Seeking advice for first timers

[junglejane]

We are looking at booking our first Viking cruise. We are looking at doing the "Into the Midnight Sun" itinerary on the Viking Venus in 2024. Any tips for first timers? We are leaning toward a Penthouse Veranda. Any tips on cabin selection? We're used to bigger cruise ships (e.g., Princess Grand Class) and typically aren't bothered by motion. Does it make a difference on these ships? I have a friend who has done several Viking cruises and swears by getting a cabin forward of the front stairs to minimize motion, but that seems inconsistent with my experiences on the big ships where I think there's more motion forward.

 

Also do most of you take the Viking travel insurance or buy your own? We've always gone with the cruise insurance in the past.

 

Any pros or cons about doing Viking Air? We might also be interested in a pre-cruise extension for Bergen. I'd appreciate any tips before reaching out to my TA.

 

[Mich3554]

We usually book a PV, but are happy in a DV too.  We like the PV because DH has RLS and when it acts up, having a sofa to stretch out on is appreciated.  We usually book around 5089.  
 

As to whether or not you use Viking Air, it depends on how much control you need.  I have no problem booking our flights and doing our own extensions.  Some people are uncomfortable doing this.  When I book with Viking air, there is usually a big financial advantage and we pay for air + along with deviations.

[The Other Tom]

1 hour ago, junglejane said:

Any pros or cons about doing Viking Air?

Viking air is similar to other cruise air fares.  You get what you get, usually flying in the day of the cruise with sometimes short connections.  If you decide to go with Viking air, absolutely pay the extra fee and get air+.  This allows you more control over your connection times, etc.  You can even fly in a day or two early and extend your stay for a few days.  

Edited September 17, 2022 by The Other Tom

[mhb1757]

Can’t speak to the PV cabin location since we always book a DV. Couple of suggestions for the Midnight Sun itinerary…. It is a magnificent cruise. I would absolutely recommend spending some extra time in Norway. The train from Oslo to Bergen is a spectacular trip. Norway is super easy to navigate on your own. I’d highly recommend doing the Norway in a Nutshell route and spending a night in Flam in route to Bergen. Can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it is. 
 

Second, I would strongly advise NOT buying your trip insurance from Viking. You can get much better coverage at a significantly lower price if you buy it separately. There are several sites that will let you compare various policies and you can pick what best meets your needs. I use insure my trip dot com but there are others that do the same thing. 
 

Finally, as for Viking Air, sometimes we use them sometimes we don’t. Sometimes I can do better booking on my own, but often Viking offers significant air discounts that make it more cost effective. It is certainly more convenient to use Viking Air if you are flying in just for the cruise (or extension) and not traveling independently before or after the cruise because then transfers to ship are included. You can always book Viking Air when you book the cruise and then drop it later for a refund up until the flights are ticketed, so you really have nothing to lose by booking it initially. 

[junglejane]

Thanks for all the tips so far. Right now they are offering Viking Air for $1299 pp. We would absolutely want to upgrade to business class if available. If we add Viking Air for now, do we have to pay for it in addition to our deposits? Or do we pay later? We recently had a good experience with Princess EZ Air and a bad experience with NCL air. Princess was great because you didn't pay until final payment was due, but prior to that you could select and "hold" a reservation.

 

Thanks for the tip about Norway in a Nutshell. I've googled that and will study it.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, mhb1757 said:

You can always book Viking Air when you book the cruise and then drop it later for a refund up until the flights are ticketed, so you really have nothing to lose by booking it initially. 

 

This is especially if Viking is offering a good deal on air fare. You have to include the air fare deal in your original booking because it will not be available to you should you try to add Air later; you will pay the brochure price if you try to add air after you make the booking. Easier to put it on the original booking and take it off later if you find cheaper price on your own.

 

Definitely pay the fees for Viking Air Plus and have a say in what your flights are. Also note the price paid for Air is for a limited number of offerings that are available through Viking's contract with the various airlines. If you want something outside of what Viking is offering it may cost you more; it will be up to you to decide if the up-charge is worth it or not.

 

BTW, not everyone is happy with buying their flights through Viking and they have their reasons. But what is right for some is not right for everyone. Listen to what everyone says, pro and con, and then choose what is right for you.

 

Midnight Sun is a great itinerary. Hope you have a wonderful first cruise with Viking.

[longterm]

One important thing that you probably already know is this: if you should decide to change your cruise for whatever reason--which Viking will allow you do, giving you a credit towards another cruise--any trip insurance is not transferrable, so you lose the money you spent on trip insurance.

 

We've bought trip insurance for some cruises but not all; I would tell you we have a formula for deciding which we've insured, but we really don't. For example, we didn't get insurance for our next cruise to the Panama Canal in March, but we did get insurance for the river cruise next fall.

 

We've used Air+ when we've flown in early for 2 different cruises and it was fine for us. 

