palermo22

Do taxis take credit cards?

Understood. Did you try clicking on United States under Country of Residence too? Did that take you to the US site or plop you back in Canada? It should take you to the US site. Did for me.

 

Otherwise the only thing I can think of is that your browser (chrome? Firefox? Internet Explorer?) somehow thinks your location is in Canada. Btw - does this only happen with Viking's site?

 

 

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Here's something really confusing: so down below on home page you can click the country of residence - when I click on Australia - au pops up - for UK - uk pops up - when I pit in canada - canada pops up - when I pit united states - canada again pops up - so weird. I am going to call Viking tomorrow.

Understood. Did you try clicking on United States under Country of Residence too? Did that take you to the US site or plop you back in Canada? It should take you to the US site. Did for me.

 

Otherwise the only thing I can think of is that your browser (chrome? Firefox? Internet Explorer?) somehow thinks your location is in Canada. Btw - does this only happen with Viking's site?

 

 

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yes, I clicked on Country of Residence: USA

I have a mac so I use Safari and Chome and Firefox. My wife has an Ipad and I just tried to bring up the URL on her IPad - we still get Canada. And, yes, it only happens on Viking's Site (I just tied Regent Seven Seas - and it recognized my being in California (where I Live). Very strange - never had this before.

The US site is http://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans

 

 

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This is what I get when I clicked your URL: http://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans

Thanks for the help - but what you suggested didn't help. My internet provider is in the U.S.

Not sure what you stated in your message 2 above (I don't know what you mean by pressing VO icon top left.

When I clicked on your URL in #3 - it took me to (again) the URL for Canada. I am pretty good on computers - so most of what you suggested I have already tried.

The other day I noticed that when I went into the Viking Ocean site - there in the URL title was the following: http://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/

It could easily be missed but right after vikingcruises is :canada. I live in California and have no idea how I got switched over to the Canadian site (if that is in fact what happened.

No matter what site I pull up (in the Viking Ocean site) - I continuously get the Canadian site.

Has anyone else noticed this (who live in the USA)?

When I was talking to Viking accounting department, the fellow there said Sky's christening was scheduled for May, 2017.

 

 

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I am still assuming that embarking and christening are two separate events (since our Barcelona, Baltic and Beyond is still listed on the Viking page as embarking on 4/15/2017). If it weren't for the fantastic air deal that we have (on our own - and, yes, we have insurance) - I would be perfectly happy to embark a month later.

The last thing I heard on Viking Sky is that it had been delayed to the beginning of 2017. Does anyone have an update on exactly when the Sky will do its inaugural sail???

Wow that's awesome. I'm not flying from the west coast but if you have tips to share I'd love to hear them. Did you book on your own or go through a ticket broker? When is your cruise? I'm trying to gauge how far in advance to book. The booking window for our dates has just opened.

We're on the Viking Sky - Barcelona to Stockholm 4/15/17

I'm pretty experienced at this so I do my own booking. First thing I did was get a Chase Preferred Travel Card - they'll start you off with 55,000 points and then look for ways to increase your points. Charge the cost of your cruise to this credit card. You'll then have over $1,000 to apply to airfares.

The OP is not going to/from Bergen - they are flying out of Stockholm - the final stop on the Sky 22 day cruise.

I started this thread - I cancelled the air with Viking (we would have had to pay over $4200 and even then we probably would not have gotten one of the upper tiered Premium Economy seats on the better airlines). From the beginning I was only going to consider Virgin Atlantic or Air New Zealand Premium Economy seats since they are voted the best in the business.

About a week ago I saw that Virgin Atlantic had terrific PE seats from LAX to LHR but the cost would have been $4400 and then we still would have had to pay another $500/$600 for airfare to Barcelona and then from Stockholm back to London at the end of the trip. Kept searching and found a Delta fare that in reality was a code share with Virgin Atlantic - it was a Virgin Atlantic plane that I got for $2800 - after I made reservations on British Air for London to Barcelona and from Stockholm to London - and using Chase points - we got the complete air trip for $2500. If anyone needs help in doing this I'll be glad to help.

Thanks! I have been to London many times but I have never stayed out by Heathrow. Since we have an early flight the next day I would rather just stay out there.

Starting our Viking cruise in Barcelona but staying overnight at LHR because of long trip from the West Coast. Looking for good 3*/4* hotel within a mile or so of Heathrow - which doesn't have to be extravagant - just quiet and comfortable. Any personal favorites out there?

OK Jerry...

 

I have some flights on hold. I spoke with my TA and she told me that it was $1,100 for the air from Tucson...$50 extra for custom air, then $100 extra to stay 2 nights in Stockholm. She said we could do the air now...ie pick our flights, tell them what we want...HOWEVER, we would not find out until 45 days out what we got. She said we could request early ticketing but that it depended on Viking Air and who was doing the flights. We also could not get seats until then, obviously, because we wouldn't have flights until then!

