Viking Expeditions Thread

[photopro2]

3 hours ago, Strangford said:

Listed under 'Why Viking' - 'The Viking difference' - 'Viking Inclusive Value' - 

WE INCLUDE MORE FEATURES & SERVICES THAN OTHERS:

One complimentary shore excursion in every port of call

 

I believe what you have quoted there is taken from Viking Ocean's site.

 

The Viking Expedition model has been promoted as being somewhat different. The equivalent section of the Viking Expedition website states "Viking offers a variety of excursions, virtually all included in your cruise fare"

 

This is why I, and others, have been disappointed at what we see as a move away from that promise of "virtually all" excursions being included in the fare towards the Viking Ocean format of just one per port.

[CharTrav]

4 hours ago, Strangford said:

Listed under 'Why Viking' - 'The Viking difference' - 'Viking Inclusive Value' - 

WE INCLUDE MORE FEATURES & SERVICES THAN OTHERS:

One complimentary shore excursion in every port of call

Thanks! Except...hate to be picky...these words don't appear in the Why Viking section of the VE site. I've just checked again - those words appear on the VR and VO pages. But not VE. The wording in Why Viking / Expedition Experiences / Shore Excursions on the VE page doesn't  include  the only one included per port caveat. And perhaps that isn't the place to include it even as fine print. 

[CharTrav]

51 minutes ago, photopro2 said:

 

I believe what you have quoted there is taken from Viking Ocean's site.

 

The Viking Expedition model has been promoted as being somewhat different. The equivalent section of the Viking Expedition website states "Viking offers a variety of excursions, virtually all included in your cruise fare"

 

This is why I, and others, have been disappointed at what we see as a move away from that promise of "virtually all" excursions being included in the fare towards the Viking Ocean format of just one per port.

Should have read your post first.  But I remember asking about that last year - don't remember now who I asked - but I clearly asked about it. Which is why the write up I did for our Arctic Adventures when we booked it last year included the "one-per-port" caveat in my "notes" section. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fq74xmo3cegnw0b/Arctic Adventure %26 Undiscovered Iceland Rev 0.pdf?dl=0

Edited April 5, 2022 by CharTrav

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, photopro2 said:

 

While what you say might well be correct, I must point out that it has not always happened like that in practice. Some of us certainly have had issues with Viking erroneously promoting excursions as "included" and then making the very same excursion optional only when bookings opened on MVJ

 

To give just one example, we based our decision to book on the information below on the viking website and I planned to take the Gros Piton Hike.

 

However when the hike became available to book it was chargeable, (even though it was the only excursion I wished to do in that port) as shown below in this screenshot from MVJ

 

Viking have stated that when we originally saw the excursions as included there "was a technical error on the system" and we have been given some OBC in compensation.

 

I don't personally think that Viking have deliberately pulled a bait-and-switch, however I can certainly see how some people might interpret what has happened in that way.

I agree.....very odd. And annoying. 

[lsuskybird]

15 hours ago, miami mama said:

We received our final documents today and noticed there are still some excursions not yet listed on MyVikingJourney. The person on the chat, however, was very helpful in booking one of the excursions that was in the excursion literature but not yet up on MVJ. So thanks to several of you for mentioning this possibility.

 

Overall, I am trying to move past the whole snafu with excursions previously being listed as included and then now incurring an expense. In speaking with people at Tellus, they did not directly address this issue. Perhaps addressing this issue may be "above their pay grade", I decided to write directly to Mr. Hagen (with pictures from the Viking website) week before last. I have not yet received a response but am hopeful I will.  An acknowledgement that changes were made and/or were necessary would be nice to receive. Maybe staff was overzealous when listing most excursions as included on the Viking website, maybe someone made a mistake, perhaps economics as a result of the pandemic changed what was possible for Viking. I personally find information transparency leads to greater understanding.

 

All in all, we are still excited about this trip and plan to make the most of it. 

 

We really love this cruise line and feel so comfortable with their approach to "most" things. I have seen them make great efforts to make things right, or if they cannot, at least be transparent in their communications with their guests. 

I would appreciate you sharing the address you used to contact Mr. Hagen. I, too, have been concerned about the handling of shore excursions. Below is the message I received when asked for the contact information for Mr. Hagen.

 

"Regrettably, that information isn't disclosed. 

 

Nevertheless, when you return back from your voyage, you can contact our Customer Relations department at the following number, 877-523-0579 express your feedback for further assistance.

 

Again, we do apologize for any disappointment.

 

If we can be of further assistance at this time, please email us or you may call our Contact Center at (888) 663-8454 to speak to any specialized service agent."

