Is anyone able to get on "MyVikingJourney"?

[OnTheJourney]

Yes...I finally got on as well. Our two cruises, since they are "butterflied", have been combined into one itinerary and are now under one booking number. Previously, there were two separate numbers - one for each cruise. 

Edited June 17, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Peregrina651]

37 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Yes...I finally got on as well. Our two cruises, since they are "butterflied", have been combined into one itinerary and are now under one booking number. Previously, there were two separate numbers - one for each cruise. 

 

Make sure that they send you an updated invoice that shows the two have been combined -- the invoice from your travel agent but the Viking invoice with its 4-5 pages of fine print. As far as I am concerned, this is the most important document that they issue -- more important that what it says on MVJ -- and any time there is a change made, I make sure that my TA sends me the most up-to-date version.

[OnTheJourney]

IF the two cruises actually have been combined into one on their official records. I'll find out. Both are now listed (on MVJ) as the "chairman's cruise" - no mention of the "Iberian Explorer" - although I still have paperwork for both, with 2 separate booking numbers. Thanks for mentioning it. 

[OnTheJourney]

15 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Make sure that they send you an updated invoice that shows the two have been combined -- the invoice from your travel agent but the Viking invoice with its 4-5 pages of fine print. As far as I am concerned, this is the most important document that they issue -- more important that what it says on MVJ -- and any time there is a change made, I make sure that my TA sends me the most up-to-date version.

 

Took your advice and got an updated invoice. NOW, however, there are air charges listed on it (incorrectly I assume). Free economy air was part of the invitational cruise offering. And, were these charges correct, we'd owe an additional amount on the Iberian Explorer, and yet the amount on the new invoice is unchanged from what it was previously. SNAFU?  

[Peregrina651]

29 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

Took your advice and got an updated invoice. NOW, however, there are air charges listed on it (incorrectly I assume). Free economy air was part of the invitational cruise offering. And, were these charges correct, we'd owe an additional amount on the Iberian Explorer, and yet the amount on the new invoice is unchanged from what it was previously. SNAFU?  

 

Or arcane accounting?  Talk to Viking to get it straightened out -- and then get an updated invoice.

[OnTheJourney]

So now the Viking agent is telling me that there was never free air offered with the inaugural cruise (not true) and that it had "no air package" (also not true). There was a specific air itinerary on MVJ for months  - flight numbers and seats - wish I would have printed it out. But then, just recently, all that was removed and it was changed to "air not determined yet" or some such. So is Viking now trying to make up for some of the millions they lost by taking something away from the Sky passengers that was promised us?  He is saying that the inaugural cruise covered the initial (outbound) flight to Rome and then gave me a "fantastic discount" (?) on the flight back home from London. Someone offered something they were apparently not supposed to. I'm about ready to can this whole thing, since we'll probably not go anyway unless things feel really safe by January. This is turning into the most complex and confusing trip planning I think I've ever encountered. Every Viking agent I talk to comes up with a unique interpretation. 

Edited June 18, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[55Division]

For those having trouble logging on to MVJ due to the upgrade, try using Chrome as your web browser instead of Internet Explorer.  

[OnTheJourney]

I retract some of what I said in #31 - I let my emotions get the better of me (easy to do in this unusually stressful time). Here is the latest that I was told by Viking: 

"We are offering free round trip economy air to and from the inaugural cruise. If you would like to fly into Rome on the day the cruise begins and out of Barcelona on the day the inaugural cruise ends we can provide you with 100% free economy air fare. If you connect a second cruise as part of a combination cruise you loose the free return airfare as you are no longer leaving from Barcelona when the trip ends. You are adding air from the Iberian explorer which does not have free air. However, since the Inaugural cruise gets you there for free you only have to pay half rate for a single pair of tickets back from London!

Here is the Breakdown:

 

Flight to Rome: FREE from the inaugural cruise

Free flight back from Barcelona: Waived, as you are not departing from Barcelona after the cruise

 

Paid flight to Barcelona from North America to start the Iberian explorer: Waived, as you are already in Europe

Paid flight from London to North America. Taken, as you need to get home

 

You can always remove your return airfare if you would like get tickets on your own!"

