Trying to help my Parents with a Viking nightmare

[rbslos18]

On 12/28/2022 at 3:37 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

Not really. The guy, who is really upset, feeling helpless and therefore angry and striking out, comes to get some information and some help in sorting through the mess,  and mostly what he gets is people telling him, over and over again, he is wrong to feel angry and that it is his parents fault that they are in this position. Yes, there are lessons to be learned for the future but no one wants to continue to read over and over again the same "its their fault" message as every newcomer arrives to the fray and has to get their licks in.

 

He took the best of our advice and then left. It is a pattern that repeats itself. No one sticks around after the first punch. Do you blame them?

Thank you for your compassionate response. If it were my parents, I too would have been in a state of panic.
I hope in 2023 we will all be a tad more compassionate and a lot less judgmental. I include myself. Happy New Year and may we all have opportunities to cruise in 2023.

Edited December 30, 2022 by rbslos18

[Azulann]

25 minutes ago, shadowlover said:

Well said.  I walked away and let my husband deal with them and never said anything because I feel the same way- probably had enough of us complaining or asking a zillion questions by the end of a cruise!  The problem was not resolved but looking back I am not sure there was a better solution.  Getting off a cruise ship in the am in Puerto Rico with several pieces of luggage is a little tricky.  There is no easy place to store, not enough time for a rental car, not enough time to try and store at the airport and then tool around town but way too much time to spend in a boring airport with no lounges.  But we survived it haha.  Viking dumped bus loads of us off with no one even working at the united desk to allow us to check in.  there was no where to sit and it was raining outside.  I felt badly for the elderly among us.  The only united flights seemed to be early afternoon and they had us there shortly after 830 am.  Ticket counter opened at 11.  flight at 2:40 but it was then an hour delayed.  Oh the joys of travel.

Sorry to hear of your experience  the day of departing the cruise  and your airport  experience.I doI hoped you enjoyed the cruise itself. 

It is the very reason I made a vow to myself years ago after  second cruise ,on another line , never leave a cruise and go directly to airport.  I want to was on back into  normal life as slowly as I can.

 My next  Viking Cruise I will be doing their post extension and so looking forward to it. But we booked our own air both ways. 

I now always stay for a least one day or even two before flying home. 

 I did deviate from this  on my first COVID cruise on Viking  Bermuda Cruise in July of 2021, but that was special circumstances because of COVID testing done by Viking and Bermuda. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Azulann

[Moonlion]

8 hours ago, Newleno said:

Hopefully you will get the resolution and then you can give us your update.  Thank you for the information because I falsely assumed that if you booked the flights with Viking Package then problems like this would be covered by Viking, I falsely assumed that they would either get you to the ship or make you whole.  I was indeed ignorant about what the Viking Flight package entailed.  Good Luck to you.

I too incorrectly assumed that if you booked flights through Viking, they would arrange to get you to the ship or provide some compensation - a voucher at least, if flights were cancelled or delayed.  On our pre-pandemic Viking river cruise, our flight booked through Viking was seriously delayed and Viking did get to us to the ship and took responsibility to retrieve my lost luggage. If this is no longer the case, then why in the world book flights through Viking unless there are substantial savings?  I hope that Viking in the end does right by these people. 

[lackcreativity]

3 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

I too incorrectly assumed that if you booked flights through Viking, they would arrange to get you to the ship or provide some compensation - a voucher at least, if flights were cancelled or delayed.  On our pre-pandemic Viking river cruise, our flight booked through Viking was seriously delayed and Viking did get to us to the ship and took responsibility to retrieve my lost luggage. If this is no longer the case, then why in the world book flights through Viking unless there are substantial savings?  I hope that Viking in the end does right by these people. 

Just speaking based on my assumptions, not on my experience. I can image that for an individual guest who had a missed flight booked through Viking Air, then Viking may be able to assist in rebooking a flight. During the circumstance under discussion, with thousands of cancelled flights over many days, I can't think of how Viking could have solved that problem. 

