Travel Agent or Book Direct

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, kate7047 said:

Huh. This is an eye opener. I have never used a travel agent (for anything) and have never used a Viking agent either, so far as I know. The entire concept is foreign to me. I go to the web site, click around, find what I want and buy it. Have never done anything else, unless I was booking a cruise on some line that required a phone call. And requiring a phone call would be a serious disincentive for me to book with that line. 

I rarely have to talk to my agent. I email her what to book, she sends me a tentative booking, I approve, she books and then when we board (or usually before) money shows up in our account. 

[Mcrosby57]

I have used Viking over the phone in the past.  I see the ability to book online, which is convenient.  I did use a travel agent for booking excursions as I have been less than impressed some of the Viking Ocean excursions at some of the ports and since this is the first time booking private excursions, I was not aware of much beyond Viator (which does less than luster reviews on lots of sites, though appears to be less expensive at first glance).  I am not organizing a cruise with several couples and wondering if it'd be easier to do a TA or still go with Viking direct.  We are looking at 4-5 couples on the Douro in 2025.  Opinions?

[CCWineLover]

31 minutes ago, Mcrosby57 said:

I have used Viking over the phone in the past.  I see the ability to book online, which is convenient.  I did use a travel agent for booking excursions as I have been less than impressed some of the Viking Ocean excursions at some of the ports and since this is the first time booking private excursions, I was not aware of much beyond Viator (which does less than luster reviews on lots of sites, though appears to be less expensive at first glance).  I am not organizing a cruise with several couples and wondering if it'd be easier to do a TA or still go with Viking direct.  We are looking at 4-5 couples on the Douro in 2025.  Opinions?

Viator is merely a travel consolidator.  They contract with individual tours.  

So it is hard to "rate" Viator itself.

We usually use Trip Advisor to find individual tour providers, read their reviews, go to the tour operator's websites, learn more about them.  Have had wonderful success that way.

 

Travel Agents who are experienced in a specific area such as Douro Portugal would also be a help.

 

Regarding the Viking cruise itself, you can certainly book through Viking.  You can also use a Travel Agent to do so (or book through Viking and transfer the booking to a Travel Agent within 30 days).  Many Travel Agents do provide you OBC's (Onboard Credits), some up to the limit that Viking allows depending on cruise length.  There are a number of threads that discuss the pros and cons of this.

 

We personally have a favorite Viking agent and often book the cruise with them and then transfer to our favorite Travel Agent.  That way they both get compensated.  The benefit is that the Viking agents have real-time access to all cabins available (unlike the Viking website which just lists a few per category).

[Omax4]

9 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Viator is merely a travel consolidator.  They contract with individual tours.  

So it is hard to "rate" Viator itself.

We usually use Trip Advisor to find individual tour providers, read their reviews, go to the tour operator's websites, learn more about them.  Have had wonderful success that way.

 

Travel Agents who are experienced in a specific area such as Douro Portugal would also be a help.

 

Regarding the Viking cruise itself, you can certainly book through Viking.  You can also use a Travel Agent to do so (or book through Viking and transfer the booking to a Travel Agent within 30 days).  Many Travel Agents do provide you OBC's (Onboard Credits), some up to the limit that Viking allows depending on cruise length.  There are a number of threads that discuss the pros and cons of this.

 

We personally have a favorite Viking agent and often book the cruise with them and then transfer to our favorite Travel Agent.  That way they both get compensated.  The benefit is that the Viking agents have real-time access to all cabins available (unlike the Viking website which just lists a few per category).

Viator and TripAdvisor are the same company. If you book with one you are booking with both. 
 

[LindaS272]

11 minutes ago, Omax4 said:

Viator and TripAdvisor are the same company. If you book with one you are booking with both. 
 

But that’s not what @Heidi13 said. He says he uses TripAdvisor to find individual tour providers and review them. That’s what we do too. But we don’t book through TripAdvisor.

[Omax4]

1 minute ago, LindaS272 said:

But that’s not what @Heidi13 said. He says he uses TripAdvisor to find individual tour providers and review them. That’s what we do too. But we don’t book through TripAdvisor.

Misunderstood. I’m sorry. 

