Sad Viking Tale

This year I booked my first ever cruise, Viking’s “Waterways of the Tsars” from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It was a terrible experience, or perhaps I should say non-experience, because of which I may forever hold a grudge against Viking. Perhaps that’s unfair of me. You judge.

I placed the requested $1,000 deposit for the trip this year on February 14 and spontaneously paid the entire trip cost and purchased travel insurance just 17 days later on March 3. Viking booked our airfare, and my wife and I selected our daily trip excursions. From that point our anticipation built until the day of departure on August 19, when we were turned away from our departure airport for lack of a Russian visitation visa.

As verified by Viking's review of reservation transcripts for tour and air arrangements, I was never informed of the need for a visa, but on review of all documents emailed by Viking, there is a short, inconspicuous notification of the visa requirement on my Guest Statement at the bottom of page 3, which I didn’t see. Failure to provide necessary travel documents is not a circumstance covered by travel insurance, and since I had to cancel at the last moment, Viking gets to keep ALL of the money. Viking Customer Relations has not made a meaningful conciliatory offer, except to refund their overcharge for the trip insurance to me.

Since Viking arranged our trip door-to-door, I had considered myself to be in the care of a travel agency. I have since discovered Viking's web site statement that Viking is not responsible for informing cruise guests of visa requirements. Clearly, I must not be the first client without a visa to have been turned away at the airport.

Sorry about you missing your cruise, but I can't blame Viking. It's always up to the passenger and spelled out very clearly regarding Visa requirements. Passengers are from many countries with a variety of eligibility issues. The cruise line has no way, nor has the individual passenger knowledge to handle each one personally.

So sorry to hear about the loss of your vacation, but regrettably, you and only you can know what visa's you require to visit a particular country, based on the passport you hold, nationality etc., so it is always your responsibility to ensure that you have the necessary documents before the day of travel.

Beyond that Viking do cover visas in their documentation as you have described and you do need to actually read the documentation that they provide to you.

You might want to consider using a good travel agent for future bookings rather than going direct as your TA would routinely make sure that all of your documents are in order before departure.

This year I booked my first ever cruise, Viking’s “Waterways of the Tsars” from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It was a terrible experience, or perhaps I should say non-experience, because of which I may forever hold a grudge against Viking. Perhaps that’s unfair of me. You judge.

I placed the requested $1,000 deposit for the trip this year on February 14 and spontaneously paid the entire trip cost and purchased travel insurance just 17 days later on March 3. Viking booked our airfare, and my wife and I selected our daily trip excursions. From that point our anticipation built until the day of departure on August 19, when we were turned away from our departure airport for lack of a Russian visitation visa.

As verified by Viking's review of reservation transcripts for tour and air arrangements, I was never informed of the need for a visa, but on review of all documents emailed by Viking, there is a short, inconspicuous notification of the visa requirement on my Guest Statement at the bottom of page 3, which I didn’t see. Failure to provide necessary travel documents is not a circumstance covered by travel insurance, and since I had to cancel at the last moment, Viking gets to keep ALL of the money. Viking Customer Relations has not made a meaningful conciliatory offer, except to refund their overcharge for the trip insurance to me.

 

Since Viking arranged our trip door-to-door, I had considered myself to be in the care of a travel agency. I have since discovered Viking's web site statement that Viking is not responsible for informing cruise guests of visa requirements. Clearly, I must not be the first client without a visa to have been turned away at the airport.

That is one hellacious story, perfectly explained, and I am so sorry you are in this predicament.

You raise an interesting question I had not thought of, that is whether Viking was acting in the role of a travel agency.

I imagine (and I am not defending them, just thinking out loud) they see themselves as a cruise line and travel provider/middle man, but not an agency.

My travel agent sent me a document headed IMPORTANT INFORMATION in upper case, red, bold faced, underlined type which begins, "You are scheduled to travel outside the United States which will the require the use of either a Passport and/or Visa. You are solely responsible to make certain your travel documents meet the following criteria".

Not to beat this death, but it lists 4 criteria; reservation name matches Passport, Passport expiration date at least 6 months following return date, VISA requirements/instructions, and requirements to provide agency with the above information.

It closes with **Failure to follow any of the above criteria is the sole responsibility of the client** And the agency accepts no responsibility...on behalf of the client. And no refunds can be given for unused travel which result from delays or disruptions due to missing or incomplete travel documents.

If Viking was acting on your behalf as your travel agent then they let you down by not providing what I was provided.

Welcome to CC.

It's a pity you did not research your trip and travel requirements before trying to leave, also you should have joined CC a long time ago, so much expertise available here.

A more suitable title would have been "Sad Traveller's Tail". Tail is correct, after being refused boarding, he left with is tail between his legs.:)

Lets see if OP can double his number of messages to two.