 

As far as Viking having to "make this right", that is purely the function of travel insurance. Viking did not cancel the cruise, which would certainly entail some obligation for a refund or voucher. Even if travel insurance is purchased through Viking, it is insurance through a third party, and that is the path to financial restitution. 

 

If the parents of the original poster did indeed have travel insurance, I can't imagine a situation where they will not be reimbursed. It may take a while, and it may require some effort, but (again, my assumption here) I would expect almost any travel insurance would cover this event. Best of luck to them.

 

 

[Moonlion]

6 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

Just speaking based on my assumptions, not on my experience. I can image that for an individual guest who had a missed flight booked through Viking Air, then Viking may be able to assist in rebooking a flight. During the circumstance under discussion, with thousands of cancelled flights over many days, I can't think of how Viking could have solved that problem. 

 

As far as Viking having to "make this right", that is purely the function of travel insurance. Viking did not cancel the cruise, which would certainly entail some obligation for a refund or voucher. Even if travel insurance is purchased through Viking, it is insurance through a third party, and that is the path to financial restitution. 

 

If the parents of the original poster did indeed have travel insurance, I can't imagine a situation where they will not be reimbursed. It may take a while, and it may require some effort, but (again, my assumption here) I would expect almost any travel insurance would cover this event. Best of luck to them.

 

 

Again, I don't question your logic or that this is all spelled out in the fine print of Viking's air contract.  My question, based on this case, is why anyone would book their flights through Viking unless there are substantial financial savings?  Unless you pay extra for Viking Air Plus and air deviations, you don't get to pick your flights, decide when to arrive, select seats far in advance, get upgrades, etc. This case, if true, will definitely pop the air out of the "benefits balloon" of using Viking Air. Just saying...

[Haqdeluxe]

2 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

Again, I don't question your logic or that this is all spelled out in the fine print of Viking's air contract.  My question, based on this case, is why anyone would book their flights through Viking unless there are substantial financial savings?  Unless you pay extra for Viking Air Plus and air deviations, you don't get to pick your flights, decide when to arrive, select seats far in advance, get upgrades, etc. This case, if true, will definitely pop the air out of the "benefits balloon" of using Viking Air. Just saying...

All transfers and associated support is included with Viking Air flights. Otherwise you must either pay for Viking transfers separately or arrange your own transfers. Not an endorsement but a simple fact as to what is included.

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, shadowlover said:

Oh the joys of travel.

LOL...yeah, I hear you. I'm not a great fan of real early morning flights, but just about any flight times or schedules these days can go astray. Been reading about this fiasco with Southwest airlines. Terrible stories of people waiting for days, lost luggage, etc. Travel within the US is looking better and better. 

[Haqdeluxe]

13 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

LOL...yeah, I hear you. I'm not a great fan of real early morning flights, but just about any flight times or schedules these days can go astray. Been reading about this fiasco with Southwest airlines. Terrible stories of people waiting for days, lost luggage, etc. Travel within the US is looking better and better. 

I believe all flights involved in the Southwest Airlines fiasco were domestic. 😀

[Babr]

44 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

Just speaking based on my assumptions, not on my experience. I can image that for an individual guest who had a missed flight booked through Viking Air, then Viking may be able to assist in rebooking a flight. During the circumstance under discussion, with thousands of cancelled flights over many days, I can't think of how Viking could have solved that problem. 

 

As far as Viking having to "make this right", that is purely the function of travel insurance. Viking did not cancel the cruise, which would certainly entail some obligation for a refund or voucher. Even if travel insurance is purchased through Viking, it is insurance through a third party, and that is the path to financial restitution. 

 

If the parents of the original poster did indeed have travel insurance, I can't imagine a situation where they will not be reimbursed. It may take a while, and it may require some effort, but (again, my assumption here) I would expect almost any travel insurance would cover this event. Best of luck to them.

 

 

Actually, there is a scenario where the claim could be denied. It depends on the documented reason for cancellation. Indeed some of the early cancellations were the direct result of weather. In that case, there is likely a claim.

