Pre Cruise Extension question from a New Viking Cruiser

[mikenannie]

We are about to book our first Viking cruise. We're doing the Iceland and Norway Artic Explorer cruise in June, 2013. We're considering adding the pre-cruise and post cruise extensions offered by Viking. However, it's not clear what's included. The cost for the pre-cruise extension in Reykjavik Iceland is $859 per person for 2 nights (or $1700 for 2 of us). When I look at the Hilton Hotel website, the rooms are in the $250-$300 per night price range, so I'm trying to understand how Viking can charge $1700 for the same 2 nights. That seems extreme.  I understand they include transfers, 2 meals and 2 breakfasts, but for ~ $1200 more, is that all you get in addition to the hotel room?  Thanks

Edited November 19, 2021 by mikenannie

[lackcreativity]

Your conclusion is pretty accurate, except that I think the 2 breakfasts are the 2 meals, which makes it even worse. There is a Viking host at the hotel to assist you with any questions you have. The excursions they describe are optional, so there is an extra fee for those. Basically, you are paying a considerable amount for the convenience of having Viking take care of all the details: the transportation from the ship and to the airport, the luggage, the check-in, etc. It also gives you a chance to make some friends for the cruise you are about to take, or share memories of the trip just completed with the Viking group at the hotel. 

 

Some people like to leave all the work to the professionals (that's me!) and others may be new to international travel and a little timid, or even just want the support of Viking as they return to travel during Covid. Only you can decide what that is worth to you.

 

PS. The room rate for Hilton you mentioned, did that include all the taxes? In some areas that could raise the room cost quite a bit. (But no, not $1700!)

 

 

[donaldsc]

Doing a cruise company extension never pays and it has to be the most over priced of any of the things you can over pay for on a cruise.  The most ridiculous part of the whole thing is the included price of the hotel room.  Normally when you book a hotel room, the room rate in the same for you and your spouse.  On a cruise company pre cruise extension, you pay for the room for yourself and then pay for it again for your spouse.  Also as "lackcreatvity" as accurately said, often the included breakfast is a normal part of the room so the "included breakfast" feature of the pre cruise extension is just another example of cruise companies stretching the truth past the breaking point.  The profit margin on a pre cruise extension has to be absolutely tremendous.

 

In response to the OP's question about how Viking can get away with charging $1700 for the excursion, the reason is that people just don't bother to do the math or else they don't care about over paying.

 

DON

 

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by donaldsc

[Azulann]

if you take the extension with Viking you do not have to pay for deviation of $100.00 pp if taking Viking Air, there is that.....

[Peregrina651]

First off, welcome to Cruise Critic and the Viking Oceans forum!

 

My brother did the Iceland extension in 2018 and did not like the location of the Hilton -- too far away from the center of town, not enough cabs or public transportation, too few restaurants near the hotel. Plus, it rained a good portion of the time making it difficult to wander around on their own (typical June/July weather).  So when I planned our do-it-yourself extension, I chose a hotel in the downtown area (though next time I will go a bit more upscale). We had no trouble finding places to eat near the hotel and the pick-up point for the tours we had booked was across the street.

 

If you do your own extension and use Viking Air, you will have pay have to pay the deviation fee and arrange for your own transfer into Reykavik but still it isn't going to cost you as much using the airport shuttle (booking a limo will blow the savings completely).

 

Also, with a two night extension, you will have only only one full day dedicated to touring (do the Golden Circle tour) -- on the first day, part of the day will be involved with arriving at the airport and getting to the hotel (and maybe even catching up on lost sleep) and the last day be spent checking out of your hotel and getting to the ship -- with maybe time for a wander around the downtown since boarding starts around 11 am. At least you don't have to get back to the  airport to catch a flight; getting from hotel to ship is 15 minutes by cab -- at most.

 

If you do your own extension, you can add another night or two in Iceland -- and see even more of the country -- maybe even rent a car (Golden Circle can be done on your own). Lots of options if you plan your own extension.

 

P.S. I see that the ship stops in Isafjordur. The trip to Vigur Island is a MUST!!!!

 

 

 

 

[Twitchly]

The extensions usually include excursions as well, don’t they? Our upcoming Tuscany and Greece extensions involve visiting a bunch of places and sites in addition to meals and hotels. 

[duquephart]

4 hours ago, Twitchly said:

The extensions usually include excursions as well, don’t they? Our upcoming Tuscany and Greece extensions involve visiting a bunch of places and sites in addition to meals and hotels. 

 

As does the Iceland extension in Homelands I believe.