We've berthed in the front of the ship on the 8th deck (a junior penthouse) and didn't notice any issues at all with rough seas. We've also had rooms in the center of the ship, and honestly I haven't noticed any difference at all. On our next cruises we'll be midships, lower deck, so I'm curious to see if I notice any difference at all. Of course, it also depends on the seas at the time, but when we rounded the tip of Italy, where seas were extremely rough, we had no problems at all.

[Clay Clayton]

Be sure to check out this thread-more geared for suggestions and advice after you’re booked but will help you get the most from your viking cruise.  Welcome Aboard!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

[junglejane]

Thanks for all this great feedback. I'll definitely study that "tips for new cruisers" thread. Can someone explain what the policy is for when final payment is due? I've seen some reports of 12 months in advance or more. 

[LindaS272]

Not true about not being able to transfer insurance to another cruise after taking a voucher for a cancelled cruise. We have done it—but not with Viking insurance.

[OneSixtyToOne]

25 minutes ago, junglejane said:

Thanks for all this great feedback. I'll definitely study that "tips for new cruisers" thread. Can someone explain what the policy is for when final payment is due? I've seen some reports of 12 months in advance or more. 

Due date will vary based on factors such as the promotion code used to book your trip and departure date. It’s in the fine print. For example 

Edited September 17, 2022 by OneSixtyToOne

[longterm]

18 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Not true about not being able to transfer insurance to another cruise after taking a voucher for a cancelled cruise. We have done it—but not with Viking insurance.

I stand corrected! Another reason to look for insurance other than TripMate from Viking.

[longterm]

I was told by a TA that if you book travel insurance with Viking within a certain time period after booking the cruise, pre-existing conditions are covered, but not covered if you add the insurance after a short period. For example, if you book travel insurance (thru Viking) within 2 weeks of booking the cruise, pre-existing conditions are covered--but after 2 weeks, they're not. 

I could be wrong about the time period, but I think that's what I was told; I wondered at the time if it was just a way to encourage me to get travel insurance immediately, rather than waiting later.

From everything I'm reading, I think my next travel insurance will definitely NOT be through Viking.

[junglejane]

Thanks @OneSixtyToOne for directing me to the "fine print" on the terms and conditions. I see now that the current offer on our 2024 cruise does say final payment by 3/31/2023 (sigh, this is also when the caterer wants a 50% deposit for our daughter's wedding reception, lol).

 

I also see that the T&C's say that a business class air upgrade is $3499 pp apparently on top of the $1299, so $4800 pp?

 

@longterm I found this review of Viking travel insurance. Bottom line is that it's pretty good but expensive compared to what you could get elsewhere. https://www.aardy.com/blog/viking-cruises-travel-insurance/

[janetcbl]

41 minutes ago, longterm said:

I was told by a TA that if you book travel insurance with Viking within a certain time period after booking the cruise, pre-existing conditions are covered, but not covered if you add the insurance after a short period. For example, if you book travel insurance (thru Viking) within 2 weeks of booking the cruise, pre-existing conditions are covered--but after 2 weeks, they're not. 

I could be wrong about the time period, but I think that's what I was told; I wondered at the time if it was just a way to encourage me to get travel insurance immediately, rather than waiting later.

From everything I'm reading, I think my next travel insurance will definitely NOT be through Viking.

I think it is 15 days from making the deposit. I always do our own air; we like control and I worked in the travel industry so pretty much know what to do expect however  these past couple of years…no one knew why was happening. As you age, insurance prices increase rapidly. I compared insurance prices for our last Viking trip and were we to buy other insurance, it would have cost about three times as much as Vikings’.

[LindaS272]

3 hours ago, longterm said:

For example, if you book travel insurance (thru Viking) within 2 weeks of booking the cruise, pre-existing conditions are covered--but after 2 weeks, they're not. 

Common practice for Cancel For Any Reason coverage—sometimes you get 21 days before having to buy. It’s pretty much all we’ve bought for trip insurance the last 10 years.

[dd57]

I have changed cruises several time and the Viking insurance transferred over to the new cruise.  The total amount that we paid to Viking transferred to the new cruise, whether or not the insurance was the same price.  Now, the last two times was under COVID times, so maybe this is new, and maybe temporary.  It is worth asking about and getting in writing.

[junglejane]

You all have been super helpful and I'm reaching out to my TA on Monday. One more question: if we do the air promo add on, how exactly does that work? Do we have to commit now, do we pay now, and do we have to decide now on deviations, upgrades, etc? Or can that all wait until later?

 

We never did cruise air until recently and we had very different experiences on Princess vs. NCL so it seems like every program is a little different. Our preference is probably to do our own air but we'd rather not have to commit just yet.

[mhb1757]

You do not have to pay now. You can add the air plus now or later and you can add a deviation later as well. Personally I don’t think $1299 is a great bargain for air but you can always drop it later if you decide you can do better on your own. 

[Peregrina651]

13 hours ago, junglejane said:

I also see that the T&C's say that a business class air upgrade is $3499 pp apparently on top of the $1299, so $4800 pp?

 

The upgrade starts at $3499 and that is in addition to the base fare. Depends on your home airport and where you are headed.

