Copyright 2022 Travel + Leisure Co. All Rights Reserved. WHEN THE PAX CANCELS OR CHOOSES TO RE-BOOK (WHICH VIKING CONSIDERS A CANCELLATION): If you are more than 121 days out from Day 1 of your package, you can cancel your vacation with just a $100pp. We wanted to for that very reason, but for some reason the Viking fare (for economy) was more than double. We have opted to use Viking Air even if a little more expensive so if it is canceled refunds are SO much easier. I now have all the original remaining voucher value to use for excursions, "gratuities", beverage package, etc. Expand. Answers lie, How do we heal a broken America? But, this whole game is heavily leveraged, and dependent on a resumption of cruising in early to mid-2021. We had three cruises booked as pandemic was happening. However, once youve paid, you dont need to spend much more. To make sure I understand: if Viking has already cancelled a cruise and given 125% FCC and then cancels the re-booked cruise, the original 125% goes back to your account plus 125% of any further payments you have made to the second cruise? Guests sailing the rivers in December can experience the traditional European Christmas markets and see the cities in a new way while enjoying local holiday treats and hot mulled wine, our source notes. That said, I still want to believe, with the help of a good insurance policy, that Viking will pull through. Free expert cruise tips and news from Cruise Hive! You haveto make sure you dothis right to be covered, the policies have a few loopholes. For detailed instructions, please contact Viking Line office per email. Our mission is to serve the 50+ traveler who's ready to cross a few items off their bucket list. I have a cruise booked for summer 2021 that is essentially a rebooking of the same cruise we had planned for summer 2020. You can try but it is a long shot. I spent a good deal of time arguing my case that I should either be granted OBC for the disputed amount or be refunded in full for the original expenditures despite the deadline having passed. Started June 21, 2021, By Jim - We booked a River/Ocean combo aboard the Sun, which would have sailed at the end of May 21. Remember, Viking cruises provide pretty much everything you need for a great vacation. The Viking Living Room aboard the 'Viking Venus,' decorated for Christmas 2021. Started June 21, 2021, By This is one of those *truly* once in a lifetime events. Standard staterooms are much less expensive, and while theyre not exactly roomy, that doesnt matter if youre just using them as a sort of home base. I hope you get to go. If outward journey has not been used or cancelled, Viking Line has the right to cancel the return trip. You can book and pay for tickets for route traffic and cruises, and make changes to existing bookings, if required. Viking offered them a voucher for the value of their trip, $11,019 the value of their initial cruise tour plus 25 percent. Would our only option be another voucher? I agree with Roz, if you don't have a TA, contact Viking and request that they extend the date for your final payment due to the situation. The final balance is due based on offer at We are thinking of cancelling the trip. We "lost" out the first rebook and got lots back the second rebook. On a Viking cruise, diners can visit any restaurant without incurring any additional charge. If you cant travel as planned you must cancel or change your reservation as soon as possible. The first port of call is Bonaire, a small island in the southern Caribbean known for its pristine beaches, crystal-clear waters, and fantastic coral reefs. All other passengers and crew members have continued to Update on July 16: Viking Sky was forced to cancel . During each port of call, guests can explore the destinations with a short walk from their ships dock. Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Exceptions to this payment policy apply for cruise tours more than 35 days, including Viking's World & Grand Cruises which require a 20% deposit of the Full Fare at time of booking the cruise tour. 0000000016 00000 n We canceled our In the Wake of the Vikingscruise a week before final payment on March 1. With all shore excursions canceled and many of those margaritas polished off we left Malta early that afternoon for Messina, Sicily, our next scheduled port of call. Surely. As one of the apps reviewers puts it: This app is an essential tool for getting the most out of your cruise.. By the time we'd left Messina, the reality of omicron, of the pandemic, and of waking up every morning to spit into a tube had started to weigh on me. Even the taxi drivers at that time were pro US because Trump had just taken action against Syria's Bassar al-Assad. 