 

However, if the cancellation was caused by equipment or staffing problems, it is not covered. Policies cover Common Carrier delay for hazards such as strike, mechanical failure, and weather. If any covered hazards result in cessation of operations for X number of hours or airport closure, then other provisions of the policy are triggered if the policyholder misses X percentage of his trip.

 

It is not certain if or how the OP’s parents will be reimbursed because too many details are missing.

[lackcreativity]

30 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

Again, I don't question your logic or that this is all spelled out in the fine print of Viking's air contract.  My question, based on this case, is why anyone would book their flights through Viking unless there are substantial financial savings?  Unless you pay extra for Viking Air Plus and air deviations, you don't get to pick your flights, decide when to arrive, select seats far in advance, get upgrades, etc. This case, if true, will definitely pop the air out of the "benefits balloon" of using Viking Air. Just saying...

I can't speak for others, but we use Viking Air for convenience. That way the transfers to and from the ship are included and baggage is transferred for us. We use Viking Air Plus to be able to have input with our selected flights. Most of the time the price we pay Viking ends up being very close to the price shown online if we booked directly. If we experienced a flight delay or a missed flight under normal circumstances, I would expect Viking Air to assist in finding an alternate flight, perhaps to the next port of the itinerary if that was the best that could be done.

 

The events of this holiday week were extreme circumstances. There were no flight options available for days for much of the country. Thousands (maybe tens of thousands?) of people were stranded.  Even if the poster's parents had booked to arrive a few days before their cruise, they still may not have made it. That's where the travel insurance comes in. That won't help with the disappointment, but it should prevent the financial loss.

 

[lackcreativity]

14 minutes ago, Babr said:

Actually, there is a scenario where the claim could be denied. It depends on the documented reason for cancellation. Indeed some of the early cancellations were the direct result of weather. In that case, there is likely a claim.

 

However, if the cancellation was caused by equipment or staffing problems, it is not covered. Policies cover Common Carrier delay for hazards such as strike, mechanical failure, and weather. If any covered hazards result in cessation of operations for X number of hours or airport closure, then other provisions of the policy are triggered if the policyholder misses X percentage of his trip.

 

It is not certain if or how the OP’s parents will be reimbursed because too many details are missing.

Interesting. As I said, I was speaking on my assumptions, which may have been wrong!

[HMR74]

Is this the Viking Orion cruise 22 Dec to 5 Jan ?

 

If so, there are more problems than flights.

 

So far the ship has not been able to port  4 times due to some sort of fungus on or in the hull.

 

We have friends on that cruise.

 

They are trying to get divers to correct the porblem while anchored 17 miles off Adelaide

 

Sounds like a difficult problem to fix unless the ship wil be stationary a few days and even  then...

 

One passenger was interviewed by a UK newspaper and he said they were told passengers will be getting a 50% refund.

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, HMR74 said:

Is this the Viking Orion cruise 22 Dec to 5 Jan ?

 

If so, there are more problems than flights.

 

So far the ship has not been able to port  4 times due to some sort of fungus on or in the hull.

 

We have friends on that cruise.

 

They are trying to get divers to correct the porblem while anchored 17 miles off Adelaide

 

Sounds like a difficult problem to fix unless the ship wil be stationary a few days and even  then...

 

One passenger was interviewed by a UK newspaper and he said they were told passengers will be getting a 50% refund.

 

Although it was alluded that the hull had been inspected multiple times prior to arrival NZ and found to be clean, just prior to arrival NZ they found sea snails, which makes the ship ineligible to enter Milford Sound.

 

The ship is currently anchored, outside Australian territorial waters, as to employ divers all propulsion gear must be locked out. This is not a difficult problem, as divers are routinely used for hull cleaning and underwater repairs. I have used divers multiple times for cleaning, changing bow thrusters, changing controllable pitch propellor blades, repairing a rudder and even welding a hull crack. Hull cleaning and inspections are the diver's easiest underwater tasks.

 

While the media has stated the fouling was at discharge points, I would expect the sea chest intakes to be more likely.

