Word of Warning Regarding Viking Air

[sabrefan]

Planning on taking a Alaska cruise on Orion on 6/12/22, Vancouver to Seward. We are using Viking Air, however we are staying in Alaska for 5 nights on our own when the cruise ends in Seward. I found out that Viking will not transport us to Anchorage airport from Seward port because we are not flying home when the cruise ends.  Usually when you take Viking air this includes transfers. In this case I need to go to the airport to pickup my rental car along with other people flying home. I was told by Viking that they do not offer any transportation to me that I could pay extra for, this is hard to believe. Anyway Viking did tell me about AlaskaCruiseTransfer.com. Fortunately for $70/pp I can buy a bus ticket from Seward to Anchorage airport that leaves at 8:30 am and gets to the airport by 11:00 am. Hope this helps others out of this stupid ruling. I will think twice about Viking and Viking air in the future.

[Azulann]

Thanks for the information about the cost to Anchorage from Seward where the cruise ended.  

Viking transfer is  part of Viking air when your flying to and from the cruise on same day or take the Viking pre or post extension.  Have done both.

I will be doing the same cruise in 2023. We plan to stay in Vancouver  for 2 days pre cruise and one day in Anchorage on our own.  If we use Viking Air we will pay  the deviation fee. 

Have you thought about renting the car in Seward and dropping it off at Anchorage Airport after your travels . 

[FlyerTalker]

Just an FYI - hope everyone is ready for sticker shock on Alaska rentals.  Expect $200+ per day for your car.

 

[SJD117]

It’s a 120-mile drive from Seward to the Anchorage airport. That would be a long trip for Viking to offer for free.

 

Anyway, look at the positive side! You’ll be able to enjoy an incredibly scenic drive for the low, low price (especially by Alaska standards) of $70/pp. Enjoy the trip!

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, sabrefan said:

Planning on taking a Alaska cruise on Orion on 6/12/22, Vancouver to Seward. We are using Viking Air, however we are staying in Alaska for 5 nights on our own when the cruise ends in Seward. I found out that Viking will not transport us to Anchorage airport from Seward port because we are not flying home when the cruise ends.  Usually when you take Viking air this includes transfers. In this case I need to go to the airport to pickup my rental car along with other people flying home. I was told by Viking that they do not offer any transportation to me that I could pay extra for, this is hard to believe. Anyway Viking did tell me about AlaskaCruiseTransfer.com. Fortunately for $70/pp I can buy a bus ticket from Seward to Anchorage airport that leaves at 8:30 am and gets to the airport by 11:00 am. Hope this helps others out of this stupid ruling. I will think twice about Viking and Viking air in the future.

 

Unfortunately, this is consistent with all the cruises. Even when using Viking Air, if you opt to arrive early, or stay longer you do not receive transfers to/from the ship.

[travelbug11]

Take the train. It’s an absolutely beautiful ride and takes you right into the airport.

[Berlin Bear]

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, this is consistent with all the cruises. Even when using Viking Air, if you opt to arrive early, or stay longer you do not receive transfers to/from the ship.

Agree. I don’t know of any cruise line, including the German ones which we frequently use, that would offer free (or included) airport transfers without having booked the whole package. Same with any package holiday.

[sabrefan]

We have paid the deviation fee that Viking requires. They have buses going from Seward to the airport anyway. Looked at renting a car in Seward and return it to Anchorage airport. The cost was almost $2000 with Hertz versus $1300 with Budget for a mid size SUV. Using Hertz, no guarantee what kind of vehicle. Yes, car rentals are very expensive in Alaska. Keep in mind that I would have paid Viking extra money to take a bus to Anchorage and this option was not offered by them.

[2BERMUDA]

1 hour ago, sabrefan said:

We have paid the deviation fee that Viking requires. They have buses going from Seward to the airport anyway. Looked at renting a car in Seward and return it to Anchorage airport. The cost was almost $2000 with Hertz versus $1300 with Budget for a mid size SUV. Using Hertz, no guarantee what kind of vehicle. Yes, car rentals are very expensive in Alaska. Keep in mind that I would have paid Viking extra money to take a bus to Anchorage and this option was not offered by them.

This seems crazy. I would call again and tell them you want to pay for the transfers.  We have taken 2 trips using our own air, and have paid for Viking transfers to the airport.