Let this be a cautionary tale for everyone. Foreign travel rules can be a surprise for many. I'm very sorry that your trip was ruined. I know that your shared experience will cause me to be extra careful.

With all the various rules covering visas for all the countries Viking visits, I can't fault Viking for washing their hands of the challenge. My recent trip to five Asian countries required five visas, all with differing processes. (Among other things, I needed six passport-sized photos. And all five cost me well over $500.)

Having travelled with Viking to both China and Vietnam/Cambodia, I'd have to say that Viking do cover visas in their travel documents, but you do need to actually read the documents that they send, which sadly the OP did not do.

This is also covered on the website and in their brochures and in the T&Cs and frankly might reasonably be considered a 'general knowledge' item and due diligence for someone planning to travel outside their own country...

I am so sorry this happened to you and your wife. What an expensive lesson! I hope others planning a similar trip see your story.

I've never booked directly with a cruise line, but I know all of them post information on their website notifying passengers that there may be passport and visa requirements. My travel agent provides me with this information, and makes me sign a form saying she's discussed certain items with me and I understand about deposits, final payment, passports, cancellations.

I tend to agree with Drcpa that Viking or any other cruise line is not acting as your agent but as a transportation/tour provider.

I just looked at the confirmation form I got from Uniworld via my travel agent to see what it says about passports and visas. Did you get something similar from Viking?

Passport/Visa

Passport/Visa: A valid passport is required to travel on all Uniworld programs. Passports must be valid for at least six (6) months after the scheduled return date of the trip. You should check with your travel agent or the US Consulate Service for information regarding necessary visas and other documentation. Non-US citizens must contact the appropriate consular office for entry requirements pertaining to your trip. your Any Visa(s) or other documentation required for a particular itinerary is the sole responsibility of the guest. As a courtesy, our website, http://www.uniworld.com in the “Already Booked” section, offers a link to a visa service company where you can obtain additional information. Obtaining and carrying these documents is sole responsibility, Uniworld will not be responsible for advising and/or obtaining required travel documentation for any passenger, or for any delays, damages and/or losses, including missed portions of your trip, related to improper travel documentation.

For entry to Tibet, a visa is not necessary, but an entry permit is required for all passport holders. Uniworld will provide a Tibet Entry Permit while on the tour for all guests. In order for us to properly arrange for your Tibet Entry Permit in advance, please email a copy of the photo page of your passport as well as a copy of your China visa to asiadepartment@uniworld.com no later than forty-five (45) days prior to departure. Please include your name and Uniworld booking number in your email.

For entry to Cambodia, our Tour Manager will take care of obtaining Cambodian visas for each Guest while on the tour. Each Guest will need to provide the Tour Manager with their passport, a passport photo, and $50.00 USD cash per person while on the tour for this purpose. The Tour Manager will then submit all passports to the Cambodian Immigration Authorities and obtain the visas. For southbound Mekong cruises, this will be done at the Siem Reap Airport. For northbound Mekong cruises, this will be done onboard the Mekong Navigator prior to entering Cambodia.

A multiple entry visa is required for entry to Vietnam.

A single entry visa is required for entry to China.

A single entry visa is required for entry to Russia.

A single entry visa is required for Egypt.

A single entry visa is required for entry to India.

Roz

I am sorry this happened to you but it is up to the individual traveling to find out what they need. I have traveled over there 2x and both times got the visa. I also believe having a TA would have helped you as the travel agent is looking out for you and Viking is looking out for themselves. When I say travel agent, I mean a real one and not an order taker. A TA is worth their weight in gold when something goes wrong.

A TA is worth their weight in gold when something goes wrong.

Amen! I see lots of people post here at CC that they don't book with a TA because they want "control" of their booking. Especially when it comes to more complicated out-of-country travel (not a routine Caribbean cruise), I need and want the help. I see it as guidance, not control.

Roz

Sorry to hear about your problem.

However, I must also agree with the people posting that making sure one has the appropriate Visa's is the responsibility of the traveler, not the cruise lines. The cruise lines have to deal with many travelers with many circumstances and as such cannot cover all possible situations for all of their passengers.

I always check and double check requirements for any country we are planning to visit, even if it just a pass through flight connection.

I feel bad for the OP. Many people are traveling overseas to foreign countries for the first time when they do a river cruise. I think it is great that other cruise lines/agencies clearly post visa requirements. Viking should do so as well. IMHO. Tauck clearly spells it out:

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For sure, this was a very expensive, very painful lesson about travel and traveling. I'm sure that very few of us can afford to watch $15-20,000 disappear in front of our eyes all because we did not read the fine print and I am sure we all want to blame it on someone else, even though the only one to blame is ourselves.

