Voucher question

[HHI Cruiser1]

Viking recently changed my cruise dropping several important ports prior to final payment date.  Viking told me to rebook if I didn't like new itinerary.  So I attempted to rebook; however, Viking would not honor several old vouchers which had been applied years back at booking (include vouchers for actual cash paid to Viking).  Now it appears that these vouchers are worthless even though Viking changed cruise itinerary.  It's like ordering a filet at Manfredi's and being served Viking Burger, both are good, but it's not what you ordered - do you just eat it and act as nothing happened or ask for a filet again? 
Yes I know that Viking can do whatever they want to ports, etc. by contract but how can Viking ethically just keep actual cash paid when Viking changed.

Has anyone actually gotten Viking to honor a voucher outside of voucher window (OBC, cash, etc.)?

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, HHI Cruiser1 said:

Viking recently changed my cruise dropping several important ports prior to final payment date.  Viking told me to rebook if I didn't like new itinerary.  So I attempted to rebook; however, Viking would not honor several old vouchers which had been applied years back at booking (include vouchers for actual cash paid to Viking).  Now it appears that these vouchers are worthless even though Viking changed cruise itinerary.  It's like ordering a filet at Manfredi's and being served Viking Burger, both are good, but it's not what you ordered - do you just eat it and act as nothing happened or ask for a filet again? 
Yes I know that Viking can do whatever they want to ports, etc. by contract but how can Viking ethically just keep actual cash paid when Viking changed.

Has anyone actually gotten Viking to honor a voucher outside of voucher window (OBC, cash, etc.)?

 

These boards are full of posts from pax who are upset that they are actually expected to live by the terms under which they received vouchers. Every voucher that I have received or seen has the clear statement that once redeemed, the voucher is not transferable or refundable - in other words, they are a one-trick pony, and it was on us to understand that up front.

 

That said, if Viking has made some exceptions, you should hear about it here and I'll be as interested as anyone.
 

It doesn't sound as if you have a TA to argue your case, so you may wish to try a few other Viking agents (there have been reports of positive "inconsistencies"), or email tellus@vikingcruises.com - that is the higher-level support group who may be able to assist. Provide them with all the relevant information when you email.

 

I understand your irritation - many folks didn't think through all of the longer-range possibilities when accepting vouchers and now have to live with them. Good luck! 🍺🥌

[mhb1757]

Not sure that our situation is the same but we had booked a Russia and the Baltic cruise for June, 2020 (we chose this cruise because it gave us 3 days in St Petersburg and a day in Tallanin) It was canceled due to COVID so we took vouchers, rebooked same cruise for June, 2021… canceled again because of COVID.  Rebooked with the vouchers again for June, 2022…. But then Putin couldn’t keep his mitts off Ukraine so our Russia and the Baltic became a Scenic Scandinavia cruise with no StPetersburg or Tallanin .  I certainly understand why the itinerary changed and it definitely wasn’t Vikings fault, but we were not particularly keen on the new itinerary. Since the itinerary had changed substantially Viking allowed us to transfer that booking to a completely different cruise.  The vouchers were originally from funds we paid back in 2019 and the original vouchers had long ago expired, however each time a cruise was canceled, new vouchers were issued with new expiration dates. And when the Russia itinerary changed significantly, they changed the booking to a different cruise using the same booking number we had for Russia. 
 

You didn’t specify how much your itinerary had changed but if Viking makes substantial changes you might want to make a case for having new vouchers issued or transferring the booking to a different cruise that’s more to your liking. If the itinerary changes were relatively minor I suspect you are out of luck and must abide by the terms of the vouchers. 

[Squawkman]

4 hours ago, mhb1757 said:

Not sure that our situation is the same but we had booked a Russia and the Baltic cruise for June, 2020 (we chose this cruise because it gave us 3 days in St Petersburg and a day in Tallanin) It was canceled due to COVID so we took vouchers, rebooked same cruise for June, 2021… canceled again because of COVID.  Rebooked with the vouchers again for June, 2022…. But then Putin couldn’t keep his mitts off Ukraine so our Russia and the Baltic became a Scenic Scandinavia cruise with no StPetersburg or Tallanin .  I certainly understand why the itinerary changed and it definitely wasn’t Vikings fault, but we were not particularly keen on the new itinerary. Since the itinerary had changed substantially Viking allowed us to transfer that booking to a completely different cruise.  The vouchers were originally from funds we paid back in 2019 and the original vouchers had long ago expired, however each time a cruise was canceled, new vouchers were issued with new expiration dates. And when the Russia itinerary changed significantly, they changed the booking to a different cruise using the same booking number we had for Russia. 
 

