Very disappointed in Viking at this moment

Never ceases to amaze me how people are so quick to blame Viking (or other companies) when the first thing goes wrong! You try to tarnish a reputation when they have absolutely no control over your hotel policies! Next time you should book your own flights and make sure they get you there after hotel check-in times! Might want to change that heading too!!

Do you really believe that Viking has no control over this hotel???? With 3 ships on the Douro and each ship spending 2 nights pre-stay at this hotel they provide this hotel with 600 room nights a week. They must have tremendous leverage with this hotel and I suspect there are many others in Lisbon that would like the business. As I said, the hotel was great and the rest of our stay was fabulous but it is inconsistent with the Viking brand and otherwise top notch service to expect guests to wait this long for comfort. If they have to rent a few rooms for the previous night to ensure that guest are accommodate then so be it.

Well, there's your first mistake....

 

I'm not going to pile on OP. But I would be interested to know the wording Viking provides if you book the transfer & hotel through them? I want to know *why* people have an expectation Viking will take care of them - do they say you will get into your hotel room as soon as you arrive? If so, you might have a case for complaint. Otherwise - highly unlikely....

 

I'm a DIYer - book my own air, hotel & transfers - so I know the earliest check-in I'm expecting and whether or not I want to book the previous night or not....For Europe, the answer is usually no, but for Asia often yes.....

Funny that you should ask as the Viking rep at the hotel mentioned that she thought it said in the booklet that you wouldn't have access to hotel rooms until late in the day. I showed her the book and we went through it page by page and it didn't say that anywhere. As I stated - I fly internationally extensively for work and have my company book me rooms the night before. My expectation was that as a top notch company Viking would not put their guests on early flights if they could not provide them a room.

I fly internationally extensively for work and have my company book me rooms the night before. My expectation was that as a top notch company Viking would not put their guests on early flights if they could not provide them a room.

I also fly internationally for work and my company does not do that -if I want or need it, I have to book it myself. Which would also be my assumption re: any package tour. Or at the very least I would have checked the fine print. And since it doesn't say anything in the Viking materials, I wouldn't have expected it.

Clearly our expectations are different. Glad you were able to enjoy the rest of your trip.

Funny that you should ask as the Viking rep at the hotel mentioned that she thought it said in the booklet that you wouldn't have access to hotel rooms until late in the day. I showed her the book and we went through it page by page and it didn't say that anywhere. As I stated - I fly internationally extensively for work and have my company book me rooms the night before. My expectation was that as a top notch company Viking would not put their guests on early flights if they could not provide them a room.

What I think is funny is that you believe that Viking is a "top notch company". They are perfectly fine but I would think more of companies like Tauck or Crystal (maybe even Uniworld) as top notch river cruise companies, not Viking. I think of them more like a solid middle of the road company.

What I think is funny is that you believe that Viking is a "top notch company". They are perfectly fine but I would think more of companies like Tauck or Crystal (maybe even Uniworld) as top notch river cruise companies, not Viking. I think of them more like a solid middle of the road company.

Curious. Do these 3 "top notch companies" deliver early before 10AM check-in as their policy for early arriving flights?

I actually do extensive international travel for work and am very aware of the typical flight patterns and my company always books me for the night before to ensure a room. In this case Viking picked the flights and... they had a full shipload of guests departing for the Hemming who had to be out of their rooms by 8am. So with hundreds of empty rooms it seemed hard to understand why we had to lay in the lobby until 10am. I do expect that with the amount of money both the Tivoli Lisboa and Viking are making on these trips that they will accommodate the few passengers who arrive this early especially when it was Viking's choice to put us on that early. I will say that after this incident our trip was flawless. The hotel was fabulous and the cruise was even better.

So are you saying you would have been happy with one of those un-cleaned empty rooms? Two hours seems like a very reasonable window to get hundreds of rooms cleaned, IMHO.

So are you saying you would have been happy with one of those un-cleaned empty rooms? Two hours seems like a very reasonable window to get hundreds of rooms cleaned, IMHO.

I agree with Jazz here. A two hour turnaround for that many rooms seems quite reasonable.

Curious. Do these 3 "top notch companies" deliver early before 10AM check-in as their policy for early arriving flights?

I suspect not, but then again, that was neither my assertion nor the point I was making to mthayer295 :)

So are you saying you would have been happy with one of those un-cleaned empty rooms? Two hours seems like a very reasonable window to get hundreds of rooms cleaned, IMHO.

I agree; I think they were fortunate to be able to check in at 10. I'd have found a cafe and had a relaxing breakfast.

So are you saying you would have been happy with one of those un-cleaned empty rooms? Two hours seems like a very reasonable window to get hundreds of rooms cleaned, IMHO.

I expect the OP was thinking that they only had to one cleaned - theirs.

Do you really believe that Viking has no control over this hotel???? With 3 ships on the Douro and each ship spending 2 nights pre-stay at this hotel they provide this hotel with 600 room nights a week. They must have tremendous leverage with this hotel and I suspect there are many others in Lisbon that would like the business. As I said, the hotel was great and the rest of our stay was fabulous but it is inconsistent with the Viking brand and otherwise top notch service to expect guests to wait this long for comfort. If they have to rent a few rooms for the previous night to ensure that guest are accommodate then so be it.

You bought a "package" you knew what the package included but yet you expect Viking to cough up out of their profit to make sure everything is ready when you think it should be! Wake up and smell the roses my friend! If it was that important that you walk right off the plane and right into a hotel room...you should have booked and paid for the room a night in advance! Now do the right thing and correct the heading!! This has absolutely ZERO to do with Viking!

I expect the OP was thinking that they only had to one cleaned - theirs.

Precisely

The Royals (Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge ) attended Tattoo the evening we did. Interesting that just the normal audience security screening process occurred, bag search. I suffer worse to attend a two-bit town meeting here.

Our room was ready at 9 a.m. Simply luck of the draw.

Transatlantic flights are never fun for the body clock. I tried a couple of daytime flights to LHR a few years ago, that is another strategy if you are going to London. You arrive for a late dinner, sleep well, and then wake rested to a new day. Even in a lie flat Business seat you don't have enough time to sleep well on a night flight and wake up fully rested. When arriving in the am I like doing a bike tour the first day, gets us up and out with fresh air and exercise.

I actually do extensive international travel for work and am very aware of the typical flight patterns and my company always books me for the night before to ensure a room. In this case Viking picked the flights and... they had a full shipload of guests departing for the Hemming who had to be out of their rooms by 8am. So with hundreds of empty rooms it seemed hard to understand why we had to lay in the lobby until 10am. I do expect that with the amount of money both the Tivoli Lisboa and Viking are making on these trips that they will accommodate the few passengers who arrive this early especially when it was Viking's choice to put us on that early. I will say that after this incident our trip was flawless. The hotel was fabulous and the cruise was even better.

I would be so pleasantly surprised if a cruise company booked my hotel room the night before my AM arrival. If your company normally does this for you then you must know it is an exception that requires a special request to accommodate. However, your 10 AM check-in was awesome! Not sure why you were so disappointed. Most hotels have afternoon check-in times and you would be lucky to be able to get into your room before noon unless you have VIP perks from AmEx Plat. or a high-end travel company. This is common knowledge among frequent travelers. I truly think your expectation was a little too elevated. Glad the rest of the trip went well.

We're booked on the Sept 2018 Viking Moscow to St. Petersburg river cruise. Any suggestions? We have sailed previously on the Viking Nord Nuremburg to Butapest Danube River Cruise (Christmas Markets) cruise in Nov/Dec 2016.