connections, the value, etc. 

 

We have had the best luck using Air Plus.  This is an extra fee.  If you don't use Air Plus then you just get allocated flights and seats on whatever airline and whatever connection.

 

We add Air Plus and then we research the flights, schedules, routes, aircraft, seats, etc., and then we call Air Plus about 270 days out and give them our first choice but we have a second and third option ready.

 

I cannot comment about who Viking has contract with originating in Australia, but if you have your choices mapped out then Viking will tell you if they are under contract or not.

 

 

[midwife]

We were recently on Saturn and asked the future cruise agent about air. We also are from Australia. He said that the US passengers air is booked through agents in the Philippines while the Australian passengers flights are booked through Australian office. Hence the rules around booking differ as our regulations in Australia are different from the US. 
I know I have seen other Australians who have asked a similar question. Try searching for Viking Air from Australia and see if that helps. 

[Kiwi Dreamer]

We have travelled on Viking and have had experience with all three options.

 

We had one cruise where we had free air.  Viking selected our flights for us and we had 24hrs to let them know if they were of.

 

We had another cruise where we had flights at a discounted price.  As we were using an agent at this time we were able to have the flight fare transferred to our agent who arranged our flights to suit us and if there was any further amount to pay we did so.

 

And we have cruised without either of the above but asked our agent to organise for us as flying from NZ to far flung places of the world can be challenging to get things exactly right.

 

Hope this helps