Poor Viking Customer Service - What is my next recourse?

[sheetskn]

Sorry for the long post.  A week ago, I logged into myvikingjourney to begin looking at excursions, etc. for my July 2023 sailing.  Much to my surprise, it told me that my booking had been cancelled.  This is for a cruise that has been fully paid since 2019 (along with excursions); re-booked twice due to COVID and then re-routed because of Russia.  I immediately called Viking and was told "Yes, your cruise was cancelled."  It turns out that the cruise had been cancelled in early July 2022 and I had received no email or phone call to notify me.  The agent offered no apology, and no solution, except to say that I could choose a refund or an extension of my vouchers "which just happen to be expiring tomorrow,"  

 

I could not believe that this was Viking's response, so I asked to speak to a supervisor.  That person was friendly; he verified that I had not received any emails about my cruise since last June, but still did not offer any solution.  He did promise to research why  I had not been contacted and promised to call me back in a couple of days. In the meantime, I searched this forum and located at least one other person who had their cruise cancelled for July 2023 (it turns out that it was the Neptune being moved).  That poster was immediately offered a new booking in a comparable stateroom "and financial compensation."  I have already spent several thousand dollars booking days in Europe before the cruise, and now (six months after the cancellation), there is extremely limited inventory.  I then decided to email tellus@viking and laid out the entire situation, including the various financial details that show us continually losing promotions (including the value of past guest discounts) in each subsequent booking AND paying higher prices each time.  The automated response said that it would take three business days and now it has been five.  In that email, I said the following: 

"I would have expected from Viking:

1) an apology, both for the cancellation of the voyage and for the failure to communicate;

2) an immediate offer to search the dates of my voyage to see what inventory still remained;

3) an attempt to place me on a similar voyage, even if that meant you were upgrading our stateroom to a different category;

4) some financial compensation for the disruption of my plans; AND

5) a full restoration of my previous voucher credits and Past Guest discounts."

 

Today I finally received the promised return call from the Reservation Supervisor.  I am not sure whether he had seen my email, but he told me that I was not contacted after the voyage was cancelled "due to internal failures" and that he was working to have my expired vouchers reinstated.  I told him that of course my vouchers would be valid; that is a non-issue.  I told him my expectations above and he: 1) did not and would not give me any kind of apology (this goes against all customer service); 2) did not offer to help me find a new cruise (his quote was "that is up to the customer and available on the public website"), despite the fact that he has access to my dates and available inventory, (and in many cases it just says "limited availability" on the website; and 3) said that I was ineligible for any financial compensation because I had not paid for the cruise with cash, but with vouchers.  Well, I guess I was the dumb one for letting Viking keep my money for four years.  I then asked him who I could speak with next because my entire perception of Viking as a luxury, customer-service brand has been shattered.  He said that there was no one beyond the Reservation Supervisors to discuss the issue with.  When I pushed and pushed, he said that he would at least look up alternate cruises for me.  Since only shorter cruises were now available, he then told me that I would lose the excess value of the voucher.  At this point, I was almost stroking out, so I took his number to call back when I cooled down and after I had a chance to hear what all of you think.

 

Will tellus actually still reach out, or do they route that through the Reservation Supervisors?  Is there anyone else to discuss this with?  Or, do I take my original cash payment in refund (now substantially degraded by inflation) and walk away soured on Viking forever.  That would make me sad, as I planned at least annual trips for the next 20-25 years.  In fact, we brought our kids (so six people) on our last river cruise.  Am I being unreasonable to think that they owe me something, anything, for the hassle of cancelling my trip and not ever notifying me?

 

Thanks for your feedback...

[lackcreativity]

I am sorry, I have no helpful suggestions. I am a loyal Viking traveler and usually cut them quite a bit of slack for pandemic related issues or other circumstances out of their control. This time, I really don't know what to say. From what you have described, there is simply no excuse.

 

Wishing you the best of luck in securing a reasonable resolution.

[CDR2001]

I had a MVJ tech issue that lasted for months, and I got results by contacting Stephanie Maldonado, customer service director listed here. https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/viking-cruises/

Good luck. 

