Very disappointed in Viking at this moment

I am writing this from the lobby of the Tivoli Lisboa in Portugal. Our flight arrived at 5:20 am today and it is now 9am and we still do not have a room. There was a Viking rep here earlier and she told me this is happening every week. I can't imagine why Viking things people want to pay these prices to have to crash like college students in a hotel lobby after a red eye flight. If you know you won't have rooms for us then don't book us on those flights. I am sure there is no 60-year-old who would book the trip knowing they would be sleeping in a hotel lobby all morning!

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Wow, I am so sorry. Did you book the overnight flight or did Viking? If Viking, they should have definitely had the room reserved from the night before for you. Are you the only ones without a room? We are on this cruise trip in Nov but our flight arrives around 11ish in the morning. We don't have the exact itinerary yet, but I assume since arriving before the "normal" check in time, there will be some type of touring before we get to the hotel. Almost all the trips we've taken in the past have had us arriving at the destination in early to late evening so getting to our rooms upon arrival has never been a problem.

Please post again once your situation is resolved.

Early arrival is a problem when flying to Europe from the US and the only way I know to avoid the shock of having to wait for an available room is to reserve a room for the night before. Of course the hotel/Viking would charge you for that. You can't expect the hotel to leave rooms empty and lose a night's revenue.

Early arrival is a problem when flying to Europe from the US and the only way I know to avoid the shock of having to wait for an available room is to reserve a room for the night before. Of course the hotel/Viking would charge you for that. You can't expect the hotel to leave rooms empty and lose a night's revenue.

I agree that this is not Viking's issue. We DIY our hotels and have found several that offer an option for early check in at a discounted rate. We use this option all the time, or we will reserve for the night before. Worth it.

Been there, done that. Fortunately, you will soon forget....It's a problem with arrivals from US. Even tho I consistently email hotels ahead with our early arrival times, we often wait. We don't have top tier status with any international chains any more; better status gets you in. It is very discouraging way to begin, agreed. Have a coffee! Take turns walking outside. Put bags into luggage room.

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I wouldn't expect to have a room ready upon arrival that early in the morning. Check out time is usually around 10 or 11:00am and unless you booked the room for the prior evening, there might be one available until housekeeping has a chance to chase the current resident out.

Not Vikings problem. We arrived earlier with Avalon on our tulip cruise and the hotel held our luggage for us. Not a big deal. Take a walk have breakfast. Don't let this ruin your trip.

It depends on how full the hotel is and how accommodating the front desk people are to look for empty rooms in their computer right at their finger tips.

If the flight and hotel were booked via Viking, I would expect them to arrange for an available room in the package deal.

Not Vikings problem. We arrived earlier with Avalon on our tulip cruise and the hotel held our luggage for us. Not a big deal. Take a walk have breakfast. Don't let this ruin your trip.

Exactly.

In addition, while it is tempting to take a nap after an overnight flight, it is not a good idea. It is best to spend most of the day being active and then go to bed early. This allows one to get adjusted to the local time faster.

If you sleep most of the day, you'll be up during the night and tired the next day again - not a good plan.

No sympathy here. Hotels in USA usually have check in after 3pm. I agree with others -- check luggage at Hotel and get out and explore. We do this as soon as we land. We usually crash early in the evening and get a long nights sleep. We wake up the next day refreshed and ready to go. We are on the same trip in October with Viking, only taking the Pre-trip extension in Madrid. Our flight gets in at 830am. I don't sleep at all on the overseas night flights so I am already exhausted when we land. Thank God for Coffee! I hope the rest of the trip goes Great! Keep us posted with a review.

I am guessing you don't fly overseas often. Almost all overseas flights from the US arrive early in the morning. It is common for you to go to the hotel and store your bags with them, and then go off and explore.

Whatever pre-hotel package you bought (2 nights, 3 nights, etc) Viking will deliver that amount of nights, and any other components you bought in your package. To have a room for you when you arrived early in the morning would necessitate that they book the room for the night before.

Don't be a whiner, this is customary European travel. Continue on like a well traveled person and go out and take a brisk walk and enjoy the scenery. Who sits in a hotel lobby for hours?

