LIVE from "Iceland's Natural Beauty" -- All Sailings, 2021

[hodges97]

4 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

I disagree with Heartgrove. Give your TA a chance to work with Viking.  You have plenty of time to dispute it with the credit card company.  I did several of mine after Covid hit months after I had paid for airfare, tours, etc that got canceled. 
 

Now If your agent doesn’t get anywhere, then go enter the dispute ASAP. 

I told the last guy I spoke with that I was considering disputing the charges.   He did follow up with an email that states if I dispute it will mess up the other vouchers.  With the way Viking is handling this, it wouldn't shock me for them to hold those credits.  At that point, I guess I could dispute the whole trip?  This isn't the way I wanted to go into the weekend.  LOL

 

I will discuss this with the TA on Monday.  

 

Below is the first email answer I got today:

 

The Coronavirus presented evolving complications to travel, we too evolved our options available to guests with active bookings. This is and has been an unprecedented situation, and we have done our best to provide peace of mind to all our guests every step of the way.

 

 

As your reservation was cancelled accepting our Risk-Free Guarantee, standard cancellation penalties were waived, all monies paid to Viking retained will be refunded in the form of a Future Cruise Voucher.

 

 

While I understand your desire to receive a refund for the shore excursions, I hope you understand we must respectfully decline. Future Cruise Vouches will be issued in 2-3 weeks.

 

The second email I got this afternoon reads:

 

Thank you for calling in today. Again, I apologize if you and your Travel Agent have received any conflicting information regarding the Risk Free Guaranty and how it applies to cancellations. Below I will include a link to the guaranty if you care to read it.  In terms of disputing the optional shore excursion cost with Visa you of course are at liberty to do so but I assure you it will cause issues in the issuance of your vouchers as the dollar amount paid for said shore excursions is included in the vouchers. Have a nice weekend.

 

 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/risk-free-guarantee.html

 

[Rappersmom]

10 minutes ago, hodges97 said:

Below is the first email answer I got today:

As your reservation was cancelled accepting our Risk-Free Guarantee, standard cancellation penalties were waived, all monies paid to Viking retained will be refunded in the form of a Future Cruise Voucher.

Reading the guarantee conditions regarding "all monies paid to Viking" it does seem to give them the right to apply the excursion money to FCC. However, I'm not an attorney and I hope I'm wrong. 

 

The next thing of real concern is using the credit on a rebooking. I assumed the voucher could be applied to a future cruise as well as shore excursions. But the conditions also say: "Once voucher is redeemed, it cannot be re‐issued or used towards another cruise, and any unused balance of the voucher is lost and has no cash value."  Since the excursions aren't available at time of booking, I wonder if technically any surplus would be lost--unless they apply the surplus as a credit on the cruise, available for excursion booking. It may be a moot point because most of the cruises I'm looking at are higher priced, but something to think about.

 

[Buddysmom10]

4 hours ago, BarbRN said:

Yes port before was too rough to tender so it was bypassed. 

Same thing happened to us last Friday on the Sky.

 

[hodges97]

20 minutes ago, Rappersmom said:

Reading the guarantee conditions regarding "all monies paid to Viking" it does seem to give them the right to apply the excursion money to FCC. However, I'm not an attorney and I hope I'm wrong. 

 

The next thing of real concern is using the credit on a rebooking. I assumed the voucher could be applied to a future cruise as well as shore excursions. But the conditions also say: "Once voucher is redeemed, it cannot be re‐issued or used towards another cruise, and any unused balance of the voucher is lost and has no cash value."  Since the excursions aren't available at time of booking, I wonder if technically any surplus would be lost--unless they apply the surplus as a credit on the cruise, available for excursion booking. It may be a moot point because most of the cruises I'm looking at are higher priced, but something to think about.

 

Your questions are exactly what I'm thinking.  I am on hold till my TA tells me something.  Then????