[Heidi13]

13 minutes ago, sheetskn said:

Sorry for the long post.  A week ago, I logged into myvikingjourney to begin looking at excursions, etc. for my July 2023 sailing.  Much to my surprise, it told me that my booking had been cancelled.  This is for a cruise that has been fully paid since 2019 (along with excursions); re-booked twice due to COVID and then re-routed because of Russia.  I immediately called Viking and was told "Yes, your cruise was cancelled."  It turns out that the cruise had been cancelled in early July 2022 and I had received no email or phone call to notify me.  The agent offered no apology, and no solution, except to say that I could choose a refund or an extension of my vouchers "which just happen to be expiring tomorrow,"  

 

I could not believe that this was Viking's response, so I asked to speak to a supervisor.  That person was friendly; he verified that I had not received any emails about my cruise since last June, but still did not offer any solution.  He did promise to research why  I had not been contacted and promised to call me back in a couple of days. In the meantime, I searched this forum and located at least one other person who had their cruise cancelled for July 2023 (it turns out that it was the Neptune being moved).  That poster was immediately offered a new booking in a comparable stateroom "and financial compensation."  I have already spent several thousand dollars booking days in Europe before the cruise, and now (six months after the cancellation), there is extremely limited inventory.  I then decided to email tellus@viking and laid out the entire situation, including the various financial details that show us continually losing promotions (including the value of past guest discounts) in each subsequent booking AND paying higher prices each time.  The automated response said that it would take three business days and now it has been five.  In that email, I said the following: 

"I would have expected from Viking:

1) an apology, both for the cancellation of the voyage and for the failure to communicate;

2) an immediate offer to search the dates of my voyage to see what inventory still remained;

3) an attempt to place me on a similar voyage, even if that meant you were upgrading our stateroom to a different category;

4) some financial compensation for the disruption of my plans; AND

5) a full restoration of my previous voucher credits and Past Guest discounts."

 

Today I finally received the promised return call from the Reservation Supervisor.  I am not sure whether he had seen my email, but he told me that I was not contacted after the voyage was cancelled "due to internal failures" and that he was working to have my expired vouchers reinstated.  I told him that of course my vouchers would be valid; that is a non-issue.  I told him my expectations above and he: 1) did not and would not give me any kind of apology (this goes against all customer service); 2) did not offer to help me find a new cruise (his quote was "that is up to the customer and available on the public website"), despite the fact that he has access to my dates and available inventory, (and in many cases it just says "limited availability" on the website; and 3) said that I was ineligible for any financial compensation because I had not paid for the cruise with cash, but with vouchers.  Well, I guess I was the dumb one for letting Viking keep my money for four years.  I then asked him who I could speak with next because my entire perception of Viking as a luxury, customer-service brand has been shattered.  He said that there was no one beyond the Reservation Supervisors to discuss the issue with.  When I pushed and pushed, he said that he would at least look up alternate cruises for me.  Since only shorter cruises were now available, he then told me that I would lose the excess value of the voucher.  At this point, I was almost stroking out, so I took his number to call back when I cooled down and after I had a chance to hear what all of you think.

 

Will tellus actually still reach out, or do they route that through the Reservation Supervisors?  Is there anyone else to discuss this with?  Or, do I take my original cash payment in refund (now substantially degraded by inflation) and walk away soured on Viking forever.  That would make me sad, as I planned at least annual trips for the next 20-25 years.  In fact, we brought our kids (so six people) on our last river cruise.  Am I being unreasonable to think that they owe me something, anything, for the hassle of cancelling my trip and not ever notifying me?

 

Thanks for your feedback...

 

So sorry for your experience. Can you please provide your booking number - NO names, just booking number and I will forward to my contact in Basle.

[sheetskn]

5 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

So sorry for your experience. Can you please provide your booking number - NO names, just booking number and I will forward to my contact in Basle.

Thanks so much - my booking number is 6062231.  I really appreciate it.

[Goosebear Mum]

To me, this sounds horrifying. So sorry to hear it both 1) happened and 2) Viking Customer Services you spoke to, didn’t sound to care.  

[Phanatic08]

Are you saying they kept your excursion money ?   
Did they allow you to use that money for shore excursions?

 

[Pushka]

28 minutes ago, Phanatic08 said:

Are you saying they kept your excursion money ?   
Did they allow you to use that money for shore excursions?

 

Viking cancelled the trip and admit they didn't notify the passenger. 

