Move Over Offer

[Rosethorn40]

We have an upcoming 7 day Ocean Cruise coming up. It's our first Ocean after several River Cruises. I received an email from Viking that the cruise is overbooked. I know this happens from time to time as I have received move over offers from other companies, and I am not worried about getting to the ship and there is no cabin for me. What I was wondering if this sounded like a typical mover over offer from Viking. They offered to upgrade our cabin from a Deluxe Veranda to a Penthouse Veranda, rebook us on a longer cruise (Gave us 3 options), and a 2k refund in form of a credit back to the credit card. I am seriously considering it, because for the first time we do have some flexibility. In the past I have always turned them done because of scheduling. Any thought?

[worldtraveler1234]

Sounds good! What cruises are they offering?

We were in a PV1 on our last cruise and it is certainly an upgrade.

[SM77]

Go for it!  We are on the Jupiter & was upgraded to a PH verandah - it’s really spacious so take advantage of the offer.

[Jazmyn49]

Jump on it before someone else does!

 

[TayanaLorna]

PV is so much nicer then DV, 7 days is not enough time for an ocean cruise anyhow, you have the time, and you get money refunded to boot?  What's not to like?  Go for it.

[Rosethorn40]

So I did go for it. We went from a Deluxe Veranda on the Iberian Explorer (8 days) to a Penthouse Veranda  on Trade Routes of the Middle Ages (15 days). We have most of the original ports (Except Vigo, Spain has been substituted by Porto, Portugal). and of course additional ports. 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Rosethorn40 said:

So I did go for it. We went from a Deluxe Veranda on the Iberian Explorer (8 days) to a Penthouse Veranda  on Trade Routes of the Middle Ages (15 days). We have most of the original ports (Except Vigo, Spain has been substituted by Porto, Portugal). and of course additional ports. 

Having been to both, Porto is an excellent substitution.

[lackcreativity]

We loved Trade Routes of the Middle Ages. Lucky you!

[Mich3554]

We just got off of Trade Routes in October.  It is an excellent cruise, with lots of great stops.  

[CCWineLover]

You definitely won the room upgrade lottery!  and the cruise is a great one as well.

[Clay Clayton]

22 hours ago, Rosethorn40 said:

So I did go for it. We went from a Deluxe Veranda on the Iberian Explorer (8 days) to a Penthouse Veranda  on Trade Routes of the Middle Ages (15 days). We have most of the original ports (Except Vigo, Spain has been substituted by Porto, Portugal). and of course additional ports. 

Porto is a great place!  

[terrydtx]

On 12/12/2019 at 10:04 AM, Rosethorn40 said:

. I received an email from Viking that the cruise is overbooked

How can a VO cruise be overbooked? When you book you are assigned a specific cabin. Does VO do guarantee cabin bookings like the mainstream cruise companies? This is the only way I could see them overbooked, selling more guarantees than they have available cabins.

[CCWineLover]

52 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

How can a VO cruise be overbooked? When you book you are assigned a specific cabin. Does VO do guarantee cabin bookings like the mainstream cruise companies? This is the only way I could see them overbooked, selling more guarantees than they have available cabins.

Yes they do Guarantee Cabin Bookings - with no immediate room assigned until closer to sailing.

We have one of those coming up next year.

[Rosethorn40]

15 hours ago, terrydtx said:

How can a VO cruise be overbooked? When you book you are assigned a specific cabin. Does VO do guarantee cabin bookings like the mainstream cruise companies? This is the only way I could see them overbooked, selling more guarantees than they have available cabins.

There are several people on this cruise that were still waiting for cabin assignments. I know that the cruise lines have computer models that predict how many passengers will cancel before sailing. Usually the models are right, but occasionally they are wrong, hence the move over offers. This particular sailing is only offered once a year, and being a 7-day cruise has a lower price point then most Viking Ocean cruises, which is probably why it was sold out.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Rosethorn40
Clarification

[Peregrina651]

17 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Yes they do Guarantee Cabin Bookings - with no immediate room assigned until closer to sailing.

We have one of those coming up next year.

 

And I booked a Guaranteed cabin on the cruise that OP was booked on -- who knows, maybe we will end up in her old cabin. I booked in August, as a GTY. I am still waiting for a cabin assignment and, at this point, don't expect to get it until we check in at the terminal. However, it is a one-week cruise and for one week I can deal with whatever cabin I am assigned. I did a GTY last year on a one-week cruise and ended up in a DV4, same as I would have booked had I booked a year in advance, and not less than a month in advance.

 

 

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, Rosethorn40 said:

There are several people on this cruise that were still waiting for cabin assignments. I know that the cruise lines have computer models that predict how many passengers will cancel before sailing. Usually the models are right, but occasionally they are wrong, hence the move over offers. This particular sailing is only offered once a year, and being a 7-day cruise has a lower price point then most Viking Ocean cruises, which is probably why it was sold out.

Thank you for the explanation. I am new to VO and I am surprised that they sell guarantee cabins, which is really a waitlist arrangement. This would make it hard to buy any air for the cruise if you do not know until the day before if you are actually on the cruise or not. I know our cruise next September is sold out and has been since January of this year.  But I already have a cabin assignment in PV1 and our air was bought in November. There is no way I would want to have a GTY cabin om this cruise.

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Thank you for the explanation. I am new to VO and I am surprised that they sell guarantee cabins, which is really a waitlist arrangement. This would make it hard to buy any air for the cruise if you do not know until the day before if you are actually on the cruise or not. I know our cruise next September is sold out and has been since January of this year.  But I already have a cabin assignment in PV1 and our air was bought in November. There is no way I would want to have a GTY cabin om this cruise.

