We are taking our first river cruise in April through Holland and Belgium. CARRIERS RIGHTS. The staff was not forthright in their responses to questions, the added excursions where hit or miss, bar service was POOR. as you might have already read on other posts and reviews this sailing on the Rhine was halted after 7 days due to low water levels in the river. Four days on a bus. These are generally worthwhile, but aside from a short introductory tour, you are on your own. How can they do that to passengers. I was on the 3rd week of the affected trip. So Fosse had no way of knowing how they were calculating the percentage. I called them the next day to request a refund instead of the voucher. AND watch carefully of the water level prior to departure! 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Full payment was required by the end of 2018 and was paid. Started August 27, 2021, By But then, for the first time, Viking informed us that this "policy" is found in a minor footnote at the bottom of their web page called COVID 19 Policies and Procedures. its a lot of money to spend and most want value for money. We paid $1325. After 24 months, if you are unable to use your. Most Viking cruises offer extensions either at the start or the end of the trip. No TellUs@VikingCruises is Viking. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. You'll find it cost considerably less. But whats this $452 bill? We just recieved notice they are sailing in September 2021. Vrbo took my $1,270! it sounds as if the plan b provided was not up to the standard paid for. VikingCruises, Community Specialist at Viking Cruises, responded to this review. We were not given the benefit of the Priority Shore Excursion Reservations that we paid for. All of Vikings competitors made the same offer. Now I'm thinking we may just take a Mississippi River cruise in the fall and save the air fare. But why cant I get a refund? That would be your quickest way of making contact. Viking REFUSED to give us a refund. We just wanted to let you know that we are listening and should you ever want to contact us directly in the future, wed be happy to hear from you again at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com or by calling your contact in Customer Relations. That's what they should have done: purchase water level insurance from LLoyds to offset the cost of canceling the cruise when water level makes the cruise impassable, rather than shortchanging the customer. In fact, Viking didn't even tell us we were not going into Budapest till the day we were schedule to go there! 100% of Full Fare. READ CAREFULLY. For example, Carnival states, "If you would like . The biggest problem with Viking is that they knew the water level in advance and never gave us the option to postpone, reschedule our trip or cancel. If a cruise is . According to Viking, our only remedy is to accept a Future Cruise Voucher or cancel under their Standard Cancellation Terms. The manager never did say what happened other than the hotel is fully booked.The other couple got a room the had a strong septic smell. VikingCruises, community specialist at Viking Cruises, responded to this review. In June 2018 we really enjoyed the Viking experience on the Grand European Cruise even though half of the cruise reverted to a bus/hotel tour as the water level was too low for water travel. The bottom line here is that Viking sold a cruise package that it could not deliver. Can a vacation rental host cancel my stay and keep my money? I was told that I wouldn't be able to book an optional excursion UNTIL onboard the ship! Get the answer in writing if possible. What Viking advertises in not what you get. YodaMom, December 19, 2011 in River Cruising. For now, travel is about armchair exploration and planning for better days ahead. I've already done my part. Its been eight months. <>
The whole contract is at http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/pdfs/2011%20PAX%20Ticket%20Contract_EU.RU.UK.pdf. The final balance is due based on offer at This is a critical policy for Viking guests to understand before agreeing to purchase a cruise. They were given $8,953.75 in cash and $3,322.95 in travel vouchers, but they didnt think they would ever use them. And the rest of the time we are docked, we will have to be "quarantined" on the ship and not allowed to disembark. They canceled my flight. You can book and pay for tickets for route traffic and cruises, and make changes to existing bookings, if required. This guarantee is combinable with all other Viking offers available. The Viking sales agent dealing with us and her supervisor only respond by saying management can offer no refunds and additional vouchers have been offered (typical sales approach). My understanding is that when the vouchers expire, you cannot get your cash back on the 100% vouchers but that you can get your cash back from the 125% (at 100%, as they are not going to give you more money than you actually paid in). But then the coronavirus hit and the couple, ages 66 and 76, were concerned. Please email us at Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com if you have additional concerns you would like addressed. Attempts to engage either Viking directly or Viking's in-house travel