You didn’t specify how much your itinerary had changed but if Viking makes substantial changes you might want to make a case for having new vouchers issued or transferring the booking to a different cruise that’s more to your liking. If the itinerary changes were relatively minor I suspect you are out of luck and must abide by the terms of the vouchers. 

We had a similar experience with Viking Homelands (also changed with Ukraine invasion). We were able to use the vouchers for another cruise we had already booked (but hadn’t reached the PIF date. I believe that had to do with the CFAR aspect of those vouchers - not Viking’s changing the itinerary.

[MadMarine]

I canceled a world cruise, voucher moved to Medieval cruise, moved to world cruise, moved to Polynesian cruise.  All vouchers transferred and applied to the Polynesian cruise including insurance.  Ended with cruise and insurance being paid in full.  Received the difference in paid to applied in cash deposited to my checking account.  Canceled the Viking air on this trip with difference deposited as well.  I use a TA, It helps.

[Heidi13]

On 3/1/2023 at 4:39 PM, HHI Cruiser1 said:

Yes I know that Viking can do whatever they want to ports, etc. by contract but how can Viking ethically just keep actual cash paid when Viking changed.

Has anyone actually gotten Viking to honor a voucher outside of voucher window (OBC, cash, etc.)?

 

Sorry, but by accepting vouchers, with the exception of the initial vouchers, you relinquished all rights to the cash you paid Viking. The initial vouchers had an option of cash back, if unused for 2-years, but once used on a booking, the cash option was removed.

 

Viking offered 25% then 10% incentives for pax to accept vouchers, rather than cash refunds. By accepting the vouchers, you effectively invested (sold) your cash with Viking, in return for a voucher and were subject to those terms and conditions. Therefore, by accepting the vouchers, you have no rights to getting your cash refunded.

 

While the vouchers are single use only, as per the T&C, Viking have moved vouchers when a cruise is moved. We have experienced this twice, with a voucher initially used on a river/ocean combo, then moved to an ocean B2B and finally moved to a World Cruise. While not permitted under the T&C, many agents will use some discretion, provided you rebook another cruise. You can't cancel and expect return of the vouchers, but you might find an agent who will book a new cruise using the same booking number.

[CDNPolar]

This may or may not be of use to know, BUT, there is a difference when you are talking to a Viking agent between CANCELING and REVISING an itinerary.

 

Revising the itinerary keeps the same booking number but just changes the ship and the cruise itinerary.

 

We recently went through a situation where we asked Viking not to apply vouchers when they were issued, because we wanted to decide what itinerary they were going to be applied to.

 

Now, a note on that, vouchers are to be applied to the next booking.  Since we asked them not be applied, technically, they could not be applied again to that same booking now or in the future, they must be applied to a new booking.

 

But, Viking applied them anyway.  We wanted to change our cruise and we called to cancel the existing cruise and were told that we would lose the vouchers.  We asked how do we get around this and we were told that if we just revise the existing itinerary then the booking number remains the same and the vouchers follow that booking number.  AND, the onboard booking credit, etc., etc.

 

I think that you may try a language change.  If you are using a TA, make sure they are calling to REVISE the booking and not cancel and rebook.

 

If you are calling yourself, do the same.  Have all the details of the cruise you want to move to and just REVISE the booking.  CHECK FIRST that what I am saying here will work...but it worked for us.

 

I will also chime in on trying with several agents.  Viking has a serious training issue right now with their phone agents.  Some know everything and some know nothing.  We have been told NO from one and call back later and get a YES from another.

 

We recently had a Supervisor admit that we had been told wrong from one and then right from the next, but they still refused to fix the situation because the first that told us wrong did so against Viking policy.  Basically she admitted that it was Viking's mistake and we were misled but we still lost the battle and had to live with policy in the end.

 

Bad, bad, bad.

 

We are at a point - and I have said this before here - that on ship the Viking experience is amazing.  We love being on a Viking ship. We absolutely HATE the customer service, booking, air plus experience before and after any cruise.  It is horrible.  

 

Viking should pay more attention to these posts, because we already have started to investigate other cruise lines.  We were loyal to Viking, but they have disappointed us so much off ship, that we don't see a reason to be loyal.  They do nothing to keep your loyalty.