[duquephart]

The Homelands post cruise extension in Iceland includes two full days between arrival and departure (with activities) as well as three breakfasts and one lunch. It does cost $2000 PP for three nights however. In almost any case I can think of you would be better off planning and booking on your own when it comes to excursions/extensions. Part of what you are paying for, of course, is convenience in regard to transfers, etc. and it is tacky for Viking to take credit for what the hotel provides - but it is what it is. I'm going to have to look into that Vigur Island opportunity.

[mikenannie]

Thanks everyone, this is a big help. We’re traveling with another couple too, so we’ll discuss our options with them. We’ll also talk with our travel agent about the options of changing to a hotel downtown, additional deviation fees, and transfers before making a decision on how to get the best value. Since we may never get back to Iceland, and I’m a photographer, adding a couple of days is very interesting to us, but $1700 for two nights is a bit difficult to justify. 

[SantaFe1]

5 hours ago, duquephart said:

I'm going to have to look into that Vigur Island opportunity.

Yes, do!  It was the best day of our week long trip!  

[SantaFe1]

1 hour ago, mikenannie said:

I’m a photographer, adding a couple of days is very interesting to us,

My husband is also a photographer, and the Iceland photos rival anything he took on our World Cruise.  I do hope you can make it!

[anaco_angler]

Mikeannie, you've received some very good responses. I would add that not all extensions are created equal. We took the Umbrian pre-cruise extension in Sep before our Rome-Barcelona cruise. Yes, it was a bit expensive at $1700 pp, but it included transfers from Rome airport to Perugia (2 1/2 hour drive), three nights in a converted castle, all meals except one lunch, and three days of guided tours before being dropped off at our ship. We felt we got fair value for our extension. By contrast, a two-day extension in Munich before a river cruise next summer is $298 pp. It includes transfers, hotel and breakfast plus the availability of a Viking representative for local information. Do your research on the hotel rate and the cost and ease of transport from the airport to the hotel and decide whether you are better off doing it on your own.

[lackcreativity]

11 hours ago, Twitchly said:

The extensions usually include excursions as well, don’t they? Our upcoming Tuscany and Greece extensions involve visiting a bunch of places and sites in addition to meals and hotels. 

Twitchly,

Some do, and some don't. The Tuscany and Umbria extensions are really like escorted land tours and are more expensive than the basic hotel pre/post extensions, but more worthwhile. I really hope to do the Umbria one someday.

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, SantaFe1 said:

Yes, do!  It was the best day of our week long trip!  

 

We would probably only be able to do the 3 hour tour due to included tour in morning. Still worth it? I'd appreciate hearing more on how you handled things.

[Peregrina651]

7 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

We would probably only be able to do the 3 hour tour due to included tour in morning. Still worth it? I'd appreciate hearing more on how you handled things.

 

We skipped the included tour and went to Vigur Island -- puffins, eider ducks, Arctic terns, and one of the best guides on the trip. In fact, on the Iceland circumnavigation, we didn't do a single one of the included tours; the things we wanted see -- thermal features and geysers, water falls, glaciers and other geological features -- were all at least an hour's drive outside of the port towns.

[SantaFe1]

We did Vigur Island in the morning and the included in the afternoon.  I would cancel the included in a heartbeat and book Vigur if you only have time for one.  The Island is owned by a single family.  He is Icelandic and she is from UK and both are polar explorers.  They live there with their young son.  You can read about them here. https://www.vigurisland.com/about. 
 Felicity was our guide.  The birds were nesting when we were there, and you had to walk around with a stick held in the air because they would dive bomb the highest thing they saw coming toward them.  Puffins galore, but also many other birds.  Got good pictures with my phone, but the telephoto won the day!
 

Edited November 20, 2021 by SantaFe1

[duquephart]

11 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

We did Vigur Island in the morning and the included in the afternoon.  I would cancel the included in a heartbeat and book Vigur if you only have time for one.  The Island is owned by a single family.  He is Icelandic and she is from UK and both are polar explorers.  They live there with their young son.  You can read about them here. https://www.vigurisland.com/about. 
 Felicity was our guide.  The birds were nesting when we were there, and you had to walk around with a stick held in the air because they would dive bomb the highest thing they saw coming toward them.  Puffins galore, but also many other birds.  Got good pictures with my phone, but the telephoto won the day!
 

 

Was it an organized tour or on your own? How much time did you spend?