We always try to book our Europe flights to arrive after noon for precisely this reason. When later flights aren't available it helps to book hotels through an agency that has negotiated perks like early check-in, breakfast, free upgrades, airport transport, etc. And finally, flying international business or first is always a good idea!

We always plan something specific to tour or do for the morning of arrival. I just assume the room won't be ready and like others have said find that if I hit the ground running when we arrive and stay busy until early evening then I don't struggle with jet lag the rest of the trip. On our past several trips we've actually booked a guide that would pick us up from the airport and take us directly on whatever tour we planned then drops us off at the hotel no later then 2. Usually the room is ready by then. I encourage the OP to consider this a learning experience and that they will have proper expectations on their next trip but to quickly move on and make this trip a trip of a lifetime.

The reason you arrived in Lisbon so early is because you presumably flew direct from North America. Be grateful. You could have spent those hours in an airport and on a flight making a connection.

Or the airline could have lost your luggage like mine did.

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I don't think it's right to call the OP a whiner. They got there very early. Good idea about reserving a room the night before.

My flight gets in at noon in Prague airport. If room not ready, maybe lunch near the hotel followed by a walk along the river to Charles bridge.

I would never expect a room to be available that early in AM. Previous patrons do not have to check out until 11 or 12, so where would the room come from a unless you booked for the day before to be held. Was ecstatic last month, landed in Amsterdam at 9am and got to hotel before 11am. Checked in with plan to leave luggage and go off for lunch. A smile and a Marriott CC got me a room which had already been cleaned and just turned over. Would not expect anything at an earlier time.

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!!

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!!

When you spend, maybe $5,000 per person on a vacation, it's not unreasonable to expect to be taken care of. Maybe the OP isn't a frequent traveler or just has high expectations. Consider that she? wrote this on very little sleep and just wanted to get some rest. I don't think it's unreasonable. When you book with a company like Viking, you expect they will take care of everything.

When you spend, maybe $5,000 per person on a vacation, it's not unreasonable to expect to be taken care of. Maybe the OP isn't a frequent traveler or just has high expectations. Consider that she? wrote this on very little sleep and just wanted to get some rest. I don't think it's unreasonable. When you book with a company like Viking, you expect they will take care of everything.

But it's an unrealistic expectation. But I agree OP is not an experienced traveler. For the record going to bed is the worst thing to do to adjust to new time zone. Force yourself to stay awake and stay with new time zone.

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When you book with a company like Viking, you expect they will take care of everything.

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.....

When hotels are involved upon arrival, we try to book the latest flight in as possible to avoid this issue. When not possible, we contact the hotel directly to see if something can be worked out. Sometimes it has, sometimes it hasn't.

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.....

Well, there's your first mistake. You call yourself a DIY'er but not everyone is like that. If you buy a package from a cruise company, you expect some level of service. Getting help with hotels is part of that. An early checkin might not be possible. Cruise companies have flight info. They could ask customers if they want an early checkin. I'm not suggesting it would always be available but an effort could be made to make it happen.

when we arrive very early in the AM, we usually leave our bags with the hotel and walk off the jet lag by getting out and about the city. We then usually have an early dinner, early to bed, and wake up refreshed.

Sometimes we have been lucky, and a room has been ready by 9-10 AM.... however, most of the time, rooms will be ready after 12 PM.

Viking cannot control when other guuests check out, nor can they expect the hotel to keep their rooms available from the night before - that is revenue lost to the hotel.

I have seen some pretty grumpy Vikng travelers sitting around the hotel lobby griping. I understand it is a long flight across the pond, but sitting around complaining solves nothing.

If you buy a package from a cruise company, you expect some level of service. Getting help with hotels is part of that.

That's why I asked specifically WHAT Viking has promised its customers. And still no one has let us know.....

[i am a DIYer, don't just "call" myself that. Totally not sure what that has to do with this post - I stated it because it means I look for information when I travel and I DON'T know what companies who do bookings for other people promise -which is why I asked here for that information.]