insurance, TravelMate, have been met with spectacular indifference and silence. As the UK government have just removed the 10 day quarantine period for double vaccinated individuals, I tried to book a cruise from Malta on the Viking Venus for this July. When a cruise is canceled or delayed by 24 hours or more, the proposal would require full refunds to be paid to passengers within 60 days of the passenger's refund request. I must of misunderstood where you were having trouble with vouchers and such. Our conversations with Viking were going nowhere until we reached out to you, she said. Had she done so, Fosse could have avoided this mess. It is not the geographical location of the trip as much as being in any enclosed space with a large group of people and the U.S. has not been a model of controlling the virus anyway, Keyles said. Another couple on this trip are also having no luck. This tour was our first and last river cruise at least with viking. We were told to "give it another day". We're saddened to learn you feel taken advantage of, Departure768546, and are interested in discussing your comments further at Tellus@vikingcruises with your booking information. The Risk-Free Guarantee allows guests to change their cruise date up until 14 days before their planned departureand Viking will waive any fees. We look forward to hearing from you. If you do not get cash compensation (from the travel insurance), Viking agrees to revisit your case and work out a settlement involving some amount of cash compensation rather than travel vouchers, he wrote. And when travel is less complicated, we are ready to resume operations and explore the world in comfort, again. Claire and Stanley Keyles planned a dream vacation for June 2020. We went on the Western Meditteranean Cruise and planned to extend our stay in Venice two days. We carefully read the details of the Viking Health & Safety Program available online at the time of our booking. Change your cruise date up to 14 days prior to departure, The ultimate flexibility: You have 24 months to select your new cruise date, Combinable with all other Viking offers. Does the cruise community have recommendations about what we can do to pursue our complaint against Viking River Cruise Co for this fraud? 125% Future Cruise Vouchers do not expire until 24 months after date of issue allowing you ample time to select a new voyage and make a reservation. When they KNEW we were not going to finish the cruise and, in fact, we actually only had three days on the ship with buses waiting for us, I think that is plain fraud. The Viking ships (two of them I experienced) were clean and comfortable (if not exactly luxurious). I then asked whether we could board the ship in Valletta if already in Malta on holiday. Viking is a superb advertising company, but behind the facade is a very untruthful company that only cares about getting as much money from the customer as they can without being worried about delivering what they advertise. And I'm urging everyone who got shafted to do the same. Business Started Locally: 1/1/1997. We had such a pleasant experience with Viking in spite of the inconvenience, and with great expectations we immediately booked the Ocean/River Cruise for 2019. Heres funny math on an airline refund in 2019. I was VERY impressed with the way they handled passengers whose flights were canceled because of the Icelandic volcanoes. Can I get a refund for my Marriott Vacation Club Points? Risk-Free Guarantee Future Cruise Vouchers are transferable, so that you have the flexibility to gift them to a loved one. fortunately as travel consumers we have lots of choice. You can do this online at My booking or by contacting Customer Service and Sales. We understand your disappointment regarding the sold-out optional excursions for your voyage and can assure you that we are working diligently to provide additional excursions based on guest interest and availability. Sears couldnt deliver my appliances. Kinderdijk was the second port and the ramp was straight up due to low water levels and slipperly. And certainly not in the next 24 months especially on a ship of any kind, Keyles said. All rights reserved (About Us). A: Viking should fully refund your cruise. #24 states a different situation than yours, so maybe your TA is at fault. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. .. this is not an Act of God. 59 or less. Viking's large fleet of over 70 ships and counting sail to a large variety of itineraries in Europe, Russia, Egypt, China and more. Use down arrow key to expand the menu and up arrow key to collapse the menu and hit enter to select the link Notification must be received as follows: For those with flights arranged by Viking, it must be received at least 14 days prior to the date of flight departure. I have to say that I'm surprised by your post and experience. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for USN VS-29 FAREWELL CRUISE 2003 USS NIMITZ patch S-3 VIKING SQUADRON at the best online prices at eBay! This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Review tags are currently only available for English language reviews. Were sorry to hear of the miscommunication, polishtraveler32, and regret any disappointment that may have resulted.