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, Omax4 said:

Viator and TripAdvisor are the same company. If you book with one you are booking with both. 
 

I never book with Trip Advisor as they are Viator.

I use Trip Advisor to read reviews, see what's top rated and by whom.  As I said, I contact the individual companies via their websites or emails.

[Moonlion]

8 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

I never book with Trip Advisor as they are Viator.

I use Trip Advisor to read reviews, see what's top rated and by whom.  As I said, I contact the individual companies via their websites or emails.

Although it can be less expensive to book directly with tour company, I often book with TripAdvisor because their cancellation policy is usually more generous (full refund if cancelled up to 24 hours before tour).  The price difference between booking directly with company vs. TripAdvisor is usually not that large (10-20%) and I have had no problems communicating directly with tour operator through TripAdvisor's online platform.  For our upcoming BIE cruise (departs in less than a week!), I have 3 excursions booked through TripAdvisor and 2 booked directly with company.  We'll see how it goes...

[springtravel]

When we were considering booking our first Viking Ocean, I went directly to their website, since we were joining another couple that had already booked.  After looking at the prices, I decided to see if there were any deals out there.  I was fortunate to discover one of the big box stores booked Viking.  We were able to get up to a DV1 for V2 price (settled on a DV2 for location)  Also got SBC and silver spirits package at no additional charge.  It was probably part of a promo that Viking was doing, and part TA, but were very happy we booked with him.  He called a few times to make sure we had everything we needed, and called the week after we returned.  I will use him for all my travel needs in the future, after doing it all myself, all these years.  Will probably still book my own hotels in the future. 

[CCWineLover]

5 hours ago, Moonlion said:

Although it can be less expensive to book directly with tour company, I often book with TripAdvisor because their cancellation policy is usually more generous (full refund if cancelled up to 24 hours before tour).  The price difference between booking directly with company vs. TripAdvisor is usually not that large (10-20%) and I have had no problems communicating directly with tour operator through TripAdvisor's online platform.  For our upcoming BIE cruise (departs in less than a week!), I have 3 excursions booked through TripAdvisor and 2 booked directly with company.  We'll see how it goes...

Interesting!  Yes, please let us know how it goes!

As a note - we generally only book tours where the cancellation policy is good.  There are still many out there, particularly those who cater to cruise passengers, as they realize that is what the cruise people are looking for.

[leishirsute]

I've experienced good and bad using a TA to book Viking. They were hard to contact and get a response. Flight changes notices from Viking would go to the TA and I would not find out about them unless I checked the Viking website.  I finally got Viking to add my email address to any notices.

 

On the positive side, the TA has been my advocate to get Viking to honor pricing and services thta they initially offered but changed during the process of booking,

[photopro2]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:39 PM, leishirsute said:

On the positive side, the TA has been my advocate to get Viking to honor pricing and services thta they initially offered but changed during the process of booking,

Same for us. We once arrived at a Viking ship to find that our complementary beverage package had somehow gone missing. Rather than having to work the issue myself I emailed our agent who had it reinstated within a few hours. Without the agent it would have been my word against Viking's and I don't think I would have got very far.

[KBs mum]

With the recent changes in the Viking back office staff, travel agent every time. Preferably one with a lot of buying power, but a named person to handle your booking

Also gets better flights. The TA we use buys more flights in a month than Viking buys in a year. Which are the airlines going to give priority to if there is a problem? 

[crispy23]

For us in the UK a travel agent without doubt as unfortunately we have found dealing with Viking directly very hit and miss.

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, KBs mum said:

The TA we use buys more flights in a month than Viking buys in a year. Which are the airlines going to give priority to if there is a problem? 

 

I will be very surprised if that is accurate, as in addition to pax, the cruise line is also purchasing flights for all crew members, including those on the river ships. With almost 100 ships, that is a lot of flights, since virtually every crew member flies to/from the ship, as the days of joining in your own country are long gone.

[KBs mum]

22 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I will be very surprised if that is accurate, as in addition to pax, the cruise line is also purchasing flights for all crew members, including those on the river ships. With almost 100 ships, that is a lot of flights, since virtually every crew member flies to/from the ship, as the days of joining in your own country are long gone.

