Selion

Keep in mind flight credits are usually only valid for 12 months from the date ticket was issued. If you booked your flight today, May 1, 2023, then cancel the flight, your flight credit is only valid until May 1, 2024. Some airlines require travel to be completed before the credit expiration. Read up on the specific airlines' flight credit rules before booking.

FWIW, I've had upgraded cabin categories (required extra payment from me) after final payment dates with Princess, MSC, and Royal Caribbean. I've had NCL offer Future Cruise Credits after fare drops after final payment date. I can understand Viking not wiling to give OBCs or monetary compensations, but not allowing guests who are already booked to upgrade at the new promo rate (and collect additional revenue from the same guests) doesn't make sense. As for Viking being upfront about what they will and they will not do... Viking's the only cruise line so far that refused to take more of my money (to book a higher cabin category with a new promo) after final payment date. I've learned to work with Viking's quirks. Telling new-to-Viking cruisers to "take it or leave it" just adds salt to the wound.

Yeah, once booked and deposited (let alone post final payment) Viking won't budge. I learned about it the same way you did: booked in advance, flash sale, Viking wouldn't offer any concession or even take more of my money to book a higher category at the new promo rate. It is what it is. I will say the onboard experience more than makes up for the sour tastes left by Viking's inflexibility when compared to some other cruise lines. In the future, wait for Viking's "last minute" sales. They are usually posted about 4 months out. Those fares and/or perks are pretty much as good as Viking will give on those itineraries.

Mississippi Promo Category Upgrade (V2-DV1) Free Air Offer Code FLS Expires May 3, 2023 https://www.viking.com/promotions/us/en/river/FLS/20230429.html Offer FLS: Offer valid on bookings made from Apr 29 to May 3, 2023. Cruise from $3,999 per person based on Dec 1, 2023 departure of Heart of Delta; select Dec 2023 departures of New Orleans & Southern Charms in categories V2-DV1; subject to availability, other categories may be higher. Complimentary upgrade from Veranda to Deluxe Veranda (V1-DV1) valid on select dates. Call for details. Prices are in US dollars and for US residents only. Air does not have to be purchased to get cruise/tour offer. All fares reflect cruise taxes, port taxes and fees. Book by May 3, 2023. 2023: Pay in full by May 31, 2023. 2024: Pay in full by Jul 31, 2023. Offer expires May 3, 2023.

🤞 Here's me hoping for fall ocean promos start popping up in May.

I think most, if not all, cruise lines utilize overbooking to offset cancellations. In the Princess forum, people were actually hoping for the Move Over Fairies because the offers to move to a different cruise were very generous. That was years before the pandemic. Not sure what Princess are doing now and how their move over offers are currently. If I used VIking air, and Viking is giving me a full refund including air and a free cruise, I'll take that move over offer in a heartbeat.

Are you thinking about asking your TA for OBCs? TA OBC offers are limited by Viking depending on the length of the cruise. @Clay Clayton has the details.

The "Price & Build" button is gone from Viking's site for the moment. Guess they are fixing the issues.

River Promo Free International Air Reduced Fares Offer Code AT23 Expires 4/30/2023 https://www.viking.com/promotions/us/river/AT23/20230413 Offer AT23: Offer valid on bookings made from Apr 13 to Apr 30, 2023. Cruise from $2,299 per person based on select Aug 2023 departures of Rhine Getaway; Danube Waltz; Romantic Danube in category F; cruise from $2,399 per person based on select Aug 2023 departure of Lyon & Provence in category F; cruise from $2,999 per person based on select Jul 2023 departures of Paris to the Swiss Alps; select Oct 2023 departures of Cities of Lights; select Dec 2023 departures of Portugal’s River of Gold; select Jul 2023 departures of Passage to Eastern Europe; select Oct 2023 departures of Holland & Belgium in category F; cruise from $3,199 per person based on select Jul 2023 departures of Grand European Tour in category F; cruise from $2,499 per person based on select Jul 2023 departures of Chateaux, Rivers & Wine in category F; cruise from $4,999 per person based on select Jul 2023 departures of Capitals of Eastern Europe in category F; subject to availability, other categories may be higher. Call for details. Prices are in US dollars and for US residents only. Air does not have to be purchased to get cruise/tour offer. All fares reflect cruise taxes, port taxes and fees. Book by Apr 30, 2023; pay in full at time of booking. Offer expires Apr 30, 2023. Air Promo: FREE international airfare based on Aug-Nov 2023 departures of Rhine Getaway; Jul-Aug 2023 departures of Lyon & Provence; Sep & Nov 2023 departures of Paris to the Swiss Alps; Sep-Nov, 2023 departures of Cities of Lights; Jul & Nov-Dec, 2023 departures of Portugal’s River of Gold; Jul-Nov 2023 departures of Grand European Tour; Danube Waltz; Romantic Danube; Jul-Sep & Nov 2023 departures of Passage to Eastern Europe; Holland & Belgium; Jul -Sep 2023 departures of Chateaux, Rivers & Wine; Jul-Aug & Nov 2023 departures of Capitals of Eastern Europe. Call for details. Air prices are per person based on cruise or cruise tour check-in date and include transfers. Air seats are limited; airfares are subject to change until full payment of air is received. Airfares vary on other gateways and departures. Air offers not valid on Alaska, Hawaii, San Juan and Mexico City; call for details. Ask for Offer AT23. Offer expires Apr 30, 2023.

