Viking Final Payment a month after booking?

[KaDarr]

First time for both of us to the other side of the pond. We have done many cruises here in North America to Alaska and the Caribbean with various other cruise lines. So, first time with Viking. We put down our $50 deposit and are very excited to be doing the British Isles Explorer cruise in September of 2023. Something that took me by surprise though was the final payment of over $20K is due at the end of next month; a year before even sailing. All of the other cruise lines that we have sailed had different structures of payment, right up until the month before sailing but none of them right after deposit. Why is this? It makes me nervous because if something happens in the next year, we can only get a voucher with the insurance, not cash back.

[BigBee51]

I believe if you look at your Viking contract, down near the bottom you should see a chart with the refund timeline. Full refund greater than 120 days and a reduced amount as the cruise time gets closer.

[BigBee51]

The refund schedule is actually on page 2 of your guest statement. You will only be on the hook for $100 pp if you cancel more than 120 days out

[KaDarr]

I guess my real question is: Why does Viking have this payment policy? Have they always had this policy? But nevermind. I'm sure everyone that sails Viking has to make full payment when booking. It's just different from my past experience, that's all. 

[TayanaLorna]

13 minutes ago, BigBee51 said:

The refund schedule is actually on page 2 of your guest statement. You will only be on the hook for $100 pp if you cancel more than 120 days out

It sounds like you booked at the $25 pp promotion so if you cancel prior to the 120 days out you only lose $50.  Also do not buy trip insurance until prior to that 120 day cancellation period as there is nothing to insure at that point.  Trip insurance is never refundable nor is it transferable to another cruise.

 

Why does Viking require full payment a year in advance?  Because they can.  Many of the itineraries sell out quickly and Viking loyalists book years in advance.

[nini]

11 minutes ago, KaDarr said:

I guess my real question is: Why does Viking have this payment policy? Have they always had this policy? But nevermind. I'm sure everyone that sails Viking has to make full payment when booking. It's just different from my past experience, that's all. 

 

I can really relate to what you are saying. We also recently took advantage of the low deposit. We are not new to cruising, and thought maybe we would try Viking Ocean. The itinerary we booked is actually costing twice as much as one we would choose on Princess.

Yes, I know there are many differences; maybe like apple and oranges. It just seems like a long time to have the full payment when we could be earning interest on it and not the cruise line.

[lackcreativity]

39 minutes ago, KaDarr said:

 I'm sure everyone that sails Viking has to make full payment when booking. It's just different from my past experience, that's all. 

This will not help you with your current booking, but once you have a cruise booked, (or if you book another one while on the ship) you can request a final payment date six months prior to sailing for another cruise for the future. Be sure to ask, as the agents do not always offer that, and once booked they will not make changes. 

I would guess that most repeat Viking customers use one or the other method to control future final payment dates. Since our first sailing, we  always  have one on deposit for the future, and sometimes two, but only have to pay final balance six months out.

Edited August 22, 2022 by lackcreativity

[travelbug11]

56 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

It sounds like you booked at the $25 pp promotion so if you cancel prior to the 120 days out you only lose $50.  Also do not buy trip insurance until prior to that 120 day cancellation period as there is nothing to insure at that point.  Trip insurance is never refundable nor is it transferable to another cruise.

 

Why does Viking require full payment a year in advance?  Because they can.  Many of the itineraries sell out quickly and Viking loyalists book years in advance.

If you have a pre-existing condition you have to pay for Insurance within 10-15 days to be covered for that.  Check with them and other companies.

[CurlerRob]

46 minutes ago, nini said:

It just seems like a long time to have the full payment when we could be earning interest on it and not the cruise line.

It is a long time by industry standards, and it's exactly why Viking wants the interest on the money as opposed to letting us keep it. 

 

A quick search on these boards will find hundreds of posts unhappy with their policy, over multiple years - but not so unhappy that Viking's bookings have suffered! That's just business. Unless they experience a competitive disadvantage from the policy, I would not expect it to change, as it represents a sizable source of income.

 

@lackcreativity's advice is what we also do - once you have a booking in place, think about always placing another one further out. Even if you lose the deposit, it's usually small enough that it more than offsets the loss of interest on your full fare for 6  or more months - we view it as a sort of 'insurance' policy to let us keep our money longer. 🍺🥌

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

Also do not buy trip insurance until prior to that 120 day cancellation period as there is nothing to insure at that point.  Trip insurance is never refundable nor is it transferable to another cruise.

If buying “cancel for any reason” coverage from insurance other than Viking’s, you usually have to buy it within two-three weeks of your initial deposit. And it sometimes will be transferable to another cruise should you cancel the first one before 120 days, not invoking your insurance. We’ve been able to transfer coverage even when rolling over a cruise booked with a risk-free guarantee voucher.

[TayanaLorna]

38 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

If buying “cancel for any reason” coverage from insurance other than Viking’s, you usually have to buy it within two-three weeks of your initial deposit. And it sometimes will be transferable to another cruise should you cancel the first one before 120 days, not invoking your insurance. We’ve been able to transfer coverage even when rolling over a cruise booked with a risk-free guarantee voucher.

