If you want to leave viking cruise that has turned into bus trip

[CRUISINGFORFUN!]

Forgive me if I am on the wrong spot here....new to all of this.  If the viking river cruise becomes a bus tour and you want to leave the cruise....will Viking pay for that?

Thank you for any info.....we leave tomorrow!

[sharkster77]

Why would they? 

 

Anyone who's done their homework and  read these boards know that high/low water is possible.

 

That's a chance one takes booking a river cruise---the cruise lines do not control the climate/weather? 

 

One needs to roll with the punches and realize that a lousy day on vacation always beats a great day at work!!

[Squawkman]

25 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

 

One needs to roll with the punches and realize that a lousy day on vacation always beats a great day at work!!

That’s how we felt when covid interrupted our cruise last April.

[ljandgb]

I think the short answer is no.  

 

I'm pretty sure all the paperwork you sign when you sign up for the cruise includes something to the effect of "we'll get you from point A to point B."  No guarantee how.  They probably won't even guarantee point B in some circumstances. 

[milling73]

Answers are correct. Water levels are a risk when booking a river cruise with Viking or probably any company. Water too high, boat cannot go under low bridges; too low they risk grounding. 
viking at least for now has the 2 week before cancel. That is why I urge anyone with an upcoming cruise to read these boards to get an idea of current conditions and go from that. 
Trip insurance will not cover a boat cruise becoming a bus trip - because the itinerary is being met, and the cruise was not canceled. 
We had 2 women leave on the Grand European - all costs for their own transportation, hotels, etc at their expense.

That being said, I have heard from fellow passengers that Viking is offering credit vouchers towards future cruise only. Not a refund. The amount varies and depends upon number of land days etc.  

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, milling73 said:

That being said, I have heard from fellow passengers that Viking is offering credit vouchers towards future cruise only. Not a refund.

That is the big difference to for example a German river cruise line. Travel laws here entitle you to a refund as laid down in an advisory rule book, like a code. Like 5% for a missed excursion, etc., etc. as a river cruise is a package holiday. Low water levels are no excuse.

 

Basically, folks, if you do not agree with the Viking terms, go and shop (book) somewhere else. Plenty of choice out there and similar itineraries in Europe offered by others. They (Viking) put you on a boat in x and somehow you ended up in z where you where supposed to end up. They fulfilled their contract they say. It is for me the company I would never ever book with, plain and simple. Full stop.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[sharkster77]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

That is the big difference to for example a German river cruise line. Travel laws here entitle you to a refund as laid down in an advisory rule book, like a code. Like 5% for a missed excursion, etc., etc. as a river cruise is a package holiday. Low water levels are no excuse.

 

Basically, folks, if you do not agree with the Viking terms, go and shop (book) somewhere else. Plenty of choice out there and similar itineraries in Europe offered by others. They (Viking) put you on a boat in x and somehow you ended up in z where you where supposed to end up. They fulfilled their contract they say. It is for me the company I would never ever book with, plain and simple. Full stop.

 

notamermaid

 

 

To be fair, you singled out Viking in your response, but I don't believe that other cruise companies can control the weather either, and that their policies RE: refunds for leaving mid-cruise are much different than Viking's.

 

Also to be fair, the OP was referring to his/her Viking cruise.

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

To be fair, you singled out Viking in your response, but I don't believe that other cruise companies can control the weather either, and that their policies RE: refunds for leaving mid-cruise are much different than Viking's.

 

Yes, mid-cruise is another matter and if one leaves as a passenger, the company cannot fulfill the contract. That is different from completing the cruise. I was referring to the state of affairs after finishing the river cruise. I am referring to two ideas: 1. What is a river cruise as stipulated by travel laws? 2. Has the company fulfilled the contract to the satisfaction of the company?

 

As far as I can see it, Viking differs far from what consumer rights laws say in Germany. I looked at Viking specifically as the river cruise in question here is Viking. Therefore I need not comment on other lines.

 

No line controls the weather, but the crucial point is that T&C may say that a company is not responsible for weather conditions, but the law can/could disregard that fact and just say "the company did not fulfill the contract therefore the consumer is entitled to a refund".

 

2 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

Also to be fair, the OP was referring to his/her Viking cruise.

I did not mean to be unfair towards the OP or any other Viking river cruiser. I jumped to the general as I am as a consumer and tourism employee for the sake of passengers not entirely happy with the T&C's and marketing of Viking. It takes plus points off a very good product that Viking river cruises are.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Canal archive]

The conundrum is that the ‘product’ is sold in one country and ‘consumed’ in more than one other. Oh I bet the lawyers love that! No wonder the Ts & Cs have been completely overhauled since the Evergreen/Scenic debacle.

[notamermaid]

On 8/13/2022 at 9:13 PM, CRUISINGFORFUN! said:

Thank you for any info.....we leave tomorrow!

I hope you have arrived in good spirits at your destination. If you feel like it, inform us what you have decided to do in the end.

 

notamermaid

 

[milling73]

Currently on Paris to the Alps - Viking. We left Paris by bus Monday to Trier. Arriving boat around 6 pm. 
Tues and Wed (today) boat sailed on Moselle. 
Tonight we are informed that we will leave our boat tomorrow morning, by bus to Koblenz then on for a “scenic panoramic BUS DRIVE  to meet our new boat in Strasbourg. We were not scheduled to be in Strasbourg until Sun. we remain and be on boat as hotel. All excursions by bus. 
our 12 day Paris to the Apls trip is 4 nights hotel, 8 nights boat, 10 days of bus and 2 days sailing. 
Again anyone taking Rhine / Danube trips in next few weeks …be aware of river levels and postpone your trip. 
There is not one passenger on this trip that is not furious. 185 people spent minimum of $8000 for a bus trip with bonus 2 days sailing. 
 