[TayanaLorna]

If you don't get satisfaction before your cruise, ask when on the ship.  Viking has always offered paid transfers whether or not a person has used Viking Air.  The fact that you DID use VA is an arguing point - they make money on your airfare.  The buses are driving that route on embarkation day anyways.  Plus a couple of days before your cruise ends you get a form in your stateroom asking about your departure plans and transfer needs. They do that in order to determine what luggage tag group they put you in.  We have signed up for a transfer that way last minute when we did our own air travel.

 

They can be very reasonable and logical on board.  For example, we had free air included when we did the Iberia TA last Fall.  We booked our outbound flights to Barcelona but did not book flight home because home was Puerto Rico where the ship was headed.  When it came time for a ride home from the cruise port in SJ, we decided to have friends pick us up at the airport instead of making them drive all the way into Old San Juan during rush hour.  When I tried to arrange our free included transfer to the airport, Guest Services said no because they didn't book our flights.  I said of course because we live here.  Plus we saved you money by not having you pay for flights home.  I pointed out the buses were going to the airport anyways.  The gal had to check with her supervisor but within an hour we had luggage tags for an airport transfer time.

 

Your deviation does not entitle you to free transfers but you certainly should be able to pay for them.  As a matter of good will, they may even give you free transfers since you did use Viking Air.  Just don't expect to be dropped off at car rental place.  🙂

[fudgbug]

On 3/9/2022 at 3:23 PM, sabrefan said:

Planning on taking a Alaska cruise on Orion on 6/12/22, Vancouver to Seward. We are using Viking Air, however we are staying in Alaska for 5 nights on our own when the cruise ends in Seward. I found out that Viking will not transport us to Anchorage airport from Seward port because we are not flying home when the cruise ends.  Usually when you take Viking air this includes transfers. In this case I need to go to the airport to pickup my rental car along with other people flying home. I was told by Viking that they do not offer any transportation to me that I could pay extra for, this is hard to believe. Anyway Viking did tell me about AlaskaCruiseTransfer.com. Fortunately for $70/pp I can buy a bus ticket from Seward to Anchorage airport that leaves at 8:30 am and gets to the airport by 11:00 am. Hope this helps others out of this stupid ruling. I will think twice about Viking and Viking air in the future.

Perhaps you could take the train from Seward to Anchorage then a taxi to the airport?  The train is comfortable and the route is through some great scenery.

 

[sabrefan]

Already called twice and got the same answer. At least the second call they offered the web site Alaska Cruise Transfer.com. Not going to take a taxi, I am sure with current gas prices the cost would be greater than $140 for two. The bus will get me to the airport faster than the train. I suppose I could go to the service desk once on board but don’t feel like waiting that long. Just think this is a lousy policy and Viking has no flexibility. Fortunately I have the flexibility of other cruise lines in the future. Also, those opportunities won’t require full payment one year in advance.

[Mich3554]

When we were on our last cruise, our flights (which we booked separately) left Santiago (which is a good 2 hour drive from where the ship docked) the day after we docked.  Viking offered transit from our ship to any hotel in Santiago via private car, and then we got to the airport by taxi the next day.

When we were on the cruise, we started looking for transit options.  Thinking back, every cruise we have been on we have received a listing of transit after the cruise.  Most times we ignored this because we usually stay in the docking city if we have not been there before.  We did take advantage of this the last time though.  
TBH, I’d not panic and wait until I got on the ship and see what Viking comes up with.  Usually the listing shows up 2-3 days before the cruise ends.  

[NorskyGal]

In response to Travelbug's comments, the train from Seward does not go to the airport.  It stops in Girdwood (45 minutes south of Anchorage) and the main terminal just on the north side of downtown Anchorage.

 

It should be easy to get transportation from the Anchorage train station to the airport...taxi or lyft/uber.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

On 3/9/2022 at 6:08 PM, FlyerTalker said:

Just an FYI - hope everyone is ready for sticker shock on Alaska rentals.  Expect $200+ per day for your car.

 

An additional FYI....book a car ASAP we're flying into Anchorage in May (not for a cruise) and most car rentals do not have any cars available, and yes you'll be paying a premium price for what you are able to get.  The words "mystery car" kind of makes me nervous! 