 

The interesting thing is that "sold out" can come and go. With a demographic as old as Viking has, things happen, plans change and cabins open up. A month ago, our cruise was showing three unsold Explorer Suites. Whether they sold to new pax or where used to upgrade pax out of lower priced cabins to open up cabins for the GTY guests, I have no idea.

 

But, I agree with you. I won't do this GTY thing for anything but a short last minute cruise. When it is a longer vacation that I am booking one or two years out, I am going to choose my cabin at booking.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

The interesting thing is that "sold out" can come and go. With a demographic as old as Viking has, things happen, plans change and cabins open up. A month ago, our cruise was showing three unsold Explorer Suites. Whether they sold to new pax or where used to upgrade pax out of lower priced cabins to open up cabins for the GTY guests, I have no idea.

 

But, I agree with you. I won't do this GTY thing for anything but a short last minute cruise. When it is a longer vacation that I am booking one or two years out, I am going to choose my cabin at booking.

Last year my sister and BIL had a PV1 booked for a 15 day Viking China cruise and when they checked into the cruise in Beijing they found they had been upgraded to an Explorer Suite for no added cost. The cruise had also shown it was sold out for months. So maybe they got moved up to make room for a GTY booking. That's was a great deal for her and it was their first VO cruise. Their experience was why we booked our VO cruise for next year. I doubt we will get a move up like they did but I will be very happy, I think, with our PV1 cabin.

[Peregrina651]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Last year my sister and BIL

 

🤓I have always wondered why so many of us have sisters married to men called BIL.

 

For years I have been trying to figure out the workings of the Viking Upgrade Fairy and have come to the conclusion that they are inscrutable and that the secrets will never be uncovered. Your sister really lucked out.

[terrydtx]

13 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

🤓I have always wondered why so many of us have sisters married to men called BIL.

And they all have husbands with a misspelled BIL, LOL

 

My sister was really surprised that they got that high an upgrade but the downside is it will make it very hard to cruise with VO with anything less than a ES. When they checked in to board the agent handed them their card key pass and said someone would show them to their cabin on deck 4. She started to argue that that couldn't be right since they were booked on Deck 6. It was like the VO people wanted to keep the upgrade a secret until they got to the cabin.

Edited December 17, 2019 by terrydtx

[Ontario/AZ]

On 12/16/2019 at 10:53 AM, Peregrina651 said:

 

And I booked a Guaranteed cabin on the cruise that OP was booked on -- who knows, maybe we will end up in her old cabin. I booked in August, as a GTY. I am still waiting for a cabin assignment and, at this point, don't expect to get it until we check in at the terminal. However, it is a one-week cruise and for one week I can deal with whatever cabin I am assigned. I did a GTY last year on a one-week cruise and ended up in a DV4, same as I would have booked had I booked a year in advance, and not less than a month in advance.

 

 

We had  GTY on Med. Explorer and were upgaded 4 days before our flight from V2 to DV1.

 

[Peregrina651]

5 hours ago, Ontario/AZ said:

We had  GTY on Med. Explorer and were upgaded 4 days before our flight from V2 to DV1.

 

 

The fun of the GTY is that one never knows where one will end up. I'm happy to wait until the last minute to find out.

[twodjs]

On 12/16/2019 at 9:10 AM, terrydtx said:

Thank you for the explanation. I am new to VO and I am surprised that they sell guarantee cabins, which is really a waitlist arrangement. 

No, when you book a guarantee cabin, you don't get a specific cabin number, but rather a specific catagory of cabin (or better) on a specific cruise ship and date. You can book airlines, hotels, etc. as you are guaranteed a cabin on the ship. It is NOT a waitlist hoping to get on the ship.

[lonagarr]

We loved our Trade Routes cruise. We did the pre cruise and took the scenic train from Oslo to Bergen, and it was fascinating. We did the one where you stay in Oslo for two nights and then go on to Bergen; if I had it to do over, I would do the one where you get on the train the day after landing and spend more time in Bergen, which IMHO is cooler than Oslo. Whatever you do, you will have a fabulous cruise - it's one I'd do again if they didn't have so many great ones to choose from!

 

Edited December 29, 2019 by lonagarr

[longterm]

We were on a short 5-day cruise in the Caribbean in Feb. 2020, got an email 2 days before sailing, telling us the cruise was oversold and an offer was being proffered. 

 

We were offered $1500, an upgrade to a penthouse junior suite, and a choice of 3 cruises, the longest being 11 days in the Caribbean. We jumped on it immediately, and our new sailing date was to be December 2020.

The cruise was canceled. I then called to find out when we could be rescheduled, and was told that we would only receive a credit for the amount we'd actually paid, not for the cruise we'd been upgraded to. Since the original cruise price was $3500 for both of us, and the upgrade was about $11,000, there was a huge differeence.

I argued (politely) with 2 or 3 different people on the phone, asking for superiors each time, only to be told that we wouldn't be getting our upgrade on a future cruise. Needless to say, I was NOT pleased.

Finally, a helpful person suggested that I contact their "move-over" department directly, so I did that. I got a response almost immediately, telling me that we'd receive our upgrade on a future cruise. 

We went on the replacement cruise in December 2021, had a great time, stayed in our penthouse junior suite, and all was good. We received a refund for excursions we'd bought as well, so it all turned out great.

Headed to Italy in 2 weeks; if they offer something similar to us again, I think we'd jump on it!