New to Viking Question

[Peachypooh]

I am interested in sailing on the Viking Mississippi in April of 2023. When I called

they said final payment was Dec.31, 2020. When I asked if this could be changed to

one year before sailing they said they might be able to to Feb. 2021. Is this normal?

It seems much different from other cruiselines I have been on where it was anywhere

from 90-120 days. They gave me 72 hours to think about it.Thank you.

[JerseyMom]

Hi Peachy - for what it's worth.  I was also given a December 31, 2020 final payment date for a Transatlantic Crossing in March  2022.  I don't know whether or not they have always done this.  I have also been used to other cruise lines with final payment due 120 days out.

[duquephart]

Viking likes to get interest free loans. And they get away with it.

[Squawkman]

The policy is stricter since the Covid-19 situation, but if you have another cruise booked, you can ask for 6 months before embarkation.

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

I am interested in sailing on the Viking Mississippi in April of 2023. When I called

they said final payment was Dec.31, 2020. When I asked if this could be changed to

one year before sailing they said they might be able to to Feb. 2021. Is this normal?

It seems much different from other cruiselines I have been on where it was anywhere

from 90-120 days. They gave me 72 hours to think about it.Thank you.

 

Yes. This is normal.

 

Viking is very unlike the other cruise lines and definitely walks to the beat of its own drummer. They do not follow many of the business practices that are common to other cruise lines doing business in the US. Nonetheless, Viking does not have any trouble filling its ships. People want to sail with them and accept that their business practices are different.

 

The first time we booked with Viking, for a river cruise, payment in full was due at the end of the month in which we booked; I think we booked in the fall for a May cruise. It was a bit jarring at first but we got used to it. When we went to book our first Viking Oceans cruise in 2014 for a sail date 2 years hence, we expected that we would have to pay in full at the end of the month and were very surprised when it turned out that the pay in full date was 6 months hence because we had expected that we would be paying immediately.

 

You could try pushing harder or you could try working through a travel agent who is willing to push for a paid in full date that is closer to the sail date (12 months is the best you can hope for unless you already have another cruise booked) but you are booking on a new and very popular itinerary and Viking has no reason to budge on its payment policy. You can also try booking closer to when you want to sail. Even if they are sold out now, cabins will come and go over the next 3 years.

 

Just remember that once you make your deposit, you are locked into the terms of the contract. The only way to change the contract is to cancel and book again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peachypooh]

Thank you to all who answered. Your answers were really helpful.

[grooker]

We booked a January 2023 Mississippi river cruise.  We were

able to extend final payment upon request until February

2021 or 23 months before embarkation.  The Viking

rep was sympathetic but would not budge.  I contacted

several travel agents and they could not do better.  This

is how they do business take it or leave it.  They sell out

their ships.  They will sell out these new river cruise ships

in the next several months for 2022-23.  So we have to

accept this policy to sail.  They have no reason to change

this policy.

Gary and Nancy

Virginia

[Selion]

New to Viking.  In these COVID-19 days, this practice seems to be a cash grab.  Yes, you'll get a "credit" if you don't want to go.  But they still have your money.

 

I need to rethink whether if I want to book with Viking for a March 2022 sailing.

[Dauntless]

On 7/5/2020 at 10:21 PM, Selion said:

New to Viking.  In these COVID-19 days, this practice seems to be a cash grab.  Yes, you'll get a "credit" if you don't want to go.  But they still have your money.

 

I need to rethink whether if I want to book with Viking for a March 2022 sailing.

 

If this was a new policy,I might agree with you but Viking started this policy a long time ago.  They give you the final payment date.  Some have had it moved when they asked.  If you want to make final payment 120 days out, try booking the cruise then and see what's available.  You might get lucky or you might see that your desired cruise is having no problem selling with this policy.  Doubt you'll have that aft cabin option but I thought you have already booked.

 

[Heidi13]

On 7/5/2020 at 8:21 PM, Selion said:

New to Viking.  In these COVID-19 days, this practice seems to be a cash grab.  Yes, you'll get a "credit" if you don't want to go.  But they still have your money.

 

I need to rethink whether if I want to book with Viking for a March 2022 sailing.

 

Wouldn't call it a cash grab, as this is how Viking have operated since day 1.

 

You will never find a cruise line that meets all of your requirements. Personally, my preference would be paying as I board, but that doesn't happen even with the mega ships. We enjoy the onboard Viking experience, so reluctantly accept their payment terms.

 

As mentioned previously, you can wait and book when you want to make a final payment, just be aware that many Viking cruises are fully booked about 1 year ahead.

[Selion]

1 hour ago, Dauntless said:

 

... but Viking started this policy a long time ago. 

 

Here lies the rub.  I feel in the current environment, more flexibility should be the first priority.  Some lines are offering 60-day final payment terms.  No, they are not luxury lines but flexibility is the key.

 

Yes, I booked that aft cabin, but doesn't mean I have to like what their standard practice is or their enhanced "risk free" guarantee.  The primary reason I'm tolerating it is that we'll be celebrating our 20th anniversary on this cruise and wanted something special.  So there.  Basically take it or leave it, right?

[Ryan208]

We booked a Viking Mississippi cruise for May 2023 recently. The original date for final payment was December 2020. We are repeat Viking customers so are used to these early final payments, but we’ve never booked a trip this far in advance before and didn’t like this really early payment deadline. Our travel agent got Viking to extend our final payment date to November of 2022, which is about 6 months before our cruise. Someone else we know also booked the same cruise and they booked directly with Viking. They also got a good extension on the final payment date. 

[Squawkman]

Ryan - did you have any other Viking cruises booked before Mississippi? That entitles you to 6 months - but you may have to remind your agent as the system defaults to the closer date.

[duquephart]

2 hours ago, Selion said:

Here lies the rub.  I feel in the current environment, more flexibility should be the first priority.  Some lines are offering 60-day final payment terms.  No, they are not luxury lines but flexibility is the key.

 

Yes, I booked that aft cabin, but doesn't mean I have to like what their standard practice is or their enhanced "risk free" guarantee.  The primary reason I'm tolerating it is that we'll be celebrating our 20th anniversary on this cruise and wanted something special.  So there.  Basically take it or leave it, right?

 

That's their business plan ----- take it or leave it.

[Ryan208]

26 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

Ryan - did you have any other Viking cruises booked before Mississippi? That entitles you to 6 months - but you may have to remind your agent as the system defaults to the closer date.

 

Yes, we have one coming up in March (rescheduled from last March). Thanks for the tip about the system defaulting to the closer date. We’ll definitely keep an eye out for that! 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, Ryan208 said:

 

Yes, we have one coming up in March (rescheduled from last March). Thanks for the tip about the system defaulting to the closer date. We’ll definitely keep an eye out for that! 

 

 

I won't put down the deposit until I have read through the Viking invoice/guest statement (not the statement from my travel agent) and checked all of the information on it, especially the finally payment date.  The invoice is the contract and not the conversations with my TA and Viking.

 

Sorry. This image was not supposed to appear but I am having trouble with CC and will have to contact the Help Desk to have it remedied. In the meantime, with deletion of personal information, this is what the header of the Viking invoice looks like. The document itself is 4 pages of information that we agree to when we put down our deposit.

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by Peregrina651
trying to delete image