 

However, you can add business class at any time. So book the cruise with econ air and make the final payment as as scheduled. Then around 280 days before sailing, pay the fee custom air, so that you can talk with Viking and have a say in what flights you get. At that point, you can ask about business and decide if you will book through Viking or on your own. Viking will refund the airfare as long the flights have not been ticketed. Sometimes Viking has the better price for business class and sometimes it doesn't but you don't know until you start shopping -- which you can't do until the airlines have opened your dates for booking (somewhere in the 280-300 day mark).

Edited September 18, 2022 by Peregrina651

[junglejane]

OK let me see if I have this right about the cruise air. For now we pay the required deposit on the cruise portion and say we want the air promo. Then on 3/31/23 we make final payment, including $1299 pp for econ air and later (around 8/25/23) we follow the procedure described by @Peregrina651 above to look at upgrades and decide whether we want to keep Viking air or book our own air and eventually get our $1299 pp back?

 

Having to make final payment on a cruise 15 months out is a big change from what we're used to but I can accept that Viking does it because they can. I'm less excited about the cruise air situation because as @mhb1757 said, $1299 for econ air doesn't seem like a great bargain. Seems like I have to lend Viking $2600 for the right to later pay the plus fee to look at their upgrade prices and options. 

 

What if, when final payment is due, we pass on the cruise air? Later, can we call or look somewhere online to check the current price on cruise air for our itinerary? I understand it wouldn't be at the promo price but the promo price doesn't seem that great anyway. OTOH Phoenix to Bergen seems a little hard to get to.

 

Thank you everyone for your patience with all these newbie questions. I do have a good TA but her specialty is Princess cruises and I've found that these boards are a great source of knowledge.

[Peregrina651]

15 minutes ago, junglejane said:

Later, can we call or look somewhere online to check the current price on cruise air for our itinerary?

 

You would not get the current air promo; you would pay the brochure rate, which is currently $1699pp -- and could go up as air fare goes up, as it is expected to do. So, you are locking in a guaranteed minimum cost for the air.

 

Also note that if you buy your own airfare, you can purchase Viking transfers but only if you are landing at the airport on Day 1 of your package (that includes any Viking extensions) and departing to the airport Day Last of your package.

 

24 minutes ago, junglejane said:

Seems like I have to lend Viking $2600 for the right to later pay the plus fee to look at their upgrade prices and options. 

 

Sorry. I wasn't thinking when I wrote last night. You can ask the business air price when you book. It shouldn't change if you decide to go with Viking for your airfare.

 

Bank interest rates are so low these days that it is not worth worrying about. The lost interest on $2600 for 6 months is far less than the $400 difference between booking air now and waiting until later should the Viking price turn out to be the better price when you start looking at prices in 2023.

 

39 minutes ago, junglejane said:

Having to make final payment on a cruise 15 months out

 

While the policy says 3/31/23, have your TA ask for a something closer to 12 months (which is the best you can hope for). It can't hurt to negotiate; the worst they can say is no.

 

52 minutes ago, junglejane said:

her specialty is Princess cruises

 

Whatever you learn helps her to become a Viking specialist as well.

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, junglejane said:

OTOH Phoenix to Bergen seems a little hard to get to.

IMO this is the main reason to book with Viking Air for this particular cruise. Bergen isn’t this exactly a hub for major airlines. We also prefer the convince. Once we deplane and meet the Viking rep, we can forget about the hassle of luggage. It magically appears in our stateroom or hotel room.

[junglejane]

I'm checking back in to report that we decided to book the 10/24/23 Panama Canal & Pacific Coast (full transit) on Viking Star. We love the Midnight Sun itinerary and want to do it eventually, but right now the available 2024 dates aren't good for us. DH has always wanted to do a full transit Panama Canal cruise. We had one booked for 2/21 on Princess that got cancelled due to Covid. Thanks everybody for all the help! I'll be celebrating a milestone birthday on the Panama Canal cruise so that should be fun.

[medskis]

On 9/16/2022 at 8:44 PM, junglejane said:

Thanks for all the tips so far. Right now they are offering Viking Air for $1299 pp. We would absolutely want to upgrade to business class if available. If we add Viking Air for now, do we have to pay for it in addition to our deposits? Or do we pay later? We recently had a good experience with Princess EZ Air and a bad experience with NCL air. Princess was great because you didn't pay until final payment was due, but prior to that you could select and "hold" a reservation.

 

Thanks for the tip about Norway in a Nutshell. I've googled that and will study it.

We just did Norway in a Nutshell while on a HAL August cruise.  We were docked in Flam but I think I read it is offered from other ports.  It worked terrifically BUT you are not led around and have to get yourself from one segment to another (in our case, ship to fjord boat cruise close by; fjord boat to bus; bus to train, train to train).  They send you maps showing exactly what to do and each connection is close to the other.  You get tickets for particular times. The bus driver did make nice comments along his scenic route.  Flam fjord boat was gorgeous  new electric catamaran.  Anyway in summary, they send you timed tickets for each segment and instructions to make your connections.  Well planned out.  Fair prices.