DEEPNW

Booked Avalon (from USA) for Summer 2019 European river cruise. Doing cruise only, with a post-cruise stay over at the end. (No air travel included, we will arrange that ourselves later.). Paid $250 pp deposit, got an early booking discount of $500 pp - with final payment due 90 days before start of cruise. We are very pleased with these terms!

We are new to cruising and planning a 2019 Danube River cruise. We need to put down a deposit to hold our stateroom - then final payment is not due until early 2019. However, we have been advised that we should purchase trip insurance for the whole cruise price now in order to assure that we have pre-existing conditions coverage. I am having trouble understanding the logic. Why wouldnt we buy this coverage when we make the big final payment? Seems at this point our only exposure is the deposit. So if something happens in 2018 that causes us to cancel, we are only out the deposit. But if we prepay full cruise cost insurance and something happens this year - we are out the cost of insurance (which is more than the deposit). Maybe I am missing something?

I find it distressing that there does not seem to be a set policy at Viking about final payment date. First they try for virtually immediate payment upon booking. Then, if you dicker - they quickly offer an extension of time which may be different from what was offered someone else. Yet none of it seems to add up to their published policy of “90 days before the cruise”. It is all quite unsettling. I figure they must have bonus tiers for their booking agents based on final payment dates negotiated. The earlier an agent can get a customer to make final payment, the higher the bonus. It’s the only explanation I can think of for such diversity in payment date arragements and all the bargaining that seems to go on about it. I am sure they have nice ships and lovely cruises, but all this bartering makes me uncomfortable.

I agree, SeniorLady! In fact, we too are now looking at Avalon river cruises instead. We got cold feet about confirming Viking when they wanted full payment 10-13 months in advance.

Date of attempted booking: March 17, 2018, via TA

Country of attempted booking: USA

Cruise Line: Viking

Cruise Date: July 2019 - NO air or transport of any kind was requested, it was a cruise only quote.

Terms: Viking requested $500 pp deposit with full and final payment by mid June 2018 - 13 months in advance,

When we questioned that, we were told they would allow extra time and moved final payment date to mid Sept 2018 - still 10 months before the start of the cruise. When we expressed worry about extending all the money upfront, our TA indicated this is a common Viking requirement. Viking’s reply to concerns on this is they will sell you Trip Insurance (yet another large sum of $ to pay way in advance). We decided to shop around further.

This thread sure is an eye opener! It seems Viking’s payment terms are not so much a uniform policy but are all over the place - whatever they can get you to do. Although I had read that official terms were final payment 90days in advance, when we tried to book a river cruise, Viking wanted full payment 13 months in advance. When we questioned that, they said they would “extend” the final payment due date to 10 months in advance. We are uncomfortable pre-paying SO far in advance, especially when it seems there is no real policy in place - terms are different for all. Something wrong with this picture ...

In trying to reserve a Viking cruise on the Danube for July 2019, we are told we must pay in full by this June - a whole 13 months in advance of the cruise. This seems excessively early for full payment. It is our first experience with trying to arrange a cruise. Is this normal procedure?