 

I found good connections on American on good big airplanes, picked my seats, arrive in BCN at 8:55 AM the morning of the cruise, leave ARN 2 days after the cruise arriving in Tucson at 7:30 PM (I have to work the next day, it would have been cheaper to arrive at 10 PM). My airfare per person is under $1,300. Plus I can use my Capital One points...I have $1,200 to put toward the air. I have 24 hours to ticket it.

 

So I'm spending under $50 pp more to pick my own flights and seats and have control over my airline reservation (ie the airline changes flights I can deal directly with them).

 

You asked me to tell you what we decided, and after weighing our options that's what we're doing. I don't want to stress out over it close to the cruise. Now it'll be done!! And transfers from BCN are only $30 for a cab.in Stockholm we're staying extra so that doesn't even factor in.

 

I bought my own independent travel insurance through insuremytrip as Viking's was so expensive, so if something happens with connections I'm covered.

Yes, I am going in that direction myself: my tickets are now paid for and our TA has removed the Viking Air. I could easily take American or United from LAX but as an experienced traveler I would rather use a foreign airline; also, we are going by Premium Economy and British Air and/or Virgin Atlantic and/or Air NZ have much better Premium Economy sections. Last month I received our new Chase Sapphire Card which I will have earned close to 100,000 points by the time the bonus and purchases hit my account - I have been informed that those points will be available by mid-July. After I finish with my air reservations I will have a better schedule and less expensive tickets than if I had stayed with Viking Air. If anyone is interested in this credit card for loads of free points - let me know.

Our cruise disappeared from the Viking website. Barcelona the Baltics and Beyond April 15. I emailed my TA. It's still under my Viking journey.

Just checked - still there under Ocean Cruises.

Just to clarify for all readers who have not been following palermo's threads (he really has been picking our brains), he is on an itinerary that starts or ends in Bergen and Custom Air is not available on any itinerary that flies in or out of Bergen. Therefore, if he uses Viking Air for his PE seat, he is stuck with whichever airline and whichever flight plan Viking chooses for him. (N.B., there is also a deviation permitted to fly in to/out of Oslo but that also is very restricted; you should get the details directly from Viking just so that you are clear about them).

 

Under other circumstances (i.e., any itinerary or air promotion that allows custom air and deviations), he would at least be able to pay the custom air fee and find out what price (plus air deviation fee and loss of transfers) Viking is offering for him to fly on New Zealand Air. There may or may not be an upcharge and it may or may not be cheaper than booking your own. You don't know until you talk with Viking and do the research.

 

For myself, I use Viking Air because so far their pricing has been much, much more favorable than I could have found for myself flying out of Boston--and it includes transfers. However, there are others who don't because they are very good at finding air deals and they can do better on their own. Each case is different and no one choice is right for everyone.

 

 

 

Well, actually, this isn't entirely true.

 

It is true if no custom air is offered on the itinerary or promotion. You take whatever Viking assigns you. Period.

 

It is true, if custom air is available and you are only willing to pay the promotional price for your flights, but at least you will get to choose from what Viking is offering at the promotional price--which may or may not include the airline you want and the precise routing you want--and on some airlines you may even get to choose yours seats in advance.

 

However, if you are willing to accept an upcharge on the promotional price, you can choose your airline as well. You won't know until you ask if it is a good deal and you will have to pay the custom air fee in order to talk with Viking Air (that's the way it works). Viking will book you on any flights you want (except where there is no custom air offered) as long as you are willing to pay the price. [but note that this last option is not available to palermo because his itinerary starts/stops in Bergen.]

 

So, for those coming in in the middle of the discussion, I hope this clears up some of the confusion on a very topic.

You might have me mixed up with someone else: my itinerary begins in Barcelona and terminates in Stockholm. The rest of what you state is correct - but to clarify: I most likely can do better on my own but it is still the roll of the dice. My big thing with Viking is that I want to stop off at LHR for one night and catch our breath since we are flying directly from LAX. I wanted to be somewhat rested before we get on the ship - with Viking calling this a deviation it amounts to my wife and I paying $300 to take a rest stop at LHR - that alone is why I believe we can do better on our own.

If you book with Viking for air you get their price. We did this. After booking I couldn't find air fare at the price they were quoting. When we approached them about extending the time on each end we were told of additional costs that would be entailed. We found better prices than the original quote for the exact time we wanted. We then contacted Viking and got a complete refund on our fare because we were still far enough out. You still have to arrange your transfers but if you go in early or stay late you have to do the same with Viking and they don't refund the money they charged for services they are no longer providing.

We saved around $600.

Yes, you get their price but not necessarily the airline you want to travel with. We are going with the Premium Economy - those that have traveled via PE - know that it's a crap shoot on which airline you get - and there are only a few airlines that truly have a PE section. Even using Viking Custom Travel is no guarantee that you'll get the airline you want (in our case we want to travel via Air New Zealand to LHR as their PE Section is just as good as many airlines Business Class).

