Our opinions are our own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by our advertising partners. Why all other passages under the same situation had no such problem were not explained by Viking. passengers asked if ports on the new itinerary may close and if there's a chance the cruise could be canceled while underway. We look forward to exploring the world with you, whenever and wherever you choose to sail with us. Should you have any lingering questions ahead of your voyage, we welcome you to call our Service Specialists at [protected] where we would be happy to assist where possible. Viking already runs a number of river cruises. If you search Viking the risk free still pops up you have to read the fine print to realise its all over so be aware. We never sign or agree to sail with vaccines passport as requirement.No one respond our emails or our attorney except a woman name ******************************* that behaves like an iron wall to talk to anyone else. Service representative escalated our complaint that we were misinformed, tricked, lied to, defrauded - because we cannot sail on that date, we are not healthy and can't sail in the fall or 2023! Our flexible deposit policy applies to new reservations only made between 17 December 2022 to 31 March 2023 and is combinable with all other Viking offers available. The plane returned to the gate and he was transported to the local hospital. Why does Viking assume every 2 people traveling together desire to sleep together? Read full review of Viking River Cruises Where the European rivers have locks and dams to control water levels, ships can still sail problem-free. In some cases, an itinerary may be adjusted with certain destinations dropped and new ones added. *Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. The Risk-Free Guarantee allows guests to change their cruise date up until 14 days before their planned departureand Viking will waive any fees. Passengers from across the country say they've. Well guide you through the process. Viking will not honor this request. How is this hard? This they Any comments Viking? If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile. I contacted Viking and was told the vouchers were not refundable because we had not cancelled at least 2 weeks prior to departure. Disassembling the shades on the sun deck. 2023 Trustpilot, Inc. All rights reserved. (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business. We paid for Travel Protection They said they did not think we could get a refund as our money had been converted to a voucher and vouchers were not refundable with our insurance. Now I see all this advertisement that waives ar fares , deposits and other things we paid for Horrible company in terms of customer service. This was really This meant I was unable to book any excursions or drinks package, despite trying as soon as they were released. By doing investigation on this subject and timeline of events revealed that we are not alone in this situation. Other ships were docked at the pier. We paid for trip insurance assuming that it would cover this situation but buying trip insurance through Viking seems to cover much less than most trip insurance policies. Thank you. It goes against our guidelines to offer incentives for reviews. Viking changed their policy after they took all our money, lured us into taking now worthless vouchers. They said they did. The draft is the amount of vessel that is below the water line. Desired outcome: Viking River Cruises Viking Rolf (Photo: Viking River Cruises) She and her husband Ed recently took an 8-day cruise on the Viking Venus off the . Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. The cruise line offered her future cruise vouchers worth 125 percent of her fare. Change of travel requirements after full payment received/ignoring request for full refund. In fact, we specifically asked their travel consultant if the vouchers would be reissued if we had to cancel again and we were told they would. The first thing that I noticed when I boarded is that all river ships are built to similar dimensions. We are older and don't want to keep rescheduling this with the hopes of one day being permitted to board their ship. I believe this policy and practice is clearly unfair and rather reckless. Fosse's cruise and land tour to Eastern Europe became a casualty of COVID-19. Booking # XXXXXXX We understand that some of our guests might be hesitant about making a cruise reservation or traveling at this time. Viking collects 3 fares for a 2 person room. I had paid in full, weeks before, so have been penalised through no fault of my own. Call to book now: 1-800-207-7286. Plus, your own feed of TPG content. On the next British Airways flight from London to Philadelphia, The I explain ship swapping in the section: What Happens If Your Cruise Is Affected By Water Level? Expected weather conditions during the cruise. This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We said yes. Viking's treatment of it's customers makes no sense.they combined two of my trips (without asking) into one "butterfly trip" which meant when I had to cancel the first, it cancelled the 2nd. the Lufthansa person told me I need to fill out the form required for returning Americans to USA and she was not helpful .I missed my flight and had to stay overnight to a dingy hotel in tears in a French country who doesn't really want to help you . We will not be booking with Viking again. Seems the generous cancellation risk free ended 30 June and despite booking direct with Viking no mention of the changes was made. I have three times tried to contact Viking, by phone, email, and chat. We used these to book on cruise OJUXXXXXX Booking Number XXXXXXX. . $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. AMA Waterways | Travel Requirements & Safety Protocols. When I called to cancel they said we did not purchase the insurance. This card comes with a long list of benefits, including access to Centurion Lounges, complimentary elite status with Hilton and Marriott, at least $500 in assorted annual statement credits and so much more. If have a river cruise planned for the end of the summer or the fall, should you be concerned? This is known as ship swapping. It would seem to be a reasonable and simple request. There is rock on the bottom; theres also this little house in the middle of the river. They refuse to accept the fact that they changed the terms of the contract. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. This was told to me by two separate employees. Spoke to several people today, including a supervisor My husband and I were scheduled to leave for our Viking cruise around Spain on Jan. 11. As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. No one expects to have to cancel a cruise. It turns out that during the second half of the cruise, we were in a heat wave, experiencing very hot temperatures. Plus Ups are excluded. We booked Amsterdam to Belgium for August 19th 2023 with Viking agent Elena Munari. This made it impossible to catch the next flight from ***** to buenos Aries. Is it cheaper to stay out in the bay and use your own tender? Many passengers were still on board at this time and were unable to flush toilets or wash their hands. It was too windy and not safe so decided not to try to use their tender. Royal Caribbean International | Travel Requirements & Safety Protocols. In a statement issued to the Star Tribune, Viking confirmed that some of the ship's first scheduled departures were canceled this summer, and that the luxury vessel is temporarily operating. See details. My bag didn't make it. Booked a trip just before covid hit which had to be canceled for obvious reasons. Guests and travel agents on impacted departures are in the process of being notified. We will be again canceling our trip. Desired outcome: The flight from Amman Jordan to airfare $2198 We were treated like animals. Viking is not a good company to work with. Taking over the Hilton in Taupo NZ, they were obnoxious. We feel we should get the $3,494 dollars refunded to us. This is our third time to book a trip, and in 2023, the medical requirement is still in place. scott@travelcodex.com, For updates: My husband and I booked with Viking in December 2019 for the Rhine Getaway Cruise for December 2020. They refuse. Verification can help ensure real people write reviews about real companies. Regent Seven Seas Cruises was the cruise line forced to change the most stops planned for Russia, which included visits to the Solovetsky Islands, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and St. Petersburg, as well as Odessa, Ukraine. Confirmation attached. "The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our top priority," a Viking representative told Travel Market Report. We are not asking for anything other than our money back. Ocean cruise ships usually have at least 25 feet or more or more of draft which would preclude them from river cruising. If ships have to lighten their loads to cross shallow water, fewer goods can be transported at once. On 11/22 we received an email from Trip Mate regarding the resolution of our claim. "You might see some cities you might not have expected to see and you might miss some you wanted to see. Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. 2022. You will, however, still get a vacation in Europe, even if its not the one you expected. We promise not to send you any unrelated messages, Click here if youd like to unsubscribe from notifications about new complaints of Viking River Cruises. Later after giving our deposit (another $8,000) we found out that ******** become a requirement to sail.My husband and I, both for health reasons can not get the vaccines and Viking to this time has been holding our money ($11,367.50) for 3 years (going to the 4th) even when we have requested several times and even hired an attorney to get our money back.When we booked the 2nd cruise, no one told us that we will loose our chance to get a refund. This also had the water turned off and was unable to flush. If the level is too low, the vessel may run aground or need an alternative docking arrangement. Courtesy Sheila Davies. was 4 units wide . We have had to cancel our river cruise because of their ludicrous covid policy. This years summer drought in Europe could affect your upcoming river cruise, but its highly unlikely your cruise will be canceled outright. They just decided to keep our hard earning money. Cruise was not very happy because this was a Christmas Market cruise and many of the markets were closed or food only due to the dates. Cannot recommend whatsoever - there are better cruise lines who deliver & care about providing a decent level of customer experience - avoid them if you can. Viking has lost four loyal customers with 10 past cruises between us. **** said he would monitor the schedule and will alert us the very day it comes out. This content has not been approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. "Given recent developments and the developing conflict in Ukraine,. Just realized that the cruise booked was from Antwerp to Amsterdam. However, as everyone knows, predicting the weather is not an exact science. In order to catch the next flight from ************ to ******* to get to the cruise on time we had to pay the tickets ourselves. If the water issues are closer to the beginning or end of an itinerary, cruisers may have to spend a few days in hotels or bussing to destinations rather than sailing there. . I purchased two of each of the following through ACH: Yazmin Hope and Libby Gallagher Utter and total joke. "Given recent developments and the developing conflict in Ukraine,. View all of our Luxury Cruise sailings and offers. I was never informed that the vaccine would be required to sail and that our money would not be eligible for a refund. Do not book with Viking Cruises ,they turned my cancelled trip into vouchers with expiration dates that I never knew about. Maximum capacities of 164 passengers and 47 crew. This site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Like most cruise lines, Viking canceled all of its sailings during the pandemic. It will take a lot for us to travel with you again. I hope this is something you can help with. At Viking, your experience means the world to us. It is a basic human right to be able to have access to flushing toilets and handwasting facilities. Any time theres a heat wave in Europe, especially if coupled with lighter-than-average spring snow melt or rainfall, you can end up with low water in certain parts of Europe. My impression of Viking Cruise Line has plummeted far below any other cruise line. Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have canceled several trips as the Omicron variant continues to wreak havoc with the cruise . Viking has refused. They refuse to let us rebook with the voucher and actually suggested if we want to rebook we would have to pay them all over again. Pharaohs & Pyramids. We called our AAA travel agent and she notified Viking on September 17,2022, we were scheduled to leave on September 22,2022. Posted September 18, 2021. Schreiners advice is simple: Just go. No partial refund was given and I lost the total deposit of $1000.I understand that the T&Cs outline the refund policy. Their ad is wonderful but after all is said and done it is all crap. Not for the voucher amount. In June, there were places along the Po that completely dried up. However, the most important part of any cruise, for me is the excursion choice. This was a question that I asked myself before booking my Rhine River cruise. Since the ships are nearly identical, if you do transfer to another ship, you should be in a similar stateroom as the original ship. Not at all, according to Rudi Schreiner, president and co-founder AmaWaterways as long as youre willing to be a little bit flexible. Viking Neptune is a new ship that will join the fleet in 2022. In exchange for the annual fee, you'll unlock access to the Amex Membership Rewards program that let you access airline and hotel transfer partners, along with new lifestyle and travel credits. Viking Ocean Ships Currently Sailing: Viking Jupiter Viking Orion Viking Mars Viking Neptune Viking Saturn Viking Sea Viking Sky Viking Star Viking Venus Vikings entire river fleet of over 75 ships is also actively sailing. "We will not cancel any cruises," said Shreiner. You could tear down the house and build a dam there, but that is not what is going to happen.. Global warming is indeed having an effect on European rivers. by Steve CaseLast updated September 6, 2022. River boats are unique because they can float in just five to six feet of water. Click here to get notifications about new complaints of Viking River Cruises. I asked the captain how deep the ship would be if it sank. Our points-obsessed staff uses a plethora of credit cards on a daily basis. (Enrollment required for select benefits.). service we should have received at least a partial refund . We have one ship starting in Amsterdam and one ship starting in BaselIf they cannot pass Kaub [the critically low water point on the Rhine], then [the passengers] all disembark on either side," he explained. Learn to how to find the cheapest awards. 140 complaints closed in the last 12 months. That is all it took, I was hooked. We will not cancel any cruises, said Shreiner. Planning a cruise? Reservation changes under the Risk-Free Guarantee will be reimbursed in the form of a Risk-Free Guarantee Future Cruise Voucher in the amount of 100% of all monies paid to Viking. If water levels fall, riverboats can have trouble sailing all the way to Budapest. Enrollment required. The booking # is *******. Desired outcome: The reason given by Viking is that these are vouchers from a previously booked trip (during the COVID pandemic). Contact your Sales Agent or our Customer Service department online, via email, or by phone at 1-800-427-8473 and ask about potential opportunities for flexible cancellation policies, rebooking opportunities and other options. I had to cancel due to ill health and provided over five months notice. I appreciate the time. $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. As a consequence all water amenities, main pool, infinity pool, jacuzzi and spa were closed for the whole of the cruise! This matter has not been properly escalated to the legal department.Our time is running off to recover our money and we can not travel due the vaccines requirements and the only absurd respond that we get is to transfer our vouchers.We are extremely disappointed of Viking Cruises after we decided to support the company. In times of high water, river boats can reduce their height by: Another aspect of river cruising is how much water does the ship draft? Earn 5X Membership Rewards Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year. We paid for the trip and had trip insurance. This complaint has been resolved automatically due to user's inactivity. Cannot go on a cruise if not jabbed even to countries which have no covid requirements any more. But due to a serious health issue we along with our Drs said that it was not feasible for us to go. I was aware that cruise lines' cash flow issues and accepted the voucher. Europe is now seeing the same kind of climate change conditions that are affecting the Western United States. Anybody got any idea what do I do? Very disappointing. When you are covered by the Risk-Free Guarantee you may change your cruise reservation with notification to Viking. While we may have to make changes to some of our itineraries and have had to cancel a few voyages, impacted guests and travel partners have and will receive transparent updates and the opportunity to re-book onto another sailing, shared Ellen Bettridge, president and CEO of Uniworld, in an email to TPG. Schreiner gives an example of two identical