AES23 is working on Viking's site again. https://www.viking.com/promotions/us/ocean/AES23/20230407

Try this if the Apple news link doesn't work: https://www.thestreet.com/travel/never-do-this-on-a-carnival-or-royal-caribbean-cruise-ship On a related note, "flushable" wipes shouldn't be flushed. Our local utility company went on the news saying don't flush any wipes down the toilets. They just end up at the water treatment plant and clogging up the pipes. These wipes are too thick to disintegrate like toilet papers do.

Surprise in the mailbox! The actual, USPS, mailbox. Received my 1st ever Viking brochure in print! Anyhow, there is a promo for Ocean cruises valid for April in addition to the $25 deposit. $500 or $1000 onboard credit Offer Code LCT23 Based my flipping through the brochure, $500 OBC offer on all European & Americas/Caribbean cruises under 20 days. $1000 OBC offer on all European & Americas/Caribbean cruises over 20 days, and all Asia & Australia cruises. Code appears to work all dates between now to 2025.

$25 Deposits are back on both Ocean & River. Ocean doesn't have a promo code. Click through link above to Viking's site. River Promo Code EBD Expires 4/30/2023 Offer EBD: Offer valid on bookings made from Apr 3 to Apr 30, 2023. Cruise from $1,999 per person based on Mar 2024 departures of Rhine Getaway in category F; cruise from $3,499 per person based on Nov 2024 departures of Paris to the Swiss Alps in category F; cruise from $3,499 per person based on Mar & Nov departures of Cities of Light in category F; cruise from $3,999 per person based on Oct 2024 departures of Holland & Belgium in category F; subject to availability, other categories may be higher. Call for details. Prices are in US dollars and for US residents only. Air does not have to be purchased to get cruise/tour offer. All fares reflect cruise taxes, port taxes and fees. Book by Apr 30, 2023; pay in full by Jun 15, 2023. Offer expires Apr 30, 2023. Air Promo:  FREE international airfare based on select Mar & Nov 2024 departures of Cities of Light; Oct 2024 departures of Holland & Belgium. $599 international airfare based on select Mar 2024 departures of Rhine Getaway; Nov 2024 departures of Paris to the Swiss Alps. Call for details. Air prices are per person based on cruise or cruise tour check-in date and include transfers. Air seats are limited; airfares are subject to change until full payment of air is received. Airfares vary on other gateways and departures. Air offers not valid on Alaska, Hawaii, San Juan and Mexico City; call for details. Ask for Offer EBD. Offer expires Apr 30, 2023.

So far crickets. I noticed that I usually receive Viking's promo emails on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Flash sales emails pop-up whenever the flash sales start.

River Sale. 3 days only or did we miss it earlier? Free International Air Reduced Fares Offer Code: RM23 Expires March 31, 2023 https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/index.html?promoCode=RM23 Offer RM23: Offer valid on bookings made from Mar 29 to Mar 31, 2023. Cruise from $3,599 per person based on select Nov 2023 departures of Passage to Eastern Europe in category F; cruise from $3,299 per person based on select Nov 2023 departures of Cities of Light in category F; cruise from $3,199 per person based on select Jun 2023 departures of Holland & Belgium in category F; cruise from $2,499 per person based on select July 2023 departures of Châteaux, Rivers & Wine in category F; subject to availability, other categories may be higher. Call for details. Prices are in US dollars and for US residents only. Air does not have to be purchased to get cruise/tour offer. All fares reflect cruise taxes, port taxes and fees. Book by Mar 31, 2023; pay in full by Apr 30, 2023 or at least 90 days prior to departure (whichever comes first). Offer expires Mar 31, 2023. Air Promo: FREE international airfare based on Jun-Sep 2023 departures of Passage to Eastern Europe; Sep-Nov 2023 departures of Cities of Light; Jun 2023 departures of Holland & Belgium. $499 international airfare based on Jun-Nov 2023 departures of Châteaux, Rivers & Wine. Call for details. Air prices are per person based on cruise or cruise tour check-in date and include transfers. Air seats are limited; airfares are subject to change until full payment of air is received. Airfares vary on other gateways and departures. Air offers not valid in Alaska, Hawaii, San Juan and Mexico City; call for details. Ask for Offer RM23. Offer expires Mar 31, 2023.