[HMR74]

47 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Although it was alluded that the hull had been inspected multiple times prior to arrival NZ and found to be clean, just prior to arrival NZ they found sea snails, which makes the ship ineligible to enter Milford Sound.

 

The ship is currently anchored, outside Australian territorial waters, as to employ divers all propulsion gear must be locked out. This is not a difficult problem, as divers are routinely used for hull cleaning and underwater repairs. I have used divers multiple times for cleaning, changing bow thrusters, changing controllable pitch propellor blades, repairing a rudder and even welding a hull crack. Hull cleaning and inspections are the diver's easiest underwater tasks.

 

While the media has stated the fouling was at discharge points, I would expect the sea chest intakes to be more likely.

well,  the media is off in its own world way too often. Missing the  boat, so to speak, on important details on almost anything. Too much work, I suppose.

 

If this is a quick and easy clean up, too bad they did not  do it last week so all the ports could have been preserved.

 

Goal: solve a problem while it's small.

 

[Pushka]

44 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

well,  the media is off in its own world way too often. Missing the  boat, so to speak, on important details on almost anything. Too much work, I suppose.

 

If this is a quick and easy clean up, too bad they did not  do it last week so all the ports could have been preserved.

 

Goal: solve a problem while it's small.

 

Orion is currently just off our state. The media stories are getting more outlandish every day. Today it was that it had been stranded for days. That it was mould. And that it was going to take days to clean.  But it seems to have moved (from panomax) from where it was being cleaned and is heading towards a country town called Victor Harbor. The opposite direction to Melbourne. That's weird. 

[Heidi13]

39 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

well,  the media is off in its own world way too often. Missing the  boat, so to speak, on important details on almost anything. Too much work, I suppose.

 

If this is a quick and easy clean up, too bad they did not  do it last week so all the ports could have been preserved.

 

Goal: solve a problem while it's small.

 

 

I posted that this isn't a difficult issue to resolve, not that it quick and easy. The time required  depends on location, extent of the fouling and number of divers available.

 

Based on what was posted previously, Viking did inspect the hull 4 times prior to arrival, endeavouring to identify any issue early.

 

Why didn't they do it last week, well my first guess is that none of the ports had the specialised vendors required to completed this work. Divers that work on marine hulls are not available in all ports. Even when they are available in a specific port, it can be a number of days from calling them until they have the resource available to accept a contract.

[FlyerTalker]

22 hours ago, Haqdeluxe said:

All transfers and associated support is included with Viking Air flights. Otherwise you must either pay for Viking transfers separately or arrange your own transfers. Not an endorsement but a simple fact as to what is included.

 

For most ports, having included transfers are vastly overrated.  Yes, there are ports like Civitavecchia, Valparaiso and Beijing where there are some significant distances.  But in most other places, it's easy to get to and from the ship.

 

Wondering what that "associated support" is?

[HMR74]

43 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I posted that this isn't a difficult issue to resolve, not that it quick and easy. The time required  depends on location, extent of the fouling and number of divers available.

 

Based on what was posted previously, Viking did inspect the hull 4 times prior to arrival, endeavouring to identify any issue early.

 

Why didn't they do it last week, well my first guess is that none of the ports had the specialised vendors required to completed this work. Divers that work on marine hulls are not available in all ports. Even when they are available in a specific port, it can be a number of days from calling them until they have the resource available to accept a contract.

first, without knowing the extent of the peoblem we have no way of knowng what its going to tak eto fix it.

 How many qualified divers are ther to do this work, open ended question. and is the  entire hull affected to different degrees.

 

What we do know is that there are a bunch of unhappy campers on board , treated quite well, but frustrated no sightseeing.

I think the  ship is scheduled for either Jan 3 or 5 in Sydney--the next concern for passengers is how do they get home and at what cost if the scheduled end of cruise in Sydney cannot be done,

I would think the folks on board are getting updates frequently.

I hope they do not run out of liquor. Was once on a TA where the ship started running out early. Big drinkers with nothing to do at sea. should have known when teh cruise company cut off sales wine packages 8 months before cruise when they told me they ran out of room.

