MikeyB

I have sailed Viking Ocean using two promos in the past.  Just read the small print to find out if it's eligible.   The second promo was $500 OBC called WOV (world of viking).

My second time writing this.

7 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Have been playing with the 36 day Grand Fjords & Iconic Viking Shores from NY to Amsterdam which can also be booked as B2B2B (NY - Iceland, Iceland - Bergen & Bergen - Amsterdam).  Price difference between  36 night booking vs 3 smaller ones is only about $1k.  If I book it as b2b2b do you think they will give me booking discount + past guest for each leg?

 

I believe Viking will tell you that it's a "butterfly" cruise and insist upon lumping them together.

Thanks for posting.

Simba is a wonderful beverage manager.

19 minutes ago, millybess said:

@MikeyB you might want to look at the new itinerary that came in your email.

@millybess you might want to tell me what you are talking about....please!

On 3/24/2024 at 9:08 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Sorry, missed this one yesterday. Affirmative, you will cross the IDL.

 

When crossing the IDL steaming West you skip a day. Steaming East from HK to Vancouver, upon crossing the IDL, the Cloxs are put back 24 hrs, so you will experience the same date again.

I admit, I'm confused.

I am on the same cruise as Millybess.  We are doing the North Pacific Passage cruise.

On May 2nd we cross the IDL.  My guest statement from Viking as well as My Viking Journey

only displays May 2nd once.  Shouldn't it be twice?  Sounds like I'm being cheated out of another sea day!

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Correct, nobody refuses the money, but you also don't hear the comments.

I guess then we all need to bring Philippine Pesos or Indonesian Rupiahs.

19 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

I don’t know where to ask this, so this is always a good place for seasoned travelers.  I want have small bills in pounds (£5) for tipping on excursions.  On our trip ending last week to Hawaii, the ship would change large bills into smaller ones.  But that was  $US to $ US basically.  Does anyone know if I can change £20 or 50 notes for 5s on the ship?  Or should I just order a bunch of small notes from B of A before we go?  TIA.

Although others will say otherwise, give your local currency.

No one will refuse a gratuity.  

Or from a Bartender as you order your first drink.

One Sixty to one is correct as far as purchasing it.

Not sure why you need to delay the purchase, if you have done it before.

It's a transatlantic, with many sea days......need anyone say more?

16 minutes ago, duquephart said:

The practice on Viking River, at least the one I was on a few years ago, is/was to suggest tip amounts to voluntarily add to your bill.

That was previously the way.  It's now handled the same way as Ocean.

I think what most people do is just contact your TA with the Viking booking number.  This way you can talk to your TA about the OBC or any benefits they offer for transferring the booking.

21 minutes ago, phillipahain said:

Currently on Viking Mars ....and whilst the ship is perfectly kept and public space is huge etc...cabins are compact to say the least and food is hardly spectacular 

 

What really gets me is its takes over 30 mins to get a drink served in Voyager Lounge before dinner ...the guitarist there between 5 and 6pm is truly awful and  can't sing and hopeless, shows are  OK but all produced at full pitch deafening decibels , food is OK but nothing spectacular 

 

Yes there's some nice pieces of furniture and other features but honestly cannot work out who or how it's rated No 1

So glad your enjoying your cruise!

It's funny, but nobody has ever said anything bad about the "Voyager" Lounge.

12 minutes ago, PennyNC said:

Thank you all for the information....sounds like I should be fine with the Viking teas but perhaps will include a couple English Breakfast bags just in case! 😊

They do carry Dilmah English Breakfast....as you might already know it's a bright, full bodied, single region tea.

🙂

18 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

OK.  I spoke with my TA.

YES, they do get special codes to be used by them (not for buying directly with Viking).  They can tell you what specials there are (5 of them in February) by the type of itinerary but don't give you the code itself.  They will apply them.  They also have access to all those codes we see posted in CC and from various Viking emails.   

This is true not just of Viking but other cruise lines like Regent, etc. 

If I were to wish to book something, she would immediately look for those codes and apply them.  I could also call and ask what are the TA specials on Viking bookable this month, for example, and she could tell me the itineraries.  I could then choose one of those specials by itinerary if I wanted.  I gather they keep this somewhat close to the vest.

Hope that helps. 

I wasn't going to ask, and I'm surprised no one else has.....

Could you please send me the details of what agency you use?  I won't be made if you don't.

Thanks

My gmail address is koateak

17 minutes ago, PennyNC said:

I suppose it might be the same on all the Viking Ocean vessels but I was wondering what types/brands of teabags are available in the dining venues?  I usually travel with a few teabags as I'm not a COMPLETE tea snob but some hotels have dreadful teas in their breakfast areas.  Was just wondering what Viking uses....and I'm not referring to the teas on the menu for afternoon tea (those look wonderful!)  Thanks for any feedback from fellow tea-lovers!

