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Viking Ocean Back to Back Cruises - Logistics?


CCWineLover
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We are booked on Viking Sky next year on 2 consecutive cruises (same ship) - in the same room.   From Rome to Lisbon where some people get off and others on and then to Miami.

There are 3 days and 2 nights in Lisbon.    Not so much focused on this exact cruise, but my question is regarding logistics for the "in between port" on Viking B2B cruising.

They seem to be selling a number of these.

 

When the others get off, will we also have to disembark?  Will we have to go check in again as if we were just boarding for the first time?   Will it be like 2 cruises, inotherwords, or will it be just one cruise for us in Viking's eyes?

 

Anyone have experience with this?

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28 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

We are booked on Viking Sky next year on 2 consecutive cruises (same ship) - in the same room.   From Rome to Lisbon where some people get off and others on and then to Miami.

There are 3 days and 2 nights in Lisbon.    Not so much focused on this exact cruise, but my question is regarding logistics for the "in between port" on Viking B2B cruising.

They seem to be selling a number of these.

 

When the others get off, will we also have to disembark?  Will we have to go check in again as if we were just boarding for the first time?   Will it be like 2 cruises, inotherwords, or will it be just one cruise for us in Viking's eyes?

 

Anyone have experience with this?

 

You will not have to disembark as both Italy and Portugal are Schengen countries.

You will be free to come and go as you please and enjoy a lovely almost empty ship.

Enjoy your adventure.

Edited by orchestrapal
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If you booked a named itinerary, I do not think you will need to check in again (but ask when you get on board). If you booked two separate itineraries then your account will be closed out at the end of the first itinerary and charged to your credit card. You will need to "check in" again at the Explorer's Desk on Deck 1, give them a credit card and get your new key cards.

 

If you have OBC, this is sometimes an issue. Talk with the Explorer's Desk and ask how it will work if you are expecting to spread the credit over both legs.

 

IMHO, on changeover day, while everyone else is busy embarking and disembarking, take the train to Sintra. Nice to know that since the ship isn't leaving that night that you don't have to rush back!

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1 minute ago, Peregrina651 said:

If you booked a named itinerary, I do not think you will need to check in again (but ask when you get on board). If you booked two separate itineraries then your account will be closed out at the end of the first itinerary and charged to your credit card. You will need to "check in" again at the Explorer's Desk on Deck 1, give them a credit card and get your new key cards.

 

If you have OBC, this is sometimes an issue. Talk with the Explorer's Desk and ask how it will work if you are expecting to spread the credit over both legs.

 

IMHO, on changeover day, while everyone else is busy embarking and disembarking, take the train to Sintra. Nice to know that since the ship isn't leaving that night that you don't have to rush back!

Peregrina - thank you for the advice on seeing Sintra!  Our friends highly recommended visiting there and others are doing private tour vans to it.  But I love trains, so that sounds more fun.

 

We booked a named cruise (Rome to Miami) since it was quite a bit cheaper than the Rome-Lisbon + Lisbon-Miami would have been - and we still got $200 credits for each leg, based on Viking's "length of cruise" tables.   I will however, check on the OBC.  Unlike StrechCruz, who will be on this cruise, and posted about getting $1600 credits, out Travel Agent is not doing that (much to our chagrin!).  It apparently comes out of their pocket, not Vikings.  We are getting just $300 pp or $600 OBC - but that's another issue I have to deal with (or changing Travel Agents?).

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I just looked at this cruise and it looks fantastic!  too bad we are on Top of World next fall.  Maybe the next year.  We met StretchCruz on our first VO ...great folks!!

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I'd sure ask your TA. It does come out of their commission but we've always gotten the max from ours. We did back to back Auckland to Bali. Did not have to disembark. Did have to show them our credit card again. Did not have to go to the muster drill again. I'm going to have to go back on our roll call. I haven't been getting notifications.

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2 hours ago, stretchcruz said:

I'd sure ask your TA. It does come out of their commission but we've always gotten the max from ours. We did back to back Auckland to Bali. Did not have to disembark. Did have to show them our credit card again. Did not have to go to the muster drill again. I'm going to have to go back on our roll call. I haven't been getting notifications.

 

Yes I will have to ask our TA for sure (they're in Scottsdale).  My point was they initially told me they offered all the Viking would allow.

Looking forward to meeting you on the cruise as well!  We visit our friends in Tucson every spring and enjoy it.  They live off Craycroft, north of Sunrise, so not far from Sabino. 🙂

 

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4 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Yes I will have to ask our TA for sure (they're in Scottsdale).  My point was they initially told me they offered all the Viking would allow.

Here is an except on the Viking Policy re: OBC that I found on a web search. I questioned 2 TAs on this subject last year and got the same answer, it’s Viking policy. 

A Travel Agent may combine a Published Price with non-cash marketing incentives, provided the following conditions are all met:

  1. The non-cash marketing incentives are part of a sales & marketing plan promoting Viking products to be redeemed and used onboard the booked Viking cruise.
  2. The actual or perceived total retail value (in USD) of the non-cash marketing incentives cannot in the aggregate exceed the following: (i) for one (1) to seven (7) nights on Viking vessel, $150 per guest; (ii) for eight (8) to fourteen (14) nights on a Viking vessel, $300 per guest and (iii) for fifteen plus (15+) nights on a Viking vessel, $500 per guest.
  3. For any non-cash marketing incentives that are not redeemable from Viking during the Viking cruise, then the retail value of the non-cash marketing incentive offered or provided by Travel Agent cannot exceed $100 per booking for agency branded items. The complete policy can be found and the following link. https://www.vikingcruises.com/terms-conditions/advertising-and-commissions-policy.html
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19 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

 

Yes I will have to ask our TA for sure (they're in Scottsdale).  My point was they initially told me they offered all the Viking would allow.

Looking forward to meeting you on the cruise as well!  We visit our friends in Tucson every spring and enjoy it.  They live off Craycroft, north of Sunrise, so not far from Sabino. 🙂

 

Hi CCWineLover- we live in Fountain Hills, just east of Scottsdale. Who is your travel agent? Ours is in Scottsdale, too- The Roaming Boomers (Carol and Dave Porter). They have been recognized by Viking for selling more cruises than any other travel agency. That being said, we certainly haven't received $500 in onboard credits and we've been on 5 or so Viking cruises and have 4 or more booked. We enjoy meeting them for dinner and sharing a bottle of wine whenever possible.

How did you like the West Indies Explorer cruise? Did you post a review?

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1 hour ago, Krisval said:

Hi CCWineLover- we live in Fountain Hills, just east of Scottsdale. Who is your travel agent? Ours is in Scottsdale, too- The Roaming Boomers (Carol and Dave Porter). They have been recognized by Viking for selling more cruises than any other travel agency. That being said, we certainly haven't received $500 in onboard credits and we've been on 5 or so Viking cruises and have 4 or more booked. We enjoy meeting them for dinner and sharing a bottle of wine whenever possible.

How did you like the West Indies Explorer cruise? Did you post a review?

 

Unfortunately, Cruise Critic policy does not allow us to talk about specific travel agents . . .

 

However, if you are looking at the West Indies Explorer, I can highly recommend it!  We had an absolutely wonderful time - way above our expectations.   We were in a PV3 (4011) which was quite a nice room.  I did not write a review, but should have.  We enjoyed all the ports, had great weather and met some fine people.  (February 2019).

One of these days we'll catch up to you on number of Viking Cruises 🙂

We have found that they really fit our style to the tee and in 3 of them, we've never been disappointed.  They do cost a lot though and that's why looking for sales, OBC's, specials, etc. makes a big difference to us.

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17 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

 

Unfortunately, Cruise Critic policy does not allow us to talk about specific travel agents . . .

 

However, if you are looking at the West Indies Explorer, I can highly recommend it!  We had an absolutely wonderful time - way above our expectations.   We were in a PV3 (4011) which was quite a nice room.  I did not write a review, but should have.  We enjoyed all the ports, had great weather and met some fine people.  (February 2019).

One of these days we'll catch up to you on number of Viking Cruises 🙂

We have found that they really fit our style to the tee and in 3 of them, we've never been disappointed.  They do cost a lot though and that's why looking for sales, OBC's, specials, etc. makes a big difference to us.

 

Yes, for some reason I did include the agent- my bad.

 

We always get a PV3 and are quite pleased with the location. We also appreciate the consistency in the ship’s level of service, amenities, tours, and definitely the food. We are looking forward to our next one, Australia and New Zealand, and will be with 2 other couples (we tend to go with 4-6 other people). 

 

Thank you you for sharing about the West Indies- I like the shorter flight. I think that cruise would be more about being on the ship again and less about the destination!

 

Again, thank you.

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On 6/26/2019 at 6:44 PM, VJMAZZ said:

Here is an except on the Viking Policy re: OBC that I found on a web search. I questioned 2 TAs on this subject last year and got the same answer, it’s Viking policy. 

A Travel Agent may combine a Published Price with non-cash marketing incentives, provided the following conditions are all met:

  1. The non-cash marketing incentives are part of a sales & marketing plan promoting Viking products to be redeemed and used onboard the booked Viking cruise.
  2. The actual or perceived total retail value (in USD) of the non-cash marketing incentives cannot in the aggregate exceed the following: (i) for one (1) to seven (7) nights on Viking vessel, $150 per guest; (ii) for eight (8) to fourteen (14) nights on a Viking vessel, $300 per guest and (iii) for fifteen plus (15+) nights on a Viking vessel, $500 per guest.
  3. For any non-cash marketing incentives that are not redeemable from Viking during the Viking cruise, then the retail value of the non-cash marketing incentive offered or provided by Travel Agent cannot exceed $100 per booking for agency branded items. The complete policy can be found and the following link. https://www.vikingcruises.com/terms-conditions/advertising-and-commissions-policy.html

And this is exactly what we get from our TA. That's how we got $1,600....$500 for the 15 day part and $300 for the less than 15 day. $800 pp.

 

CC Wine Lover we are off of Kolb south of Sunrise, so about 5 minutes from your friends in Tucson!

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On 6/27/2019 at 11:46 AM, Krisval said:

Thank you you for sharing about the West Indies- I like the shorter flight. I think that cruise would be more about being on the ship again and less about the destination!

 

Again, thank you.

 

Hi Krisval - you are welcome to contact me offline at kjstong@charter.net     

... and would be happy to share more detailed insights into our wonderful West Indies Explorer Cruise last February - as well as OBC's, cruise logistics, and more if you wish.

Kent

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We booked the 26 Jan 2021 Barcelona-London "Iberian Explorer" cruise B2B with the 2 Feb 2021 "In search of the Northern Lights" cruise. Viking united them into a single cruise thru a process they called "butterfly" but there was no word about whether we would have to recheck, or take care of any administrivia between the cruises. We were just told we could stay in our cabin if we booked the same one for both. The Viking Guest Statement makes it all look like one cruise for one price. Maybe I'll ask my CC/TA.

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  • 1 month later...
On 6/30/2019 at 7:42 PM, What was that? said:

We booked the 26 Jan 2021 Barcelona-London "Iberian Explorer" cruise B2B with the 2 Feb 2021 "In search of the Northern Lights" cruise. Viking united them into a single cruise thru a process they called "butterfly" but there was no word about whether we would have to recheck, or take care of any administrivia between the cruises. We were just told we could stay in our cabin if we booked the same one for both. The Viking Guest Statement makes it all look like one cruise for one price. Maybe I'll ask my CC/TA.

Our B2B experience from Auckland to Sydney, Sydney to Bali; we closed out the charges on the first segment, got new key cards, had a free day in Sydney while others disembarked/embarked.  We earned OBC from booking another cruise during the first leg & it was available for use on the second leg.  Of course we didn't have to move since we booked the same cabin; some folks had to move if they couldn't book the same cabin for both segments but the staff will help move your belongings.  Our Viking Guest Statement had it all as one cruise but on the ship, they like to treat each segment separately; for example we didn't get our excursion tickets for the 2nd leg until the start of the 2nd leg.

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WHAT WAS THAT,

We also had our back to back combined and the turnaround day was one like any other.

You do not need a new key card nor do you have to do anything about your on board account.

It was a lovely day with a long MDR breakfast and then a walk in the port back for an early lunch before most of the next crowd boarded. No stress!

 

 

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48 minutes ago, orchestrapal said:

WHAT WAS THAT,

We also had our back to back combined and the turnaround day was one like any other.

You do not need a new key card nor do you have to do anything about your on board account.

It was a lovely day with a long MDR breakfast and then a walk in the port back for an early lunch before most of the next crowd boarded. No stress!

 

 

 

It seems that reported experiences differ. Why there are differences, I have no idea but it is not unusual. We booked a B2B a couple of years ago with the same cabin on both legs. We did have to close out our account for leg one and then check in again for leg two. It took a few minutes at the Explorer's Desk and we were good to go. You will find out on your cruise if you will need to check in again.

Edited by Peregrina651
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