[Rappersmom]

4 minutes ago, hodges97 said:

Your questions are exactly what I'm thinking.  I am on hold till my TA tells me something.  Then????

Let us know. Unfortunately our TA was on vacation when we canceled and I am waiting for her to return. Someone else handled our cancelation. I had wanted to cancel the excursions first (we had a week left on risk-free) and wait to cancel the cruise but she said it wouldn't matter; it was two separate systems. So we ended up with everything in FCC. I want to be very cautious before rebooking although it appears the Viking reps don't know what's going on either.

[Heartgrove]

For those on current cruises that require the Viking "bubble" and return to Reykjavik early due to missed ports, are they letting you off the ship? Our July 17 cruise missed Heimeay so we arrived back early but Viking ran a shuttle bus until midnight that Friday for us. We did not have the "bubble" requirement.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by Heartgrove

[BQEC]

On 8/15/2021 at 9:44 PM, sleepybobo said:

 

A group of passengers in the August 10 Jupiter sailing, approximately 26 individuals, were traced close contacts to a positive case. They were close contacts because they were on the same tour bus in the Golden Circle excursion. They were given the choice to be quarantined in their staterooms the rest of the cruise or disembark and fly home after getting clearance from Icelandic authority. About 26 people disembarked on Aug 13, being bused to Reykjavík, stayed at a “disgusting hotel” (not my words. This is how the person who posted his ordeal on FB described it) overnight and returned home on Saturday. 
 

I was not aware there were other similar incidents in Sky. 

This was further confirmed by a post which pictured a bus behind a chain link fence obviously port side. The photo showed suitcases which were lined up in front of the bus. So many that they ran the length of the bus. Someone opined that they may have been crew luggage. Rubbish!!

[hodges97]

Quite honestly my worry right now is that we have a company who is becoming desperate.  Why else would they pull this.  I'm a retired banker.  When people get their backs to the wall, they begin to make poor decisions.  This is a poor decision.

 

[Rappersmom]

1 hour ago, hodges97 said:

Quite honestly my worry right now is that we have a company who is becoming desperate.  Why else would they pull this.  I'm a retired banker.  When people get their backs to the wall, they begin to make poor decisions.  This is a poor decision.

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/viking-ocean-cruises-ltd-moodys-221806488.html.  Downgraded by Moody's with outlook poor for the next couple of years. Articles found in Google search reference cash strapped; too-rapid expansion of fleet; founder losing 2/3 of wealth last year (although still worth a couple of billion). They are definitely going to be trying to improve cash reserves. But I'm sure the entire industry is suffering. 

[Azulann]

27 minutes ago, Rappersmom said:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/viking-ocean-cruises-ltd-moodys-221806488.html.  Downgraded by Moody's with outlook poor for the next couple of years. Articles found in Google search reference cash strapped; too-rapid expansion of fleet; founder losing 2/3 of wealth last year (although still worth a couple of billion). They are definitely going to be trying to improve cash reserves. But I'm sure the entire industry is suffering. 

Your link  is from  2020. 

Did you cancel an Iceland cruise?

 Come join us on the Western Med  Oct 12 -Oct 18 from Malta to Barcelona. Or go on  one of the Bermuda cruises in Sept.. I was on the Orion in July.

It was a fabulous cruise  after going through hoops to get to Bermuda. That is the price one pays in curies doing the time of COVID. 

When I am on board  the Viking Venus, I will be booking a Viking cruise for 2023. I am not  worried about Viking Cruise line.

Look at the big guy  RRC and NCL and Carnival.... they are sailing with tons of empty  staterooms or not at all... See Regent,Oceania, Azamara and Princess 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Azulann

[Rappersmom]

17 minutes ago, Azulann said:

Your link  is from  2020. 

Did you cancel an Iceland cruise?

 Come join us on the Western Med  Oct 12 -Oct 18 from Malta to Barcelona. Or go on  one of the Bermuda cruises in Sept.. I was on the Orion in July.

