Savings on Viking?

[Youn2122]

My wife and I are finishing our first VO cruise.  Star from Iceland to Barcelona.  Overall cruise was good (food at world cafe was not good imo but restaurants were better).  Question is does Viking offer decent discounts or sales and if so how and when?  We typically do not use a travel agent and I have booked our other Viking trips directly online and paid the rate shown.  There was an agent aboard we would talk to about another cruise and get a ‘discount’?  In the end, how good are any discounts offered by Viking?  We usually

prefer certainty of dates and choice of cabins and levels to saving 10-15% but if it’s a much better deal then maybe we are missing it!  Thanks for all replies and thoughts.  

[Paul73]

Viking runs online "sales" all the time, but they only seem to offer free air or the silver beverage package.  Stateroom prices don't seem to change except for current season unsold cabins.  The benefit of booking onboard is usually an onboard booking discount, onboard credit on your current cruise, and onboard credit on the cruise you're booking.  You probably can't get a better deal than booking onboard.

[molymoo]

41 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

Viking runs online "sales" all the time, but they only seem to offer free air or the silver beverage package.  Stateroom prices don't seem to change except for current season unsold cabins.  The benefit of booking onboard is usually an onboard booking discount, onboard credit on your current cruise, and onboard credit on the cruise you're booking.  You probably can't get a better deal than booking onboard.

We have booked several cruises while onboard and there were always some "discounts" on booked cruises and some onboard credit for the cruise we were currently on, however we never got any sort of OBC for the cruise we booked.  Perhaps if one "transfers" this newly booked cruise to a TA the TA might provide an OBC, but it will likely not come directly from Viking.  

We now have a great Viking agent and prefer booking directly with her rather than doing an onboard booking.  Her exemplary service is worth more than any "discounts" we might get booking onboard.

[WAVTAM]

45 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

Viking runs online "sales" all the time, but they only seem to offer free air or the silver beverage package.  Stateroom prices don't seem to change except for current season unsold cabins.  The benefit of booking onboard is usually an onboard booking discount, onboard credit on your current cruise, and onboard credit on the cruise you're booking.  You probably can't get a better deal than booking onboard.

All above is correct. I would also just look on this board for PROMO codes. The last thing is book on board and then transfer to travel agent who all have incentives even more

[CDNPolar]

Viking tend to preserve the price of the cabins and offer free air, reduced air, or other amenities.  You don't typically see a reduction in fare.  They will offer "savings" of up to $500 or even $1000 per couple depending on the sailing which then gets applied against the cabin fare.  You have to watch for promos but these are generally specific and have dates against them and sometimes cannot be applied to an existing booking.

 

Booking onboard is often the best way to get a great deal and also onboard credit on your current sailing.  Just book early on your journey so you can use the credit.

You can also book out a year or more and then play with dates later.  Sometimes however if you are moving that onboard booking to a different cruise you may lose the onboard deal.

[formernuke]

There is an entire active thread "Post Viking Promos" here that lists all the promos people have been receiving. Sometimes there are great deals, some minor. Most you can use during online booking by entering the code, others you may need to call Viking. All are also available for booking on the ship, if you tell the cruise consultant (they won't necessarily offer them up). Most can be combined with other offers. We've done all 3: book online, call Viking and book with cruise consultant.  We don't use a TA.

[OneSixtyToOne]

All of the advice above is great and I’ll add that you also get a past guest discount of $200 pp if you have sailed within 1 year and $100 pp if greater than 1 year.

 

Also, if it’s less than 2 weeks from your last cruise you can call Viking and get the same deal that was available if you booked on board. 
 

If you have no future bookings, one of the big advantages of booking onboard is your Payment in Full date is moved to 6 months out.

Edited 18 hours ago by OneSixtyToOne

[Zippeedee]

The OBC for booking onboard is currently $100 per person. They automatically transfer the booking to your current travel agent unless you ask them not to. My TA added $200 more. 

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, formernuke said:

There is an entire active thread "Post Viking Promos" here that lists all the promos people have been receiving.

 

Post Viking Promos

 

Deals change on the first of each month and usually run for the entire month. Occasional there are mid-month offers.

 

There are concessions made (similar to what is offered for booking on board) for guests booking within two weeks of returning from a cruise.

 

If you already have a future cruise on the books, you can ask for 6 months out for your final payment date anytime you book another cruise. If you already have a future cruise on the books, there are special offers available; look for promo codes in the promo thread.

 

 

 

 

[LindaS272]

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Also, if it’s less than 2 weeks from your last cruise you can call Viking and get the same deal that was available if you booked on board. 
 

Except, of course, any OBC for the cruise you were on when booking.