No transfer if arriving early?

[LindaS272]

Okay. Sounds like a different issue to what we’re dealing with. 

[Judelaide]

We are arriving in Paris on the day of our river cruise however arriving by train (Eurostar) not by air.   This is also somehow considered a 'deviation'.   

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, Judelaide said:

We are arriving in Paris on the day of our river cruise however arriving by train (Eurostar) not by air.   This is also somehow considered a 'deviation'.   

 

 

In general, Viking Air does not book trains for pax. Viking Air does not provide transfers for guests unless they are landing at the airport on Day1 of the itinerary.  So if you are are arriving in Paris by train, it is a deviation  -- because you aren't arriving in Paris at the airport.

 

If you reside in Great Britain and are coming by train booked for you by Viking (do they even do that?), then you should talk with the London office, not with the US office (whose answers always assume that you are coming from North America.)

 

If you are arriving in Paris as part of "France's Finest" and Paris is the second leg of the itinerary, the transfer from Lyon to your ship in Paris is part of the package -- and those train arrangements including the transfer to your ship are handled by the ground team in France and not Viking Air.

 

 

[duquephart]

It does seem that Viking should be willing to sell you a transfer regardless of when you plan to arrive so long as you agree to be at a given place at a given time as though you had just arrived. The fact that you have not very recently stepped off an airplane should not matter.

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, duquephart said:

It does seem that Viking should be willing to sell you a transfer regardless of when you plan to arrive so long as you agree to be at a given place at a given time as though you had just arrived. The fact that you have not very recently stepped off an airplane should not matter.

 

Just tell them that you are flying in that morning.  Pick a flight that looks right.  Show up at the airport.  NO ONE asks you for your boarding pass to prove that you arrived.  Tell them you already took off the airline bag tags, and walk up to the Viking agent outside customs.

 

 

[deec]

they have your name on a list but they might let you go with the group to be nice!  When we arrived in Madrid we were put in multiple cars NOT a bus or van.

[Mrs Miggins]

Eurostar is a train - which will arrive in the centre of Paris at Gare du Nord.  Depends where OP is getting on the cruise of course.  We transferred to Gare de Lyon for our river boat (Scenic) to Lyons the taxi transfer took around 30 minutes.  For Bordeaux it would be Gare Montparnasse and for Paris departure then a taxi to the River Boat normally docked near the Eiffel Tower.  

 

Dont think they would want to back track to Paris CDG airport just to get a transfer to any of the above.

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, duquephart said:

It does seem that Viking should be willing to sell you a transfer regardless of when you plan to arrive so long as you agree to be at a given place at a given time as though you had just arrived. The fact that you have not very recently stepped off an airplane should not matter.

The term “herding cats” comes to mind. This would be a logistical nightmare. Viking isn’t a taxi company. 

[detroit70]

On 3/3/2023 at 6:07 PM, longterm said:

An equivalent would be to say that, "Because I pay for all-inclusive food on my Viking cruise, I can go to the buffet and squirrel away a meal, and then give it to someone on shore." Yes, it's all-inclusive, and you're within your rights to help yourself as you wish, but it's ethically and morally wrong to take that food and pass it on to someone else who's NOT on the cruise. 

 

While your above argument would posit that Viking has already factored it into the cost of the cruise, it's still just wrong. 

 

I was generally agreeing with you about ethics vs. rights until I considered that, because I'm traveling solo, I'm paying for two complete fares so I could be considered as payng for that meal to pass along to someone on shore.  No worries--I won't take food off the ship, but it does reinforce my concern about paying for double food, wine, etc.  I get the part about needing to pay cover what would normally be two people in the cabin, but it does seem like there should be some kind of break for solo traverlers.😔

[longterm]

13 hours ago, detroit70 said:

I get the part about needing to pay cover what would normally be two people in the cabin, but it does seem like there should be some kind of break for solo traverlers.😔

It's unfortunate that Viking doesn't have single-occupancy cabins, but as a business, their first concern has to be staying profitable so that they can remain in business. I know it's painful for someone to pay so much to do a Viking cruise on one's own, but it's the way the industry is structured.

Their single-supplement policy is shared with all the other cruise lines that don't provide SS cabins; because someone chooses to travel with Viking and pay the single-supplement fee, that doesn't justify breaking rules. A parallel would be to argue, "Because we pay thousands of dollars to travel on a Viking ship, we should be allowed to pilfer a shirt and a chocolate bar from the gift shop. We should also be allowed to order an extra entree and sneak it onshore to our friends in the city." No matter how we frame it, it's still wrong.

<climbs down from soapbox in Hyde Corner>

[detroit70]

On 1/1/2024 at 11:14 AM, longterm said:

It's unfortunate that Viking doesn't have single-occupancy cabins, but as a business, their first concern has to be staying profitable so that they can remain in business. I know it's painful for someone to pay so much to do a Viking cruise on one's own, but it's the way the industry is structured.
 

As I think I mentioned, it's understandable I'll need to pay for two beds; in fact, I once managed the budget for a 7,000 bed set of buildings and we also charged extra for a single room.  My point is that we did not charge that person for a second meal plan as well.  Thus my suggestion that perhaps they'd consider something of a break for the solo traveler.  Just a suggestion to the industry by someone who has just booked their 11th cruise at double the total price...

[millybess]

1 hour ago, detroit70 said:

As I think I mentioned, it's understandable I'll need to pay for two beds; in fact, I once managed the budget for a 7,000 bed set of buildings and we also charged extra for a single room.  My point is that we did not charge that person for a second meal plan as well.  Thus my suggestion that perhaps they'd consider something of a break for the solo traveler.  Just a suggestion to the industry by someone who has just booked their 11th cruise at double the total price...

I sympathize with what you are saying about having to pay for two meal plans. But the thing about Viking is that their ships usually sail full, so they don’t have to give discounts for a solo traveller. It’s possible they would consider a solo discount closer to sail date on more unpopular itineraries where the ships have empty cabins they want to fill. But in our experience, on each of our Viking cruises, the fare has increased substantially closer to sail date.

 

When you booked the cruise, did you realize you would be paying for two?

[detroit70]

1 minute ago, millybess said:

I sympathize with what you are saying about having to pay for two meal plans. But the thing about Viking is that their ships usually sail full, so they don’t have to give discounts for a solo traveller. It’s possible they would consider a solo discount closer to sail date on more unpopular itineraries where the ships have empty cabins they want to fill. But in our experience, on each of our Viking cruises, the fare has increased substantially closer to sail date.

 

When you booked the cruise, did you realize you would be paying for two?

Yes, since this is my 11th solo cruise (10 of them in the 5 years prior to COVID) all at double the charge, I definitely knew what it was going to cost. I’m only suggesting that they consider sharing some of that excess profit with me,  based on lower food cost for a solo traveler.  I don’t expect that will ever happen but, as one who used to manage the budgets and rate settings for an operation that has some (not all) comparisons, it seems only fair to see it differently. 😊

[millybess]

1 minute ago, detroit70 said:

Yes, since this is my 11th solo cruise (10 of them in the 5 years prior to COVID) all at double the charge, I definitely knew what it was going to cost. I’m only suggesting that they consider sharing some of that excess profit with me,  based on lower food cost for a solo traveler.  I don’t expect that will ever happen but, as one who used to manage the budgets and rate settings for an operation that has some (not all) comparisons, it seems only fair to see it differently. 😊

I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t eat much at all and it wouldn’t occur to me that I should be compensated by Viking for that. I agreed on the price. That’s the end for me (except for watching the price 😊.)