 

Best Regards,

Kelsey Anderson

Guest Services Department

Viking I Guest Services Department I 888.663.8454 I vikingguestservices@viking.com I viking.com l

[CharTrav]

3 hours ago, lsuskybird said:

I would appreciate you sharing the address you used to contact Mr. Hagen. I, too, have been concerned about the handling of shore excursions. Below is the message I received when asked for the contact information for Mr. Hagen.

 

"Regrettably, that information isn't disclosed. 

 

Nevertheless, when you return back from your voyage, you can contact our Customer Relations department at the following number, 877-523-0579 express your feedback for further assistance.

 

Again, we do apologize for any disappointment.

 

If we can be of further assistance at this time, please email us or you may call our Contact Center at (888) 663-8454 to speak to any specialized service agent."

 

Best Regards,

Kelsey Anderson

Guest Services Department

Viking I Guest Services Department I 888.663.8454 I vikingguestservices@viking.com I viking.com l

I found Chairman Hagen's email address by doing a search for it using Google!  It's hagen@vikingcruises.com

[CharTrav]

I'm worse than a dog with a bone .. I've continued to dig all around the Viking Expedition site to learn more about the policy regarding "included" excursions .. which I realize doesn't answer at all the question about how excursions listed on the main VE site are transformed into optional paid excursions when they appear on MVJ. 

 

Anyway - I did find this in the VE FAQs under:

"My Trip and Documents / What is included in my Viking Expeditions fare? / Viking Inclusive Value—We Include More Features & Services Than Others:

•     Keepsake Viking Expedition Jacket (polar itineraries only)
•     All Viking excursion gear needed for any relevant excursions
•     A minimum of one shore excursion per landing day; there may two on some days
•     All onboard restaurants and 24-hour room service
•     Beer, wine and soft drinks with meals
•     Onboard Wi-Fi (connection speed may vary)
•     Port charges (if applicable)
•     Charter flights to/from Ushuaia on Antarctica itineraries
•     Hotel night in Buenos Aires on inbound leg to Ushuaia on relevant Antarctica itineraries"

And I swear when I was ferreting around in the VE site yesterday, I saw something that specifically addressed two kinds of shore excursions -- some included and others "special" ones for a fee.  But now, I simply can't find it .. I know I didn't imagine it and it's there somewhere but there's so much stuff stashed away in the VE site in bits and pieces that unless you keep a record of what you find .. there are no bread crumbs to lead you back.

 

Anyway - hope this helps .. a little bit.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by CharTrav

[miami mama]

CharTrav is correct on the address for Mr. Hagen. You can also find out the contact numbers and addresses for most forms of travel/travel companies on Christopher Elliott's website. He listed all the contacts under "Company Contacts". There are a few other addresses included for contacting on his website. 

[CharTrav]

One more thing to post .. and then I'm going to go off and do something else today . .like our taxes.  When I was looking at the VE FAQs I noticed that the number of days prior to sailing for pre-booking shore excursions on Great Lakes trips has changed, and changed in a way that explains why you're able to reserve specialty dining BEFORE shore excursions!  Much earlier in this thread, I told you about a set of spreadsheets I maintain on Viking's Ship Classes and Cabin Classes for VE, VO, and VR.  Today I updated the Cabin Classes spreadsheet and uploaded to Dropbox.  I had updated the Ship Classes last month but hadn't uploaded it yet .. but did today.  You can find both of them here in this DropBox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0

Gobs of stuff there btw.

[miami mama]

CharTrav my only concern was booking one excursion that was currently listed as included on Viking.com and on that same day being charged for that booking. This occurred to me on two different ports. I was not booking two "included" excursions and being charged for the second one. 

When first booking this cruise, I did so because of what looked to be so many included excursions in all of the ports. There were only a few that indicated there was a charge. I didn't think we could afford Antartica and even though the Canadian/US expedition was priced higher than the same length of time on Ocean for the same basic level of cabin, I thought it would be worth it due to all of the included excursions. I have incurred more costs than initially presented to me. 

 

Now most of the excursions are different than the proposed examples and I can certainly understand that occurring considering the changes to so much of life during Covid. However, when discrepancies exist on two websites of a company on the same day, it is something that at least should be acknowledged and explained. I am looking for that transparency. 

[CharTrav]

3 hours ago, miami mama said:

Now most of the excursions are different than the proposed examples and I can certainly understand that occurring considering the changes to so much of life during Covid. However, when discrepancies exist on two websites of a company on the same day, it is something that at least should be acknowledged and explained. I am looking for that transparency. 

Valid concern. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. 

[photopro2]

On 4/3/2022 at 7:31 PM, sparkles said:

Does anyone know if there are any evening activities/entertainment on the Octantis?

Sorry for the delay with the reply, I've been a bit caught up in getting to the bottom of the "included" excursions issue.

We will be on the ship next week and so will report back on our return

[eylarson]

Does anyone know if there are any evening activities/entertainment on the Octantis?