 

So a question that still remains is whether or not Viking will assign a dollar value to the offered economy flights and be willing to discount said value (or at least something) off of an upgrade. It would seem reasonable but I did not get that impression when talking to the air desk. 

 

Getting back to the focus of the thread, I just tried to get on MVJ again and it said my schedule is "being updated". I had just been on about 20 minutes ago. Maybe it has to do with all the questions I raised about the air schedule. 

 

[vslparis]

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

I retract some of what I said in #31 - I let my emotions get the better of me (easy to do in this unusually stressful time). Here is the latest that I was told by Viking: 

"We are offering free round trip economy air to and from the inaugural cruise. If you would like to fly into Rome on the day the cruise begins and out of Barcelona on the day the inaugural cruise ends we can provide you with 100% free economy air fare. If you connect a second cruise as part of a combination cruise you loose the free return airfare as you are no longer leaving from Barcelona when the trip ends. You are adding air from the Iberian explorer which does not have free air. However, since the Inaugural cruise gets you there for free you only have to pay half rate for a single pair of tickets back from London!

Here is the Breakdown:

 

Flight to Rome: FREE from the inaugural cruise

Free flight back from Barcelona: Waived, as you are not departing from Barcelona after the cruise

 

Paid flight to Barcelona from North America to start the Iberian explorer: Waived, as you are already in Europe

Paid flight from London to North America. Taken, as you need to get home

 

You can always remove your return airfare if you would like get tickets on your own!"

 

So a question that still remains is whether or not Viking will assign a dollar value to the offered economy flights and be willing to discount said value (or at least something) off of an upgrade. It would seem reasonable but I did not get that impression when talking to the air desk. 

 

Getting back to the focus of the thread, I just tried to get on MVJ again and it said my schedule is "being updated". I had just been on about 20 minutes ago. Maybe it has to do with all the questions I raised about the air schedule. 

 

I would check out the cost back from your second trip yourself ( or have your TA do it if you have one ) just so you have an idea of what the best price might be .  This way when Viking comes back with one you will have an idea of whether or not their price is a good value. 

[OnTheJourney]

14 hours ago, vslparis said:

I would check out the cost back from your second trip yourself ( or have your TA do it if you have one ) just so you have an idea of what the best price might be .  This way when Viking comes back with one you will have an idea of whether or not their price is a good value. 

 

The thing is, none of what I'm being told really matters if we plan to upgrade anyway. It does not appear as though Viking takes anything off the price of business class simply because we have this complimentary economy air, so I either pay what I can find on my own for all the flights or else go with whatever Viking charges (which is quite a bit higher). I'm not really interested in regular economy for any of the flights. 

[vslparis]

29 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

The thing is, none of what I'm being told really matters if we plan to upgrade anyway. It does not appear as though Viking takes anything off the price of business class simply because we have this complimentary economy air, so I either pay what I can find on my own for all the flights or else go with whatever Viking charges (which is quite a bit higher). I'm not really interested in regular economy for any of the flights. 

You are correct , Viking does not apply the value of the complimentary air towards business class or even premium economy tickets so if you prefer to not fly economy you might as well look for business class on your own to compare the prices.   There isn’t even a reduction in the price of the trip if you don’t take the complimentary air like other cruise lines like Regent and Oceania . Still, though, Viking tends to be a good value over the lines the give the price reduction for not taking their ‘free” air. 

[OnTheJourney]

I've often considered buying my own air. I can find a lot cheaper - just hate to get stuck with having to use a canceled and rebooked ticket within a year. We're not likely to make use of it. Hate to pay Viking an additional $2500 for the upgrade. Under "normal" circumstances, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase my own air - but with not even knowing if we're going to go - it makes the decision more difficult. With Viking, even though paying more, I don't lose the value of the flights since it goes into the risk-free guarantee voucher. 