sister ships, AmaLucia and AmaSiena, that both sail the Rhine. The bottom line is, we have ********* at VRC. They feature elegant Scandinavian design, spacious staterooms with large verandas, and both indoor and al . Norwegian Cruise Line | Travel Requirements & Safety Protocols. Viking Polaris Current cruise: 13 days, one-way from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso-Santiago Viking Expeditions Tracker Itineraries Deck plans Accidents Viking Neptune Current cruise: 137 days, one-way from Fort Lauderdale to London-Tilbury Viking Ocean Tracker Itineraries Deck plans Viking Mars Current cruise: 14 days, one-way from Sydney to Auckland No materials from this website may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way. The first five miles of headwaters have completely dried up. Cruise delayed because of COVID. He was assertive and very confident, pushy and eager to make the booking. NEVER BUY A VIKING CRUISE VOUCHERWe will be sailing with a different cruise line and will not be back to Viking. ******************************************************************************************************************************** We were looking for the same cruise we originally booked but for 2024. When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints. Viking river cruises have posted an advisory from Danube River cruises that ship swapping may occur. Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. At this time, we expect the ship will resume its scheduled operations on February 18, 2023. I even requested they review the phone call and they refused. Heres what you need to know. Holland America Cruise Line | Travel Requirements & Safety Protocols. The guest services lady said well you can complain at the Share your photos and videos with others to prove the truth of your words. 12/21- 12/28/2022 Booking your first river cruise? For more than 15 years we have helped nearly 50000 customers resolve their issues and will never stop striving to ensure further improvements on our platform for a better communication between companies and customers. In Europe, we dont cruise in January, February and into early March because its too cold, he explained. 2. Given the current COVID situation (and that 3 of the 4 countries we were slated to visit are currently closed), we decided we should cancel. He lied. Voyages offering the excursion to Floriade 2022 operate between July 16 and August 27, 2022 aboard River Empress. Just as with ocean sailings, theres always a risk that weather and river/sea conditions can impact that itinerary, and cruisers must accept that itineraries cannot be set in stone. In May, Viking canceled that cruise. To go on the cruise people do not have to supply a negative covid test so you still go on the cruise in theory even if you have covid. This account has been claimed by Viking River Cruises customer service / representatives through our verification process. This allowed Viking to retain the majority of our payment since We booked a cruise in 2019 to sail early in 2020. After 5 minutes she came back and said the manager said nothing they could do but charge a 50 percent fee for canceling. A river level that is too high or too low can affect an otherwise great cruising experience. The vaccinations mean nothing anyway. Companies will need more ships to carry the same amount of cargo, increasing transportation costs all of which have a negative impact on the European economy. Jan. 17, 2022. Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. My bag is still missing and I will request (!) Subscribe to RSS He replied "absolutely no way both medically and because ************ weakens her immune system!" I was told to claim on my travel insurance if I had any.I had to send three emails to receive a response and cancellation certificate from Viking Cruises. The trip was for September 2020 but was cancelled due to the pandemic. Viking changed our flight schedule at very short notice. It turns out that for the most part, if the ship sank, we would be high and dry standing on the sun deck. Compare the cost in points or miles to cash, and see which option is best. I am truly an "out-of-the-box" traveler which has enriched my travel experiences. Refund or partial credit. By. How could we?? Then in Philadelphia By Alyssa Lukpat and Ceylan Yeginsu. We accepted the vouchers in good faith. AAA travel called Viking many times to rectify this and in December we were finally told that they would give us a $10,000 dollar credit toward another cruise and a $1,500 dollar shipboard credit. I contacted Trip Mate and was told the vouchers were not covered and that I needed to contact Viking because they handled vouchers. It is February 1st today and I went online to book excursions for a trip almost 3 months from now. The line said it was also evaluating 2022 itineraries that call in Russia with the view to modifying them where necessary. The trip was for 2021 but was also cancelled and moved to September 22, 2022.On September 16,2022 *********************** and shattered his knee-cap and needed surgery. Then when operations started again, we decided to book a cruise to sail November 2021 At the time we booked, vaccines were not a requirement. Should you have any lingering questions ahead of your voyage, we welcome you to call our Service Specialists at [protected] where we would be happy to assist where possible. Please DO NOT add attachments that contain your or other peoples personal information, if you dont want it to be visible to the public. The key dimensions of the Avalon Vista are: River boats are built in such a way that for bridge clearance, the mast, pilot house, and sun shades can be lowered. She really needs this positive experience to look forward to. These hotels are Marriott and hilton properties that have such rooms. I was sailing aboard the Avalon Vista two months ago on a cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland along the Rhine River.