How should we use our Viking voucher?

[roothy123]

We've done 4 Viking cruises, starting with a Netherlands trip (wonderful if you like small towns as we do) and ending with Cities of Light, Paris to Prague, with a Danube cruise and China in-between. Our favorites were Cities of Light and China. China was fascinating, how can you pass up a cruise like that? It's a little tiring though, as there are two flights, multiple cities, and a pretty non-stop itinerary. We don't mind that, but some people might. The river was not that pretty, but the stops along the way were great. Hotels were excellent; guides and logistics were too. Shanghai and Beijing were worth visiting, although I'm not all that into the big, crowded major cities.

 

Our other co-favorite (husband agrees) was the Paris to Prague cruise, with Germany and Luxembourg in between. If you don't want to spend time on a bus, however, you may not like it - went by bus from Paris to Trier, Germany to board the ship. We went in the fall and loved the wineries and castles viewed from the ship. If you're really interested in viewing the castles, make sure you're on an itinerary that goes down the part of the Rhine that has the most castles in the day time. That one did, but I don't know if all of them do. That cruise was also a nice mix of big cities and little, which I like. Luxembourg (third of a day stop) was quite nice, and Prague at the end turned out to be one of our favorite European cities to date. My pictures are here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123

 

I guess I liked the Danube cruise least, but that's not to say I didn't like it. However, maybe I'm just not into big cities all that much, and Budapest and Vienna, while nice, were not my favorite cities. Of course, we had water problems, plus there was last minute unscheduled maintenance of a lock, so the cruise was a little crazy to begin with. You have to be flexible on cruises, ocean OR river! They don't always go to plan.

 

Friends did the Amsterdam to Basel trip and really enjoyed it. They're from Florida and cruised (I think) in late November. I thought they'd come back telling me they loved it but would never go that time of year, but they didn't. I'm guessing they might like one of the Christmas market cruises.

 

It's too bad that you can't transfer that credit to me. I would have no problem using it! We'd love to go to Norway (ocean cruise) or Thailand (river).

[Vineyard View]

We sailed Amsterdam to Budapest - LOVED this trip. Pre trip to Paris, train to Amsterdam. Perfect. Post - Budapest + Chesky Krumlov + Prague - pre and post on our own using trains - the entire trip was amazing.

[huntersyaya]

We did the Rhine two years ago and loved it. We spent a week on our own in Rome and then flew to Basel. Stayed two nights there before the cruise and did a day-trip to Lucerne on the train on our own. It was one of the best days we have ever had. We enjoyed all of the Rhine cruise....even the Black Forest and the cuckoo clock....we thought the drive to get there and back was beautiful. And the Black Forest cake we had was delicious.

[HMforcruise]

We are stewing about how to use the refund. Has anyone decided......anyone going again on The Star?

 

The river levels make for concern on Vikings River Cruises.

Is Istanbul as a port likely to be cancelled? I have not seen any threads about this except for the one where Celebrity cancelled it.

 

If you made your air in or out of Istanbul, what happens if Viking cancels the port?

 

Anyone have an opinion on their Christmas Market River cruises? Too cold, too much shopping? Is the low river level likely to cause the dreaded "bussing"?

 

Oh, questions, questions!!!

[TERRIER1]

We are waiting for the 2017 river cruises to be announced since we are booked already on Oceania for 2016.

[roothy123]

Most ocean liners don't cancel ports routinely. Viking is visiting istanbul this october, as are many lines. Unless there is a major incident most lines don't cancel. If they do the cruise line will help out with arrangements but not always if you booked your own flights there or home. They may or may not substitute a port if istanbul is dropped last minute. In about 12 ocean cruises we've only had to miss one port due to weather (in Caribbean on Oceania). They did not substitute just had extra 2/3rd sea day. I would be more than willing to book another cruise with Istanbul but some of my shipmates are stressing out about our stop there. As for river levels we have taken 3 Euro river cruises and only 1 was affected by a combo of lock and water issues. It was on the Danube.

Edited September 16, 2015 by roothy123

[id4elizabeth]

We used our future cruise credit and booked Passage to Eastern Europe already - Budapest to Bucharest for May 2016. We booked it long before the current refugee crises. Now, we're just hoping by next spring, things will have settled down. Just goes to show that you never know what's going to happen in any part of the world in the future!

[Vineyard View]

We too have been discussing this future credit......it feels like for us that it might be time for a change from Europe as we have spent a lot of time there both independent and various cruises/cruise lines... Since we have our big trip booked for 2016 we are waiting until 2017 itineraries come out. By then, VO should be in other locations - i.e. North America.....maybe South. So we are just going to sit tight for now and see how VO rolls out......and how places in the world settle........

[Chico Mima]

We also did the Grand European trip in May of 2013. Lucky timing for us on that one. The river flooded about a week after we got home. Had a great time and was so excited about Viking that we jumped on the VO announcement about the Baltic cruise. Bad timing for this one.....we were on the July 25th cruise or should I say half-cruise. You never know what is going to happen. No matter how much planning, timing, etc., etc., it is all a crap shoot. So, I guess if you want to travel, then go and enjoy and keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. This won't keep me from exploring the world. As far as using the vouchers, we are definitely using them, but waiting for the 2017 trips. Already have vacations planned for next year. Just hope they get announced before August 2016. I still think Viking has a good product and would love to get back on the Star. Such a beautiful ship.

