Silver Spirits Package

[sabrefan]

Does anyone know what the current cost is for silver spirits package? My last cruise on Viking Sun in 2018 it was $20 per day per person. Also, can you wait to buy this package on embarkation day? Want to make sure all the covid testing is good before having to pay for this package.

[FlyerTalker]

It's a few pennies shy of $20 per day.

 

Yes - you can buy it once onboard.  If you have a bunch of OBC, you can buy the package with that.  Turned out to be a good plan, as the ship added credit to our account due to missed ports and we would have had to go to the gift shop to use them up (as many did on our trip).  Instead, it went to the drink package - FWIW, folks who pre-bought were unable to use OBC to "rebuy" the package with that instead of their upfront money.

[Moonlion]

We used OBC to purchase the SSBP.  We got it the first day onboard.  Once onboard, it's easy to purchase.  Just ask at any restaurant or bar and they will add to your account. 

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

It's a few pennies shy of $20 per day.

 

Yes - you can buy it once onboard.  If you have a bunch of OBC, you can buy the package with that.  Turned out to be a good plan, as the ship added credit to our account due to missed ports and we would have had to go to the gift shop to use them up (as many did on our trip).  Instead, it went to the drink package - FWIW, folks who pre-bought were unable to use OBC to "rebuy" the package with that instead of their upfront money.

What do you mean “rebuy”?  

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

What do you mean “rebuy”?  

 

They had pre-purchased the package before boarding.  Then, when a bunch of OBC was given to everyone, they wanted to use that for the package.  Were told - sorry, that transaction already went through, we can't cancel it and then use your OBC instead.

 

[Moonlion]

Since on our cruise, the pre-cruise price for the SSBP was the same as purchasing onboard, I can't see any benefit to purchasing pre-cruise.  This is especially the case if you have - or may have additional - on-board credit.  For example, we had OBC from our TA, which could only be used for on-board purchases.  Plus, we enjoyed our cruise so much, we booked future cruises while onboard. Part of the "goodies" for us of booking future cruises while onboard was getting additional OBC on our current cruise. We were able to use that credit to help pay for gratuities, the spa and the SSBP. 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Moonlion said:

Since on our cruise, the pre-cruise price for the SSBP was the same as purchasing onboard, I can't see any benefit to purchasing pre-cruise.  This is especially the case if you have - or may have additional - on-board credit.  For example, we had OBC from our TA, which could only be used for on-board purchases.  Plus, we enjoyed our cruise so much, we booked future cruises while onboard. Part of the "goodies" for us of booking future cruises while onboard was getting additional OBC on our current cruise. We were able to use that credit to help pay for gratuities, the spa and the SSBP. 

 

The only benefit of purchasing pre-cruise, that I can think, is when using FCV's to pay for the cruise and you have an outstanding balance, which must be used prior to boarding.

[KBs mum]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The only benefit of purchasing pre-cruise, that I can think, is when using FCV's to pay for the cruise and you have an outstanding balance, which must be used prior to boarding.

We can get an advantage paying in advance by keeping an eye on the exchange rates, but it's simetimes included as a booking incentive for the higher category cabins in the UK. 

 

We struggle to spend any OBC, I'm sat here in a Viking polo shirt and fleece, bought on Orion, as drinks and gratuities had been included in the price. 

[Moonlion]

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

We can get an advantage paying in advance by keeping an eye on the exchange rates, but it's simetimes included as a booking incentive for the higher category cabins in the UK. 

 

We struggle to spend any OBC, I'm sat here in a Viking polo shirt and fleece, bought on Orion, as drinks and gratuities had been included in the price. 

That's interesting. Except for the WCs, I haven't seen any Viking incentives in the US that include gratuities and the SSBP.  Right now, we get double past guest discount and 2 for 1 deposit.  Our January 24th Northern Lights cruise, which we booked in February 2021, came with free air and double past guest discount (plus a very generous Risk Free Guarantee).  Does Viking increase the base price in the UK to cover the gratuities/beverage package, or are these true incentives?

[Clay Clayton]

3 hours ago, Moonlion said:

That's interesting. Except for the WCs, I haven't seen any Viking incentives in the US that include gratuities and the SSBP.  Right now, we get double past guest discount and 2 for 1 deposit.  Our January 24th Northern Lights cruise, which we booked in February 2021, came with free air and double past guest discount (plus a very generous Risk Free Guarantee).  Does Viking increase the base price in the UK to cover the gratuities/beverage package, or are these true incentives?

I have it seen it occasionally. It was offered on some of the Welcome Back cruises.  But only after they had raised the price.  For our Iceland cruise, I think the cost increased $1000 so the “included” SS wasn’t really that much if a benefit for those of us who acted fast. 
 

Similarly, I have seen it offered on river cruises recently. 

[KBs mum]

4 hours ago, Moonlion said:

That's interesting. Except for the WCs, I haven't seen any Viking incentives in the US that include gratuities and the SSBP.  Right now, we get double past guest discount and 2 for 1 deposit.  Our January 24th Northern Lights cruise, which we booked in February 2021, came with free air and double past guest discount (plus a very generous Risk Free Guarantee).  Does Viking increase the base price in the UK to cover the gratuities/beverage package, or are these true incentives?

Economy flights are allways included, business is available if you want to pay the extra, there is a choice of routes/airlines. Gratuities are also automatically included on ocean voyages. I suspect that its about marketing, a Brit would expect any staff/crew renumeration to be included, rather than being expected to pay extra in tips, a US person would likely expect to tip. 

 

I suspect we'd find the US prices are the suggested gratuity amount less then the UK ones for the cruise only portion. 

 

As far as I can tell, the drinks package offers are a genuine saving, as the listed prices don't change outside of early booking or previous customer discounts. 

