Viking & Air Arrangements

[jwits]

Am booked on Viking China cruise May 30, 2008. Does anyone have information on how well/not so well, Viking handles air transportation arrangements?

[travelsfun]

Our air arrangements were excellent. We are in the San Francisco Bay Area and flew non-stop to Shanghai from San Francisco and returned from Beijing. Viking handled every aspect of the trip without a hitch.

Dorothy

[Grumpy7]

Last Summer our arrangements for the Danube were very good.

 

We're booked on Viking China with pre cruise in Hong Kong for next July and am also using their arrangments. We hope for the best. I'm sure some people(hopefully not us) can have something go wrong.

[MSEm]

Viking is using mostly United and/or Air canada.

 

I am very glad I paid the $75 per person to do custom air. I am flying out of Atlanta to San Fran to Hong Kong. On the return it will be Beijing/San Fran/Atlant..

 

Viking originally had me booked on a "direct" flight from Atlanta with a terminal, plane, and crew change in Chicago in only 55 minutes.

Also I did not want to be flying in/out of Chicago on 21 Nov (the evening before Thanksgiving.

 

You may want to look at purchasing airport transfers and booking your own air. Check all the options.

[jwits]

[quote=MSEm;11690757]Viking is using mostly United and/or Air canada.

 

I am very glad I paid the $75 per person to do custom air. I am flying out of Atlanta to San Fran to Hong Kong. On the return it will be Beijing/San Fran/Atlant..

 

We have also paid for the $75 Air Assistance program with Viking. I gather that gives us options for carrier choice, available direct flights, seat arrangements and early release of flight schedule.

[MSEm]

I researched possible air flights and connections. I also had to insist on talking with a supervisor. I was able to give a substitue to connections going through Chicago. The first gal told me that the flightsfrom Atlanta only made connections in Chicago or Toronto.

 

I will look seriously at booking my own air when I go to Russia for a river cruise.

[MSEm]

Call VRC air department now. Even though I had paid the $75 for custom air I was booked on flights without hearing anything from VRC. Gal told me that the $75 only got me early notification of my schedule. Another reason to talk with Air Department Supervisor.

Flights schedules are out and begin booking normally 10 months in advance.

[Grumpy7]

thanks for the advice. Worth the $$

[Mapu]

I researched possible air flights and connections. I also had to insist on talking with a supervisor. I was able to give a substitue to connections going through Chicago. The first gal told me that the flightsfrom Atlanta only made connections in Chicago or Toronto.

 

I will look seriously at booking my own air when I go to Russia for a river cruise.

 

I am a travel agent and just had my first experience with the custom air department. If you pay the $75 air customization fee; once your deposit is posted and you fill out the Passenger Information Form your travel agent can call the custom air department and book your flights. Viking has contracts with certain carriers for the different routes and as long as Q class is available for coach seats there is no additional charge. They normally book the air 3 to 4 months out. Custom air gets booked upon deposit. The air that my clients are getting from Florida to Beijing and return from Singapore (even with the $75.00 custom fee per person) is several hundred dollars per person less than booked directly with the airline. They have a great schedule and know their flights now for June 2008. I checked out what their options would be with three different airlines. We chose (clients and I) what we thought the best options were and those were the flights I requested knowing that Q class was available.

[jwits]

Three days after paying $75 for air assistance I have assigned seats that I picked on flights that I selected. Great comfort to know this far in advance (May 30 China).:)

[Grumpy7]

Did you have to fill out all those forms for visas first? Or did you just pay the $75 before you sent back the package. We are booked on July 9th trip with pre trip to Hong Kong.

[MSEm]

You do not need to have your Visa's to get air connections/seats.

I faxed in my immigration form to Viking before I got the packet on applying for a Visa. I Faxed in my form 1 afternoon and called the next AM. Viking had already booked me on flights flying Atlanta to Chicago to Hong Kong with a 50 minute stop (change terminals, change crew, and chage of plane). When I talked to the Air department, the gal told me that $75 only got me seat assignments, that when I asked and talked to the Air Department Supervisior.

You pay the custom air fee to get better connections or to choose airline, etc.

1 month before we leave for China

[Grumpy7]

Thank you for the timely advice. I will follow your instructions.

[jwits]

Maybe I just got lucky but I could not be happier with the air arrangement process with Viking. My TA talked to Viking 3 days after paying the $75 and presented me with a choice of two airlines (United and Northwest are the only ones out of Tampa, FL Viking uses), choices of seats from an open seating chart for both airlines, and several flights. What more could I ask for?

[couchking]

Just got informed by my TA that my air arrangements have been changed.

They say Air Canada cancelled the flight Toronto to Shanghai, now I have to go Newark to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver,Vancouver to Shanghai.

NOT HAPPY.There is only one hour between each connection. What is the chance we will make the plane? What is the chance our luggage will make the plane? I don't forsee a smooth situation.

[cmthomas]

A valid concern, couchking. It is common for a flight departing Newark to take up to an hour from departing the gate to getting into the air!

 

As an aside, when you reach Shanghai Pudong Airport if you are doing your own transfers to the hotel be sure to enjoy the experience of riding the world's only public maglev train from the airport into Pudong where you can then catch a taxi to your hotel. You will travel silently at speeds of 400+kph covering 30+ kilometers in about 8 minutes. This is not your grandpa's Amtrak!

 

Hope your Viking experience is as great as ours was a few years ago,

 

Clarence:)

[Shorex]

There is a wealth of information on the pros and cons of using the cruise line air arrangements on the Cruise Air board. Note in particular the sticky at the top of the page on "Cruise Air and Air Deviation Explained". If you miss a connection with cruise air, your options are very limited -- anyone who uses cruise air needs to understand the implications of consolidator tickets and tickets that are "non-endorsable." Caveat emptor.