Viking Air out of MCO (TATL)

[SusanDK]

We're considering a Viking cruise in the Mediterranean this autumn (Sep-Oct) and find the idea of using Viking to book the airfare somewhat appealing since they would handle diversions, transfers, etc.

 

Does anyone know what airlines Viking tends to use out of MCO (Orlando) to fly to/from Barcelona, Rome and/or Venice? If Premium Economy or Business class is preferred, are we better off booking flights ourselves or will Viking Air have reasonable options?

 

I've done a search in this forum on 'airfare' and read mixed reviews about whether or not to use Viking Air, but would love to hear any and all advice for TATL flights when departure is from Florida. Home airport is MCO but we could easily get to FLL or MIA via train or car if it means a preferable flight itinerary.

[FlyerTalker]

Let's cut to the chase.

 

You will get whatever Viking currently has in inventory from its current airline contracts.

 

It doesn't matter if someone else gets a different routing, different carriers or whatever.  Past results have NO bearing on what will be available to you.

 

Also, Viking doesn't handle "diversions" - that's a responsibility of the operating carrier.  Putting in a cruiseline just adds an extra layer of bureaucracy into the process.  Finally, in many cases, transfers are vastly overrated.

 

YMMV

 

 

[CCWineLover]

1 minute ago, FlyerTalker said:

Let's cut to the chase.

 

You will get whatever Viking currently has in inventory from its current airline contracts.

 

It doesn't matter if someone else gets a different routing, different carriers or whatever.  Past results have NO bearing on what will be available to you.

 

Also, Viking doesn't handle "diversions" - that's a responsibility of the operating carrier.  Putting in a cruiseline just adds an extra layer of bureaucracy into the process.  Finally, in many cases, transfers are vastly overrated.

 

YMMV

 

 

Well stated and very clear.  Agree completely.

It is unfortunately that many find out the hard way.

[BoilerUp78]

We are cruising Barcelona to Venice in May 2024.  Our flights arranged by Viking Air have us flying on American Airlines from MCO to Miami, 4 hour layover, then Miami to Barcelona overnight arriving in Barcelona around 7:30 am local time.  Hope that helps.

[SusanDK]

Thanks all for the very direct responses. 😀

 

When I referred to "diversions" I was thinking more about missed connections, i.e. that Viking would be responsible for getting us to the ship if something went wrong with the flights they booked on our behalf.

 

 

[Peregrina651]

 

IMHO, use Viking only if you will be paying less for the flight than you can get elsewhere. (Or if you have a specific rationale for doing so).  Include Viking Air when you book to lock in the airfare. If you add Air after the fact you pay brochure rate.  The Air can be removed from you booking but there is a deadline to do so.

 

Sometimes Viking is the cheaper and sometimes booking your own is the winner -- and you don't know which it will be until the airlines open booking for your travel dates, about 10 months in advance, and you have researched prices for your travel dates. 

 

Even if you book your Air with Viking, transfers are only available if you land at the airport on Day 1 of your itinerary and depart the airport on Day Last. If you want to arrive a few days early or stay on after the cruise, no transfer even with Viking Air.

 

If you buy your own flights, you may buy transfers from Viking, with the same caveat as above -- and you can buy just for arrival or just for departure.

 

Personally, flying into Barcelona is a breeze.  Walk out of the terminal and head straight to the taxi rank.  Fare from the airport to downtown hotel or the port is a flat fare plus baggage fee.  Latest details are easy to find online.  Last time I did it in 2019, it was 40 euros for the cab ride.  Airport transfers are per person. If I were dealing with Venice at this point my feeling is, what a mess, let Viking handle it, and I would fly home on Day Last of the trip, regardless of how I booked the flights.

 

BTW, if you book air with Viking, take their minimum connection times for with a grain of salt and then add at least another hour to the number, two if anyone in your party uses a walking aid. Then don't accept a connection any shorter than that number.  Flying through Paris, add 3.

