firefightermom007 Posted June 10, 2015 #1 Share Posted June 10, 2015 We have friends booked on the 14 June 2015 departure. Just got word on 9 June cruise is cancelled. Insurance does not cover change fees or cancellation fees because Viking cancelled due to "repairs". Viking offered to rebook on the Paris and Heart of Normandy. Would cost over 4K to change airline tickets to Paris instead of Lyon..so opted to take train from Lyon to Paris. Viking will not let us use their transfers from CDG to Le Pecq because they are arriving by train. Make an exception...for gosh sakes. And from other reviews on CC this is quite a distance, and a change, from what their website which reads "Paris". Between transfers, new airline tickets and added hotel stays they are now upwards of 1000.00 out of pocket extra expenses. And Viking is not helping them out at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted June 10, 2015 #2 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Huh, Enough said!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted June 10, 2015 #3 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Huh, Enough said!! Exactly! Our AMA cruise last year in France had a last minute embarkation change (from Arles to Lyon) due to high waters. They were AMAZING and we were not out of a pocket for a penny despite having to purchase new train tickets. They even arranged a special pick up for us and took us to boat and then we took off down the river to pick up the rest of the passengers. Customer service was top notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biker1972 Posted June 10, 2015 #4 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Was air booked by Viking or independently? Transfers are generally from the airport to the boat or pre-stay hotel. Were the transfers part of Viking air or purchased along with independent air? If it was independent air was it the cheapest economy fare with many restrictions? Was there cancel for any reason insurance? To blatantly say that Viking is not taking care of their guests without giving the necessary details is throwing mud. Viking may well be screwing up but how much is in the details. I will not defend Viking but I am irritated when the full picture is not disclosed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingAlong4Now Posted June 10, 2015 #5 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Viking "insurance" does not cover this, but if your friends had purchased insurance independent of Viking, many of these change expenses would have been covered. Viking "insurance" is not insurance (except in NY which has very strict insurance laws); it is a reimbursement from Viking, many times via voucher, not cash. The tripinsurancestore.com is a good source of information about the differences between cruise line reimbursements and third party insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted June 10, 2015 #6 Share Posted June 10, 2015 In my situation, we booked air, hotels and train tix on our own and were still taken care of 100% by AMA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefightermom007 Posted June 10, 2015 Author #7 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Was air booked by Viking or independently? Transfers are generally from the airport to the boat or pre-stay hotel. Were the transfers part of Viking air or purchased along with independent air? If it was independent air was it the cheapest economy fare with many restrictions? Was there cancel for any reason insurance? To blatantly say that Viking is not taking care of their guests without giving the necessary details is throwing mud. Viking may well be screwing up but how much is in the details. I will not defend Viking but I am irritated when the full picture is not disclosed. This not a normal situation. Viking cancelled their cruise departing from Lyon. Viking does not provide air from Lyon to Paris, so they booked a train. The train station is right at CDG. Since Viking is not providing any sort of assistance, the people were even willing to pay for the transfer from CDG to the pier. Viking declined. To stick to what is "black and white" is not good customer service. There needs to be some flexibility in helping out the customer..it was Viking's fault they have to reschedule their whole trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefightermom007 Posted June 10, 2015 Author #8 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Viking "insurance" does not cover this, but if your friends had purchased insurance independent of Viking, many of these change expenses would have been covered. Viking "insurance" is not insurance (except in NY which has very strict insurance laws); it is a reimbursement from Viking, many times via voucher, not cash. The tripinsurancestore.com is a good source of information about the differences between cruise line reimbursements and third party insurance. They did have independent insurance, with Alliance. The reason it is not covered - because it is not a "covered" reason. Fixing a broken ship is not a covered reason. And why buy "cancel for any reason" when it does not give 100% back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted June 10, 2015 #9 Share Posted June 10, 2015 In my situation, we booked air, hotels and train tix on our own and were still taken care of 100% by AMA. Customer service as it should be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted June 10, 2015 #10 Share Posted June 10, 2015 In my situation, we booked air, hotels and train tix on our own and were still taken care of 100% by AMA. Wow. Now that's impressive! OP - I am so sorry your friends had to go through all this. Since the changes weren't due to any fault of their own, you'd think Viking would bend over backwards to rectify the situation. I hope their 'new' cruise goes well from here on out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted June 10, 2015 #11 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Go read the post on Vikings FB page ;( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Got2Cruise Posted June 10, 2015 #12 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Why was this cruise suddenly cancelled? Something similar happened concerning Viking canceling due to an accident. Same thing people left financial debts but no cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted June 10, 2015 #13 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Why was this cruise suddenly cancelled? Something similar happened concerning Viking canceling due to an accident. Same thing people left financial debts but no cruise I'm betting the story on Vikings FB page right now is why this cruise was cancelled.... Go read! Before its gone :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefightermom007 Posted June 10, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) I'm betting the story on Vikings FB page right now is why this cruise was cancelled.... Go read! Before its gone :( Looks like it might be the same one. He does not say which ship and/or which river in France. Edited June 10, 2015 by firefightermom007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted June 10, 2015 #15 Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) It still there, 4th story down, it has been removed once before. I took a screen shot but don't know how to attach photos but I'll try. Easier to go over there and read it! Not clear... Sorry go read Edited June 10, 2015 by JVilleGal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