When we traveled to China with Viking in 2010, visas were needed. One of the things that Viking sent us was a packet from the visa service that they recommend. Unless Viking no longer sends these packets, didn't OP even to start question when they saw the packet? Viking also sent us information that we needed to fill in the paperwork.

BTW, for future reference for everyone reading this thread, the US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs has a website with a whole section for international travelers with information country by country. One of the things covered for each country on the list is if a visa is required for travel in the country.

OP, you mentioned purchasing travel insurance. Did you get any relief there? There is "cancel for any reason" insurance. Wonder if cancel for any reason would cover this situation.

I feel bad for the OP. Many people are traveling overseas to foreign countries for the first time when they do a river cruise. I think it is great that other cruise lines/agencies clearly post visa requirements. Viking should do so as well. IMHO. Tauck clearly spells it out:

 

 

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Viking spells it out as well and in multiple places-- on the 4 page invoice that they send you, in the FAQ, on the Viking website under MY TRIP, in the Terms and Conditions (link available in the footer of every single page on the website) and in the passenger portal known as MyVikingJourney.com.

OP, you mentioned purchasing travel insurance. Did you get any relief there? There is "cancel for any reason" insurance. Wonder if cancel for any reason would cover this situation.

My CAA policy (Canadian equivalent of AAA) has cancel for any reason coverage as part of its cancellation benefit. You have to cancel your trip 3 or more hours before the scheduled departure time, and it will pay 75% of non-refundable arrangements booked through CAA and 50% booked elsewhere. It MIGHT have been possible if you tried to check in more than 3 hours before flight time, but you would have had to contact them immediately. Otherwise, I think you would be out of luck.

For regular cancellation, refusal of your visa application counts, but you had to have applied on time. Here, no application, so no grounds for cancellation.

OP, you mentioned purchasing travel insurance. Did you get any relief there? There is "cancel for any reason" insurance. Wonder if cancel for any reason would cover this situation.

I made an unusual mistake here because I was simultaneously arranging a biking trip in The Netherlands and Belgium. I bought the travel insurance and fully paid for the trip on day 17 after making the trip deposit (while incidentally overpaying for the insurance). Unfortunately, the cancel for any reason feature requires that trip insurance be purchased within 14 days of the trip deposit...and unfortunately in any event it doesn't entail a refund of money...just a credit voucher that can be applied to another Viking trip subject to when cancellation was made. As I read this policy, had I qualified for cancellation for any reason, I would have still received nothing.

Most tour companies I have dealt with would allow cancellation for any reason and just refund the cash, less any time-related cancellation penalty. Again, Viking's cancellation for any reason benefit is very dubious but touted as if it is a benefit.

As a newbie to CC and to cruises in general, I appreciate the resources and feedback available here, and also agree with the general lesson learned that I need to better do my own travel document research, regardless of the information provided by any overseas tour vendor. The greater message is that I've lost trust in the transparency and completeness of what is being sold, previously gained in many years of experience with other tour operators.

Many of you posting what I should have done are clearly experienced cruise travelers and even travelers to countries that require visas, and you have already forgiven what should not have been. I have been overseas at least 20 times before on my own and on various tours, but just not to a country that required a visa. Perhaps I have been lucky, but I also know that any previous tour operator would have pointedly informed about potential visa requirements. A visa wasn't even on my radar, nor was a visa requirement an envisioned consideration for any of the experienced overseas travelers and cruise takers with whom I have shared this Russian cruise experience. Many of these friends have visited St. Petersburg on other cruise trips and there was never a visa issue, so one should not be too judgmental when even an experienced traveler is ambushed by visa requirements. This trip was different because of needed arrival into and departure from Russian airports,

Regardless of how Viking (or any other cruise company) defines its role with respect to visas, the fact is that when a customer is paying for a door-to-door travel experience, all he should need to do is pay, pack, and show up with travel documents. If visas, immunizations, or passport expiration dates are a potential show-stopping travel document issue, it should not just be "discoverable" on a travel agent's information, or on the Viking or any other cruise line's web site or documentation. It should be IN ONE'S FACE. I'm 74 years old with some vision problems, and therefore the same age or even younger than most of Viking's river cruise clients. I shouldn't have to delve through reams of text to discover pertinent information. As I pointed out to Viking in personal correspondence, the fix is as simple as where the information is placed, the size and color of the typeface used, and even the use of an automated emailing to alert of potential visa or passport renewal date issues. Viking doesn't have to provide specific visa requirement information for all passenger nationalities and destinations...just a very conspicuous alert and some facilitation. Viking provides the latter...just not the conspicuous alert. As someone who has some web site management experience, I know how little is required to provide the requisite changes in technology to this company with huge cash flow resources.

