dcsam Posted July 18, 2016 #1 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Wow! I see Viking wants full payment for a cruise 16 months in advance. :-0 Is this typical? That seems excessive. Is this their normal policy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamloops50 Posted July 18, 2016 #2 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Wow! I see Viking wants full payment for a cruise 16 months in advance. :-0 Is this typical? That seems excessive. Is this their normal policy? Most cruises are 75 days before cruise. There are a couple of times when it's earlier ( World Voyage and Holiday cruises). This is holdover from their riover cruises. With river cruises full payment is required at booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dln929 Posted July 18, 2016 #3 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Wow! I see Viking wants full payment for a cruise 16 months in advance. :-0 Is this typical? That seems excessive. Is this their normal policy? And don't forget, if you cancel, it's a $100 pp. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bala girl Posted July 18, 2016 #4 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Any chance this early full payment is in exchange for some additional price discount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debrouillarde Posted July 19, 2016 #5 Share Posted July 19, 2016 For our May 2017 cruise our final payment was due June 10, 2016 which I considered much too early--even before airline seats were released for our travel dates so we could judge whether to take Viking air or not. We asked our travel agent to request a later payment due date and it was changed to late August which was acceptable. PS. We got better prices for airfare doing our own rather than using Viking plus we were able to choose the most convenient flights. Deborah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Ruys Posted July 19, 2016 #6 Share Posted July 19, 2016 before penalty periods kick in is $500.00 per person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretchcruz Posted July 19, 2016 #7 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Our final payment for our April Sky cruise is due Oct 31. We booked last Jan or Feb I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzall Posted July 19, 2016 #8 Share Posted July 19, 2016 We booked our Viking Cruise in May 15 for Aug 16 departure (incl $au999 p/p airfares) - paid 40% by end of Jun 15 & balance by Apr 16. Thought this was reasonable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted July 19, 2016 #9 Share Posted July 19, 2016 (edited) Any chance this early full payment is in exchange for some additional price discount? No, it's the regular Viking policy. But my TA was able to get it changed very easily to six months before sailing. They told me Viking originally was very firm on it, but have now eased up so anyone who asks can get the change. Edited July 19, 2016 by Host Jazzbeau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol From California Posted July 19, 2016 #10 Share Posted July 19, 2016 No, it's the regular Viking policy. But my TA was able to get it changed very easily to six months before sailing. They told me Viking originally was very firm on it, but have now eased up so anyone who asks can get the change. I tried to get the final payment delayed for my cruise for February, 2017 and they would not. My TA tried too. The cruise is sold out so maybe that is why they would not extend date for final payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFL Kiwi Posted July 19, 2016 #11 Share Posted July 19, 2016 We booked this cruise when on board our Homeland Cruise in June 2015 and payment is not required until November 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastlook Posted July 20, 2016 #12 Share Posted July 20, 2016 For our 9/4/16 cruise: 3/18/15 Booked/Deposit Paid (just a few cabins left at that point.) 6/30/15 Final Payment Due/Paid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcsam Posted July 21, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Viking will delay our final payment until 6 months prior to the cruise. Now, that seems reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretchcruz Posted July 21, 2016 #14 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Hopefully your TA helped you out. I was just reviewing what we owed etc and she saved us $2,300. Not chump change. And she never wanted payment way out just the $1000 viking deposit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawmac Posted July 21, 2016 #15 Share Posted July 21, 2016 In Viking's 16/17 UK brochure T&C, 25% is paid on booking and the remainder is required ten weeks before sailing. This is fairly standard over here -- longer would not be acceptable to the market. Are y'all being treated as a soft touch by the Vikings or is it just some old-fashioned Norse pillage? Our cancellation terms are: over 10 weeks - lose deposit; 30 - 69 days -- 50% of money (100% already paid by now) ; less than 30 days -- the whole 100% However, if Viking themselves cancel, monies are repaid, but only if their cancellation is within 30 days of sailing do they give any extra for their breach of booking, disappointment, inconvenience and any consequential loss, and then only £30 ($40). Seems a bit one-sided. They don't pay back any interest either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitraveler Posted July 21, 2016 #16 Share Posted July 21, 2016 My Viking Ocean 7/2017 was due and paid 12/2015. My VRC 3/2017 was due and paid 6/2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Peregrina651 Posted July 21, 2016 #17 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Viking will delay our final payment until 6 months prior to the cruise. Now, that seems reasonable. Yes, but delaying payment is not without the risk of possible penalties: PRICE GUARANTEE Once you have paid in full for your trip, you are safe from any additional charges. Airfare increases, currency fluctuations, increased fuel surcharges, new government taxes—none of these will apply to you. I'm not advocating one way or another. I'm just pointing out that this is what it says on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcsam Posted July 22, 2016 Author #18 Share Posted July 22, 2016 So, are you saying they could increase our air charges if their air charges go up? Even if booking a cruise that includes their air? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM Posted July 28, 2016 #19 Share Posted July 28, 2016 As I mentioned in another post, I spoke to a Viking rep directly on the phone re: the Viking Sky sailing of the Caribbean in October 2017 - with the current promotion of air fare included, full payment is due end of August 2016 - a full 15 months ahead of time. He confirmed this was correct when I asked ... but stated I had time to transfer my booking to a TA after I booked with them. If I go with Viking, I would go through the TA first ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fpacifico Posted July 28, 2016 #20 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Any chance this early full payment is in exchange for some additional price discount? If you pay by direct bank payment, there is a discount, I forget how much, you save a couple of hundred dollars each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted July 28, 2016 #21 Share Posted July 28, 2016 If you pay by direct bank payment, there is a discount, I forget how much, you save a couple of hundred dollars each ...and you lose any protection from your Credit Card company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyVeteran Posted July 28, 2016 #22 Share Posted July 28, 2016 ...and you lose any protection from your Credit Card company. If you pay 16 months in advance, I doubt you have any protection from your credit card company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted July 29, 2016 #23 Share Posted July 29, 2016 If you pay 16 months in advance, I doubt you have any protection from your credit card company. Well, I get 2.1% cash back and Baggage Delay Insurance, Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance, and various travel assistance services with my Barclay Arrival Plus card. That's not nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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