$hip$hape Posted June 11, 2015 #16 Share Posted June 11, 2015 It still there, 4th story down, it has been removed once before. I took a screen shot but don't know how to [ATTACH]351875[/ATTACH] attach photos but I'll try.Easier to go over there and read it! Not clear... Sorry go read Is this the one?: Today at 4:03pm My wife, her parents and step sister just returned on Monday, June 8th, 2015 from a Viking River Cruise in France. Unfortunately, it wasn't what they had hoped for. The boat they were on developed mechanical problems on Day 2 of their 8 day cruise. They got no further than the second port before they were told the cruise was over. The entire ship was bussed to various excursion destinations, sometime taking as long as 2 1/2 hours each way. The whole trip was ruined. And, to add insult to injury, we just got an email from Viking letting us know that their idea of fair compensation is 25% off the next cruise we book with them! Unbelievable!! There were people on this cruise who had saved for years to make this trip. Can you imagine being told that "fair compensation" for a ruined 8 day trip is to get a voucher for 25% off the next one? Incredible!! If you agree that their idea of fair compensation is ridiculous, you can comment under my post on their FB site. Viking River Cruises Travel/Leisure · 491,345 Likes Viking River Cruises's photo. Viking River Cruises Like Page Jeff Leser Kathy Donovan Like · Comment · Share Mark Parenteau, Carol Losch Horne and 2 others like this. View 1 more comment Alan Christensen Probably why I don't see it. Like · Reply · 5 hrs Chip Oswalt But...apparently Viking has a reputation for doing this. Like · 5 hrs View more replies Lahle Ehrlich It is not fair and this is why people sue. I am so sorry a planned for trip that was both anticipated and expensive turned out to be a lesson in bad customer service for them. Good for you for speaking out. Now, from a marketing standpoint, make som...See More Like · Reply · 4 hrs Lahle Ehrlich #VikingRiverCruises rip off. #VikingCruises sucks. There, just got ya started. (The first hashtag is being used already, I added the second to get people going!) Like · Reply · 4 hrs Chip Oswalt so...I need to message you separately. Need to ask a few questions. I'll ping you in private message later today. Like · 4 hrs View more replies Karen Parenteau I will definitely be boycotting Viking! Like · Reply · 1 hr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefightermom007 Posted June 11, 2015 Author #17 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Is this the one?: Today at 4:03pm My wife, her parents and step sister just returned on Monday, June 8th, 2015 from a Viking River Cruise in France. Unfortunately, it wasn't what they had hoped for. The boat they were on developed mechanical problems on Day 2 of their 8 day cruise. They got no further than the second port before they were told the cruise was over. The entire ship was bussed to various excursion destinations, sometime taking as long as 2 1/2 hours each way. The whole trip was ruined. And, to add insult to injury, we just got an email from Viking letting us know that their idea of fair compensation is 25% off the next cruise we book with them! Unbelievable!! There were people on this cruise who had saved for years to make this trip. Can you imagine being told that "fair compensation" for a ruined 8 day trip is to get a voucher for 25% off the next one? Incredible!! If you agree that their idea of fair compensation is ridiculous, you can comment under my post on their FB site. Viking River Cruises Travel/Leisure · 491,345 Likes Viking River Cruises's photo. Viking River Cruises Like Page Jeff Leser Kathy Donovan Like · Comment · Share Mark Parenteau, Carol Losch Horne and 2 others like this. View 1 more comment Alan Christensen Probably why I don't see it. Like · Reply · 5 hrs Chip Oswalt But...apparently Viking has a reputation for doing this. Like · 5 hrs View more replies Lahle Ehrlich It is not fair and this is why people sue. I am so sorry a planned for trip that was both anticipated and expensive turned out to be a lesson in bad customer service for them. Good for you for speaking out. Now, from a marketing standpoint, make som...See More Like · Reply · 4 hrs Lahle Ehrlich #VikingRiverCruises rip off. #VikingCruises sucks. There, just got ya started. (The first hashtag is being used already, I added the second to get people going!) Like · Reply · 4 hrs Chip Oswalt so...I need to message you separately. Need to ask a few questions. I'll ping you in private message later today. Like · 4 hrs View more replies Karen Parenteau I will definitely be boycotting Viking! Like · Reply · 1 hr Must be the same river/ship. Not good if it is a different one. Thanks for posting. They just do not get the meaning of customer service. All I hear is...thanks for your money, we do not care about how we screwed up your plans...buh-bye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberts2005 Posted June 11, 2015 #18 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Why no mention of the ship's name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted June 11, 2015 #19 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Why no mention of the ship's name Quote because husband posted this on Vikings FB wall.... And Viking knew what ship he was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberts2005 Posted June 11, 2015 #20 Share Posted June 11, 2015 So what ship is it. Whole thing seems strange without a ship's name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oceans&Rivers Posted June 11, 2015 #21 Share Posted June 11, 2015 So what ship is it. Whole thing seems strange without a ship's name A quick check of Viking's website shows that the four ships that follow are the ones that do the aforementioned itinerary: VIKING LONGSHIP BURI VIKING LONGSHIP HEIMDAL VIKING LONGSHIP HERMOD VIKING LONGSHIP DELLING So, it should be one of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberts2005 Posted June 11, 2015 #22 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Yes, but which one . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted June 11, 2015 #23 Share Posted June 11, 2015 We have friends booked on the 14 June 2015 departure. Just got word on 9 June cruise is cancelled. Insurance does not cover change fees or cancellation fees because Viking cancelled due to "repairs". Viking offered to rebook on the Paris and Heart of Normandy. Doesn't sound like fun at all :( Just for clarity though, I assume Viking did offer a full refund if they had not wanted to transfer to the other cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biker1972 Posted June 11, 2015 #24 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I also assume that Viking offered a full refund and I also guess that air was purchased independently. But short details it is hard to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted June 11, 2015 #25 Share Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) Yes, but which one . Viking Hermond, and there is now a different passenger reporting what happened and how it was handled in Vikings FB wall :( Edited June 11, 2015 by JVilleGal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now