Included air, but will a deviation fee guarantee us non-stop?

[dcsam]

I just booked a cruise for November.  It's out of Fort Lauderdale.  We don't fly much any longer, but when we do, it's non-stop.  My husband has balance/walking issues, so non-stop is darn important. Viking is including the air.  And I'd love to take advantage of it, but will paying a deviation fee guarantee us a non-stop flight? Thank you!

[OneSixtyToOne]

44 minutes ago, dcsam said:

I just booked a cruise for November.  It's out of Fort Lauderdale.  We don't fly much any longer, but when we do, it's non-stop.  My husband has balance/walking issues, so non-stop is darn important. Viking is including the air.  And I'd love to take advantage of it, but will paying a deviation fee guarantee us a non-stop flight? Thank you!

Not necessarily. Viking Air doesn’t work for everyone. They have contracts with some air carriers so their inventory of available seats is not the same as you can find doing a search online. Paying the extra fees doesn’t necessarily mean you will get exactly what you want. If your requirements are that specific you should first see what the cost will be if you booked it yourself. Free Air can sometimes be expensive.

 

We use Viking Air all the time but I live relatively close to 2 major airports and can usually find flights that are acceptable. 
 

If you do use Viking Air, never purchase Air Plus until you see what Viking has booked. Without it I’ve been able to change my carrier and my airport without the additional costs. If it doesn’t work out, then it is the time to inquire about Air Plus and deviation fees.

 

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

If you do use Viking Air, never purchase Air Plus until you see what Viking has booked. Without it I’ve been able to change my carrier and my airport without the additional costs. If it doesn’t work out, then it is the time to inquire about Air Plus and deviation fees.

 

 

As usual, I'm the dissenting voice. 

 

If you want something specific from Viking Air, then I suggest paying the Air Plus fee and booking your flights as early as possible so that you have the most choices and the greatest possibility of getting exactly what you want. Among other things, it saves the months of stress waiting to find out what flights you have been assigned and then the stress of trying to find a viable alternative if the first flights are unacceptable. It is okay to pay a fee for peace of mind.

 

I also suggest that you do your homework before you talk with Air Plus. Is non-stop to your destination even possible from your home airport? If not, what is your Plan B?

 

As for a deviation, yes always when you are leaving home. Enough flights are delayed or cancelled these days that we should all plan to arrive early. Heading home deviate only if you want to hang around to see more at that port.

 

Also, do not think of your airfare as "included" just because it is free because Viking does not think of it that way. Viking prices its cruise fares and its airfares separately; they are separate line items on your invoice. If you cancel the air portion of your booking, you get back what you were charged. If the airfare portion of your flights is $999, Viking takes $999 off your invoice. If you were charged $0 for your flights, they take $0 off your invoice.

 

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

If you want something specific from Viking Air, then I suggest paying the Air Plus fee and booking your flights as early as possible so that you have the most choices and the greatest possibility of getting exactly what you want. Among other things, it saves the months of stress waiting to find out what flights you have been assigned and then the stress of trying to find a viable alternative if the first flights are unacceptable. It is okay to pay a fee for peace of mind.

Fair point. I guess I should not have used “never.” I was attempting (rather poorly it turns out) to emphasize you may be throwing money away because, in recent years, MVJ has been revamped to allow you make your own modifications to flights without having to purchase Air Plus. If however you have very specific needs then only you can decide if it’s worth the extra cost.

Deviation is another matter. If you plan to arrive before your departure day and do not have pre-extension booked then the deviation fee is required for using Viking Air. It however doesn’t guarantee you’ll get exactly what flight you want. There also have been postings about people insisting on a particular flight or airline and additional costs over and above the fee were incurred because Viking had to acquire tickets on the open market.

 

As the saying goes “ the cheap is sometimes expensive.”

[Peregrina651]

AirPlus is the fee we pay to get to get to talk with the Viking Air agents before our flights have been assigned, so that we can be part of the choosing process. I don't know what the fee is and Air Plus is not available for all itineraries.  Also referred to as Custom Air.

 

Deviation is when you arrive before Day 1 of the itinerary and/or fly out after Day Last of the itinerary. There is a fee for this and their may be additional fare imposed by the airlines,

 

One last Air fee is a layover fee. That is when you put a more than 24 hour gap into a flight plan.  For instance, if you want to stop in Paris for a few days on your way Athens or Istanbul to board a ship. 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

Beg to differ.  In my experience, if the cruise is being offered with "Free Air", you do not get a reduction in price if you don't take the air provided by Viking.  Seems the OP is getting a "Free Air" promotion.

 

If this has changed, please let me know.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

Beg to differ.  In my experience, if the cruise is being offered with "Free Air", you do not get a reduction in price if you don't take the air provided by Viking.  Seems the OP is getting a "Free Air" promotion.