 

In the Explorer Lounge.  There is a very talented male/female duo that plays at around 1800 and 2100 each night.  Also two pianists who play earlier.  There is a movie, usually some sort of nature documentary each night in the Aula.  

No big production shows.  No music in the Living Room.   

[CharTrav]

@miami mama and @photopro2 Still worrying this bone. Woke up this morning thinking about this from the perspective of a database entry form developer. And I think I may have hit on an answer that may or may not address what you're seeing in MVJ. 

 

How to handle the case where all selections need to be treated as included until one (or some pre-determind maximum number) is selected? At which point all the ones remaining are now optional. How to design a form like that? How to present the selections? Include prices for the excursions from the outset or wait until the maximum number of included excursions for that day have been selected and display prices on the ones not selected.? In either case there needs to be a clear explanation (banner) how selections are handled - the maximum number of included excursions for that day, the rules governing the selection of more than one (must be at least 45 min apart), and that any excursions selected above the max included will incur a charge.  

 

It's clear to me that whoever designed the excursion selection program for VE did a bad job. For me I'm getting a bit of a headache trying to come up with a way I'd do it that would be clear and unambiguous. My past experience was with database applications with a desktop interface; no experience with web interfaces (except for one very simple minded one back in the late 90s). 

 

I would say that until Viking fixes the user interface for VE excursions, they will be hearing a lot of complaints. 

[miami mama]

Questions on other matters-

 

Is the ship at capacity?

 

Anyone offered upgrades on room?

 

Are there any spaces on the ship less desirable than others? I seem to remember someone stating that some of the work on the ship is still being completed and that contributed to noise in one of the eating venues. 

 

 

[May B]

18 hours ago, CharTrav said:

One more thing to post .. and then I'm going to go off and do something else today . .like our taxes.  When I was looking at the VE FAQs I noticed that the number of days prior to sailing for pre-booking shore excursions on Great Lakes trips has changed, and changed in a way that explains why you're able to reserve specialty dining BEFORE shore excursions!  Much earlier in this thread, I told you about a set of spreadsheets I maintain on Viking's Ship Classes and Cabin Classes for VE, VO, and VR.  Today I updated the Cabin Classes spreadsheet and uploaded to Dropbox.  I had updated the Ship Classes last month but hadn't uploaded it yet .. but did today.  You can find both of them here in this DropBox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0

Gobs of stuff there btw.

Thank you for this! I love reading menus ahead of time!

 

I’m not 100% clear. Is the Manfredi’s menu what I should expect on Octantis? And OC means … ? Both menus are wonderful for me! 

 

 

[CharTrav]

44 minutes ago, May B said:

Thank you for this! I love reading menus ahead of time!

 

I’m not 100% clear. Is the Manfredi’s menu what I should expect on Octantis? And OC means … ? Both menus are wonderful for me! 

 

 

OC? Context? 

The menus are from our upcoming VO cruise on the Sky. I would assume Manfredi's on Octantis is the same or nearly so. 

And you're welcome!

[eylarson]

As of 5 April only one location from here north will permit Viking Submersible operations.  New sub crew is eager to best the number of previous dives in Antarctica.   We'll see.  

[PeabodyMa]

53 minutes ago, eylarson said:

As of 5 April only one location from here north will permit Viking Submersible operations.  New sub crew is eager to best the number of previous dives in Antarctica.   We'll see.  

What is one location?

[sparkles]

13 hours ago, photopro2 said:

Sorry for the delay with the reply, I've been a bit caught up in getting to the bottom of the "included" excursions issue.

We will be on the ship next week and so will report back on our return

Thanks!

[sparkles]

11 hours ago, eylarson said:

Does anyone know if there are any evening activities/entertainment on the Octantis?

 

In the Explorer Lounge.  There is a very talented male/female duo that plays at around 1800 and 2100 each night.  Also two pianists who play earlier.  There is a movie, usually some sort of nature documentary each night in the Aula.  

No big production shows.  No music in the Living Room.   

Thanks!

[May B]

10 hours ago, CharTrav said:

OC? Context? 

The menus are from our upcoming VO cruise on the Sky. I would assume Manfredi's on Octantis is the same or nearly so. 

And you're welcome!

It says OC -The Restaurant. It’s sample menus, one each, bkfst, lunch and dinner.

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, May B said:

It says OC -The Restaurant. It’s sample menus, one each, bkfst, lunch and dinner.

Good question - I have no idea. Sorry. When I'm onboard the Sky next month I'll try to remember to ask.  

[PeabodyMa]

9 hours ago, eylarson said:

As of 5 April only one location from here north will permit Viking Submersible operations.  New sub crew is eager to best the number of previous dives in Antarctica.   We'll see.  

eylarson, where is the one location that will permit Viking submersible operations north of your April 5 location?

[eylarson]

St Kitts is the sub ops location.