Interesting aspect of 125% voucher

[CCWineLover]

13 minutes ago, travelnn said:

Hi again

Questions about Viking Air

• Are you already booked with your cruise or are you booking it after booking the cruise? My TA said I could not add it on after the cruise was booked.
• She also said if we used Viking Air, we would have to book upgrades from economy to business class dating from the END of the cruise. At that time, there may not be award seating and we would not be able to cancel the Viking Air.

Is this incorrect information?

 

Many thanks, This whole thing is making me want to join you for a drink!!!! 

Not sure I totally understand you questions, but . .

• We have our cruise already booked with just a deposit.  We can add AirPlus and Air now until the moment of final payment due, according to our TA.   For certain cities and routes, not all, you are able to get a price and also book the flights for Business or Premium Economy through Viking - immediately when you book the Viking Air.  We would do that now, except that the flights don't come open until 9-10 months out and we are 11 months out.
• If you are going to upgrade through the Airlines themselves (via Miles or awards or paying for upgrade), you cannot do so until you have Economy seats ticketed.  And that may be not until 75 days ahead of the sailing, which means they may not be available at all at that time.

[vslparis]

12 hours ago, travelnn said:

Hi again

Questions about Viking Air

• Are you already booked with your cruise or are you booking it after booking the cruise? My TA said I could not add it on after the cruise was booked.
• She also said if we used Viking Air, we would have to book upgrades from economy to business class dating from the END of the cruise. At that time, there may not be award seating and we would not be able to cancel the Viking Air.

Is this incorrect information?

 

Many thanks, This whole thing is making me want to join you for a drink!!!! 

You can add Viking Air on a booking once it is booked ( pretty sure you can even add it on after it is paid in full ) ; you can even take it off after it is booked ( up until a certain point of course ) . 

 

She is correct in that normally you have to wait until the return air is available ( no more than 331 days before the return air date ,although Usually with Viking they can’t be booked until about 300-315 days out  ) in order to get your flights ticketed. You can get them ticketed early ; usually for a fee. 

If you are trying to use miles for a particular airline, you need to make sure that your Viking flights are on that airline and for that you will need

Air Plus . That allows you to pick what airline and flight schedule you want as long as Viking has them available . They have air contracts and not every flight with every airline is in those contracts . Nor is every fare that they have with your airline one that can be upgraded with miles. 

My advice would be to work with your TA to find the flights that you want when they become available, have her call Viking’s  Air department and ask them what additional charge ( if any beyond Air Plus ) there would  be to get those flights.  Have them put the flights on hold for 24 hours and then she can contact your airline to see if the fare for those tickets is one that allows upgrades with miles ( if and when then upgrades become available of course ) .  

Some airlines allow you to use miles to purchase preferred seat assignment ( aisle, closer to the from, and a bit extra leg room ) which is a lot easier to do than upgrading cabins such as economy to business .

[travelnn]

On 4/8/2021 at 9:29 PM, CCWineLover said:

Not sure I totally understand you questions, but . .

• We have our cruise already booked with just a deposit.  We can add AirPlus and Air now until the moment of final payment due, according to our TA.   For certain cities and routes, not all, you are able to get a price and also book the flights for Business or Premium Economy through Viking - immediately when you book the Viking Air.  We would do that now, except that the flights don't come open until 9-10 months out and we are 11 months out.
• If you are going to upgrade through the Airlines themselves (via Miles or awards or paying for upgrade), you cannot do so until you have Economy seats ticketed.  And that may be not until 75 days ahead of the sailing, which means they may not be available at all at that time.

Thanks so much for the explanation of when Viking Air can be added. Our TA apparently was mistaken in saying it can't be added after booking.

Important to know that you cannot pay with miles of awards until we have economy seats ticketed and I agree - it will be too late for them to be available.

 

So one more question-

If I book business class air with Viking, can I pay for it with points?

 

Many thanks

Elaine

[travelnn]

On 4/9/2021 at 10:31 AM, vslparis said:

You can add Viking Air on a booking once it is booked ( pretty sure you can even add it on after it is paid in full ) ; you can even take it off after it is booked ( up until a certain point of course ) . 

 

She is correct in that normally you have to wait until the return air is available ( no more than 331 days before the return air date ,although Usually with Viking they can’t be booked until about 300-315 days out  ) in order to get your flights ticketed. You can get them ticketed early ; usually for a fee. 