[SantaFe1]

There is the boat ride over and back, probably 20 minutes each way.  You are met at the dock by Felicity or her husband, as tour guide.  There is an organized tour into one of the buildings which shows how eider down is collected, carded, etc.  Then a loosely organized walk through the grounds to see all the birds.  You can’t wander off the path, but you can sort of take your time and move away from the group a little bit.  After the walk you go to one of the buildings for coffee and pastries.  After that I think we had about half an hour on our own.  There is an old windmill many of us climbed up to see, and lots of pretty ocean vistas from atop the hill.  A photographer’s paradise.  

[duquephart]

4 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

There is the boat ride over and back, probably 20 minutes each way.  You are met at the dock by Felicity or her husband, as tour guide.  There is an organized tour into one of the buildings which shows how eider down is collected, carded, etc.  Then a loosely organized walk through the grounds to see all the birds.  You can’t wander off the path, but you can sort of take your time and move away from the group a little bit.  After the walk you go to one of the buildings for coffee and pastries.  After that I think we had about half an hour on our own.  There is an old windmill many of us climbed up to see, and lots of pretty ocean vistas from atop the hill.  A photographer’s paradise.  

The 3 hour tour (Westtours) might be the way to go unless there's a better way? It looks like we could go in the afternoon of the "Blue Lagoon" day or skip the lagoon altogether. Thanks much for your input.

[Kellybc]

We stayed at the Sand Hotel after our Viking cruise in July. Great location, cost was €670 for two nights including taxes and breakfast. Walked to Reykjavik Kitchen and Old Iceland Restaurant for excellent dinners. Had a great South Coast tour with Your Day Tours, but I can’t find the cost. We did the Golden Circle with Viking and also enjoyed it, despite the rain (justified packing the raingear). 

[Clay Clayton]

Just posting yo say I agree with the previous posters who say it depends. 
 

We have only done one pre-cruise extension. That was in China and it included two nights at the JW, breakfasts, full day of touring with lunch, and transfer from the hotel to the ship with a stop for lunch halfway through the four hour drive from Bejing to the port in Tianjin. I forget the exact cost but when we compared it to what we paid for the previous four days of hotel and touring it was very comparable. Obviously YMMV!

 

Enjoy Iceland. We sure did and wish we could have done an extension and stayed a month!

[dwlmg]

Curious. How do meals included in an extension work? Seems like breakfast is a common provided meal.  Is there a fixed meal provided? a given budget to spend? or a ticket to a buffet? I suspect it varies but what have people experienced?

[duquephart]

Probably just what the hotel provides to everyone.

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, dwlmg said:

Curious. How do meals included in an extension work? Seems like breakfast is a common provided meal.  Is there a fixed meal provided? a given budget to spend? or a ticket to a buffet? I suspect it varies but what have people experienced?

 

First, the day by day description of the extension  tells you which meals are included. 

 

Breakfasts are usually at the hotel -- fixed or buffet depends on what the particular hotel offers.  An included lunch is usually at a restaurant and usually a fixed menu with sit-down service. An included dinner depends on whether it's attached to another activity or not.

 

If you have special food requirements (allergies, celiac, vegetarian in particular), call Viking a few months in advance of departure and confirm before leaving home and once again upon arrival when you meet the Viking extension hosts. 

[Clay Clayton]

10 hours ago, dwlmg said:

Curious. How do meals included in an extension work? Seems like breakfast is a common provided meal.  Is there a fixed meal provided? a given budget to spend? or a ticket to a buffet? I suspect it varies but what have people experienced?

As usual Peregrina is correct.  To give you an example of our two day precruise extension in Beijing, we had access to the hotel’s breakfast buffet. If I recall correctly, when I checked to compare the Viking cost vs Doing the hotel on our own, they offered two rates-one with breakfast and a slightly cheaper one without. On our first day, after touring the zoo we went to a banquet facility where we were seated at tables of 8or 10 and had well…a banquet on a huge lazy Susan in the middle of the big round table. We had four or five appetizers and soup?, then they brought out platters of various mai dishes, a number of vegetables, rice etc.  Then that was clears and seems like we had fruit and other small desserts. Lunch included beer, wine, or soda. After our sightseeing in the afternoon we returned to the hotel. Viking offered an optional Peking Duck dinner for $50 or $60 dollars a person.  We were still full from lunch so didn’t go (we had done a duck lunch on our own previously). Those who did said it was very well done. 
 

The second day, we toured the Forbidden City in the morning and then started the 2+ hour drive to the port.  We stopped about halfway at another banquet facility for a meal similar to the one the day before. 
 

It had been very clear in the extension description that it included two breakfasts and two lunches.  After we signed up, we were informed of the optional dinner but I don’t think we had to sign up before we actually checked into the hotel and registered with the Viking rep.