The TA has branches in every UK city, as well as online. They arrange corporate travel, and are discount flight only specialists. I don't have access to proof of their claim, but it seems probable. 

When a train was cancelled in Australia we phoned to ask for a flight to be booked instead, their reply, 'don't worry, we already know, we have 200 customers on the train, we have a hold on a charter flight, but the train company are going to give some options soon'. 

Viking have TA type services, but are a small player in the market. Their lack of buying power shows with their difficulty in booking flights and hotels. They only have contracts with a few hotel chains and airlines, rather than access to nearly whole of market the TA offers. 

They have dropped Viking from their cruise brochure, they got as fed up with them as we did. They will book if requested but no longer reccomend them

 

 

[rbslos18]

16 hours ago, KBs mum said:

The TA we use buys more flights in a month than Viking buys in a year. Which are the airlines going to give priority to if there is a problem? 

That means your TA buys more tickets in a single year than Viking sells in a decade. Wow!

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-hyperbole-definition-of-hyperbole-with-examples#

Edited September 9, 2023 by rbslos18

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, KBs mum said:

The TA has branches in every UK city, as well as online. They arrange corporate travel, and are discount flight only specialists. I don't have access to proof of their claim, but it seems probable. 

When a train was cancelled in Australia we phoned to ask for a flight to be booked instead, their reply, 'don't worry, we already know, we have 200 customers on the train, we have a hold on a charter flight, but the train company are going to give some options soon'. 

Viking have TA type services, but are a small player in the market. Their lack of buying power shows with their difficulty in booking flights and hotels. They only have contracts with a few hotel chains and airlines, rather than access to nearly whole of market the TA offers. 

They have dropped Viking from their cruise brochure, they got as fed up with them as we did. They will book if requested but no longer reccomend them

 

I am well aware of the major UK travel agencies, having used them a number of times. While I may now live in Canada, I'm also a Brit.

 

While I don't dispute that they book more flights than Viking in any given year, my issue is with the statement they book more than 12x Viking in a year. As with all promotional material, it pays to read the disclaimers in the fine print.

 

We also won't book with Viking at present, but that doesn't negatively impact the previous exceptional service we received. I certainly don't agree that Viking provide TA type services, at least not any TA I would employ. Viking Air provides pax flights, as they must also provide thousands of crew flights, which is a requirement of the Flag State Shipping Acts. Yes, they also provide some highly over-priced pre/post excursions (hotels), but those are hardly commensurate with what a TA provides.

 

With respect to purchasing power, your TA is based in UK, so I suspect the vast majority of their business originates in UK, and the destinations are predominantly tourist type destinations. Viking have to service both pax and crew requirements. While your TA has a single major market, for pax, Viking have 4 major markets, specifically US, UK, Australia & NZ. Once you add crew flights, their major markets more than double and they also have numerous secondary markets. So, yes, your TA has huge buying power, but it is nearly all from UK, whereas, Viking has major markets in multiple countries, plus numerous secondary markets. Even if Viking purchased the same number of flights as your TA, since they operate worldwide, they have less impact in specific local markets.

 

When booking any cruise line air, you need to be aware of the inherent limitations and remember that cruise line air services were originally to service crew requirements.

[KBs mum]

Viking UK are legally a travel agent, and are registered with ABTA, as they sell holidays, they do much the same as any not particularly good package holiday TA. In the UK flights are included in the brochure price. 

The difference is that they only sell their own product and have limited access to flights. When we've wanted to upgrade our TA always beats the Viking quote for the same flight (we ask for quotes by flight number) 

 

The agent we use is one of the bespoke nearly whole of market ones, and isn't the biggest UK TA, that title goes to a very well regarded economy/economy plus high street package chain. 

There is a UK TA that leases planes and effectively has its own small airline 

[rbslos18]

On 6/25/2021 at 4:28 PM, holech said:

I am considering a Viking Ocean cruise.  Is there any advantage to booking direct with Viking as opposed to using a travel 

one issue that has not been mentioned is trip insurance. Booking with Viking alone may impact some policies’’ bankruptcy protection. Be sure to check.
 