If you are trying to use miles for a particular airline, you need to make sure that your Viking flights are on that airline and for that you will need

Air Plus . That allows you to pick what airline and flight schedule you want as long as Viking has them available . They have air contracts and not every flight with every airline is in those contracts . Nor is every fare that they have with your airline one that can be upgraded with miles. 

My advice would be to work with your TA to find the flights that you want when they become available, have her call Viking’s  Air department and ask them what additional charge ( if any beyond Air Plus ) there would  be to get those flights.  Have them put the flights on hold for 24 hours and then she can contact your airline to see if the fare for those tickets is one that allows upgrades with miles ( if and when then upgrades become available of course ) .  

Some airlines allow you to use miles to purchase preferred seat assignment ( aisle, closer to the from, and a bit extra leg room ) which is a lot easier to do than upgrading cabins such as economy to business .

Thanks for the explanation

It was my understanding that airlines will not ticket before the 331 days.

You mentioned that it is possible to get the return tickets early, usually for a fee. Can you please explain how that is done?

Thanks

Elaine

 

 

 

[CCWineLover]

40 minutes ago, travelnn said:

Thanks so much for the explanation of when Viking Air can be added. Our TA apparently was mistaken in saying it can't be added after booking.

Important to know that you cannot pay with miles of awards until we have economy seats ticketed and I agree - it will be too late for them to be available.

 

So one more question-

If I book business class air with Viking, can I pay for it with points?

 

Many thanks

Elaine

The one disadvantage of Viking Air is they don't ticket with the airlines until 45, 55, or 70 days (I've heard all 3 amounts from various Travel Agents and Viking reps the past week so who knows for sure) ahead of time right now and possibly into the future.  If you go through the airlines you can do it obviously as soon as it is published and available in their systems.  (usually 11 months out).  We've usually done that on cruises and used miles and/or bought or upgraded seats to Prem Econ. or Bus class early so that they were available.    However, when we had a Viking cruise cancelled last fall, it took me 7 months and much pain to get a credit back from the airlines for our Biz class seats to Europe.  Not sure I'll do that again until COVID at least dies down a little and there is a bit more certainty out there!

Edited April 10, 2021 by CCWineLover

[What was that?]

46 minutes ago, travelnn said:

Thanks so much for the explanation of when Viking Air can be added. Our TA apparently was mistaken in saying it can't be added after booking.

Important to know that you cannot pay with miles of awards until we have economy seats ticketed and I agree - it will be too late for them to be available.

Elaine, ticketing is important to me when I use Viking Air, partly because seat assignments are not set in stone until that point. So I will keep an eye on how full the aircraft are and if they start getting too full for my comfort - and feel I might be at risk of losing the chosen seats or even the routing - I will call Viking air and request they ticket it for me. Sometimes it takes a few days (and a few calls) but they always do it. I have done this far in advance, 8 months or so, and had one less thing to worry about.

The other aspect of ticketing is that once the tickets are issued, you can not initiate changes without incurring a charge. Of course, if the airline changes the schedule equipment, or routing - I'm looking at you, American Airlines - you can request a change without charge. Again, I have done it.

Cheers, and Bon Voyage!

[CCWineLover]

3 minutes ago, What was that? said:

Elaine, ticketing is important to me when I use Viking Air, partly because seat assignments are not set in stone until that point. So I will keep an eye on how full the aircraft are and if they start getting too full for my comfort - and feel I might be at risk of losing the chosen seats or even the routing - I will call Viking air and request they ticket it for me. Sometimes it takes a few days (and a few calls) but they always do it. I have done this far in advance, 8 months or so, and had one less thing to worry about.

The other aspect of ticketing is that once the tickets are issued, you can not initiate changes without incurring a charge. Of course, if the airline changes the schedule equipment, or routing - I'm looking at you, American Airlines - you can request a change without charge. Again, I have done it.

Cheers, and Bon Voyage!

Good points!  Hopefully we will back to those days of being able to ticket way ahead of time.  For now, Viking people have told me as well as my travel agent, that during COVID times they are not ticketing until much closer to flying (the 45,55,or 70 days) with no exceptions.  Hopefully by 2022 or certainly 2023 that will change.  Reason:  the airlines say they will be making major aircraft and schedule changes as we start to travel more and COVID starts to become less and less.  At what point things will stabilize no one knows.