[ropomo]

Not sure how excursion money has been kept for a July 2023 cruise since excursion booking would not be open yet unless they are referring to excursion money from previous booking?

[sheetskn]

1 hour ago, Phanatic08 said:

Are you saying they kept your excursion money ?   
Did they allow you to use that money for shore excursions?

 

OP here - They kept my excursion money in 2020, when they cancelled the first time, but it just means that they had a large pot of my money for a long time.  That's not really the problem...

[oskidunker]

Why was the cruise cancelled?

[CurlerRob]

39 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

Why was the cruise cancelled?

Deleted - Wrong thread.

Edited January 8, 2023 by CurlerRob
Correction

[LibertyBella]

I am sorry for your situation, but I think there is a bit of a lesson to be learned that when one books travel far in advance, it is important to keep track of the arrangements and constantly monitor the reservation.  This is even more critical if you make your own travel arrangements, rather than use a travel agent who would take responsibility for those efforts instead.

 

Covid interrupted most peoples' travel plans, and many cruise lines were on the edge of failure, so it is great to see the industry recovering and cruises getting booked up.

 

In any case, somehow the communication regarding the cancellation was not accomplished, and it would probably be impossible to find out where the fault was, since it happened many, many months ago. Someone could have forgotten, got distracted, went home sick, computer glitch--who knows?  Yes, you are upset, and yes, you are disappointed, but the issue is how to resolve this travel situation.

 

Do I think you should "sour" on Viking forever?  Absolutely not--big companies have many employees working for them and no employee is perfect. Do I think complaining to Viking about their poor service will make them more eager to assist you?  Not sure.  

 

Do you still want to cruise this Summer?  Then see what is still available online, and tell them which cruise you want.  Maybe you can do two back-to-back shorter cruises.  

 

If you feel that you are near to having a stroke, then you are too emotionally invested in this one issue/trip.  Travel is always an adventure, and sometimes flexibility is key.  Forget about what Viking "owes" you--that is not a conclusion.  You must decide if you want the money returned, or if you want to travel with them instead.  If so, take a breath and make a decision with that cooler head.  

 

 

 

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Sheetskn, I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. I love Viking, but when they do something wrong they need to own it.  Most people are "emotionally invested" in their upcoming cruises, and you are also financially invested for a chunk of money, so know that the majority of us are feeling your pain. 

 

I have no advice other than "the squeaky wheel gets the oil."  Not profound, but don't give up. Please come back and update us. 

[Mich3554]

I’m sorry this happened to you.  We got canceled as well when Viking pulled the Neptune off this route, but did get notified about it (I went back and checked and got notified 7/13/22).  It caused a whole cascade of events that the Viking rep I used had to go pretty far up the chain in order to make me happy with the fix.  He did go to bat for me, which I appreciate.  
Not being notified of the change is reprehensible.  For us, we were offered 110% of what we had invested in the cruise.  This was a newly booked cruise, not paid for by vouchers so am not sure if that will make a difference.  This might be a place for you to start with Viking.

[Heidi13]

On 1/7/2023 at 12:13 PM, sheetskn said:

Thanks so much - my booking number is 6062231.  I really appreciate it.

 

I have forwarded the issue to Head Office and hoping you should receive a call to resolve.

[sheetskn]

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I have forwarded the issue to Head Office and hoping you should receive a call to resolve.

Thanks again, and I will report back.  I really appreciate your help...

[temerarious]

I am also so sorry to hear about your experience.  It's a shame that some people feel it's necessary to blame the victim.  There's no way this is on you, and it's NOT your 'lesson to be learned'.  Sending lots of empathy your way.  You sound extremely level-headed, and I admire the way you have handled the situation.

[jasardeax]

On 1/9/2023 at 1:28 AM, LibertyBella said:

I am sorry for your situation, but I think there is a bit of a lesson to be learned that when one books travel far in advance, it is important to keep track of the arrangements and constantly monitor the reservation.  This is even more critical if you make your own travel arrangements, rather than use a travel agent who would take responsibility for those efforts instead.

So far, the most condescending 

post of 2023. 
There is no “lesson to be learned” 

The OP did nothing wrong. 
They are the victim(s)

[flare3192]

i would like the original op to give an update

[Heidi13]

On 1/9/2023 at 5:26 PM, sheetskn said:

Thanks again, and I will report back.  I really appreciate your help...

