Process for choosing shore excursions

[FoggyEthan]

Hey All. I'm hoping for some simple details on the process of choosing shore excursions.

 

It sounds like you need to pay for them before they are considered "booked". Do I have that right?

 

How easy is it to change bookings? Cancel bookings? What happens if changes/cancellations result in a net refund? Can I get a refund? Ship credit? Or is it lost?

 

If  I want more details about a tour than are in the listing, is it likely that contacting Viking will get me accurate details? Any better way? (I'm asking about the Iceland 2021 tours that are in flux)

[Heidi13]

18 minutes ago, FoggyEthan said:

Hey All. I'm hoping for some simple details on the process of choosing shore excursions.

 

It sounds like you need to pay for them before they are considered "booked". Do I have that right?

 

How easy is it to change bookings? Cancel bookings? What happens if changes/cancellations result in a net refund? Can I get a refund? Ship credit? Or is it lost?

 

If  I want more details about a tour than are in the listing, is it likely that contacting Viking will get me accurate details? Any better way? (I'm asking about the Iceland 2021 tours that are in flux)

 

Our experience booking tours was pre-COVID, so not aware of any possible changes.

 

When booking Shore-ex, you are correct, in that the tours are not confirmed until you go to the checkout and pay for them. While still in your basket, they could possibly be sold out, if you delay going to the checkout.

 

Changing a booking was easy in MVJ, each confirmed tour had a cancel button. If we used OBC, the value of the tour was returned to our credits. If we paid cash, the cost was returned to our credit card.

 

Once onboard the ship, tours could be cancelled/changed easily. If cancelled, the value of the tour was returned to our shipboard account. If we paid with OBC, we received a non-refundable credit and if we paid by Visa, we received a refundable credit. Tours could be changed at the Shore-ex desk or the cabin's telly.

 

Upon request, Viking World Cruise Desk sent us a .pdf copy of all the tours in all of the ports, about 9 months before embarkation. Not sure if they will do this for the shorter cruises, especially the Welcome Back cruises, where they seem to be still arranging tours.

[FoggyEthan]

15 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Upon request, Viking World Cruise Desk sent us a .pdf copy of all the tours in all of the ports, about 9 months before embarkation. Not sure if they will do this for the shorter cruises, especially the Welcome Back cruises, where they seem to be still arranging tours.

 

My cruise starts in 41 days and they're still not posted, so definitely not 9 months out. I just wanted to be ready to go as soon as they're announced. Hopefully they'll have flexibility on board too!

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

 

Upon request, Viking World Cruise Desk sent us a .pdf copy of all the tours in all of the ports, about 9 months before embarkation. Not sure if they will do this for the shorter cruises, especially the Welcome Back cruises, where they seem to be still arranging tours.

You were fortunate to have had this option on the WC. I sure wish there was a method to the madness for the Welcome Back cruises. Looks like we will soon be going through the wringer of checking MVJ constantly since our excursions for our 9/12 Malta cruise are due to open 6/27 when we are in Iceland. I understand that folks on the 7/14 Malta have yet to see any ShoreEx.

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Upon request, Viking World Cruise Desk sent us a .pdf copy of all the tours in all of the ports, about 9 months before embarkation. Not sure if they will do this for the shorter cruises, especially the Welcome Back cruises, where they seem to be still arranging tours.

 

Andy, normally (and the Welcome Back cruises are not normal), shorex are posted around 120 days before sailing. Before that point, there is nothing available to us, not even a pdf. They do things for the World Cruises that they don't do for shorter voyages.

 

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Once onboard the ship, tours could be cancelled/changed easily.

 

However, there is a cancellation deadline (something like 36 hours in advance). It will be announced in the Dailies. 

 

MVJ closes to all changes 7 days prior to sailing when all the information gathered in MVJ is uploaded to the ship.

 

If you must cancel a tour on Day 2 or 3 and you are in the 7 day period, contact Viking directly.

 

3 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

If  I want more details about a tour than are in the listing, is it likely that contacting Viking will get me accurate details? Any better way?

 

If you have a specific question about a tour, the best way to get it answered is to contact Viking at tellus@vikingcruises.com. The folks who tend the TellUs inbox are a higher tier of customer service and their department is designed to handle the less frequently asked questions.The call center and chat do not tend to have any more details than are in the description on the website.