[What was that?]

Thanks for the clarification, CCWineLover, as I only have experience with how it works in "normal" times. And for our next cruise - only 101 days from sailing, Bermuda on Orion, 20 July - I booked our air separately at an advantageous price (and a killer itinerary - a 1-stop between Reno and Bermuda, both ways!).

I will be watching the June cruises to see how they play out. I am definitely rooting for Viking, since I believe they have done at least as well as any other cruise line, especially putting a testing lab in every ship. I guess we shall all see...

[travelnn]

44 minutes ago, What was that? said:

Elaine, ticketing is important to me when I use Viking Air, partly because seat assignments are not set in stone until that point. So I will keep an eye on how full the aircraft are and if they start getting too full for my comfort - and feel I might be at risk of losing the chosen seats or even the routing - I will call Viking air and request they ticket it for me. Sometimes it takes a few days (and a few calls) but they always do it. I have done this far in advance, 8 months or so, and had one less thing to worry about.

The other aspect of ticketing is that once the tickets are issued, you can not initiate changes without incurring a charge. Of course, if the airline changes the schedule equipment, or routing - I'm looking at you, American Airlines - you can request a change without charge. Again, I have done it.

Cheers, and Bon Voyage!

Thanks - trying to figure out how to do business class tickets. 

[travelnn]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

The one disadvantage of Viking Air is they don't ticket with the airlines until 45, 55, or 70 days (I've heard all 3 amounts from various Travel Agents and Viking reps the past week so who knows for sure) ahead of time right now and possibly into the future.  If you go through the airlines you can do it obviously as soon as it is published and available in their systems.  (usually 11 months out).  We've usually done that on cruises and used miles and/or bought or upgraded seats to Prem Econ. or Bus class early so that they were available.    However, when we had a Viking cruise cancelled last fall, it took me 7 months and much pain to get a credit back from the airlines for our Biz class seats to Europe.  Not sure I'll do that again until COVID at least dies down a little and there is a bit more certainty out there!

I hear you! Our cruise was cancelled last year too. We had 4 airlines to deal with and 3 of the 4 redeposited the miles rather quickly. The other one took months 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, travelnn said:

Thanks so much for the explanation of when Viking Air can be added. Our TA apparently was mistaken in saying it can't be added after booking.

Important to know that you cannot pay with miles of awards until we have economy seats ticketed and I agree - it will be too late for them to be available.

 

So one more question-

If I book business class air with Viking, can I pay for it with points?

 

Many thanks

Elaine

 

When we booked an Ocean/River combo onboard the Viking Sun during the 2020 World Cruise, the Cruise Consultant advised that we could use our points/miles to book/upgrade to first/business.

 

When booking flights, we provided our TA with our preferences and BA membership numbers. Viking Air advised her that Viking accepted points/miles for upgrades a couple of years ago, but no longer offer that option.

 

This left us with 2 options - pay cash to Viking to upgrade to First or Business, or book the flights ourselves with reward points.

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, What was that? said:

Thanks for the clarification, CCWineLover, as I only have experience with how it works in "normal" times. And for our next cruise - only 101 days from sailing, Bermuda on Orion, 20 July - I booked our air separately at an advantageous price (and a killer itinerary - a 1-stop between Reno and Bermuda, both ways!).

I will be watching the June cruises to see how they play out. I am definitely rooting for Viking, since I believe they have done at least as well as any other cruise line, especially putting a testing lab in every ship. I guess we shall all see...

Good for you!  We are on the June 29th cruise in Bermuda.  We are "venturing" into Viking Air world, as we've done our own thing on our other cruises.  We just worried about how it will go with COVID and doing our own flights.  More power to you as you got a great deal!

We do have a 1 stop at least from SFO-CLT-BDA but seats are at back of plane.  IT is what it is.

Hoping to have a great time on this cruise!

 

We'll be up in Reno (Sparks) in late July to visit my old college roommate.  Nice area.  Time to get out and see old friends and visit new places !!

Rooting for Viking as well!!

[vslparis]

2 hours ago, travelnn said:

Thanks - trying to figure out how to do business class tickets. 