0000550588 00000 n But as I tucked into a dinner of Norwegian salmon and we sailed onward to our final port of Civitavecchia, near Rome, I worried about whether our whole ship was destined to spend the next few weeks in quarantine. 0000024349 00000 n Full Fare is defined as the full cost of any cruise, land or air component purchased from Viking. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. Travel + Leisure magazine may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. If thats not to your interests, you could always relax with a nice afternoon tea. Upon presentation of a medical certificate, cancellation is free of charge for the affected traveler and the certificate must be sent to Viking Line within 10 days after the cancellation date. With that said, some If you want to enjoy a cocktail outside of lunch or dinner service, youll have to pay for the privilege. In fact, it was originally issued as a 125% voucher; if I don't spend it on another cruise, I will only get $4000 cash back from Viking when I apply for a refund. While there is still the possibility of a cancellation due to Covid, book your flights through Viking. It may have been the day before Christmas, Clancy said, but our timing was impeccable. 0000003206 00000 n So, I had that much more $$$ in the hopper subject to a 125% voucher resulting in quite a bit of voucher credit. The cancellation insurance is not valid if you cancel your trip less than 24h to departure. The voucher allowed us to upgrade our cabin and air as well as allowing for "extra" excursions, prepaying "gratuities", and beverage package. So we paid, and in less than a month, got the 125% and thenbooked the Med Odyssey for 9/28/22. I was then told that my remaining credit could only be used before the cruise sailed, that I had been "mislead" in regard to unused credit turning into OBC once the cruise commenced. They want to put on a grand show for the world. We have a river cruise, Tulips and Windmills, on Viking in April. These conditions primarily applies to bookings containing 130 persons where none of the criteria for cancellation condition 2 are met. Viking River Cruises offer a 3.3 percent discount for travelers who pay via e-check, so if youre looking for a way to reduce your expenses, thats a great place to start. 0000562812 00000 n CC Help Jenn hb```b``g`c`da@ $A& h35f}a=b3)q!@&C[n$\NlM5KHr`pLQ`wCD;\4d*LhIJj :} qLqh aVHiRBJP]ru,4#i%`@Q&!zHbE"1EL`O0%W{baI=P\zR%LEO]EM@9gI``";(QSNE dPAD4c3804bQ4yFA Z% lXY!cDSR6H4o 0eW," tEA ZL These events include cocktail parties, breakfasts, question-and-answer sessions, tea times, karaoke nights, and more. Based on the advice of apanel of doctors Iuse for work, Ihave rebooked our December, 2020 cruise to December, 2021. 0000019511 00000 n Here is a link with their policy - taken from the Canadian site, so could be a bit different. Still, simply going on the trip was something of a leap of faith. 119-90. Each airline has a different policy. 0000017377 00000 n The excursion money was added to our future cruise credit and the 125% credit was calculated on the total amount spent. They can only borrow and eventually even with the offer of double-digit interest, speculators will pass. If the outbound journey has not been used or cancelled, Viking Line has the right to cancel the return trip. Started August 27, 2021, By Setting pandemic concerns aside, due to life circumstances we are considering cancelling (and not rebooking) the cruise we have on the booksfor June 2021. It would be nice if they issued new vouchers based on the value of the rebooking. Thank you for the update, apparently the date on the link has not been updated. I hope theyll be equally flexible if our cruise gets canceled. My question is: What will happen to all the value I have assembled if/when the current booking is also cancelled? This offer covers all Viking reservations that are made between May 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per Cruise Fare. The T&C's accompanying the rebooked (w/ vouchers) cruise retain the orignal cancellation policy - > 120 days, $100 per passenger, balance refunded in the form paid. Hence our Med. The price was slightly higher, so we have $2400pp to pay in November 2021. Barcelona - and will be there again in April, 2022. The deli, named in her honor, serves cuisine inspired by her kitchen, from sweet rolls with cloudberry jam, salmon gravlax, open-faced sandwiches to her heart-shaped waffles served with jam or gjetost and Norwegian brown goat cheese.. 