[molymoo]

7 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

normally (and the Welcome Back cruises are not normal),

Great point, Peregrina!  I think it would behoove us to keep in mind that very little about these “Welcome Back” cruises is typical of other Viking cruises.  Viking is taking a bold move offering these travel opportunities and considering the constantly changing state of things, it is no easy feat. We are taking a “leap of faith” booking and trusting that when all is said and done Viking will deliver a wonderful travel experience.  

[Krisval]

Hi,I just finished booking our shore excursions for our July 14 Malta and the Adriatic cruise. I didn’t have any problems in reserving the tours and we were able to book the ones we want. Looks like a great cruise and looking forward to the Viking love and experience on the ship. We are flying through Heathrow and that could be an interesting experience as we stay overnight in an airport hotel and then fly out the next morning to Malta. We have the British vaccination and transit requirements and will be very careful to follow them exactly. 

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, Krisval said:

Hi,I just finished booking our shore excursions for our July 14 Malta and the Adriatic cruise. I didn’t have any problems in reserving the tours and we were able to book the ones we want. Looks like a great cruise and looking forward to the Viking love and experience on the ship. We are flying through Heathrow and that could be an interesting experience as we stay overnight in an airport hotel and then fly out the next morning to Malta. We have the British vaccination and transit requirements and will be very careful to follow them exactly. 

Hi Krisval,

Would you be willing to post screen shots of the excursions? Over on Malta general discussion, Sarch99 has posted screen shots for their Malta/Greece bookings. With any luck subsequent cruises for Malta excursions will be “regular order” and we won’t have to suffer as much as Iceland cruisers have! Glad you got your bookings!

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Krisval said:

Hi,I just finished booking our shore excursions for our July 14 Malta and the Adriatic cruise. I didn’t have any problems in reserving the tours and we were able to book the ones we want. Looks like a great cruise and looking forward to the Viking love and experience on the ship. We are flying through Heathrow and that could be an interesting experience as we stay overnight in an airport hotel and then fly out the next morning to Malta. We have the British vaccination and transit requirements and will be very careful to follow them exactly. 

 

Hopefully you will receive the same level of service from Viking that we did last year when flying into LHR and staying overnight.

 

Viking arranged for hosts to meet us at the exit from the jet bridge. They led us through T5, clearing customs & immigration, to multiple vans for the trip to the hotel. Only 1 couple per van. At the hotel they got us checked in. Next morning, we were picked up again at the hotel and taken back to LHR, where they walked us the entire way to the departure gate.

 

Brilliant service.

[Krisval]

On 6/3/2021 at 2:06 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Hopefully you will receive the same level of service from Viking that we did last year when flying into LHR and staying overnight.

 

Viking arranged for hosts to meet us at the exit from the jet bridge. They led us through T5, clearing customs & immigration, to multiple vans for the trip to the hotel. Only 1 couple per van. At the hotel they got us checked in. Next morning, we were picked up again at the hotel and taken back to LHR, where they walked us the entire way to the departure gate.

 

Brilliant service.

We ended up changing flights in order to avoid staying overnight in the airport hotel. Our route is now Phx-Denver-Frankfurt-Malta. I can sleep on the plane, so works for me. 
We booked our own flights, but have Viking transfers when we land and depart Malta. Looking forward to being back in the Viking cocoon!

[kmoynahan]

we are traveling from Phl to Malta for the Sept 12 cruise MAlta-Malta.  We also took care of our own air.  A hassle due to COVID.

We are looking to share some excusions with others.

I noticed most excusions include a cost, so it may be more fun to do in a small group.

Anyone interested in joining us on some tours?

 

[Peregrina651]

25 minutes ago, kmoynahan said:

we are traveling from Phl to Malta for the Sept 12 cruise MAlta-Malta.  We also took care of our own air.  A hassle due to COVID.

We are looking to share some excusions with others.

I noticed most excusions include a cost, so it may be more fun to do in a small group.

Anyone interested in joining us on some tours?

 

 

If you are looking for people to share a tour with you should go to the roll call for your sailing. Viking Ocean Roll Calls.

 

Also, keep in mind that at this point in time, the only way to leave a Viking ship is with a Viking excursion. The only exception so far has been for sailings in Bermuda.