I safest way to ensure that you get Business class is to either buy ( using a credit card, cash or check )  that class of service from Viking or the airline directly or to use miles to purchase a Business Class ticket. 

You could try and go the route of purchasing an economy class ticket and then try to use miles to upgrade. However, this is a risky thing to do unless you do it very soon after the flights become available. For the last 5+ years or so airlines have become very stingy with giving out upgrades using miles and some like AA charge about $350 per ticket in addition to the miles . They offer a few upgrades  when the flights first come out and if none are available when you buy your economy ticket then you can get on the waitlist. So you may or may not get the upgrade.  If you can't live with that uncertainty, then pay for a Business Class seat totally with money or miles (directly with the airline only) .

 

Not sure if anyone answer your question about using points with Viking.  The answer is no as fare as I know.  That needs to be done directly with the airline. 

 

@CCWineLover is correct in that these days Viking is holding off on early ticketing for their air.  They don't want to have to go thru the hassle of refunding a lot of client's airfare. What a nightmare that would be as many people on here know. 

[travelnn]

13 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

When we booked an Ocean/River combo onboard the Viking Sun during the 2020 World Cruise, the Cruise Consultant advised that we could use our points/miles to book/upgrade to first/business.

 

When booking flights, we provided our TA with our preferences and BA membership numbers. Viking Air advised her that Viking accepted points/miles for upgrades a couple of years ago, but no longer offer that option.

 

This left us with 2 options - pay cash to Viking to upgrade to First or Business, or book the flights ourselves with reward points.

Thanks SO much for the information. I guess I'm going to book my own flights. Was hoping to use some of the extra FCC for air, but we're doing a pre-cruise excursion instead.   

[travelnn]

12 hours ago, vslparis said:

I safest way to ensure that you get Business class is to either buy ( using a credit card, cash or check )  that class of service from Viking or the airline directly or to use miles to purchase a Business Class ticket. 

You could try and go the route of purchasing an economy class ticket and then try to use miles to upgrade. However, this is a risky thing to do unless you do it very soon after the flights become available. For the last 5+ years or so airlines have become very stingy with giving out upgrades using miles and some like AA charge about $350 per ticket in addition to the miles . They offer a few upgrades  when the flights first come out and if none are available when you buy your economy ticket then you can get on the waitlist. So you may or may not get the upgrade.  If you can't live with that uncertainty, then pay for a Business Class seat totally with money or miles (directly with the airline only) .

 

Not sure if anyone answer your question about using points with Viking.  The answer is no as fare as I know.  That needs to be done directly with the airline. 

 

@CCWineLover is correct in that these days Viking is holding off on early ticketing for their air.  They don't want to have to go thru the hassle of refunding a lot of client's airfare. What a nightmare that would be as many people on here know. 

Thanks - I'm not going to chance having to pay a fee of $350 to upgrade . I  use someone to book award flights for me and his price is less than that for two people.

 

[vslparis]

2 hours ago, travelnn said:

Thanks - I'm not going to chance having to pay a fee of $350 to upgrade . I  use someone to book award flights for me and his price is less than that for two people.

 

I gather then that you are not trying to use miles from  AA .  Not sure about other airlines, but AA charges 25,000 miles and $350 per ticket to upgrade from a discounted economy ticket to the next class of service.  Using miles to upgrade your cabin with AMEX points  or other airline miles may not cost that.  I am sure that others on here have experience with that, I just know about AA.  

I didn't even know that there are people that charge to do mileage tickets for you ;unless it is your travel agent that is charge a fee for that service. That I can understand. 

Yes, if you really want to know right up front that you are flying business class then you need to buy a business class ticket using miles ( or money of course) .  

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, travelnn said:

Thanks SO much for the information. I guess I'm going to book my own flights. Was hoping to use some of the extra FCC for air, but we're doing a pre-cruise excursion instead.   

 

We were the same with the River/Ocean combo. Hoped to use the outstanding FCV to cover some of the air cost + the balance on points. Didn't happen, so we booked a pre-excursion and also before flying home a side trip up to Scotland.

[dressagenow]

We expect our Trade Routes cruise will be cancelled again this year. We cancelled and rebooked last year before the official cancellation. So we rebooked at the 100 percent. this year we are holding out.