You should ask your travel agent to confirm this with Viking but I think you will find that everything for which you have contracted--cruise and air-- is due by June 30, otherwise you lose the promotional price on the air.

 

Ten months out is nothing. We booked our cruise over 2 years before we were due to sail and it was due in-full 18 months before we sailed. By the time we had paid in full, both sailings were completely sold out.

I'm sure you are probably right - was hoping I could prolong it until I am sure whether I can make a better deal on my own (which I probably can).

Our full payment for the cruise is due June 30 (our cruise - which departs 4/15/17 - is still 10 months off). The invoice from our travel agent states the amount due plus $1,890 pp for Premium Fare. Does anyone know if the airfare needs to be paid now or if there is a deadline on when the airfare is due? I wanted to wait a few months so I can use my new travel credit card - collect points and then either through Viking or somewhere else - make my reservations then. Any knowledgeable comment would be welcomed. Since we made our reservation that Premium airfare has increased $300 pp.

We are doing Barcelona the Baltics and Beyond April 15. I'm in Tucson and the air quoted was $1,100 plus if we wanted the custom it is $50 add'l. From all of the problems with Viking Air I've read about I think I'm doing my own. I can book the end of next week but by putting dummy bookings in it's about $1,300. I have Capital One points so essentially one would be free and I can fly TUS-JFK-BCN, a little over 14 hours. We want to stay 2 nights in Stockholm after so I'm going to see what happens next week when my dates become available then talk to my TA to see what she thinks. I realize I'll have to pay for transfers but somehow I think I'm going to be better off on my own, especially because Tucson is a difficult airport to get connections. Just reading the Viking Air reviews has made me nervous. I did book the air with my cruise but haven't had to pay for it yet so can cancel it.

We are on the same cruise - when we signed up 11 months ago we were given a "special fare" for upgrading to Premium Economy. We have to pay for the cruise and airline fare by the end of June. I have already told my travel agent that we're doing the air on our own - we'll just pay for the cruise. I have lived all over the world so I feel confident in this approach. We live on the California Central Coast - LAX is a three hour drive - my preliminary routing would be to use Air New Zealand from LAX to LHR (both ways) - and book internal European flights from LHR to BCN and STO back to LHR. When I heard that Viking was going to charge us $150 each (to stay one night at LHR and to use custom travel - I told my wife that we're now over $4K for premium economy. My preliminary info is that I can do this trip with better comfort and $500 less.

We have never travelled with Viking before and our first time is on the Star next month. Did not use them to book our air as I prefer to do this ourselves as we want to fly either on premium economy or business class. I did do some extensive research last summer when we booked this Viking cruise to see if I could find good evidence on the positives of using them to book our air. No such luck, and have yet to find any valid support for this service. Lots of negatives from folks on not providing good schedules, seating, or airline selection. The ladies commenting on their positive experiences on this link have been some of the first positive feedback. I guess the bottom line to deciding to use Viking air or not is almost totally a personal preference. Have never seen any supporting info on how they are cheaper for any desired level of service.

I am the thread starter. I too make my own flights (and feel comfortable doing it); however, in this situation - our Viking cruise in April 2017 had a special fare of $1890 pp for premium economy departing/arriving LAX. When I throw in their picking us up at BCN - I didn't think I could get under that amount (even after throwing another $100 at Viking so that we have more control over our seats.

It would be very helpful if someone has recently upgraded to Premium Economy and flown out of LAX using Viking Custom Air. While every itinerary is different it might give me some idea which airlines Viking is using for its contract fares. As a side note, even if you haven't used Viking and made your own reservations for a Premium Economy seat - are there Airlines Premium Economy Sections which have stood out as being good (or bad)?

So if one picks out an airline - and I use the routing LAX - LHR and then changing planes and/or airlines (it would be mandatory since the airline I would be flying only goes LAX to LHR). Because of the schedule I wouldn't get to the embarking city (Barcelona) until late at night. So instead of leaving on a Friday (ship would be embarking on Saturday) - we would then have to leave on a Thursday and stay at LHR for one night. Would we still have to pay a deviation fee?

Thanks to those who have responded. A couple of other questions:

OK I am going to pay the $50 pp to work out the best flights/seats - my first leg is going from LAX to Barcelona and the second flight is Stockholm to LAX (22 days later). Do I have to pick the most direct route or can I pick routes for comfort. For example, Air New Zealand has a great Premium economy section and flies non-stop from LAX to LHR; however, at that point I will need to take a two hour flight to BCN. Is that feasible under the Viking Custom Air Program?

We have reservations on the Viking Sky that goes from Barcelona to Stockholm - 22 days beginning 4/15/2017. We are taking advantage of the special fare for Premium Economy - we will begin our itinerary out of LAX. Can someone explain to me the payment of $50 pp above the special airfare of $1890 pp. Does paying the $50 give one more flexibility in choosing flights and seats? Any information on this subject would be appreciated.