 

For me, the advice is:  listen to all the advice and information that is coming at you and then decide what is right for YOU.

[Avery's Gram]

We were on the Viking Venus in January/February 23 when bad weather kept us docked in Tromso for 2 extra days, and our return to Tilbury was delayed first by one day, then by 2 days.  Viking Air automatically rebooked us for the first delay, then rebooked us again when an additional day was needed to make our travel safe. 
 

we were very grateful not to be rearranging flights ourselves, as many people were dealing with this issue.  The computers on board were busy and people were very frustrating.  We spent the extra 2 days on board relaxing and enjoying all the best things Viking provides….great enrichment, relaxing places to read, delicious food rather than dealing with airlines.

 

so that’s my reason for booking Viking Air….that was our first Viking Ocean cruise, and we were delighted.

 

[janetcbl]

My only advice is to arrive at least a day early,  planning your own flights or Viking Air (with Deviation and Air Plus). Do the math to figure out the best plan for you.

[SDHusker]

16 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

BTW, if you book air with Viking, take their minimum connection times for with a grain of salt and then add at least another hour to the number, two if anyone in your party uses a walking aid. Then don't accept a connection any shorter than that number.  Flying through Paris, add 3.

 

DW and I recently did CDG  gate to gate, DL-AF in less than 30 minutes.. YMMV

 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, SusanDK said:

I am, however, not an experienced cruiser. I had the impression that should we miss the ship's departure due to a delayed flight on a flight booked for us by Viking Air, that Viking would be responsible for getting us to the ship (which could mean at the next port), whether this is by air or ground transportation. That was what I meant when I wrote, "Viking would be responsible for getting us to the ship if something went wrong with the flights they booked on our behalf."

 

Susan, darned good question -- and honestly more input is needed from folks who have actually experienced such a delay with Viking. Exactly what did Viking do for them in the circumstances. Hopefully, more will join the conversation and share their experiences. This is not a topic that has come up very often in this forum.

 

Now that you have explained your question, it is a bit easier to answer -- or, at least, to talk about the issues to be faced when your arrival is delayed.

 

Still, the advice you will hear most often is to avoid the situation by arriving early -- either by adding a Viking pre-cruise extension to your itinerary or by making your own plans including getting to the ship on your own.  But it still doesn't answer the question.

 

Arriving early is not always an option, and clearly some help and guidance in setting expectations would be appreciated.

 

 

45 minutes ago, SDHusker said:

DW and I recently did CDG  gate to gate, DL-AF in less than 30 minutes.. YMMV

.

You lucked out. Our mileage did vary, horribly. In 2019, it took us close to two hours to connect to our flight to Marseilles. Our bottleneck was one person manning a passport checkpoint that was being feed by 3 or 4 different lines. People kept  pushing through saying they had a flight in half an hour. It was a nightmare. Even without the bottleneck, we would not have made it in half an hour because it took us more than half an hour to get to the lines feeding the bottleneck.  Fortunately, we had a long connection time and did not face the same panic as many in the line -- the ones who kept checking the time every minutes or so.

 

 

[SusanDK]

Thank you, Peregrina651, for your thoughtful and helpful responses, and to all others who shared their experiences and advice.

 

It's been very useful because my husband's first thought was that it should be a 'no brainer' to use the cruise line to book air, so they would be responsible for getting us to the right place at the right time. But I understand now it isn't so simple and may not be the preferred choice.

 

Since I'm accustomed to booking overseas flights and, in fact, have a flight booked for May to Europe (returning July) on business class for $2700 round trip all-in, which is a bit more than half what Viking is citing for business class air, I'm guessing we can do better on our own. We just weren't initially thinking of adding more days to the trip since we will have just been in Europe for six weeks. Food for thought.