VIKING WHEN DID YOU STOP CARING ABOUT WHETHER YOUR PASSENGERS ENJOYED THEIR CRUISE? Why wasnt this trip cancelled?

[Canal archive]

Horribly for you, these scenarios will be covered in the Ts&Cs. Is there a legal guru amongst you who can delve into the small print and find a chink in their armour. I suspect the only other aspect is for all to work together and that will be difficult to say the least.

Good luck and please try to enjoy your boat/coach cruise/tour.

[notamermaid]

5 hours ago, milling73 said:

Why wasnt this trip cancelled?

Because Viking appears to have the policy of not cancelling anything. To them it is: you start on a boat, you sail a mile, you finish on a boat. Trip completed. Anything in between is possible and if you are lucky they will give you a bit of money to appease you. You know, throw in a voucher and assume the customer will return and give Viking several thousand dollars again to give them a second chance and treat you the same if the same low water happens. Viking is a great product as long as all the rivers behave - and in my humble opinion when you are not on the Grand European - , when things go wrong the quality of the product goes downhill. It can do the same with other companies but it appears that many have better T&C for vouchers and may or do offer refunds.

 

My advice: get together as a pack, the whole very lot of you passengers and form a disgruntled group now, either you get just facebook/Media coverage or a lawyer will find you interesting. Which could be a favourable thing.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by notamermaid

[Selion]

I have Rhine cruise in November booked on Viking.  Reading this thread and the water level one lately has made me thinking about cancelling the booking under Viking's Risk-Free Guarantee and get a voucher for future cruise.  Also made me want to stick with ocean cruising going forward.

 

Am I panicking for no reason since it's still 3 months out?  Thought fall usually has the lowest water levels to begin with.

[gentlemancruiser]

On 8/14/2022 at 2:15 PM, sharkster77 said:

To be fair, you singled out Viking in your response, but I don't believe that other cruise companies can control the weather either, and that their policies RE: refunds for leaving mid-cruise are much different than Viking's.

 

Also to be fair, the OP was referring to his/her Viking cruise.

While no line can control weather or locks,  there are other lines which offer more generous refunds in such situations.    Some of the A lines for example.    

[gentlemancruiser]

10 hours ago, notamermaid said:

 

 

My advice: get together as a pack, the whole very lot of you passengers and form a disgruntled group now, either you get just facebook/Media coverage or a lawyer will find you interesting. Which could be a favourable thing.

 

notamermaid

 

My cousin was on the Elbe with V about 8 years ago and they had real problems with low/no water.  They along with fellow passengers were forced to sign NDA's to get any for of compensation.    

[CPT Trips]

V for Vantage or V for Viking. NDAs seem standard for Vantage . . . they wanted us to sign one for a stinkin’ $500. It wasn’t even real money; it was just a voucher.

 

Also Elbe low water related with a different Boston based small line. About ten days/2 weeks the cruise was changed to a bus trip with several nights on the ship and the remaining nights in a hotel.

We did everything on the original itinerary plus the optionals were included at no cost. At this point I don’t recall the amounts . . . cash refund based on the fare paid and a FCC. Those who decided to cancel were offered full refund plus a generous FCC. No NDA required.

About half decided to take the trip and we all had a great time. 

 

[gentlemancruiser]

Viking.  Both ships they used were stationary and they were bussed daily to different sights.  Ships were pretty much just a hotel base.  Notification of the changes were provided 22 hours prior to departure.  At 24 hours prior to departure they'd have been able to use their cancellation policy at that times and get a refund.   10 days of bus trips.

[Canal archive]

Check the NDAs to see if they are viable in or out of the country your being asked to sign them in. Also look on the EUs website about them. Regardless of what their offering I would hesitate to put pen to a legal paper outside of my home country without solid legal advice.

Im not saying there are necessarily legal shenanigans here but what is considered acceptable in one country is often not in another.

Good Luck

Edited August 19, 2022 by Canal archive

[notamermaid]

Viking is actually based in Switzerland, but you book with a different entity of Viking that means you book with Viking A and sail with Viking B. Or something. NDA's make my blood boil, at least when it comes to the general public consumer on one side and a big company on the other. To be frank, I would not silence myself with a pen and the promise of 500 dollars.

From Wikipedia, in German but obvious: based in Switzerland. "Viking River Cruises AG ist ein weltweit agierender Anbieter von Flusskreuzfahrten. Der Hauptsitz des Unternehmens ist in Basel, Schweiz."

and from the T&C on https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/2-220413_BookingAndSaleTermsAndConditions.pdf

comes: 

"THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS GOVERN THE BOOKING AND SALE OF YOUR
CRUISE TOUR THROUGH VIKING RIVER CRUISES, INC."

Your carrier is different again and depends on where your ship is registered, i.e. Rhine, Douro, Nile, etc.

 

Complicated stuff and well worth reading before you book. It also says that if you have any disputes with the company you do legal action as an individual and with signing the terms and conditions you sign away the right to use class action.

 

I have not read the details but I get the feeling that if you leave the ship because you do not want to be on a coach or in a hotel, you are completely and utterly on your own, financially and legally...

 

14 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

cash refund based on the fare paid and a FCC. Those who decided to cancel were offered full refund plus a generous FCC. No NDA required.

That does sound much better.

 

notamermaid

 

[CPT Trips]

5 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Check the NDAs to see if they are viable in or out of the country your being asked to sign them in. Also look on the EUs website about them. Regardless of what their offering I would hesitate to put pen to a legal paper outside of my home country without solid legal advice.

Im not saying there are necessarily legal shenanigans here but what is considered acceptable in one country is often not in another.

Good Luck

It was sent to my home and had to be signed and returned to get the voucher posted to my account.