Best Viking booking deal to wait for

[clojacks]

We're new to Viking, but not to cruising. We have learned to watch for the best booking sales or deals at different times of the year from the lines we like to sale. What are the best deals you have seen from Viking that would be worth waiting for. We are looking at a B2B in Australia and New Zealand in 2022, so getting the best price will absolutely help.

[SrCruizer]

1 hour ago, clojacks said:

We're new to Viking, but not to cruising. We have learned to watch for the best booking sales or deals at different times of the year from the lines we like to sale. What are the best deals you have seen from Viking that would be worth waiting for. We are looking at a B2B in Australia and New Zealand in 2022, so getting the best price will absolutely help.

I think you’re asking people to gaze into their crystal balls & try to predict the cruise industry’s future during these very uncertain times. Currently many people are proactively canceling 2020 Viking cruises that still show sailing but I’m guessing will eventually be cancelled. Many are rebooking the same cruise for 2021 at higher rates. If Viking survives this crisis, which I certainly hope so since we have future cruises booked, I don’t think you’re going to see any deals unless people are so afraid to cruise they can’t fill their ships. Obviously I’m no expert on the future of cruising but I’m optimistic that cruising will be back to “normal” by 2021.

[clojacks]

1 minute ago, SrCruizer said:

I think you’re asking people to gaze into their crystal balls & try to predict the cruise industry’s future during these very uncertain times. Currently many people are proactively canceling 2020 Viking cruises that still show sailing but I’m guessing will eventually be cancelled. Many are rebooking the same cruise for 2021 at higher rates. If Viking survives this crisis, which I certainly hope so since we have future cruises booked, I don’t think you’re going to see any deals unless people are so afraid to cruise they can’t fill their ships. Obviously I’m no expert on the future of cruising but I’m optimistic that cruising will be back to “normal” by 2021.

I guess I was hoping to hear things like, “we got a $500 booking discount” or “we got a 1 category cabin upgrade”. I wasn’t really asking people to predict, but just what they have seen in the past as marketing tools. Beyond knowing what they have done in the past, it is my responsibility to pull the trigger when I feel it is time. 

[dwlmg]

Historically, I have seen things like two for one deposits, various deals on airfare including free from gateway cities, various discounts on cruise fares.  I believe at one time, the beverage package (upgraded wine and essentially open bar for non premium spirits) was offered.  Sign up to receive brochures and email from Viking to stay informed

.  After we booked a cruise, we received email and a mailing offering a nice offer to book another cruise.  I think your best resource to answer this question would be a travel agent.  There are some additional incentives to involve a travel agent in a Viking booking.  You can book with Viking to realize the 'web' savings and then 'assign' the booking to a travel agent who in turn may be able to give you some additional on board credit.  We went to our local AAA store for our agent.  There are indications that it may be worthwhile to shop around for an agent.  These are going to be trying times for the cruise industry.  It is hard to anticipate what will be the deals of the future.

[Clay Clayton]

If past is prologue, we have found that the best “deals”’happen 4 months or so before sailing if Viking needs to sell out a particular cruise.  At that point they offer free or reduced (economy) air and/or a DV for the price of a V.  However you must realize this isn’t something you can count on and if you have a particular cruise in mind, I wouldn’t count on that happening. 
 

For example, last June, we got an email with a promo offering “free” air and a DV at V prices for Viking’s Far East Discovery cruise (12 nights?) from Bejing (Tianjin) to Hong Kong.  We ended up booking this and looked at making it a B2B going on to Tokyo.  However that cruise was two or three times more expensive as it was close to sold out and therefore the only staterooms available were the higher categories. 
 

We have been lucky the last three years in booking spring transatlantics in December with the promos I noted.  And this past year even got a significant price reduction offer.  Hope we can do the same in Spring 2021 if we are all able to cruise again by then!

 

Whatever you do, find a travel agent who provides the maximum OBC that Viking allows. This usually pays our gratuities and leaves enough to cover our pre-dinner cocktails.  It is one of the ways we can make Viking’s higher per day cost become more comparable with other cruise lines. 
 

 

[clojacks]

2 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

If past is prologue, we have found that the best “deals”’happen 4 months or so before sailing if Viking needs to sell out a particular cruise.  At that point they offer free or reduced (economy) air and/or a DV for the price of a V.  However you must realize this isn’t something you can count on and if you have a particular cruise in mind, I wouldn’t count on that happening. 
 

For example, last June, we got an email with a promo offering “free” air and a DV at V prices for Viking’s Far East Discovery cruise (12 nights?) from Bejing (Tianjin) to Hong Kong.  We ended up booking this and looked at making it a B2B going on to Tokyo.  However that cruise was two or three times more expensive as it was close to sold out and therefore the only staterooms available were the higher categories. 
 

We have been lucky the last three years in booking spring transatlantics in December with the promos I noted.  And this past year even got a significant price reduction offer.  Hope we can do the same in Spring 2021 if we are all able to cruise again by then!

 

Whatever you do, find a travel agent who provides the maximum OBC that Viking allows. This usually pays our gratuities and leaves enough to cover our pre-dinner cocktails.  It is one of the ways we can make Viking’s higher per day cost become more comparable with other cruise lines. 
 