 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, SusanDK said:

have a flight booked for May to Europe (returning July) on business class for $2700 round trip all-in

 

Actually, depending on where you are starting your journey and where you are headed, using Viking Air for business class can be cheaper. Here's a case in point:

 

We have a cruise in May, London to Bergen. One woman on our roll call, flying from New Mexico, and I, flying from Boston, both booked our flights around the same time (July, 2023). We both booked business class.  She saved 25% booking Viking Air, because her flight plan is so complicated while I saved 40% booking my own flights because I'm closer to London and my flight plan is simple, nonstop going and one connection returning. For both of us the savings was quadruple digits.

 

As far as I am concerned, you have to do the math for each trip no matter where you are headed and at the time you are making the purchase  -- and forget about trying to time the purchase to get the best price,  that takes more information and more practice than most casual flyers have.

 

I know a lot of people are "only book your own," but that doesn't work for me. While there are times I will book the entire trip through Viking, there are times I'm just looking for the cheapest flight no matter how I get.

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

Susan, darned good question -- and honestly more input is needed from folks who have actually experienced such a delay with Viking. Exactly what did Viking do for them in the circumstances. Hopefully, more will join the conversation and share their experiences. This is not a topic that has come up very often in this forum.

 

Fortunately, I have not had to experience this myself, as we book our own air and always plan arrival at our embarkation port early. However, I have some direct experience with pax who have been in the situation, on several cruise lines.

 

The overall answer is that if you book air with the cruise line, most lines will TRY to help you reach the ship in time, or will assist you in catching up if that's not possible. The problem is that the cruise line may or may not be able to help. In the cases I've seen directly, pax catch up with their ship, but the timing, routings and accommodations may be very painful.

 

One recent example happened on the Dec.12th Hawaiian Sojourn (Star). Several pax were flying in same day on Viking Air. A Delta flight had a sick pilot and was delayed to the point that they could not reach the ship (in LA) in time. According to posts on the Roll Call, Viking and Delta were helpful, but the only thing that could be done was to fly to Hilo and join the cruise there - unfortunately a loss of about 1/3 of the trip. The affected pax were satisfied with Viking's actions and had insurance that would assist with the missed days - still no fun.

 

There are folks who felt they were wonderfully treated by the cruise line when problems happen - as well as others who felt totally abandoned.

 

@SusanDK, as you are experienced with airline bookings, I suspect you would almost always be ahead of the game to do it yourself - and you are certainly in a better position than the cruise lines to do crisis management directly with the airlines if something hits the fan. (And one more exhortation - NEVER plan arrival on embarkation day. If using the cruise line, always use their process to adjust your arrival).

 

Happy sailing! 🍺🥌

[Peregrina651]

54 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

(And one more exhortation - NEVER plan arrival on embarkation day. If using the cruise line, always use their process to adjust your arrival).

 

In other words, you can still book through Viking and arrive a day or two early. Not arriving on Day 1 and/or not flying out on Day Last is called a "deviation." 

 

It is a handy tool but it has its quirks. First there is a fee to deviate; ask Viking what it is for your chosen itinerary. Second, there are no Viking transfers available on deviations; Viking is only at the airport on Day 1 and Day Last of your itinerary. 

 

Also note that adding a pre- or post-cruise extension is not a deviation. First Day of the pre-cruise becomes your Day 1 and the last day of a post-cruise becomes your Day Last. Transfers are included. If you want to arrive ahead of Day 1 of your extension, it is a deviation and there are no transfers.

 

[CCWineLover]

Seems to me the real solution is just to do your own flights, and arrive day/several ahead of time.  Then you have at least "some" control and lower the risk of having the Hilo situation repeat.

 

Yes there is a price for this but was it worth it to miss 1/3 of the cruise?  even if they were compensated?

 

We always do our own air flights and are fortunate that we want to come early and see sights and can afford to do so.  Realizing that some cannot.  Sadly they wind up paying the extra price.

[dd57]

I would at least look at the pre cruise extensions to see if any appeal to you.  Some like the ones that travel further into an area like in Alaska and Tuscany get rave reviews and include experiences you might like.  You don't have to use Viking Air with the extensions and you still are met at the airport and get a transfer.