I will be a wiser cruise traveler if a return to cruising is in my future, but frankly this has been my worst experience in many decades of travel. I thank all post responders for their input.

We visited St. Petersburg while on an ocean cruise with Costa three years ago. Costa "warned" us that the cost of thier shore excursions included the necessary Russian visa. Through our research we learned that all licensed tour operators can and will issue the necessary visas.

I have since decided that a good travel agent is the best strategy. The cost of going direct vs using a TA is the same.

We visited St. Petersburg while on an ocean cruise with Costa three years ago. Costa "warned" us that the cost of thier shore excursions included the necessary Russian visa. Through our research we learned that all licensed tour operators can and will issue the necessary visas.

 

I have since decided that a good travel agent is the best strategy. The cost of going direct vs using a TA is the same.

That is true for ocean cruises. It is not true for river cruises. Because passengers are flying to Russia they have to have individual Russian visas. It has nothing to do with shore excursions.

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Sorry. I meant to say that the visa information was only true for ocean cruises.

The advisability of a TA is always true in my opinion.

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That is true for ocean cruises. It is not true for river cruises. Because passengers are flying to Russia they have to have individual Russian visas. It has nothing to do with shore excursions.

 

 

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Roz

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A visa wasn't even on my radar, nor was a visa requirement an envisioned consideration for any of the experienced overseas travelers and cruise takers with whom I have shared this Russian cruise experience. Many of these friends have visited St. Petersburg on other cruise trips and there was never a visa issue, so one should not be too judgmental when even an experienced traveler is ambushed by visa requirements. This trip was different because of needed arrival into and departure from Russian airports

I´m sorry that this happened to you! But visa for Russia is usually the first question that comes up on the ocean cruises boards. And all people do need a visa. Except that on organized shore excursions either by the cruise line or a certified independent tour operator you get a group visa and don´t need to take care of an individual visa. So all of your friends did have a visa. And I assume you are talking about ocean cruises with a stop in St. Petersburg. Ask your friends again and then they will tell you that they were not able to leave the ship on their own or even leave the group on the tour (some guides are a little less strict about this).

For a river cruise you enter Russia and stay in Russia. Therefore you need an individual visa. And you should have received some paperwork by Viking as you need an "invitation" to apply for a visa.

Here in Germany the river cruise companies do work together with visa agencies. But we still have to fill in all the paperwork and send in our passports, photos and paperwork to the agency which takes care of the visa process.

steamboats

 

For a river cruise you enter Russia and stay in Russia. Therefore you need an individual visa. And you should have received some paperwork by Viking as you need an "invitation" to apply for a visa.

On both of my trips - I didn't exactly get an "invitation" sent to me - I was told to go through a specific visa agency that had our "invitation". I think if I had gone through a different agency, I would have had to ask for this. I didn't even do a pre-cruise trip as I would have to get that invitation from the hotel, etc....

I actually felt sorry for the OP until he goes on how well traveled he is, etc.... I also come from the generation that used to celebrate cruise documents in the mail and would read each page from top until end until I left. You are right - if the person had read any review on any Russian River cruises they would have read first about obtaining the visa and how long it took, etc...

On both of my trips - I didn't exactly get an "invitation" sent to me - I was told to go through a specific visa agency that had our "invitation". I think if I had gone through a different agency, I would have had to ask for this. I didn't even do a pre-cruise trip as I would have to get that invitation from the hotel, etc....

Coral, yes if they have a dedicated visa agency then the agency can provide the invitation. In my case we had a dedicated visa agency but our cruise line sent us the invitation to forward it with the rest of the paperwork to the agency. I don´t know whether Viking has a dedicated agency for a visa.

BTW we have this problems several times during the summer school holidays here in Germany. We do have a special kids´ ID which is called passport and looks pretty much like a real passport (but the fee is much cheaper). So even the passport authorities do suggest to get this cheaper passport for a kid (up to the age of 12 y) instead of a real one. So parents think they are ok with this document. But this document is not valid for the US (and ESTA). So each year there are desperate families at the airports not being able to travel to the US because one of the kids has no proper passport.

Over here we did have law suits regarding the proper documents and what a cruise line has to do and tell you. At the end... the cruise line has to tell you that it´s your responsability to have the proper documentation for the visited country and that they can deny boarding if you don´t have it. Here in Europe the problem is even more complicated with different nationalities. So what is valid for a German citizen can be totally different for the spouse coming from a non EU country (and even within the EU countries the rules can be different). Just recently the German passport has being rated as one of the best ones as you can visit more countries with a German passport than with any other without obtaining a visa in advance.

steamboats