 

A couple of caveat's...I have booked Viking River before, so I am somewhat familiar with some of their offerings, but this will be our first Viking Ocean, and I have used a TA that we have booked 20 Ocean cruises with so, and have gotten some great extra benefits from transferring our bookings too.

 

I guess, I am one of the few who finds the 2 for 1 deposits to be a meh deal.... I wouldn't ever book or not book because of that. particularly when our Viking River cruise required Full payment 30 days after deposit. If I'm having to pay $14000 30 days later, what difference does it make if I ma paying $500 or $1000 now? As far as air goes, at our age, 24+ hours in economy would probably kill us, and their business air isn't even close to what we can get on our own. I would guess that we get Viking River and Ocean mailings about every 2 months and I don't ever see price or offerings changing? 

[Cienfuegos]

Wise advice. 

 

The three to four month period before the cruise is often a make or break point for the cruise lines.  My wife and I have received very good sweeteners from Viking and National Geo / Linblad within that time frame.  But, waiting that long puts aspects like visa acquisition, tours, airfare, at risk. And, you may not get the cruise.

 

As noted, the beverage package upgrade is often first up. Airline deals / upgrades may be next. NatGeo gave us both for Galapagos, about six weeks out. Plus a better cabin. Our 99 passenger ship was only 2/3 full, so they were pushing to fill cabins. Some folks had booked two years earlier, and did not get the direct flight from NY as a freebie.

[Clay Clayton]

You have to get on their emails to see any promos. 
 

Agree with you about deposits and used to about econ vs biz air BUT depending on your flight, you can make it almost as comfortable.  
 

We were flying from Hong Kong to Seattle leaving at 11pm and arriving at 9pm so we didn’t want to sleep. Biz and PreEcon were completely full while econ was 50% so I got two seats to myself on an exit row and hubby was across the aisle and had 1.5 seats to himself on the bulkhead.  After doing a walk through premium econ, I was happy we weren’t in that cabin, felt claustrophobic.  And for “free” (well we paid $189 per person for the exit row) we thought it was manageable. 

[duquephart]

2 hours ago, SrCruizer said:

I think you’re asking people to gaze into their crystal balls & try to predict the cruise industry’s future during these very uncertain times. Currently many people are proactively canceling 2020 Viking cruises that still show sailing but I’m guessing will eventually be cancelled. Many are rebooking the same cruise for 2021 at higher rates. If Viking survives this crisis, which I certainly hope so since we have future cruises booked, I don’t think you’re going to see any deals unless people are so afraid to cruise they can’t fill their ships. Obviously I’m no expert on the future of cruising but I’m optimistic that cruising will be back to “normal” by 2021.

 

Our cruise is not cancelled yet but I assume it will be. The same cruise next year, same time of year, same stateroom, is $400 cheaper than what we currently have. How does that make sense?

[Cienfuegos]

10 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Our cruise is not cancelled yet but I assume it will be. The same cruise next year, same time of year, same stateroom, is $400 cheaper than what we currently have. How does that make sense?

 

The line may have had so many cancels that it wants to get money in the door.  How does that price match up with the same cruise as of three months ago?

 

I'm sure the lines have segmented their market and their cruise price structures to capture the folks who want to book two years out, and the folks who would book two weeks out if they could.

[duquephart]

2 minutes ago, Cienfuegos said:

 

The line may have had so many cancels that it wants to get money in the door.  How does that price match up with the same cruise as of three months ago?

 

I'm sure the lines have segmented their market and their cruise price structures to capture the folks who want to book two years out, and the folks who would book two weeks out if they could.

 

We could cancel this one and rebook for a savings of $800. Not a good deal for Viking.

[clojacks]

22 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Our cruise is not cancelled yet but I assume it will be. The same cruise next year, same time of year, same stateroom, is $400 cheaper than what we currently have. How does that make sense?

That is really strange. We have a river cruise coming up in Oct, that if it cancelled, the same cruise at the same time in the same category next Oct would be $900 more per person...

[clojacks]

39 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

You have to get on their emails to see any promos. 
 

 

I just checked my email history....not a single email from Viking other than pertaining to our upcoming River Cruise. I'm chatting with one of the agents at this moment, and they claim I am on their list. I checked my spam, deleted folder...Nothing! Kind of tough to get good promos if I don't get their emails.

[deec]

I do get emails, admittedly don't always read them.  I have not seen an offer for FREE Silver Spirit Package.  If someone sees that please POST!!!

[SrCruizer]

7 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Our cruise is not cancelled yet but I assume it will be. The same cruise next year, same time of year, same stateroom, is $400 cheaper than what we currently have. How does that make sense?

I have read various posts that the same itinerary for next year is costing them more. You maybe one of lucky ones getting a better deal. We have three cruises booked for this year and figure that they will get canceled. We have our fingers crossed that if it’s possible to rebook for next year we won’t have to pay more but won’t be surprised if that’s not the case. The cruise industry will need to recoup their losses somehow.