[FlyerTalker]

31 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

An additional FYI....book a car ASAP we're flying into Anchorage in May (not for a cruise) and most car rentals do not have any cars available, and yes you'll be paying a premium price for what you are able to get.  The words "mystery car" kind of makes me nervous! 

 

"Mystery Car" -- both Dollar and Thrifty tend to use that in renting cars.  You also see "Manager's Special"  Same thing.

 

Simple explanation - this is a general category to cover reservations when there are no-shows or upgrades or whatever.  It means that the agency will give you whatever they have a bit of a surplus of, with a minimum of a compact or whatever they state.  So you could get a much bigger/nicer vehicle or the base one they promise.  It doesn't mean they drag an old Yugo out of storage and wipe off the dust.

 

Mystery works well if you are fine with the smallest they are guaranteeing.  OTOH, if you definitely need a bigger model, then don't go mystery.

 

And to tie this in with cruising....it's like booking a guarantee cabin.  You will get at least what you booked, and maybe more - in exchange for the uncertainty.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Yeah thanks....I did understand what mystery car meant, it just hits me kind of funny.  When there are 4 of you with luggage, you just don't want to end up in a Smart Fortwo! 🤣  I also avoid anything in a restaurant that says mystery meat. But now I'm really off topic....

 

 

[travelbug11]

20 hours ago, NorskyGal said:

In response to Travelbug's comments, the train from Seward does not go to the airport.  It stops in Girdwood (45 minutes south of Anchorage) and the main terminal just on the north side of downtown Anchorage.

 

It should be easy to get transportation from the Anchorage train station to the airport...taxi or lyft/uber.

While the train may stop in Gridwood (I don’t know where that is) if Definitely goes to Anchorage! Look It up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sabrefan]

The train doesn’t go to the Anchorage airport. My rental car is waiting for me at the rental area of the airport. The train goes to downtown Anchorage.

[Clay Clayton]

23 minutes ago, sabrefan said:

The train doesn’t go to the Anchorage airport. My rental car is waiting for me at the rental area of the airport. The train goes to downtown Anchorage.

Maybe the rental car folks have a city office near the train station? Some places it is much cheaper to rent off airport.  

Edited March 12, 2022 by Clay Clayton

[burnabyjean]

We had a similar situation after our Grand European in 2018. We had booked our air with Viking, but with a deviation, so we were flying to Malta from Amsterdam (not home). If we had been flying home we would have had the transfer included, but because we were going to Malta, it wasn't. I thought this was a little "small minded" of them when the buses were going to the airport anyway. We could have purchased the transfer, but with 4 of us it was cheaper and more convenient to get a cab.

[sabrefan]

Right now I have a 5 day rental from the Anchorage airport though Budget car rental for a mid size SUV for $1,300. Hertz has a office near the Seward cruise port. A 5 day rental from there and the return to Hartz at the Anchorage airport would be $2,000 and I would not know what kind of vehicle until I pick it up. Easy decision to stick with my original plan.

[millybess]

On 3/10/2022 at 7:47 AM, sabrefan said:

We have paid the deviation fee that Viking requires. They have buses going from Seward to the airport anyway. Looked at renting a car in Seward and return it to Anchorage airport. The cost was almost $2000 with Hertz versus $1300 with Budget for a mid size SUV. Using Hertz, no guarantee what kind of vehicle. Yes, car rentals are very expensive in Alaska. Keep in mind that I would have paid Viking extra money to take a bus to Anchorage and this option was not offered by them.

Sorry, maybe I misunderstood? I thought a $120 bus ride to the airport from Seward would be cheaper than a $2000 car rental. 

[longterm]

On 3/9/2022 at 6:45 PM, SJD117 said:

It’s a 120-mile drive from Seward to the Anchorage airport. That would be a long trip for Viking to offer for free.

 

Anyway, look at the positive side! You’ll be able to enjoy an incredibly scenic drive for the low, low price (especially by Alaska standards) of $70/pp. Enjoy the trip!

Even better, you could look into getting on Alaska RR, which my son and I took some years ago. You can sit up in the observation car, cruise along the water, worry-free, all the way into Anchorage.

I haven't done that railroad in a lot of years, but the last time I checked it was still running between Seward and Anchorage.