They carry the Dilmah brand in numerous flavors.

38 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Hmmm - I'll have to ask our TA (from a very large Agency) about that.  In all our dealings, never heard of that and they do quite a bit of business with Viking.

So I also use an agent from a very large agency who told me on my first call to her that she had access to all these secret promos.  On that call to her I already had a promo code so we didn't discuss it further.

On a subsequent call, I asked what promo codes she knew were available.

Silence...

Urban legend?

2 minutes ago, Teryle said:

 Not certain but have done REVISED

with all funds applied and new promo

I wish I could send you my Viking agent who has done magic for me. We are o

n cruise 18 so I am a big fan!

We are high jacking this. Please post new promos.

Your agent won't do magic in this situation. 

Travel Lions river cruise is in 50 to 60 days (or less).

You really think Viking will allow a change this late?

Travel Lion-

Other much smarter individuals on these boards will explain that you are also protected from price increases.  I hope you enjoy your cruise.  I expect you will.

5 hours ago, bluesplayer said:

First Viking Ocean cruise.  Have sailed on a river cruise.  We purchased the Silver Spirit beverage package.  On the river cruise seemed the bar was only open about an hour before dinner and an hour after.  Does anyone have an idea of their hours?  Much thanks…

Not sure of which river cruise you took, but I can say with 100% certainty that the river cruise bar was open and  available for drinks anytime after 12 noon until (in my case) about 11pm.

1 minute ago, Teryle said:

Try a revised booking. Have to change date, but can get the new promo. 

So you are suggesting that it would be advantageous to take a 50% "haircut" (likely greater than $6K) to perhaps save half that?

Priceless.

46 minutes ago, sundaycreek said:

Glad it worked for you.  I just tried and was told Promo NTB24 is for new guests only.

Thank you.

To be clear, I was not using a promo code.

15 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

 

Awesome!! As Borat would say.. "GREAT SUCCESS!!"

🙂  Where is he when this nation needs him!

35 minutes ago, WestW said:

Glad it worked out.  Never hurts to try - 30 minutes of effort for $3000 in savings! I wonder how the adjustment impacted the TA (if any).

The impact to my TA is that she lost my trust and is history.

6 minutes ago, WestW said:

We originally booked this on a cruise we were on and never transferred it to an agent.  Plus, because this was an adjustment of an existing cruise booked over a year ago, we couldn't transfer to a travel agent when we applied AVS24. 

 

We also didn't use the "free economy airfare" that AVS24 offered since we already had business class tickets that we booked ourselves.  But the discounted business class fare they offered was about what we paid since we booked so far in advance. 

 

Still, saved $3400 plus got $1000 in onboard credits from the promotion. We did the revision via the Chat function. Not sure if this is why we didn't have to cancel/rebook to take advantage of the promotion. 

Thank you for fast reply.

My sorry story-

Viking has lowered their fares for Egyptian river cruises for 2024.  I booked in September 2023.

I'm not at final payment and wanted a price adjustment in light of what you wrote.  I have a Viking agent as well as a TA.

Called the Viking agent first and was told that this was a matter for my TA to contact Viking.

Called my TA and we actually got into an argument.  My TA swore that Viking would never do a price adjustment and that it would be "a waste of time to call".  I told her to call.

She called.

Less than 30 minutes later I received a revised invoice with a savings of almost $3K.

No apology from my TA.  Fairy Tales can come true........

Thank you WestW!

On 1/15/2024 at 5:28 PM, WestW said:

AVS24 discount code:    In January 2023, we booked a PV1 for Into The Midnight Sun leaving London on July 26th, 2024. When I repriced it online using the discount code, I saw we could save $3,000.  

 

I contacted Viking via chat and they repriced our fare using the same booking number (no cancellation / rebook needed so we saved the $100 per person cancellation fees).  Net-net, we ended up saving $3,400 plus received $1000 in onboard credits.  Credit was applied to the credit card we used for final payment.   Great deal!

Question-

Did you transfer this booking to a travel agent?

I'm looking to do the same thing.

And the Flounder is the best!

And i asked my sister what she was up to.  She might have been sitting next to you for dinner!

Regards.

1 minute ago, Sleep7 said:

 

☀️68 and sunny sounds truly delightful.

What an exciting itinerary you are on.. hope it's been smooth sailing.  Is it generally rougher than the Med? Or is it just luck of the seas that week?

We will actually be on the Jupiter next summer for an Italian Sojourn.. looking forward to it!

Love love love Viking and will always include it in my rotation with an Azamara cruise or two in between.  They are definitely similar but a bit different too and it's always nice to experience both.😊

Rough seas are ahead.

Dramamine never far behind.

Just leaving Puerto Montt now.   Absolutely beautiful.