Viking River Cruises suspended until end of June 2020

[Bake apple]

Travelers, I just received an e-mail from Viking River Cruises indicating that cruises operations are suspended until the end of June.  Offers of money back, future cruises= vouchers at 125 per cent etc. You may want to check your e-mail if you were booked to cruise during May or June 2020. 

Edited March 30, 2020 by Bake apple

[hihandycap]

I think the offer has been sweetened slightly:

• "For additional flexibility, if you are unable to use your voucher, we will automatically send you a refund equal to the original amount paid to Viking after the voucher expires. The 125% Future Cruise Voucher will also be fully transferable."

Seems fair since VRC will have use of the original amount for at least two years for those who choose that option. 

[kpgclark]

I think the offer is very fair.  We rebooked to leave at the end of August.  Hopefully travel will be back to normal by then.  Just as a single data point, with the 125% credit and a one-to-one comparison (we are rebooking the exact same cruise with the same options, same cabin etc) we ended up ahead about $200 which almost covers the private trip insurance for the original trip.  Basically a wash.

[NavyCruiser]

Thanks for the update.

Hope our late July river cruise is still on...

[NavyCruiser]

Chairman's Video:

 

https://viking.tv/

 

 

[mskaufman]

We are booked for mid July and have mixed feelings.  We are expecting for this to extend into the summer, at least to the point where flying between the U.S. and Europe will not be back to normal.

[cmason]

Agree @mskaufman, I am in the 'same boat'.  Cruise is July 1, which would mean we are the first sailing of the year. Feeling I might be shy around people by then, and wonder how things will be as a tourist. My guess is that the cancellations get extended anyway, and if I am uncomfortable, Viking (and other lines) do offer generous cancellation policies.

[thdave]

My May trip to Russia is cancelled and I'm wondering if, given that the cost of my trip is more than typical, if I can, with my 125% credit, book two cruises.  Is that allowed?

[mhb1757]

It is my understanding that the voucher has to be used on a single booking...however it can be used to book for more than one person, so you could use your voucher to book a cabin and pay for 2 people and then use your partners voucher to book another cruise for 2. Or you could use one for your cabin and your partners voucher for another cabin for friends on a cruise. At least that is how I understand it from my TA. However you would definitely want to clarify with Viking. 

1 hour ago, thdave said:

My May trip to Russia is cancelled and I'm wondering if, given that the cost of my trip is more than typical, if I can, with my 125% credit, book two cruises.  Is that allowed?

 

[thdave]

Very innovative, Cool Cruiser!   I'll give that a try.

[mskaufman]

9 hours ago, cmason said:

Agree @mskaufman, I am in the 'same boat'.  Cruise is July 1, which would mean we are the first sailing of the year. Feeling I might be shy around people by then, and wonder how things will be as a tourist. My guess is that the cancellations get extended anyway, and if I am uncomfortable, Viking (and other lines) do offer generous cancellation policies.

I think you are right.  I can't imagine that international air travel will be back to normal and not sure what countries will be happy with people coming and going in July.  

[NavyCruiser]

I would think that international air travel would be open by May, otherwise all of the world's economies would collapse.  But with lots of safety measures in place, ie: temperature & sickness screenings, where they'll advise you to be at the airport 5 hours before departure...

[bcorre2]

Our TA was able to cancel our June Viking River Cruise and just completed rescheduling for 2021 with ALL the same. Travel dates, Extensions pre/post, ship and suite. We didn’t hear anything about vouchers as we just re-booked. Some information we learned about the accounting magic Viking uses for re-booking vs refund that may help in your decision.

The total for the 2019 departure for 2 people cost is what you would get if you just wanted a refund.

Since we wanted to convert it to a credit, it’s that amount times 1.25 which was applied to our NEW Viking Cruise for 2021 with ALL of the same items as 2020.

 

The overage difference can only be used for:

Prepaid gratuities - $126 per person

Silver Spirits beverage package - $150 per person

Any premium excursions during the cruise that have a cost

 

What you CANNOT use the overage for:

They don’t allow it to be split for use on 2 cruises. So it would not be able to be used toward any other cruise, including any other Viking cruise you may want to add on before or after your affected cruise.

If you have an overage and don’t want to use it for any of the items listed previously for the affected cruise, then you can put in a request for a refund of the difference. They don’t promise to allow it, but will look at it on a case by case basis.

It can take up to 30 days for the credit to be applied to your new booking (doesn’t normally take that long, but since the whole world & their operation is in turmoil presently, it could take up to 30 days).

The insurance cost has to be paid within 14 days IF you have any pre-existing health conditions that you think may make you have to cancel your cruise.

If you don’t have any pre-existing health conditions that might affect you taking the new departure, then no action is needed on your part & we just wait for the credit to be applied whenever that happens.

BUT if you or DO have a pre-existing health condition, that may affect you taking the new cruise, then you will want to pay for the insurance up front, out of pocket, to make sure it is paid within 14 days.

New Viking reservation accounting Magic: Statement differences:  Our Cruise Tour Fare, Booking Discount and Past Guest Discount changed from 2020 to 2021 to a net + $1,000 pp. I won’t go into detail as you wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it. This means our 25% overage was $2k less than we thought it might be.

If you paid for your previous cruise with a debit card, you got a 3% discount for paying by e-check.  That same discount is not applied when using a past credit for a new booking.

Also, for doing the transfer of funds from the old booking, they either allow you to do that with 125% of your gross cancelled cruise cost OR let you use the Covid-19 special booking rate, but not both.

As we really were looking forward to this Viking River Cruise we rescheduled and requested a refund on the overage.

Too much $ to spend on the items Viking allowed as we are not heavy drinkers. Occasional beer and wine at meals.  If we don’t get the refund applied, we’ll just tip and drink heavily and take every paid excursion we can handle. 😉

[rrgator]

We are booked on the Russia cruise in late September. Hopefully everything will be up and running by then. My problem is the visa company Viking uses is closed and not excepting any new applications currently. Not sure what to do at this point. Is anybody else dealing with this issue. 

[Peregrina651]

19 hours ago, rrgator said:

We are booked on the Russia cruise in late September. Hopefully everything will be up and running by then. My problem is the visa company Viking uses is closed and not excepting any new applications currently. Not sure what to do at this point. Is anybody else dealing with this issue. 

 

You have posed an important question but it really deserves  a thread of its own, not to be hiding in a thread of a different topic where it might not be seen by other cruisers who wondering the same.

[rrgator]

Thanks. I will.