It was a fabulous cruise  after going through hoops to get to Bermuda. That is the price one pays in curies doing the time of COVID. 

When I am on board  the Viking Venus, I will be booking a Viking cruise for 2023. I am not  worried about Viking Cruise line.

Look at the big guy  RRC and NCL and Carnival.... they are sailing with tons of empty  staterooms or not at all... See Regent,Oceania, Azamara and Princess 

Yes, the link is 2020. That's sort of the point, that they have been a little weaker for a while because of the rapid expansion and then COVID hit. I'm sure that resumption of cruising was a relief but the cancellations because of the Delta Variant are hurting. Iceland should have been a huge moneymaker but Iceland going from Level 1 to Level 4 so rapidly with the ensuing quarantines required by Iceland and subsequent cancellations are a real setback. It has to be hard. 

Yes we canceled Iceland. Unlike other people who said they wouldn't mind quarantine or missing ports on this Iceland trip, this is probably THE Iceland trip for us and we don't want to take those risks. Besides, I don't drink, so quarantine has nothing to redeem it.

Thanks for the invitation but we have been to Bermuda (actually, in North Carolina we aren't that far from Bermuda). We're not looking for an ocean cruise. The attraction of the Iceland cruise was that it had the amenities of an ocean cruise with the feel of a river cruise. We will probably rebook on a river cruise.

Yep, they are all struggling, as I mentioned--the cruise industry is fighting its way back. I hope it all goes well. 

 

[Peregrina651]

6 hours ago, hodges97 said:

I told the last guy I spoke with that I was considering disputing the charges.   He did follow up with an email that states if I dispute it will mess up the other vouchers.  With the way Viking is handling this, it wouldn't shock me for them to hold those credits.  At that point, I guess I could dispute the whole trip?  This isn't the way I wanted to go into the weekend.  LOL

 

I will discuss this with the TA on Monday.  

 

Below is the first email answer I got today:

 

If you paid for the cruise and the shore excursions with a voucher, then it all must go back onto a voucher if you cancel.  Once a voucher, always a voucher.

 

If you paid for the shorex separately with a credit card, it is a different story.

 

IMHO, if you haven't contacted tellus@vikingcruises.com to dispute how they are handling refunds on the shore excursion, then you aren't talking to the right department.

 

If you are working with a TA, let them do their job. If they can't get it figured out to your satisfaction, maybe the credit card company will be willing to get involved (and maybe they won't).

 

And, no, you probably cannot dispute the cruise fare or airfare through the credit card company; just like you can't get a refund on an airline ticket you have to cancel.

 

The only reason you might be able to dispute the shore excursion refund is because of the separate cancellation policy for the tours and separate payment.

 

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Rappersmom said:

The next thing of real concern is using the credit on a rebooking. I assumed the voucher could be applied to a future cruise as well as shore excursions. But the conditions also say: "Once voucher is redeemed, it cannot be re‐issued or used towards another cruise, and any unused balance of the voucher is lost and has no cash value."  Since the excursions aren't available at time of booking, I wonder if technically any surplus would be lost--unless they apply the surplus as a credit on the cruise, available for excursion booking.

 

We paid for Iceland with vouchers issued when Viking cancelled a cruise. The cruise fare was less than the amount of the voucher and we had until the start of the trip to spend the balance. I used it to pre-pay the gratuities and to pay for shore excursions when they finally opened. With the cost of the excursions, I had spent it all.

 

 

[Rappersmom]

6 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

We paid for Iceland with vouchers issued when Viking cancelled a cruise. The cruise fare was less than the amount of the voucher and we had until the start of the trip to spend the balance. I used it to pre-pay the gratuities and to pay for shore excursions when they finally opened. With the cost of the excursions, I had spent it all.