Based on my limited experience with Viking excursions, their excursion buses did not offer water. We've always brought bottled water from the ship, and had to buy more on longer (more than half day) excursions.

I use T-Mobile. They offer international passes at $35 (10 days, 5 GB 5G data, unlimited talk and text) and $50 (30 days, 10 GB 5G data, unlimited talk & text), and these passes are good in 210+ countries. For lazy bones like me that's one & done instead of dealing with other apps & swapping sims, electronic or not.

We had a 90-minute connection in FRA last year. It was nerve wrecking, especially since our UA plane had to park at an apron and we had to take buses to the terminal. We made the connecting flight, but would recommend a longer layover at FRA.

@jc522 Venice aside, I hope you enjoy the rest of the ports. My phone just reminded me that last year, this exact week, we were on this same itinerary on the Sky.

A few things here, mainly to set your expectations... 1. While Viking sold you the insurance policy, Viking is not the insurance provider. The "Viking" insurance benefits are administered by TripMate. 2. While the TripMate insurance has medical evacuation coverage, it doesn't provide global concierge service (which calling a taxi would fall under). 3. Most cruise lines' responsibilities end when you are in the care of local medical personnel. Viking has no obligation to check on your conditions. In regards to payments for care provided, that'd be between you, the medical care facility, and the insurance provider. You should have received a policy of insurance from TripMate. Read it, read it again, and read it again. Your best resource is TripMate itself. They are obligated to answer all of your questions regarding what their policy covers and doesn't cover. This is a screenshot from a TripMate plan summary from 2022: This is a screenshot of the Travel Guard policy I bought in 2022: Note that Travel Guard Concierge includes "Ground transportation arrangements" while TripMate makes no mention of that (at least I didn't find it).

MES23 is in today's email, with a page dedicated to it: https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/march-promotions/index.html?promoCode=MES23

Agreed! Monte Carlo & Corfu guides were just so-so for us. Split on the other hand, I'd rank him as the best guide we've ever had on our excursions.

https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/march-promotions/index.html?promoCode=GFA23

Ocean Promo Free International Air Reduced Fares Promo Code TRS23 Expires March 31 https://www.viking.com/promotions/us/ocean/TRS23/20230301 Offer TRS23: Offer valid on bookings made from Mar 1 to Mar 31, 2023. Free international airfare valid on May 9 & 29, 2023 departures of Iceland, British Isles & Iberia; select May-Aug 2023 departures of Iceland & Norway’s Arctic Explorer; select Nov & Dec 2023 departures of Cities of Antiquity & the Holy Land; Apr 17 & May 1, 2023 departures of Viking Homelands; Apr 3 & Jun 6, 2023 departures of Trade Routes of the Middle Ages; select May-Jul 2023 departures of Ancient Mediterranean Treasures; select Jul & Aug 2023 departures of Into the Midnight Sun; select Jun & Jul 2023 departures of Eastern Seaboard Explorer; Oct 24 & Dec 17, 2023 departures of Panama Canal & the Pacific Coast; Oct 30 & Nov 13, 2023 departures of Panama Canal & Central America; Jun 6, 2023 departure of Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada; Apr 29 & Sep 17, 2023 departures of North Pacific Passage. Air pricing varies per itinerary/departure. For additional itineraries, call for details. Prices are in US dollars and for US residents only. Air does not have to be purchased to get cruise/tour offer. All fares reflect cruise taxes, port taxes and fees. Additional restrictions may apply. Airfares vary on other itineraries, gateways and departures. Air offers not valid on Alaska, Hawaii, San Juan and Mexico City; call for details. Book by Mar 31, 2023; pay in full by at time of booking. Offer expires Mar 31, 2023.

We did "Florence on Your Own" in November. Viking provides transportation to and from Florence. The "On Your Own" applies to the free time in the destination city. In our case, the free time was about 5 hours. The guide would tell you the meeting location and time for the afternoon ride back to the ship before he/she lets everyone to free roam. We wanted extra time in Florence, and we had to inform our guide that we were not returning with the group (so he didn't need to include us on the return's head count) and had to arrange our own transportation back to the ship. I'd think it would be the same for Venice.