How do we to book excursions?

[david46]

Hi this will be our first trip with Viking Ocean. I was asking the best way to book your wish list when the time comes.

Our trip is this April and our Excursions open up next week. Our trip has two Viking Ocean ships doing the same trip at the same time(twice as many guests).

I have added my picks to my wish list. When it is time to pay, what is the best way to do this? Do I pay for my picks thru my wish list or go back to the excursion page?

Any ideas will be helpful. Thanks

[Ready to Sail!]

3 hours ago, david46 said:

Hi this will be our first trip with Viking Ocean. I was asking the best way to book your wish list when the time comes.

Our trip is this April and our Excursions open up next week. Our trip has two Viking Ocean ships doing the same trip at the same time(twice as many guests).

I have added my picks to my wish list. When it is time to pay, what is the best way to do this? Do I pay for my picks thru my wish list or go back to the excursion page?

Any ideas will be helpful. Thanks

I thought one of the "old timers" would answer this but it has been discussed before so maybe old topic for old timers. Anyway, I am a newbie who just booked for the first time last Sunday so I will give it a go for you. Easiest is to have all you excursions ready in your wish list (both included and optionals) When your time to book opens (I guess 3am for you)  just click on "more information" under each excursion on your list.  There will be a drop down window for times.  Pick your time and then below either click on Add  Reservation for the included excursions or Add to Cart for the options.  The included will go into your calendar and will not be in the cart.  To pay for the optionals go to the cart and proceed with your cc info etc from there.  Be sure to print your receipt before closing out the window if you want one.  I didn't and couldn't get back to do so.  No worry as it appeared very quickly on my cc. 

 

We also have another Viking ship in 4 of our 7 ports and I was worried about availability but didn't seem to be a problem.  I will say a couple of the optional excursions did sell out pretty quickly.  I booked at midnight and by 7 the next morning 2 of my optional time slots were sold out and all were sold out by later in the day.  I don't know if the other  Viking ship had any effect on that or not but I really would book any you wouldn't want to miss out on as soon as possible.  Also, there is still one category to book for our sailing so maybe some more times will pop up tomorrow.  This really could be answered by someone with more experience.  Good luck. 

[lackcreativity]

13 minutes ago, Ready to Sail! said:

I thought one of the "old timers" would answer this but it has been discussed before so maybe old topic for old timers. Anyway, I am a newbie who just booked for the first time last Sunday so I will give it a go for you. Easiest is to have all you excursions ready in your wish list (both included and optionals) When your time to book opens (I guess 3am for you)  just click on "more information" under each excursion on your list.  There will be a drop down window for times.  Pick your time and then below either click on Add  Reservation for the included excursions or Add to Cart for the options.  The included will go into your calendar and will not be in the cart.  To pay for the optionals go to the cart and proceed with your cc info etc from there.  Be sure to print your receipt before closing out the window if you want one.  I didn't and couldn't get back to do so.  No worry as it appeared very quickly on my cc. 

 

We also have another Viking ship in 4 of our 7 ports and I was worried about availability but didn't seem to be a problem.  I will say a couple of the optional excursions did sell out pretty quickly.  I booked at midnight and by 7 the next morning 2 of my optional time slots were sold out and all were sold out by later in the day.  I don't know if the other  Viking ship had any effect on that or not but I really would book any you wouldn't want to miss out on as soon as possible.  Also, there is still one category to book for our sailing so maybe some more times will pop up tomorrow.  This really could be answered by someone with more experience.  Good luck. 

With only two ocean cruises completed I'm not sure I count as an "old timer", and I don't want to know if I qualify for that title based on age alone! Since Viking does alter things quite frequently, your comments on a very recent experience are helpful, even to someone who has done it previously. 

 

The only thing I might add is that if an optional excursion you wanted has sold out and you book a second choice, do keep checking back on My Viking Journey. Viking will sometimes add extra buses or people will change their mind and spots may open up.  Several optionals that were sold out at my booking time later had openings appear and I was able to make the change. 

 

Hope you enjoy your first Viking cruise as much as we did.

 

 

[Ready to Sail!]

13 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

With only two ocean cruises completed I'm not sure I count as an "old timer", and I don't want to know if I qualify for that title based on age alone! Since Viking does alter things quite frequently, your comments on a very recent experience are helpful, even to someone who has done it previously. 

 

The only thing I might add is that if an optional excursion you wanted has sold out and you book a second choice, do keep checking back on My Viking Journey. Viking will sometimes add extra buses or people will change their mind and spots may open up.  Several optionals that were sold out at my booking time later had openings appear and I was able to make the change. 

 

Hope you enjoy your first Viking cruise as much as we did.

 

 

LOL! No, no,  not an age reference.  If so I would be the pot calling the kettle black. It was just a nod to all of you more experienced VO cruisers.  We have been on many cruises but am finding that Viking certainly has their own way of doing things that does require some learning, and thank you, we are looking forward to this new experience with Viking.  

[david46]

2 hours ago, Ready to Sail! said:

I thought one of the "old timers" would answer this but it has been discussed before so maybe old topic for old timers. Anyway, I am a newbie who just booked for the first time last Sunday so I will give it a go for you. Easiest is to have all you excursions ready in your wish list (both included and optionals) When your time to book opens (I guess 3am for you)  just click on "more information" under each excursion on your list.  There will be a drop down window for times.  Pick your time and then below either click on Add  Reservation for the included excursions or Add to Cart for the options.  The included will go into your calendar and will not be in the cart.  To pay for the optionals go to the cart and proceed with your cc info etc from there.  Be sure to print your receipt before closing out the window if you want one.  I didn't and couldn't get back to do so.  No worry as it appeared very quickly on my cc. 