 

If this has changed, please let me know.

 

It has not changed. Sorry if my explanation was not clear. Air fare and cruise fare are still separate line items on the invoice and free still means free over and above the stated cruise fare.

 

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

Beg to differ.  In my experience, if the cruise is being offered with "Free Air", you do not get a reduction in price if you don't take the air provided by Viking.  Seems the OP is getting a "Free Air" promotion.

 

If this has changed, please let me know.

 

2 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

It has not changed. Sorry if my explanation was not clear. Air fare and cruise fare are still separate line items on the invoice and free still means free over and above the stated cruise fare.

 

 

Indeed, nothing has changed. However, Viking regularly markets combinations of free or reduced air, complimentary SSBP, level cabin pricing (DV at V price), double previous guest discounts, OBCs, etc. One combo might attract a different customer base than another, so their promotions change over time for a sailing in an attempt to sail at maximum capacity.
 

I’ve tracked the promotions of the cruises I’ve booked and when you work out the net price of different promotions, the result is usually similar. Yes, air is always a separate line item, but you might find a promo where air is not free and SSBP is thrown in, etc. When you cost it out, the net price may be similar, my point being the accountants are charging marketing discounts to different line items.

 

Viking will never eliminate the air fare line item because without it people would ask for a “no air” discount.

[FlyerTalker]

So...the OP wants the free air.  Thus, they will only get what Viking is offering for that promotion.

 

Much of this discussion seems to involve when you are buying your air through Viking, which is a completely different situation.

 

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

32 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

So...the OP wants the free air.  Thus, they will only get what Viking is offering for that promotion.

 

Much of this discussion seems to involve when you are buying your air through Viking, which is a completely different situation.

 

 

Actually the OP wants a non-stop flight on a cruise that offers “free air” and they want to know if they can be guaranteed a non-stop if they pay additional fees to Viking (air plus / deviation), hence the thread drift.

 

Edited April 29 by OneSixtyToOne

[Flgreg]

Really not too many real guarantees. We've used custom air on both Viking and Regent. Got the exact flights we wanted. Both times on morning of departure our flight itineraries blew up, giving us an extra connection, tight connections, etc.

[Mike07]

When you're booking Viking Air, especially free air, I always suspect that Viking sticks you with the cheapest contracted flights that they can get you. Unfortunately, that doesn't always guarantee non-stop flights.

 

We may need to get a stickied thread going on "Viking Air", because many people don't understand it or have champagne tastes on beer budgets.

[Mike07]

19 hours ago, dcsam said:

I just booked a cruise for November.  It's out of Fort Lauderdale.  We don't fly much any longer, but when we do, it's non-stop.  My husband has balance/walking issues, so non-stop is darn important. Viking is including the air.  And I'd love to take advantage of it, but will paying a deviation fee guarantee us a non-stop flight? Thank you!

 

 

You may have to pay the difference between the provided discounted or free Viking Air flight and the non-stop flight. The non-stop flight could be the cheapest, but that is less likely as its everybodies preference to have a non-stop flight.

 

[Deb922]

I think if you want non stop flights, then book your own flights. 
 

I wouldn’t take chances if you are set on what you want and don’t want to compromise. 
 

What cruise route are you looking at? Are there non stop flights there from your city? Many cities in Europe for instance, won’t have non stop flights to your home destination no matter what you want. So some research is key. 

[Mike07]

7 minutes ago, Deb922 said:

I think if you want non stop flights, then book your own flights. 
 

I wouldn’t take chances if you are set on what you want and don’t want to compromise. 
 

What cruise route are you looking at? Are there non stop flights there from your city? Many cities in Europe for instance, won’t have non stop flights to your home destination no matter what you want. So some research is key. 

 

 

A few people here claim to have gotten their first choice, non-stop flight from their home airport to their destination from Viking Air... I'm unsure if they used Air Plus or had to pay extra for said non-stop flight.

 

But, my personal opinion is that Viking Air opts for the cheapest contracted flights they can find for their guests without unreasonable layover times... my max layover has been about 5 hours, so 3 fewer hours than 8 hours and 7 fewer hours than 12 hours.

 

[CDNPolar]

9 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

A few people here claim to have gotten their first choice, non-stop flight from their home airport to their destination from Viking Air... I'm unsure if they used Air Plus or had to pay extra for said non-stop flight.

 

But, my personal opinion is that Viking Air opts for the cheapest contracted flights they can find for their guests without unreasonable layover times... my max layover has been about 5 hours, so 3 fewer hours than 8 hours and 7 fewer hours than 12 hours.

 

 

We use Viking Air Plus often.  Free flights and flights with a cost associated.  Very often we have had non-stop flights to our destination.