 

 

[dd57]

2 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

For most ports, having included transfers are vastly overrated.  Yes, there are ports like Civitavecchia, Valparaiso and Beijing where there are some significant distances.  But in most other places, it's easy to get to and from the ship.

 

Wondering what that "associated support" is?

My husband has mobility assist in airports.  The "associated support" we got in Paris was the Viking rep that met us at the airport after our cruise walked us to the ticket counter, walked us to where the "golf cart" picked us up, and rode with us up to security.

[Mich3554]

23 hours ago, Haqdeluxe said:

All transfers and associated support is included with Viking Air flights. Otherwise you must either pay for Viking transfers separately or arrange your own transfers. Not an endorsement but a simple fact as to what is included.

Not quite.  You can book with Viking Air, pay for a deviation and Viking is not responsible for your transfers.  I have done this a few times myself.

[Moonlion]

17 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

Not quite.  You can book with Viking Air, pay for a deviation and Viking is not responsible for your transfers.  I have done this a few times myself.

You can also book your own air and, if your flight arrives on the day of embarkation (or departs on the day of disembarkation), you can purchase a Viking transfer for $49 pp.  For some locations, this is more economical than a cab or private car from airport to the ship.  We're doing this in London (LHR to Greenwich) next May.  My understanding is that you are treated the same as if you had purchased your air through Viking. Haven't done this before, so we'll see...

[Newleno]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

For most ports, having included transfers are vastly overrated.  Yes, there are ports like Civitavecchia, Valparaiso and Beijing where there are some significant distances.  But in most other places, it's easy to get to and from the ship.

 

Wondering what that "associated support" is?

A few weeks ago I paid $11.40 (usa dollars)from FCO to Civitavecchia, Valparaiso not much of a problem, Beijing yeah that's an issue, I would have loved to have a free transfer there!

[Haqdeluxe]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

For most ports, having included transfers are vastly overrated.  Yes, there are ports like Civitavecchia, Valparaiso and Beijing where there are some significant distances.  But in most other places, it's easy to get to and from the ship.

 

Wondering what that "associated support" is?

"Associated support" is meant to speak to the support by Viking on arrival in seeing to you and your luggage making it onto your transportation and getting you to the ship. Then, at debarkation, getting you transported to the airport and helping with and seeing that you get checked in and on your way. Most people seem to value this service over fending for themselves.

We are all glad that you seem to infer you are more than self-sufficient enough to see this service as overrated. Cheers 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, HMR74 said:

first, without knowing the extent of the peoblem we have no way of knowng what its going to tak eto fix it.

 How many qualified divers are ther to do this work, open ended question. and is the  entire hull affected to different degrees.

 

What we do know is that there are a bunch of unhappy campers on board , treated quite well, but frustrated no sightseeing.

I think the  ship is scheduled for either Jan 3 or 5 in Sydney--the next concern for passengers is how do they get home and at what cost if the scheduled end of cruise in Sydney cannot be done,

I would think the folks on board are getting updates frequently.

I hope they do not run out of liquor. Was once on a TA where the ship started running out early. Big drinkers with nothing to do at sea. should have known when teh cruise company cut off sales wine packages 8 months before cruise when they told me they ran out of room.

 

While I don't have any definitive answers, having worked in the industry and also a shipyard, I have a reasonable idea. Is the entire hull affected - very unlikely, as that would indicate an anti-fouling coating failure. Not that uncommon many years ago, but I haven't seen a complete or partial failure since the 1980's, when they mixed the coating incorrectly.

[janetcbl]

1 hour ago, Moonlion said:

You can also book your own air and, if your flight arrives on the day of embarkation (or departs on the day of disembarkation), you can purchase a Viking transfer for $49 pp.  For some locations, this is more economical than a cab or private car from airport to the ship.  We're doing this in London (LHR to Greenwich) next May.  My understanding is that you are treated the same as if you had purchased your air through Viking. Haven't done this before, so we'll see...

But you can’t purchase the transfer if you arrive the day BFORE the group flight arrives. Been there, tried that, it does not work.