 

 

Thank you.  That's helpful information as a starting point. They do seem to have different policies for customer cancellation under the no risk guarantee, but the way you were able to do it sounds best for Viking and the customer.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Rappersmom

[hutch1994]

12 hours ago, BQEC said:

This was further confirmed by a post which pictured a bus behind a chain link fence obviously port side. The photo showed suitcases which were lined up in front of the bus. So many that they ran the length of the bus. Someone opined that they may have been crew luggage. Rubbish!!

There will always be those people that drink the Viking Kool-Aid and believe that Viking is infallible.

[Rappersmom]

5 minutes ago, hutch1994 said:

There will always be those people that drink the Viking Kool-Aid and believe that Viking is infallible.

It's those gorgeous PBS commercials with the longships. Great marketing department.

[hodges97]

7 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by hodges97
wrong format

[hodges97]

What is the tellus@viking address.  I am not familiar.

 

[OldCrustyGuy]

On 8/14/2021 at 10:33 AM, gramfrog said:

This was to be our 50th Anniversary trip, also..... right now just glad we sprang for the small bit of extra square footage in our stateroom in case we are quarantined..... or there might not be a 51st Anniversary haha

 

[OldCrustyGuy]

Latest CDC recommendation is for seniors, regardless of vaccination status, not to cruise.

[gramfrog]

1 minute ago, OldCrustyGuy said:

Latest CDC recommendation is for seniors, regardless of vaccination status, not to cruise.

That is so helpful of you.  

[hodges97]

Peregrina651  

 

I have no intentions to dispute the cruise.  .  I understand what I agreed to on the cancel for any reason and am glad to take the vouchers for the cruise fare.  I will email the address you suggested and also hope my TA can get something done on Monday.  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

1 hour ago, hutch1994 said:

There will always be those people that drink the Viking Kool-Aid and believe that Viking is infallible.

I don't think they're infallible.  I've never been on Regent, Silverseas, Ponant, or any of those more expensive and upscale lines, and I don't have 50 cruises under my belt.  But I've been on a number of Viking cruises, and all have provided a superior cruise for the money.  In particular, Viking has impressed me with their "above and beyond" willingness to make things better for their customers. Information given pre-cruise by their contracted customer service agents could be improved.  They could offer more modern music and entertainment on board.  They could offer a longer period of time to make final payment to every customer, not just those who know to ask for it.  But for the money they provide an excellent product. So yes, I've certainly opined a bit.  Others have too.  Hopefully each person who has opined, including me, has been helpful to at least some people. 

  

 

 

[Rappersmom]

1 hour ago, OldCrustyGuy said:

Latest CDC recommendation is for seniors, regardless of vaccination status, not to cruise.

I just went to the CDC site for COVID-19 and cruise ship travel, which was updated Aug. 20. I couldn't find that. If the senior is at increased risk in the case of infection, yes. But it doesn't make that blanket statement. Could you provide your source? Because CDC considers anyone over the age of 50 a senior and that would effectively shut down the cruise industry again. 

[gramfrog]

6 minutes ago, Rappersmom said:

I just went to the CDC site for COVID-19 and cruise ship travel, which was updated Aug. 20. I couldn't find that. If the senior is at increased risk in the case of infection, yes. But it doesn't make that blanket statement. Could you provide your source? Because CDC considers anyone over the age of 50 a senior and that would effectively shut down the cruise industry again. 

Absolutely.  Well said.  It is erroneous (and overreaching and obnoxious) to assume that, just because we have stayed married for 50 years, having married early, that we should consider staying home.  

[marea]

16 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

For those on current cruises that require the Viking "bubble" and return to Reykjavik early due to missed ports, are they letting you off the ship? Our July 17 cruise missed Heimeay so we arrived back early but Viking ran a shuttle bus until midnight that Friday for us. We did not have the "bubble" requirement.

 

 

We were on the Sky Aug 7 and had to skip Heimeay due to rough waters.  When we arrived in Reykjavik an announcement was made that a night time bus excursion to see the city was being offered but otherwise we were not allowed off the ship.