We, by the way, have  loved our Viking cruises. We book new cruises when onboard and then transfer the booking to a travel agent. We also use an insurance agency for the trip cancellation policy. Read the various posts and you will learn a lot. This forum gives a pretty accurate picture of Viking. 

[Texanniew]

Ironically, yesterday I received an email from my employer’s benefits team announcing all sorts of cruise specials. I looked up my Viking cruise and the prices are the exact same, but they were offering $300 pp shipboard credits. I reached out to my Viking rep to ask if they did that and he mentioned transferring to the TA. So back to the original question…other than the credits, what do I gain by moving to a TA? What do I lose by switching? This is our first Viking cruise (our last cruise was over 20 years ago on RC) and we are not very experienced travelers. We want things to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks!

[KBs mum]

11 minutes ago, Texanniew said:

Ironically, yesterday I received an email from my employer’s benefits team announcing all sorts of cruise specials. I looked up my Viking cruise and the prices are the exact same, but they were offering $300 pp shipboard credits. I reached out to my Viking rep to ask if they did that and he mentioned transferring to the TA. So back to the original question…other than the credits, what do I gain by moving to a TA? What do I lose by switching? This is our first Viking cruise (our last cruise was over 20 years ago on RC) and we are not very experienced travelers. We want things to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks!

A TA might offer a deal with a better insurance firm, or a wider range of flight and pre/post hotel options. Some will operate under their own terms and conditions and be able to offer a later final payment date or an installment plan. 

But most importantly, if you are novice travellers, they should provide a named person as a contact and proactively monitor your booking and travels, advising you of any changes and presenting solution options if there is a problem. They should also have a 24 hour 7 day a week emergency call centre. Local agents in the destination country are a plus. 

 

They should also be able to refer you to the right places for information about, and how to  get any visas etc

[Texanniew]

2 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

A TA might offer a deal with a better insurance firm, or a wider range of flight and pre/post hotel options. Some will operate under their own terms and conditions and be able to offer a later final payment date or an installment plan. 

But most importantly, if you are novice travellers, they should provide a named person as a contact and proactively monitor your booking and travels, advising you of any changes and presenting solution options if there is a problem. They should also have a 24 hour 7 day a week emergency call centre. Local agents in the destination country are a plus. 

 

They should also be able to refer you to the right places for information about, and how to  get any visas etc

My Viking rep isn’t the named contact who handles all those situations?

[Clay Clayton]

39 minutes ago, Texanniew said:

Ironically, yesterday I received an email from my employer’s benefits team announcing all sorts of cruise specials. I looked up my Viking cruise and the prices are the exact same, but they were offering $300 pp shipboard credits. I reached out to my Viking rep to ask if they did that and he mentioned transferring to the TA. So back to the original question…other than the credits, what do I gain by moving to a TA? What do I lose by switching? This is our first Viking cruise (our last cruise was over 20 years ago on RC) and we are not very experienced travelers. We want things to go as smoothly as possible. Thanks!

For us we have lost very little. Rather than getting our luggage tags directly, we get them a week or so after our travel agent get them and mails them to us. If we want to change something, we have to go through our agent that has only happened once when we wanted to add an extension, so was pretty easy.  
 

Our agent has gone to bat for us twice when due to circumstances beyond our control, we needed their help but typically we just use them as a booking agency so that we receive the maximum onboard credit Viking allows. Sounds like in your case your cruise is between 8 and 14 nights long as you're getting $300 per person which is the Viking max. (It goes up to $500pp on cruises of 15 nights or more. 
 

If you elect to transfer your cruise to an agent, you have to do it within a certain period of the initial booking. I understood it was 30 days but someone posted recently that it was within 60 days so, not sure which is correct. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Clay Clayton

[KBs mum]

Just now, Texanniew said:

My Viking rep isn’t the named contact who handles all those situations?

Theoretically yes, but in practice no. Viking customer service has declined noticeably since covid, their call centres have been outsourced. It's better to have someone working for you, not the company you may be having a problem with. 

Viking want to sell their products (not unreasonably!) a good TA will be able to advise which product is best for you, Viking or not, and likely get the pre and post in better hotels for a lower price. 

 

A good TA is worth more than any OBC when things go wrong and plans need to change, or the second flight is cancelled leaving you in an unfamiliar country late at night