 

Does anyone know if we can potentially apply our vouchers to 2 trips? Looking at Russian river cruise.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, dressagenow said:

We expect our Trade Routes cruise will be cancelled again this year. We cancelled and rebooked last year before the official cancellation. So we rebooked at the 100 percent. this year we are holding out.

 

Does anyone know if we can potentially apply our vouchers to 2 trips? Looking at Russian river cruise.

 

Some FCV have different terms & conditions, but in general, they may only be used for a single booking. A booking can be a single cruise, B2B or butterfly cruises, but multiple cruises must be on a single booking number.

 

Any outstanding value, after paying the cruise/air must be used before boarding the vessel. Therefore, you can prepay tips, purchase the beverage package, purchase shore-ex, purchase pre/post excursions, etc. However, if any value is outstanding when you board, it is lost.

 

We did a River/Ocean combo with almost 2 weeks between the cruises, which they considered a "Butterfly", so was booked on a single booking number. The FCV paid for both cruises, pre-paid tips, beverage package and pre-shore excursion. We still had some money left to purchase shore-ex when they opened.

[travelnn]

9 hours ago, vslparis said:

I gather then that you are not trying to use miles from  AA .  Not sure about other airlines, but AA charges 25,000 miles and $350 per ticket to upgrade from a discounted economy ticket to the next class of service.  Using miles to upgrade your cabin with AMEX points  or other airline miles may not cost that.  I am sure that others on here have experience with that, I just know about AA.  

I didn't even know that there are people that charge to do mileage tickets for you ;unless it is your travel agent that is charge a fee for that service. That I can understand. 

Yes, if you really want to know right up front that you are flying business class then you need to buy a business class ticket using miles ( or money of course) .  

Not sure which airline or airline partner I will be using. Depends on who is giving the "most bank for the buck", or points, in this case!

There are several online booking services that will find award space for a fee. The one I use has excellent reviews and has never failed to find space for us.  

Elaine

[travelnn]

2 hours ago, dressagenow said:

We expect our Trade Routes cruise will be cancelled again this year. We cancelled and rebooked last year before the official cancellation. So we rebooked at the 100 percent. this year we are holding out.

 

Does anyone know if we can potentially apply our vouchers to 2 trips? Looking at Russian river cruise.

Ask your TA. Mine said it had to be used on the same trip on a later date

Elaine

[travelnn]

On 4/11/2021 at 11:06 AM, vslparis said:

I gather then that you are not trying to use miles from  AA .  Not sure about other airlines, but AA charges 25,000 miles and $350 per ticket to upgrade from a discounted economy ticket to the next class of service.  Using miles to upgrade your cabin with AMEX points  or other airline miles may not cost that.  I am sure that others on here have experience with that, I just know about AA.  

I didn't even know that there are people that charge to do mileage tickets for you ;unless it is your travel agent that is charge a fee for that service. That I can understand. 

Yes, if you really want to know right up front that you are flying business class then you need to buy a business class ticket using miles ( or money of course) .  

Thanks for the advice. Just saw this.I booked Virgin Air from London direct to JFK on points and a lot of taxes but it's done!!!

[Cindygw]

On 12/14/2020 at 12:37 PM, peggy655 said:

Just wondering why unused the unused portion of Viking voucher would vanish on boarding day? I was led to believe that the unused portion of voucher would be available for shipboard credit for use of optional tours, silver spirit packages, gratuities on that specific cruise booked. Anyone else told that??

It’s available for those things as long as you book them before you board. 

[duquephart]

On 12/14/2020 at 11:37 AM, peggy655 said:

Just wondering why unused the unused portion of Viking voucher would vanish on boarding day? I was led to believe that the unused portion of voucher would be available for shipboard credit for use of optional tours, silver spirit packages, gratuities on that specific cruise booked. Anyone else told that??

 

I was told told by more than one rep. Then things changed and they acted as though such a thing was never said. But I have a screen shot of a message in MVJ to that effect. If you want ten answers to any question you need only ask ten reps.

[Squawkman]

10 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

I was told told by more than one rep. Then things changed and they acted as though such a thing was never said. But I have a screen shot of a message in MVJ to that effect. If you want ten answers to any question you need only ask ten reps.

The differences between shipboard credit and voucher credit are clearly defined on page 3 of your booking document. I have one of each type on 2 upcoming cruises. I assume your experience might have been pre-covid.