[TERRIER1]

We also did the Grand European trip in May of 2013. Lucky timing for us on that one. The river flooded about a week after we got home. Had a great time and was so excited about Viking that we jumped on the VO announcement about the Baltic cruise. Bad timing for this one.....we were on the July 25th cruise or should I say half-cruise. You never know what is going to happen. No matter how much planning, timing, etc., etc., it is all a crap shoot. So, I guess if you want to travel, then go and enjoy and keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. This won't keep me from exploring the world. As far as using the vouchers, we are definitely using them, but waiting for the 2017 trips. Already have vacations planned for next year. Just hope they get announced before August 2016. I still think Viking has a good product and would love to get back on the Star. Such a beautiful ship.

 

Does anyone know when the 2017 Spring/Summer schedules are available? I called Viking and got some kid who said he would send the Rhine schedule but never heard from him again. Typical Viking communication.

[Viking Cruises]

Dear TERRIER1,

 

Our complete 2017 river cruise schedule will be released in November – almost there! If you still require additional information about our Rhine cruises, you are welcome to contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

 

Does anyone know when the 2017 Spring/Summer schedules are available? I called Viking and got some kid who said he would send the Rhine schedule but never heard from him again. Typical Viking communication.

[Vineyard View]

Hello Viking. When will complete 2017 Oceans schedule be available please?

 

Thank you

[Viking Cruises]

Dear Vineyard View,

 

Thank you for reaching out! We have already released a handful of our 2017 ocean itineraries and anticipate the release of several more mid-November. While most itineraries should be available to book by the end of the year, the full and complete 2017 deployment schedule has yet to be finalized and a completion date has not yet been determined.

 

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

 

Hello Viking. When will complete 2017 Oceans schedule be available please?

 

Thank you

[Vineyard View]

Thank you Viking! I hope you will notify past customers via email when they are released? Appreciate your response.

[rjscott]

We loved our Viking Star Istanbul to Venice cruise and are considering another segment, but for those of you, like Elizabeth, considering a river cruise, we are just back from our Paris and the Heart of Normandy cruise and it was wonderful! I highly recommend this itinerary.

 

Becki

[Viking Cruises]

Dear Vineyard View,

 

Yes – marketing materials are typically sent out to inform past guests of new dates.

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

Thank you Viking! I hope you will notify past customers via email when they are released? Appreciate your response.

[Vineyard View]

We receive tons of marketing materials in the mail at home - always peruse them! My thinking was along the lines of an email blast that alerts us all to the fact that the 2017 itineraries are now available - either way, will keep watching for them. Thank you

[HMforcruise]

I recall reading a post from someone on the July 25 sailing who had used a voucher credit toward the ill fated trip and there was some concern that they would lose the value of the voucher when Viking worked out the calculations for refunds.

 

I wonder if that individual felt it got resolved to their satisfaction. After all, Viking cancelled the sailing not the client.

 

It is on my mind, since in our situation we have a major health issue which is not going to get better. I specifically asked the Viking rep, if things escalated and the doctor said we had to cancel (travel protection would be in place), what happens to our vouchers?

 

Answer....unfortunately, the vouchers that have been extended will lose their value if the future booking to which they are attached is cancelled.

[OBX Cruisers]

We're using our vouchers for the January 16, 2017 cruise West Indues Explorer. Love those islands, free airfare, and less stressful than getting stuck in Europe😊

Also $500 off till end Dec. and $200 for previous guest. Even going for PV this time.

Anyone want to join us for a reunion of the "July 25" Baltic "survivors"?

[TERRIER1]

We're using our vouchers for the January 16, 2017 cruise West Indues Explorer. Love those islands, free airfare, and less stressful than getting stuck in Europe😊

Also $500 off till end Dec. and $200 for previous guest. Even going for PV this time.

Anyone want to join us for a reunion of the "July 25" Baltic "survivors"?

 

Good scope. We were going to go on a river cruise which is not our cup of tea. We will explore this option but for February. Thanks.

[toby4352]

We loved our Viking Star Istanbul to Venice cruise and are considering another segment, but for those of you, like Elizabeth, considering a river cruise, we are just back from our Paris and the Heart of Normandy cruise and it was wonderful! I highly recommend this itinerary.

 

Becki

 

We are Viking sailors with both River and Ocean lines. Both so different. River has more years and experience. We have done 3. Viking treats you well...I've been on a river cruise where the ship was taken out of the water to repair a bent propeller. We had a wonderful, tho' long day, returned to our ship and hit all our ports and sights.

 

Ocean cruise?? The ill-fated Viking Homelands cruise of July 2015. We left Stockholm on July 25(?)...and by day 5 we were stuck in Tallinn, Estonia.

Ultimately we did get transferred to Bergen Norway,,,many passengers had many complaints as to how this was handled...it was rough. Viking should have done better for a big company...think it thru...what could happen and what would you do? They seemed to be caught flat footed.

 

That said we are returning to the Viking Star to cruise from Venice to Istanbul starting from Venice on March 18, 2016. Fingers crossed for the ship....no transformers blowing up, and safety in these ports.

 

More from the front in March....:)

[TERRIER1]

We booked an 8 day river cruise for 2017. We never did a river cruise so we will give it a go. We didn't want to add additional monies to cruise Viking since the home office experience was so bad and the voucher pretty much covers the short river cruise. We are still waiting for Viking to apply the voucher to our invoice. Our cruise has an air special so we will see how that goes when we add the deviation/custom air.