 

OP  - looking to see if you have an update on getting your booking issue resolved to your satisfaction.

[les37b]

On 1/9/2023 at 6:28 AM, LibertyBella said:

I am sorry for your situation, but I think there is a bit of a lesson to be learned that when one books travel far in advance, it is important to keep track of the arrangements and constantly monitor the reservation.  This is even more critical if you make your own travel arrangements, rather than use a travel agent who would take responsibility for those efforts instead.

 

Covid interrupted most peoples' travel plans, and many cruise lines were on the edge of failure, so it is great to see the industry recovering and cruises getting booked up.

 

In any case, somehow the communication regarding the cancellation was not accomplished, and it would probably be impossible to find out where the fault was, since it happened many, many months ago. Someone could have forgotten, got distracted, went home sick, computer glitch--who knows?  Yes, you are upset, and yes, you are disappointed, but the issue is how to resolve this travel situation.

 

Do I think you should "sour" on Viking forever?  Absolutely not--big companies have many employees working for them and no employee is perfect. Do I think complaining to Viking about their poor service will make them more eager to assist you?  Not sure.  

 

Do you still want to cruise this Summer?  Then see what is still available online, and tell them which cruise you want.  Maybe you can do two back-to-back shorter cruises.  

 

If you feel that you are near to having a stroke, then you are too emotionally invested in this one issue/trip.  Travel is always an adventure, and sometimes flexibility is key.  Forget about what Viking "owes" you--that is not a conclusion.  You must decide if you want the money returned, or if you want to travel with them instead.  If so, take a breath and make a decision with that cooler head.  

 

 

 

So you think there is no problem that Viking failed to notify the OP cruise was cancelled 6 months ago and found out purely by chance?

 

Also the OP didn’t suggest they were in danger of having a stroke but was so angry with the Viking brush off and failure to address their responsibilities they terminated a call to calm down and collect composure. Obviously that wouldn’t have happened for you as you don’t think Viking did anything wrong. 
 

There is absolutely no excuses for what has happened here. Remarkably, the thing the led to the 2 further bookings I’ve got (Iceland in 23 and Bali in 24) was the great CS I received when I had to cancel a cruise because of “red zones” in July 2021 and I was unable to travel. Their response was excellent and thought CS must be a strong point particularly after meeting guests who’d been evacuated on Sky and the compensation they were given which I thought was extremely generous.

 

Hearing this has left me feeling very uneasy about my bookings or making any further reservations.

 

Hope you get things resolved to your satisfaction OP  - please do give us an update.

[formernuke]

I really do think that both can be true. The root cause here is clearly Viking's in failure to make proper notifications. That is unacceptable and they should answer for that and try to make them whole as best they can. I feel very sorry for their situation, clearly not their fault.

 

But I also find a contributing cause of this final event in the OP not checking MVJ periodically, particularly if they are making additional associated travel plans. I wouldn't think of not check ing MVJ periodically (typically for me at least weekly) to ensure nothing has changed. Things do happen, including email systems screwups (not the case here); for example I failed to get a notification of a change from Viking and noticed it on MVJ. I called and they said they sent the email. I stayed on the line with them watching my email and had them resend. I didn't get it. After about 5 minutes I had them send another one and promptly got that one. This is of course just one small example of the types of things that can happen. A prudent traveler is best served by taking the 30 seconds needed to do a quick check. In this particular case, the issue would have been somewhat mitigated by the OP likely having found out months earlier and been able to change their plans.

[miami mama]

Heidi13, it may be possible that the OP cannot give an update. Sometimes it is necessary to sign a NDA when an agreement is reached. 

[jasardeax]

20 hours ago, formernuke said:

I feel very sorry for their situation, clearly  not their fault.

 

But I also find a contributing cause 

of this final event in the OP not checking MVJ periodically, particularly if they are making additional associated travel plans. I wouldn't think of not check ing MVJ periodically (typically for me at least weekly) to ensure nothing has changed.

 

So, it’s not the OP’s fault but

they contributed to it?

 

They did check MVJ a full.         6 months out from their cruise date, and were, only then made aware of the cancellation at that time. 

I guess they never got an email or instructions from Viking advising them to check MVJ periodically Maybe even every week or more?

They are, apparently, not prudent travelers.