 

I think that non-stop depends on where you are flying from and to.  We know that non-stops are typically more expensive than connections, and hence why Viking is more likely to put you on a connection.  This is likely two fold as well.... one, they don't want to advertise the non-stop price because it will increase the overall price of the cruise, and two, non-stops are not available for all.

 

We fly out of Toronto YYZ and most all of our Europe destinations are non-stop for us.  One shot and we are there.  Most of our embarkation ports have been a non-stop for us.  There is no connection airport for us out of Toronto if we are flying to London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, etc., etc.

 

Oh, and never had to pay extra for the non-stop.  We don't have connection options out of Toronto...

Edited April 30 by CDNPolar

[CannyScotTor]

Interesting, we just booked flights for our September cruise. Viking proposed Toronto to Vienna on KLM via Amsterdam with a five hour layover. We preferred Air Canada nonstop, which cost us $600 pp extra.

[FlyerTalker]

5 hours ago, CannyScotTor said:

Interesting, we just booked flights for our September cruise. Viking proposed Toronto to Vienna on KLM via Amsterdam with a five hour layover. We preferred Air Canada nonstop, which cost us $600 pp extra.

 

And just what is "interesting"?  That a contracted ticket is being offered at a lower price than what is likely to be a spot-market ticket?  What were you expecting - and more importantly, why?  (For the purpose of helping the knowledge of everyone reading)

 

 

[CannyScotTor]

Just pointing out that although CDNPolar’s experience seems to suggest that flying from Toronto to Europe is most likely a nonstop flight with no upcharge, it’s certainly not guaranteed.

 

What we paid for the flights with Vilking was not significantly different from what we would have paid booking directly, I wasn’t expecting anything different.

[FlyerTalker]

And to note, Montreal (YUL) is another AC TATL gateway.  In my research, I've found (and flown) AC connections through there to various spots in Europe.  IMO, if you have a choice of connecting at YYZ or YUL, there is one preferred option (oui, oui).

[CannyScotTor]

Bien sur!

[Mike07]

7 hours ago, CannyScotTor said:

Just pointing out that although CDNPolar’s experience seems to suggest that flying from Toronto to Europe is most likely a nonstop flight with no upcharge, it’s certainly not guaranteed.

 

What we paid for the flights with Vilking was not significantly different from what we would have paid booking directly, I wasn’t expecting anything different.

 

 

And we don't know.... any number of factors could have affected that itinerary since we have not seen, nor are we entitled to see, Viking's air contracts with the carriers.

 

There are still 8 months left in the year, and thus, plenty of time for us to continue to debate the wonders and surprises of Viking Air and itineraries with less than ideal time, cattle class seats when business air still has free seats, and routes that could be non-stop but have connections. I guess this is CC Viking's version of the gratuities debate that comes up in many other subs here.

[CDNPolar]

19 hours ago, CannyScotTor said:

Interesting, we just booked flights for our September cruise. Viking proposed Toronto to Vienna on KLM via Amsterdam with a five hour layover. We preferred Air Canada nonstop, which cost us $600 pp extra.

 

We have not flown Toronto to Vienna, so don't know if we would have scored a non-stop or not.

This is our experience to date and most of the cruises we have taken have been direct non-stop flights, but there have also been flights that connected through Heathrow or Munich.

 

However, using Air Plus and researching our flights in advance, we do find that Viking always have contract rates with Air Canada, and then of course partner Lufthansa.  When we find direct flights with either of these we ask and generally get.

 

I would add that IMO Vienna is a less popular non-stop destination from Toronto and therefore may not have the same inventory of non-stop flights which then makes the connection a cheaper option and a contract option.

Edited May 1 by CDNPolar

[OneSixtyToOne]

Lots of thread drift here. The OP is asking about non-stop flights to Ft. Lauderdale but they don’t say where they are flying out of. 
 

Doing a few google searches, it appears that only a few major airports have scheduled non-stops going there. A lot of flights are by budget carriers like Southwest, Spirit and Jet Blue which Viking does not have contracts with. Delta, American, etc. seem to show a lot more non-stops to Miami. Those carriers have major hubs in Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago, and most of the random routes I’ve tried involve a plane change at a hub.

[May B]

21 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

And to note, Montreal (YUL) is another AC TATL gateway.  In my research, I've found (and flown) AC connections through there to various spots in Europe.  IMO, if you have a choice of connecting at YYZ or YUL, there is one preferred option (oui, oui).

Since I only have a non-stop to YYZ, but not YUL, I have changed more than once in YYZ. Last time, I was sad to see the state of the airport. My one and only time into YUL was fine, through either IAD or EWR, I don’t even remember which.

 

In December, we will be cruising in and out of BCN. I think we’ll just take whatever they give us, or what we find that’s fairly comparable, price-wise. Flying home from Stockholm was not wonderful, last June, but we survived just fine. It was certainly the earliest I ever woke up or departed a ship!