 

We also have another Viking ship in 4 of our 7 ports and I was worried about availability but didn't seem to be a problem.  I will say a couple of the optional excursions did sell out pretty quickly.  I booked at midnight and by 7 the next morning 2 of my optional time slots were sold out and all were sold out by later in the day.  I don't know if the other  Viking ship had any effect on that or not but I really would book any you wouldn't want to miss out on as soon as possible.  Also, there is still one category to book for our sailing so maybe some more times will pop up tomorrow.  This really could be answered by someone with more experience.  Good luck. 

 

[david46]

Wow and thank you for your very well written and easy to understand, you cleared things up for me.

 

 

 

 

[Dauntless]

1 hour ago, Ready to Sail! said:

LOL! No, no,  not an age reference.  If so I would be the pot calling the kettle black. It was just a nod to all of you more experienced VO cruisers.  We have been on many cruises but am finding that Viking certainly has their own way of doing things that does require some learning, and thank you, we are looking forward to this new experience with Viking.  

 

6 hours ago, david46 said:

Hi this will be our first trip with Viking Ocean. I was asking the best way to book your wish list when the time comes.

Our trip is this April and our Excursions open up next week. Our trip has two Viking Ocean ships doing the same trip at the same time(twice as many guests).

I have added my picks to my wish list. When it is time to pay, what is the best way to do this? Do I pay for my picks thru my wish list or go back to the excursion page?

Any ideas will be helpful. Thanks

 

Just to be clear:  Your wish list is only for you.  Viking does not consult it or interact with it.  You must book all excursions at the time you are able to book.  I always do the  fee excursions first and get them paid for.  Then I go back  and plug in the included ones where the will fit with the others planned and book those.  If I have had to alter my original plans, I go back about once a week to see if there is a way that has opened up for my original plans.  If so, I then make the adjustments with Viking.  There must be one hour between excursions if you are trying to book more than one excursion through booking site.

[Ready to Sail!]

19 minutes ago, david46 said:

Wow and thank you for your very well written and easy to understand, you cleared things up for me.

 

 

 

 

You're welcome. I was a bit nervous but it really is pretty easy.  As a check on yourself once you are done, go to your calendar. All excursions, both included and optional, will be listed.  On the upper right click on "view trip summary" so you don't have to scan through each day.  If something is missing you will know to go back.  Dauntless (an expert!) had some good additional points. I did mine all at once just because we were not planning on doing more than one excursion in any of the ports.  

[Peregrina651]

ALSO, from an old timer,

• even if an excursion is in your shopping cart, it is not yours until it is paid for. You cannot put it in your shopping cart while you decide and come back days later to pay for it. It may very well be gone.
• if something you want is SOLD OUT, check back daily. People change their minds and slots do become available.
• the system will not let you book shorex that overlap. That means that you have to cancel an excursion before you can book another into its time slot
• it is okay to put your name on a waiting list; it gives Viking an idea if they can fill another bus. But, don't depend on it for getting a spot on the bus. (see second bullet)
• SOLD OUT does not always mean SOLD OUT.  Sometimes it means, "We aren't offering this tour." Or, "we haven't finalized the contract with this vendor."

[SoccerMom#3]

Thank you all for the detailed info.  I've been trying to figure out the best strategy for booking our tours in two weeks.  It sounds like book and pay for the optional ones first  and book the included tours.   Is that correct?

[lackcreativity]

SoccerMom#3 : Yes, most would agree that you should book and pay for your optional excursions first, as you are guaranteed a spot on each included excursion, even though you are not guaranteed a particular time slot.

 

Peregrina: You gave an excellent reminder in your first point that your spot on an excursion is not booked until it is paid for, just being in your cart is not enough. I recall a poster some months ago who learned that the hard way, and then kept expecting Viking to fix the problem. No amount of explaining would convince that person that the error was his. 

[molymoo]

13 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

ALSO, from an old timer,

• even if an excursion is in your shopping cart, it is not yours until it is paid for. You cannot put it in your shopping cart while you decide and come back days later to pay for it. It may very well be gone.
• if something you want is SOLD OUT, check back daily. People change their minds and slots do become available.
• the system will not let you book shorex that overlap. That means that you have to cancel an excursion before you can book another into its time slot
• it is okay to put your name on a waiting list; it gives Viking an idea if they can fill another bus. But, don't depend on it for getting a spot on the bus. (see second bullet)
• SOLD OUT does not always mean SOLD OUT.  Sometimes it means, "We aren't offering this tour." Or, "we haven't finalized the contract with this vendor."

 I will add a tidbit to Peregrina's great information ... if there is an excursion you want that is "SOLD OUT" keep watching ... even after boarding!   We had one we wanted at the Edinburgh stop last summer but it was "SOLD OUT" and stayed "SOLD OUT" until we boarded our plane.  After a three day Edinburgh extension we checked MVJ in the stateroom the day we boarded and lo and behold the excursion was there!  We booked it then and there and had a great time!  Not sure what the glitch was but there you have it ... never give up.  It was the trip to Rosslyn Chapel by the way ... fascinating!

[philw1776]

People cancel excursions so check for SOLD OUT excursions possibly not being sold out once onboard.

Same for specialty restaurant reservations.  People cancel.