0000018293 00000 n Please note that special departures and charter departures as well as bookings including theatre tickets, opera, concerts and other event tickets, may have different cancellation terms. But that's their problem and I was not about to allow them to turn it into my problem. That might not interest every traveler, but if youre interested in the inner workings of a major cruise vessel, its well worth the time. 0000006334 00000 n I believe a great many other cruise customers got caught in the same "you can use the vouchers for anything" trap and may well have stood the same ground as I --- there was quite a bit of talk on this subject at the time. Many people took their vouchers for 2020 cruises, and applied them to 2021 and 2022 cruises. When booking your cruise, youll have an easier time finding staterooms during certain months of the year. Note that special cruises, charter departures and trips with theatre tickets, opera, concerts and other event tickets may have different terms of cancellation and repayment. We held off canceling, paid off all three cruises as well as booked shore excursions and Silver Spirits in anticipation of Viking cancelling. Jun 03, 2020 at 4:02 pm. Our original Viking cruise was booked for July 2020. And if you enjoy your experience at one of those premium restaurants, feel free to head back later in the trip at The Chefs Table, the menu changes every three days. You can also buy local wine and bring it onboard, a Viking Cruises representative tells TravelAwaits via email. That is up to you. Please note that the sum expires in six/twelve months if not used. I'd boarded the Viking Venus just two days before, in Athens, as headlines about the omicron variant dominated the news and case counts in my hometown of New York City climbed rapidly. Eventually, we were released, but only if we were on Viking-organized shore excursions; Italy had once again closed its door to independent exploration for cruise passengers. When the 23 WC was posted, we again moved from the B2B to the WC. Risk-Free Guarantee: How it Works. Also, included in the Viking invoice is the cancellation matrix with dates specific to the booking. 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Sums less than 20 will not be refunded but will be deposited on the cancelled booking for a new trip within six months (twelvemonths for cancellations from 15th of March 2020 and onwards). Visiting in late December, she noted, "was so much better than being here with 40,000 of your closest friends and eight megaships anchored in the caldera," the sort of thing that happens every week in summer. Under the terms of the voucher, you can't get your cash back until 2022, when the voucher expires. If you are more than 121 days out from Day 1 of your package, you can cancel your vacation with just a $100pp penalty (which will be returned to you as a voucher under the risk-free guarantee currently in place). In other words, we have quite a bit of extra value in the hopper for the rebooked cruise. Please forgive me if this is already covered elsewhere. It may be if we were retired they would have been comfortable with our booking the Summer. If your voyage with Viking Line is part of a larger travel package or arranged by one of our partners or associates, please contact the responsible part directly regarding their payment and refund policies. 0000010527 00000 n Of course, if you miss a stop, you can still enjoy the cities: Vikings Culture Curriculum program provides onboard performances and lectures from artists, musicians, and historians, along with authentic culinary demonstrations.. As we mentioned earlier, Viking cruises arent cheap, but that doesnt mean that you cant travel frugally. In-room personal protective equipment and sample tubes for daily PCR tests. Were not doing any pre or post for this cruise. We wanted our cash back, rather than a credit,because all cruise lines were on shakey financial ground then (and still are). It is basically like starting over. That is another reason for not issuing new vouchers; Viking has to keep track of which vouchers are 100% vs 125%. (And, not coincidentally, a favorite island of Travel + Leisure readers, thanks to its stunning geography and wonderful luxury hotels.). As an alternative to reimbursement of cancelled trips more than 24 hours before departure, you can in some cases change the date of travelling or have the money deposited for a new trip within 6 months (12 months for cancellations from 15th of March 2020 and onwards). Since you only paid $14K, I'll assume you were on a short cruise of under 35-days, so the cancellation terms were: