Ultimate World Cruise 245 days and all the parts. Ongoing review, questions, opinion

[Heidi13]

17 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Just checking on Cabo, always a tender port, and see that 4!! Ships are scheduled for tomorrow. HAL, Carnival, Princess, and little ole us. Combined passenger load of approximately 10,000! This is not looking good.😳

10,000 mega ship pax with tons of kids ashore at Cabo - OMG!!!

 

Been to Cabo so many times that we would enjoy a quiet ship day. Hopefully the chair hogs are not experienced with Cabo, so they pile ashore on the first tenders.🙂

[Cleopatra99]

6 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

 It just gets a bit old, after paying full fare, to hear of all the excellent deals short term cruisers have received.  And we are not the only world cruisers feeling like this.  One couple, for example, who are booked London to LA checked pricing for LA to London and report it is approximately half what they paid for the first half. 

 

hello Jim, and thank you for all of your Posts during this and your previous WC - and thank you to all on board and elsewhere who have also contributed.

 

I am really interested in where all these 'last minute' super deals come from.

 

Jim - Taking your point about booking late / taking a WC segment (and remember these are Aussie dollars, and our price always has tips included) .. the Viking website shows 2 x DV2's available for the WC departing 4 January 2020 - $63,495 ($533 per day).

 

If however you took just the LA - Sydney leg (40 days) in the same cabin the price would be $23,095 ($577 per day).

 

So the segment is more expensive per day.

 

Maybe Viking targets potential pax / travel agents with offers not available on the website - but if anyone has any insights into where these super special deals can be found or how you can access them, please share.

 

Of course if you do know the answer - you probably have no intention of sharing the information with those who don't. But no harm asking, right 😁

[stretchcruz]

Wow. That's way too many ships in Cabo. We used to just walk off the ship,s tender to the Finisterra and hang by the pool or the Whale Watchers Bar. Probably been there more than 15 times. Haven't for years since Mexico is off of our list. Have bad memories from many cruises of waiting for hours on the dock for tenders.  Back then the Mexican port regulated how many of the ship's tenders could operate, leaving us waiting for hours lined up with people selling beer and children selling chiclets.

[georose]

I, too, would like to know how people get last minute deals on Viking.  Viking told us they do not have last minute deals.  They prefer to have vacant cabins in case of issues.  

[Heidi13]

Personally, I rarely pay any credence to those travellers who take great delight in discussing the deals they received, as they often comprise some, or even a number of embellishments. Since Viking started selling segments, I have watched the pricing changes to identify any trends.

 

For the 2nd half, I have not seen any deals, in fact our cabin increased in price at the beginning of the year. Just checked the per -Diem rates for the 2nd half WC & each segment. All prices based on Viking website tonight & in CAN $ & pp.

 

2nd Half WC (May 2018)    $522.64   (119 days L/A to London)

2nd Half WC (Dec 2019)     $535.28

 

Segment 1     $581.55   (38 days L/A to Sydney)

Segment 2     $532.91   (82 days Sydney to London)

Segment 3     $524.96   (28 days Sydney to HK)

Segment 4     $565.34   (26 days HK to Bombay)

Segment 5     $489.67   (30 days Bombay to London)

 

With the exception of Segment 5, each segment paid a higher daily rate and received a fraction of the full WC benefits and OBC. I also note that each segment currently has multiple cabins available. Segment 3 departs in 6 days and no challenging Visas are required, so Viking could easily offer a fire-sale to fill the ship, but based on current pricing that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

Even if the deals were available last minute, I still prefer to book early and get our preferred cabin and have time to complete the port research for tours, etc.

 

[DaveSJ711]

3 hours ago, georose said:

I, too, would like to know how people get last minute deals on Viking.  Viking told us they do not have last minute deals.  They prefer to have vacant cabins in case of issues.  

 

We booked a DV2 cabin for the second segment of the London-L.A. sailing (14 nights, Bergen to Montreal).  Viking enticed us with a deal that showed up in our email queue in mid-July, right after we returned from a Baltics cruise.  The only catch was that we had to book the transatlantic crossing by July 31.

For the transatlantic, we paid about US$407.00 pp per night after a $200.00 pp credit for return passengers.  Our airfare into Bergen and out of Montreal was included.

I'm not bragging about this fare; it was what it was, and I have no factual basis upon which to compare what we paid to the price for other segments or for the entire WC.  I'm simply pointing out that Viking does offer deals, and we took advantage of one of them.  (We received a similar deal, i.e., airfare included, on a SE Asia trip with Viking last month, but that wasn't part of a WC.)

[Jukebo1x]

All things considered, I too don’t think there are “last minute deals”. 
Yes Viking has (not last minute) Explorer Deals that take money off the air or off the cabin price, but it all works with a formula. 
There are certain people who like to boast about “last minute deals” when in fact, they were not last minute. These people like to “stir it up”, and they are people that I try not to engage in price discussions. 
They may be travel agents, or friends of travel agents that prey on travelers. Their thing is to upset passengers into forgetting about their good experiences.  
Ask Hamed (if he’s still on the ship), how to get $100 ship credit per person by transferring a booking to AAA. The bad side of this move is I know  2-people who did it & never received their travel documents...your choice...don’t know if that is the norm. 
I too would love to know😌-Jeannette

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Jukebo1x
Typing errors

[SrCruizer]

Heidi13 - thank you for your summary regarding segment pricing. Like you, we book early in order to get our preferred cabin. Then we start looking at flights. Airfare pricing can bounce all over the board but at some point we must make a decision and commit to a reservation. It’s also the same in the hotel industry. In all our years of traveling, we have found that in some cases we could have gotten better deals whether it be cruises, airfares, or hotels, but we try not to look back. We focus on the times we got great deals.

[NY Nick]

16 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Personally, I rarely pay any credence to those travellers who take great delight in discussing the deals they received, as they often comprise some, or even a number of embellishments.

 

Even if the deals were available last minute, I still prefer to book early and get our preferred cabin and have time to complete the port research for tours, etc.

 

Exactly right my friend. 

[Jukebo1x]

45 minutes ago, NY Nick said:

Exactly right my friend. 

We are PV1-types. My husband is 6’5” and needs a bit more space. 
Early booking helps achieve that Size cabin.  
We are truly blessed😌-Jeannette

[vnb2003]

27 minutes ago, Jukebo1x said:

We are PV1-types. My husband is 6’5” and needs a bit more space. 
Early booking helps achieve that Size cabin.  
We are truly blessed😌-Jeannette

Jeannette,

 

you could definitely find good savings if you book PV3. The cabins identical in size and in good location plus savings of at least $2,500-$3,000 p/p compare to PV1.

[WAVTAM]

3 hours ago, NY Nick said:

Exactly right my friend. 

On the Sun presently. Valparaiso to LA. Having done previous Viking cruises, first we find the food actually better than past cruises. As for last minute deals. They definably  do exist. We paid 186/pp/der day for this cruise and in a DV 6 cabin. Had free air and transfers and have free pre paid gratuities by agent with 600 credit on receipt once back home. One just needs to look for last minute deals.  At time of booking we had over a dozen cabins on all floors to choose from.

[deec]

Exactly WHERE should one look?  Have not seen them on the VO web site under the "Last Minute Travel Specials"... we are retired and can usually go last minute....We have traveled on Viking quite a bit and would love to find some great deals!!!

[Jukebo1x]

4 hours ago, vnb2003 said:

Jeannette,

 

you could definitely find good savings if you book PV3. The cabins identical in size and in good location plus savings of at least $2,500-$3,000 p/p compare to PV1.

Thanks, however by the time we book, this is where we go.
We  normally book the 6th floor.  Just our thing😌-Jeannette

 

[vnb2003]

1 hour ago, Jukebo1x said:

Thanks, however by the time we book, this is where we go.
We  normally book the 6th floor.  Just our thing😌-Jeannette

 

👍 

[Cleopatra99]

4 hours ago, WAVTAM said:

One just needs to look for last minute deals. 

 

Please tell us more .. where do we look ? How late do you book ?

[georose]

Thank you everyone for your input.  This has become a very interesting discussion.  Like others, we have our preferred cabin and our preferred location and book as early as we can.  

[Jukebo1x]

Yes, thank you all. It was interesting. 
I want to take this time to wish Jim Avery, everyone else on The Sun, and everyone else participating on CC a very happy, healthy, and safe New Year 😌-Jeannette

[WAVTAM]

15 hours ago, deec said:

Exactly WHERE should one look?  Have not seen them on the VO web site under the "Last Minute Travel Specials"... we are retired and can usually go last minute....We have traveled on Viking quite a bit and would love to find some great deals!!!

Never rely on Viking website for any deals. I normally use Price Alerts under Cruise Critic  and I also use a website that allows TA's to offer prices on deals then have under group space or FAM fares. (Assured I can't post the name but google the answer.). I then use 3 TA's that I done business with to offer the best deal they can. Usually some will cut into there commission. 

[Jim Avery]

10 hours ago, Jukebo1x said:

Yes, thank you all. It was interesting. 
I want to take this time to wish Jim Avery, everyone else on The Sun, and everyone else participating on CC a very happy, healthy, and safe New Year 😌-Jeannette

Thanks and all the best to y'all as well.  Not sure what we will do for NYE but the crew have plans of some sort for us.  🍸😎

[Heidi13]

34 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Thanks and all the best to y'all as well.  Not sure what we will do for NYE but the crew have plans of some sort for us.  🍸😎

Jim - on the webcam it looks like a pleasant day at sea, smooth sailing and clear skies.

[Eaches]

Jim , 

This is Eaches and I wanted to Thank You for the  almost daily info you submitted! We thought of completing the WC circle

but decided to visit family and do the Rocky Mountaineer and two weeks in  Hawaii  instead. Nancy and I are doing a Viking River Cruise this next summer/fall Amsterdam to Budapest. We yearn to go back to VO but we have done most of the areas covered by VO. 
We are doing a week on a canal barge in 2021 for something different. 
Again it’s always wonderful to hear and see your   Travel photos. 
Hope to run into you once again - somewhere in this world 🌎 

Edited December 31, 2019 by Eaches

[Jukebo1x]

2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Thanks and all the best to y'all as well.  Not sure what we will do for NYE but the crew have plans of some sort for us.  🍸😎

I’m certain The Sun will be rockin’😌

Edited December 31, 2019 by Jukebo1x
Soelling

[Jim Avery]

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Jim - on the webcam it looks like a pleasant day at sea, smooth sailing and clear skies.

It was. Now passing through a series of rain squalls. Still calm seas. Forecast is good for SoCal.🍺🍺😎

[Jim Avery]

Eaches,

great to hear from y’all. I really miss all your great pictures. Your travel plans are amazing. We might just show up anywhere so keep checking behind you.🍸😎