 

Our deposits are 25% non refundable with final payment 100 days prior to cruise, different consumer legislation accounts for this. Its in line with most high cost purchases in the UK. If we cancel a contract we'd usually need to get the deposit back via insurance. 

 

The Australia and New Zealand pricing is on the same basis as the UK, as far as I know. 

[Moonlion]

13 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

As far as I can tell, the drinks package offers are a genuine saving, as the listed prices don't change outside of early booking or previous customer discounts. 

In the US, many people use a TA who offers OBC (we do).  The OBC we received from our TA on the Jan. '22 cruise easily covered the SSBP.  Do you have that option in the UK?

[KBs mum]

27 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

In the US, many people use a TA who offers OBC (we do).  The OBC we received from our TA on the Jan. '22 cruise easily covered the SSBP.  Do you have that option in the UK?

Not as far as I know, but we have (from what I can tell from threads on here) more consumer rights in exchange for possibly higher prices when we book vacations via an agent. Most UK people seem to book direct with Viking, who are classed as a TA by legislation. 

It seems to me, but I accept I might be wrong, that US people use TAs to save money and organisational hassle, UK people use them for better legal protection and to save organisational hassle. 

Just as we are two countries disunited by a common language, perhaps we are two cruisers disunited by a common bar? 😁🍸🥃🍷

[Moonlion]

4 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Just as we are two countries disunited by a common language, perhaps we are two cruisers disunited by a common bar? 😁🍸🥃🍷

I don't know... we had several Brits on our January '22 cruise, and we seemed quite united at the bar 🍹

[FlyerTalker]

There is a long history of folks from the UK, and elsewhere in Europe, buying complete packages for their holiday trips.  It's been the business model for agencies for decades, often with other companies serving as the "bundler" - buying up seats or charters, pre-buying hotel rooms and then wrapping it up in one complete vacation package.  The UK had a number of charter airlines that catered to that market.  

 

For some reason, the complete package model never really took off here in the USA.

 

I think there is a great inertia in the UK to buying a complete package, along with the continued promotion of them by agencies.  Legal protections is down the list, except in the wake of failures like Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook, when media pushes it to the front of mind.

[uktog]

In the UK, particularly in relation to cruising, many travellers are turning their back on larger agencies particularly those who sell cruises only and going back to direct booking with the cruise line. The reason - and I know from bitter experience- these agencies held onto refunds already paid over to them by the cruiselines for months and months during the pandemic alleging they’d not yet received them - all the time propping up their cash flow with travellers money.  
 

In my case, one refund was due on a cruise I paid for just as the pandemic started (unaware as many were about what lay ahead). As is the case with UK TAs you pay them, with a deadline to pay set a few weeks before the agency pays over to the cruiseline.  So my money, it was confirmed by the cruiseline had never been passed over to them but for seven months the faceless agency lied and said they were still waiting to get the refund.  Many people had similar issues, in the end I complained to ABTA one of our “protection bodies in travel”. They found against the agency and still they took six weeks to pay.

 

Wish I could name this .co.uk agency here because my advice would be despite the emails and the offers stay well away.  A review of their latest accounts filed makes very grim reading their business model entirely relies on your deposits and that turnover time between you paying them and them paying the cruiseline..

[KBs mum]

32 minutes ago, uktog said:

In the UK, particularly in relation to cruising, many travellers are turning their back on larger agencies particularly those who sell cruises only and going back to direct booking with the cruise line. The reason - and I know from bitter experience- these agencies held onto refunds already paid over to them by the cruiselines for months and months during the pandemic alleging they’d not yet received them - all the time propping up their cash flow with travellers money.  
 

In my case, one refund was due on a cruise I paid for just as the pandemic started (unaware as many were about what lay ahead). As is the case with UK TAs you pay them, with a deadline to pay set a few weeks before the agency pays over to the cruiseline.  So my money, it was confirmed by the cruiseline had never been passed over to them but for seven months the faceless agency lied and said they were still waiting to get the refund.  Many people had similar issues, in the end I complained to ABTA one of our “protection bodies in travel”. They found against the agency and still they took six weeks to pay.

 

Wish I could name this .co.uk agency here because my advice would be despite the emails and the offers stay well away.  A review of their latest accounts filed makes very grim reading their business model entirely relies on your deposits and that turnover time between you paying them and them paying the cruiseline..

Yep, a lot of people who were buying on price only (which isn't you, you were just unlucky) got stung when the agencies they chose turned out to be click through rather than agencies, or to have no customer service. 

Look on the plus side, you didn't book via an airline, you'd still be waiting for the refund! 

The good ones refunded from their own cash reserves before chasing the money from their suppliers, we got our money back within a week of notification of cancellation. 

 

[uktog]

18 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

Yep, a lot of people who were buying on price only (which isn't you, you were just unlucky) got stung when the agencies they chose turned out to be click through rather than agencies, or to have no customer service. 

Look on the plus side, you didn't book via an airline, you'd still be waiting for the refund! 

The good ones refunded from their own cash reserves before chasing the money from their suppliers, we got our money back within a week of notification of cancellation. 

 

All my airline refunds - and there were many - came back from BA or Jet 2 almost overnight.  They were the best 

[Hockeyump]

We use an independent agency that is part of a larger network.  Excellent service and advice and can be contacted 24/7 if needed.  Very much needed in March 2020 when Covid hit as we were in Thailand, internal flights being cancelled and uncertainty about flights home.  Our TA was a superstar and while she is around she gets our business.

 

Yes, we could book direct on cruises but she checks out all the restrictions and guidance, as do we, as a double check to Viking.  

 

It's what we do but others like to do it differently. Nothing wrong with that.