Edited June 19, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Squawkman]

I was upgraded with no notices, etc. My next cruise was there, all correct and better information than the old version. I assumed that my other booked cruises would be there, but they weren’t. So I added a cruise last night, and all was OK for both cruises. This morning, I added my other bookings, but nothing is available to view except the original next cruise - even though the one I added last night worked then, but not now. Guess the upgraded version is not ready for prime time.

[OnTheJourney]

Have to check again today and see how things look. 

[philw1776]

Finally got the update.  Had to add in the booking #s for my other 2 Viking cruises.  Seems nice.  Let's see how excursions bookings actually work.

[Squawkman]

5 minutes ago, philw1776 said:

Finally got the update.  Had to add in the booking #s for my other 2 Viking cruises.  Seems nice.  Let's see how excursions bookings actually work.

Phil - before trying to book excursions, log in again and see if you can access either of the 2 bookings you added. I can only get the next cruise that Viking out there.

[philw1776]

I'm good with all 3 cruises now. Had gotten UPDATE unable to access messages but be patient and they go away.

I'm months away from being able to book excursions.  Just curious how it'll work.

Edited June 20, 2020 by philw1776

[OnTheJourney]

I liked it better when they had the 2 (butterflied) cruises booked separately - since that's technically what they are - two trips separated by a day. Also, the itinerary map only shows the ports for the first (inaugural) sailing. It's just a bit weird. Since they combined into one booking number, suppose we'd still decide to keep one and cancel the other? Just seems like it could invite problems. 

[Peregrina651]

Here is a question to those who have been upgraded already AND who have an Expedition itinerary already booked:

 

We know that on the old version of MVJ all we get is:

when we try to look our Expeditions booking.  Has this been fixed on the updated version or do we still get the same message?

 

THANKS!

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Peregrina651

[Peregrina651]

On 6/21/2020 at 6:34 PM, OnTheJourney said:

I liked it better when they had the 2 (butterflied) cruises booked separately - since that's technically what they are - two trips separated by a day. Also, the itinerary map only shows the ports for the first (inaugural) sailing. It's just a bit weird. Since they combined into one booking number, suppose we'd still decide to keep one and cancel the other? Just seems like it could invite problems. 

 

 

Been thinking about this.

 

Perhaps in this situation, this is NOT a bad thing and in fact a very, very good thing.

 

Things are up in the air right now. Who knows what changes may be coming down the pike in the months to come. If nothing else, should changes be necessary Viking has your entire plan in one place. They see that while separate trips, they are interdependent and will deal with them as such. Where they two separate bookings, the fact that they are interconnected may be lost in the shuffle.

[1985rz1]

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Here is a question to those who have been upgraded already AND who have an Expedition itinerary already booked:

 

We know that on the old version of MVJ all we get is:

when we try to look our Expeditions booking.  Has this been fixed on the updated version or do we still get the same message?

 

THANKS!

 

Based on our experience, the simple answer is NO.

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

Been thinking about this.

 

Perhaps in this situation, this is NOT a bad thing and in fact a very, very good thing.

 

Things are up in the air right now. Who knows what changes may be coming down the pike in the months to come. If nothing else, should changes be necessary Viking has your entire plan in one place. They see that while separate trips, they are interdependent and will deal with them as such. Where they two separate bookings, the fact that they are interconnected may be lost in the shuffle.

 

P.....good point. It could make things easier for them. We would not plan on doing one without the other anyway. 

[uktog]

I cannot access my booking now which I assume means as its for later this year its being cancelled - I am ok about that

[Squawkman]

Yep. I have cruises for 2020, 2021 and 2022 and the latter years are available.

[Peregrina651]

6 hours ago, uktog said:

I cannot access my booking now which I assume means as its for later this year its being cancelled - I am ok about that

 

Yes, in ability to access a booking, especially when widely reported can be a sign that cancellations are on the way. Add to that cruises Cruises through December are no longer being shown on the website and we can expect an official announcement soon, tonight? tomorrow? I didn't see anything on the website when I just checked.  July 8 is the last announcement posted on My Trip on the main website.