[duquephart]

21 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Our cruise is not cancelled yet but I assume it will be. The same cruise next year, same time of year, same stateroom, is $400 cheaper than what we currently have. How does that make sense?

 

As of this morning "our cruise" no longer shows up. Nothing until July.

[CCWineLover]

22 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Our cruise is not cancelled yet but I assume it will be. The same cruise next year, same time of year, same stateroom, is $400 cheaper than what we currently have. How does that make sense?

 

Am wondering what itinerary you have.  Our Midnight Sun cruise in late June will almost certainly be cancelled.  Viking is pushing a "sale" on Midnight Sun cruise for next June/July.  Our same 2021 cruise, same cabin category will cost us $2800 more that what we paid for 2020.  (which amounts to a 20 % increase).   Certainly no deals on Viking for us.

This is obviously a popular itinerary (like the Iceland cruises).  Perhaps yours is not as popular.

[duquephart]

3 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

 

Am wondering what itinerary you have.  Our Midnight Sun cruise in late June will almost certainly be cancelled.  Viking is pushing a "sale" on Midnight Sun cruise for next June/July.  Our same 2021 cruise, same cabin category will cost us $2800 more that what we paid for 2020.  (which amounts to a 20 % increase).   Certainly no deals on Viking for us.

This is obviously a popular itinerary (like the Iceland cruises).  Perhaps yours is not as popular.

 

Homelands. June sailing Stockholm to Bergin. PV1.

2020 - $9199

2021 - $8799

At least that's how it was when I posted.

[Clay Clayton]

On 3/29/2020 at 1:42 PM, clojacks said:

I just checked my email history....not a single email from Viking other than pertaining to our upcoming River Cruise. I'm chatting with one of the agents at this moment, and they claim I am on their list. I checked my spam, deleted folder...Nothing! Kind of tough to get good promos if I don't get their emails.

Maybe try this?  Go to the Viking Website and pull down the menu, click on special offers and then submit your name and info. 
 

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Homelands. June sailing Stockholm to Bergin. PV1.

2020 - $9199

2021 - $8799

At least that's how it was when I posted.

Thanks!

Ours is Into Midnight Sun, June sailing London to Bergen PV3.

2020 - $7599

2021 - $8999      +$1400 per person increase

[duquephart]

36 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Thanks!

Ours is Into Midnight Sun, June sailing London to Bergen PV3.

2020 - $7599

2021 - $8999      +$1400 per person increase

 

Wow!

[stretchcruz]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Thanks!

Ours is Into Midnight Sun, June sailing London to Bergen PV3.

2020 - $7599

2021 - $8999      +$1400 per person increase

Well, that sucks!!

[Squawkman]

I really do not think there is any formula to figure out pricing. Case in point:

We were interested in the Douro River cruise for November 2021 when we received an email offer for an additional $400 off per couple for any 8-14 night cruise booked by 2/29/20. All cheaper cabins were sold out, but all of a sudden an extra cruise was added on February 22. We called our Viking agent that Monday (2/24) and booked the cheapest cabin. On March 1, the price of of that cabin was increased by $550 pp - meaning it would have cost me $1,500 more to book this cabin a week later. And those cabins have been sold our for over 3 weeks.

[clojacks]

On 3/29/2020 at 12:01 PM, Clay Clayton said:

You have to get on their emails to see any promos. 
 

Agree with you about deposits and used to about econ vs biz air BUT depending on your flight, you can make it almost as comfortable.  
 

 

I spent quite a bit of time online yesterday with one of Vikings chat agents. Ultimately, my wife was getting their emails sent to an address she has, but she had no reason to watch for Viking offers. I looked at the last one she got and after having the agent check the price from the last brochure we got (...late Feb with code MAR in it) and the recent email, the price in the brochure was the same as the email, AND on their website. I think there may have been a slightly different flight offer, but for the most part, the email didn't offer anything that the brochure or the web didn't. I guess I wasn't aware a code existed in the brochures in the pricing boxes, but its not like it opened a secret passageway to the deals of the century. I think my TA offers better add-ons than the Viking special offers. I guess if nothing else, I've learned where to look for any extra offers that may be secretly embedded. I guess I was hoping to hear about a bonus discount, or extra specialty dining or something tangible, but nothing like that to be found. 

 

Ironically, I asked what final payment terms were, as we are talking about a B2B in Feb and Mar of 2022! The agent said final payment was due in Dec of 2020. For the mathematically challenged....that was 14 months before our sail date. I told him that was a deal breaker...that there was no way in hell, I was giving Viking approx $30,000 to sit on for 14 months. He said he'd see what he could do and changed it to Aug of 2021. That's the kind of back room BS that pisses me off about this stuff. I'm not buying a used car that we should expect to wheel and deal on. It's a cruise that I could get 2 decent used cars for!

Edited March 31, 2020 by clojacks

[clojacks]

I’m seeing multiple opinions on whether FCV’s can be used on an existing booking or not. I would like to book a B2B Australia/New Zealand cruise for 2022 while I can still get the same cabin for both segments, but I’m in hopes that I could use an FCV that I probably will get from a cruise later this summer that I suspect will get cancelled. Anybody in here have an answer from Viking that they feel is reasonably certain?