Well I stand corrected on pre existing conditions and the ability to transfer an insurance policy to another cruise.  Once again living in PR is a disadvantage because many insurance companies cannot insure us here or their premium far exceeds Vikings cost so we go with TripMate.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

Viking will continue to have this policy as long as Americans keep booking and paying for the full cruise over a year in advance. I believe you will find that Viking doesn’t have this policy in place for other countries. They are using Americans to finance new ships interest free. 🤔🤔

[nini]

24 minutes ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

Viking will continue to have this policy as long as Americans keep booking and paying for the full cruise over a year in advance. I believe you will find that Viking doesn’t have this policy in place for other countries. They are using Americans to finance new ships interest free. 🤔🤔

They will do whatever the market will bear. Americans are the supply chain, apparently and put up with it.

[KathyA]

4 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

This will not help you with your current booking, but once you have a cruise booked, (or if you book another one while on the ship) you can request a final payment date six months prior to sailing for another cruise for the future. Be sure to ask, as the agents do not always offer that, and once booked they will not make changes. 

I would guess that most repeat Viking customers use one or the other method to control future final payment dates. Since our first sailing, we  always  have one on deposit for the future, and sometimes two, but only have to pay final balance six months out.

Actually, it will help if you book a second cruise now.  I have done it myself.  First, book the second cruise.  Then ask to have the final payment be six months in advance AND ask to have your existing cruise changed to 6 months before.  When I threatened not to book the future cruise, they changed both of my cruises to 6 months before sailing.  (Full disclosure:  I am a previous Viking customer.)

[barcrab]

I booked a Viking South America cruise in July and final payment due September 30. It is our first sailing.

[FetaCheese]

15 minutes ago, barcrab said:

I booked a Viking South America cruise in July and final payment due September 30. It is our first sailing

When is the cruise?  Did you book in July 2022, and what year is September ?

Edited August 23, 2022 by FetaCheese

[barcrab]

Booked July 2022 and final payment is September 2022 for cruise January 2023. I used the 25$ deposit.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

They are using Americans to finance new ships interest free. 🤔🤔

 

I suspect this was tongue in cheek, but to clarify, this isn't how the industry works. You can't use short term operational funds on deposit, for a capital project. Once they start building a ship, Viking must have stable capital funding available to pay the progress payments to the shipyard.

 

They are making the operational funds work for them, but it isn't subsidising the new tonnage.

 

The work around for early payment, of a first cruise, is to hold off booking, provided cabins are available, or wait until PIF date. Around PIF date, many cabins tend to open up on many cruises. Classic example is the 22/23 WC, which was sold out for about 18 months, but since PIF, has at least 30 cabins available.

[Peregrina651]

6 hours ago, KaDarr said:

I guess my real question is: Why does Viking have this payment policy? Have they always had this policy? But nevermind. I'm sure everyone that sails Viking has to make full payment when booking. It's just different from my past experience, that's all. 

 

Hope this helps.

 

It has been their policy since their days as a just a river cruise company. The company announced its schedule for the following year during the summer and booking began. Payment in full was due at the end of the month in which you booked not matter when it was due to sail.

 

Things changed when they announced the new Ocean division. The schedule was now being announced two years out and final payment was being requested 18-24 month in advance, closer to booking than to sailing.

 

We booked our first Ocean cruise in 2014, two years before our sale date, on a cruise line that had yet to sail its first season and on a ship that not yet under constructions. Our final payment was due 18 months before we sailed -- and I was happy because I had expected to have to pay by the end of the month in which we booked.  These days, unless you already have an upcoming cruise with them, guests can expect final payment anywhere from 12-18 out.

 

When it comes to corporate policy, Viking marches to the beat of their own drummer. Still, they have no trouble filling their ships well in advance of the 12 month mark.

 

[THR]

Strangely I only have to pay ~ 6 months out (first time cruiser). Not sure if matters who you book through - as I'm Viking Australia.

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, THR said:

Strangely I only have to pay ~ 6 months out (first time cruiser). Not sure if matters who you book through - as I'm Viking Australia.

 

Affirmative, Viking Australia and Viking UK have different terms & conditions.

[Jim Avery]

As Andy states, the reason they do this is because they can.  We have found only two ways to avoid paying so far in advance.  1.  Don't sail with Viking.  2.  Book closer to sail date and just pay in full at time of booking.  Yes you might miss your preferred cabin but just about every ship sails every voyage with a few unsold cabins. We have been stand by for three "sold out' voyages and have gotten what we wanted all three times.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Jim Avery

[DrKoob]

Love all the great responses on this thread. A couple things to throw in. 

 

As per insurance. If you are worried about the existing conditions restrictions, you can always insure a minimum amount (some insurers will let let you insure $2,000) which qualifies you for the existing conditions. Then when you make final payment, you increase it to cover your entire cost. 

 

And while I might be willing to book a cruise at the last minute, I see airfare as the biggest problem with doing this. For instance, we are flying to do a Viking Sky a week from today. If we had waited we might have grabbed a stateroom late (cruise has been sold out for months) but the differnce in air (we are flying business) would have been more than $3,000 each, if we could have found a seat. Of course if you are doing a cruise you can drive to, that makes all the difference. But we want to cruise in someplace other than Alaska and living here in Seattle, we have to fly to everything else. How do those of you who book at the last minute handle airfare? 

 

And Andy is on the money with Viking requires early full payment...because they can. Most loyal clientelle I have ever seen.

[nini]

This is very true about the air fare. It is best to book ASAP through the cruise line (we have discovered this).

[Jim Avery]

By last minute booking I mean around two months out.  That's usually a pretty good time to book air.  For a WC we have booked as late as 4 months out.  Air included with them so no issues.