how to get a refund from viking cruise

Thank you. Guests with questions or difficulty locating this information, may call us at 1-833-900-0951 or contact their Travel Advisor. They got no advance notice, no onboard cash. We were still hopeful that we would take the cruise.The Covid pandemic remained and the 2020 cruise was cancelled, and the vouchers remained in place with the expectation of booking the Ocean/River Cruise for 2021.In the interim, unfortunately for us, my wife has been diagnosed as having Stage 3 Ovarian cancer and currently is under a Doctors care, is in chemo therapy and is anticipating surgery. That is why Viking is offering a limited-time offerthe most flexible of any cruise lineso that you can plan your voyage with peace of mind. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Wheres the refund? YodaMom, December 19, 2011 in River Cruising. A full refund will be given for most optional shore excursions if you give notice of cancellation at least 48 hours prior to the optional shore excursion. Looking forward to my next trip, This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Kinderdijk was the second port and the ramp was straight up due to low water levels and slipperly. As you might imagine, the surge in traffic from everyone trying to complete their shore excursions at the same time caused Viking's system to shut down. Posted Saturday at 06:49 PM. for mandatory gratuities.They say everything is includedunless you get sick. as paid, with no further liability of any nature. Keyles reminded the representative of the promise she had in writing from the other agent said about working with them on a cash settlement instead of the vouchers. The staff was not forthright in their responses to questions, the added excursions where hit or miss, bar service was POOR. 125% Future Cruise Vouchers are transferable, so that you have the flexibility to gift them to a loved one. CARRIERS RIGHTS. 4 0 obj True enough this particular flight was selling for nearly 500pp in economy. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. nr. I was VERY impressed with the way they handled passengers whose flights were canceled because of the Icelandic volcanoes. But their offers are clearly disingenuous. Needless to say, I won't be taking a Viking River Cruise. Started June 21, 2021, By Any balance after Viking issues the vouchers is returned to you in cash. endobj By choosing a refund, the added value 125% Future Cruise Voucher will become invalid. Offer Expires June 30, 2022. Water levels may be considered an act of God. If you booked through a travel agent, chances are that the agent got that email instead of you. *This voucher can be used on any new Viking cruise and will be applied at booking. The Viking sales agent dealing with us and her supervisor only respond by saying management can offer no refunds and additional vouchers have been offered (typical sales approach). Even so, we enjoyed the experience to the fullest and wanted more.Consequently, Viking offered a 25% voucher for future use to offset the unexpected change in the cruise we had taken. Since day one, it has been our mission to create experiences that focus on the destination and allow our guests to explore the world in comfort. Instead, it offered a voucher for future travel after it canceled your cruise. Its been eight months. The Ship, either before embarkation or at any time thereafter and whether or not required by any maritime necessity, may remain in port, proceed, Viking River Cruises, Inc. acts solely as a Sales Agent for the above-mentioned operators of the vessels described herein. Not much Viking can do about that. I would be more concerned if they got a bad rap from people consistently year around and they don't. Mandatory vaccine cards to cruise are required. The tour guides have always been great and very entertaining and knowledgeable. My Samsung tablet wont hold a charge. Good luck on your cruise! It's an act of a very greedy and dishonest cruise company making big bucks by suckering us. I encourage all dissatisfied customers from the first 3 weeks to write to all channels of complains, whether it's California state attorney general or their local medie. Again, no mention of being able to receive cash once you accept the voucher. more. As we watched the COVID pandemic expand and followed the news about the cruise ship outbreaks, we knew we would not be going on our upcoming trip, Claire Keyles said. Can I get a refund for my Marriott Vacation Club Points? x}[S\G#aVef|tZ1YO~Y^5no?Gg~? Plus, we have insightful letters, insider tips, and more. You will be able to leave a comment after signing in, By A: Some cruise lines are at least holding out the prospect of a refund for people who cannot get vaccinated, although no promises are being made. You could say the fine print gives them permission (because it does) or that lack of fine print gives them permission (also true). Full Fare is defined as the full cost of any cruise, land or air component purchased from Viking. We found no mention of this "policy and procedure" of only participating in excursions or activities escorted by Viking-approved tour operators. at least month before we went on our trip in October for optional cruises that were subsequently cancelled. Never, never again. 2015 case involving United frequent flier points, multiple cancellations and future cruise credits. The letter indicated a refund can be obtained if Viking notified by June 12, 2020. Great advertisement but horrendous customer relations. The Elliott Report is supported by Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that offers free advice and advocacy for consumers. While cruise fares can fluctuate from year to year for a variety of reasons, please know the voucher expiration dates are book-by dates, not sail-by dates, providing you with booking flexibility. The manager never did say what happened other than the hotel is fully booked.The other couple got a room the had a strong septic smell. July 27, 2011. We have friends who highly recommended GCT. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SUPERSTAR GEMINI STAR CRUISES X CROWN JEWEL BROCHURE 1998 INCL DECK PLANS at the best online prices at eBay! However, Viking gets HIGH remarks from many, many people on this board. Viking refuses - saying it was paid with vouchers. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 119-90. Viking River Cruises Irrawaddy / Mekong / Ganges / Yangtze River Cruises. Fosse and her husband had initially booked a cruise for April 2020. They may sound sympathetic. Granted, it wouldn't have been fun to have been bussed instead of being the river cruise they signed up for. Again, they are holding all the cards but still doesn't make it any better. Our award-winning daily newsletters keep you posted on our random acts of consumer advocacy. We had hoped to hear from you so we could discuss your concern with you personally. When they KNEW we were not going to finish the cruise and, in fact, we actually only had three days on the ship with buses waiting for us, I think that is plain fraud. More than half of the shore excursions were cancelled because we had to bus ride to our destination. Had they waited 10 more days, they would have received the full refund. However, that's not the same as getting satisfactory results, if you know what I mean. Use down arrow key to expand the menu and up arrow key to collapse the menu and hit enter to select the link. Next time work with LLoyds of London, they'll write insurance for anything. Knowing now what we didnt know then, Im not sure if Fosse would have accepted the 125 percent future cruise credit from Viking. I received the refund 02/21/2023. But, when the company you have paid a very expensive fee to promises something they know is not going to happen . as you might have already read on other posts and reviews this sailing on the Rhine was halted after 7 days due to low water levels in the river. please contact our team at Elliott Advocacy through this form. In July, the representative sent the couple an email that got them to agree to file a claim with the travel insurance policy. She lost her engagement ring in a rental car. Ive called repeatedly to complain - I was told someone would call me. Check out Elliott Advocacy Today, our free, daily newsletter with links to your favorite commentary, tips and news about consumer advocacy. Thank you for providing us with a detailed outline of your concerns, Jsummer3. Hertz billed her for eight extra days on her car. They have used them quite a few times. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. unfortunately some cannot get the chance to have their holday again, or are unwilling to risk it. Sorry. If its taking your money, its always going to use math that favors it. Review tags are currently only available for English language reviews. Is this really the end of junk fees in travel? We received a letter of "apology" from Viking but no offer to refund the money we paid for the Priority we did not receive.4. And now she has a Viking cruise voucher problem that seems unsolvable. Sears couldnt deliver my appliances. In late June, Keyles got a call from a Viking representative who said he would be reviewing the case. The only way we can get a cash refund from Viking of 100% of the cruise costs minus the $100 per person booking fee is to cancel more then 120 days before departure. I've already done my part. Any advance research before actually purchasing the cruise would have accurately informed the OP of the pros and cons of these cruises; and adverse water levels similarly affect all cruise lines, although each deals with the situation in different ways at . Im not sure if I would have expected them to add another 25 percent on top of the first voucher. stream Why is it taking so long to get a cruise refund? Did we mention it's free? Author. A discussion ensued. She sent them a brief email outlining her grievances. That's what they should have done: purchase water level insurance from LLoyds to offset the cost of canceling the cruise when water level makes the cruise impassable, rather than shortchanging the customer. <>/Metadata 582 0 R/ViewerPreferences 583 0 R>> On that note, anyone considering Viking can actually work around this issue the same way: buy the cancel-at-your-whimp insurance. Customer satisfaction does not exist for them; only money talks.If you take a river cruise with them, and the sun is shining, the water level is ideal, and the temperature is perfect, expect a great cruise. They never disappoint you. Refunds are made based on the cancellation conditions. its a lot of money to spend and most want value for money. . We had booked the Romantic Danube cruise Aug of 2020. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Again, superb advertising. Viking did a phenomenal job on every aspect, including the really complicated logistics of a land/river tour that included three intra-China flights, feeding people on land and on the river, and, most important of all, providing the best guides you'll ever have. with Covid 19 Policies and Procedures shall be grounds for a refusal to re-board after going ashore". Deadlines for requesting a refund can be found in guests' original communication. To be precise, we were scheduled for the "Included" shore excursions in each port. Instead they used credits from the refund we were owed. They essentially had a bus trip in Europe. Check out Elliott Advocacy Today, our free, daily newsletter with links to your favorite commentary, tips and news about consumer advocacy. read more. How to get your money back from a Zelle scam or accidental money transfer, This PayPal invoice scam almost got me. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos, Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Policy regarding COVID related Discussions, 120 days or more - voucher reissued - $100 cancellation fee, 120 or less they reissue voucherwith less money. The representative went through options, she said, including larger vouchers, extended time periods to use them and considering U.S. based trips instead of international travel. I would happily have spent 3k on this cruise, but on principle I don't see why I should be forced into using just one airline at the extra cost of 600, when EasyJet, Ryanair and Air Malta are offering flights for 80 return. air is received. But all of these excursions last only one and a half to two hours per day. . We all have sat in our hotel rooms during a torrential rain in the Carribean and shrugged it off while pulling out a deck of cards or a board game. How do you ensure profitability? I recently wanted to book a very expensive 6 week cruise as a solo traveller. We were talked into buying insurance for $1500. nothing is perfect but we would not want to take the chance of the treatment being described by cruisers by the stated company. For example, Carnival states, "If you would like . We appreciate the opportunity to respond, and hope to hear from you soon. I booked a trip of a lifetime to celebrate my 60th Birthday. %PDF-1.7 Were sorry to hear of the miscommunication, polishtraveler32, and regret any disappointment that may have resulted. I was really torn. 5700 Canoga Ave #200, Woodland Hills, CA 91367-6569. What Viking advertises in not what you get. Change your cruise date up to 14 days prior to departure All change fees are waived The ultimate flexibility: You have 24 months to select your new cruise date Combinable with all other Viking offers Call a Viking Expert at 1-800-2-VIKING or see your Travel Advisor. I'm glad you posted this Yoda Mom. I can understand they cannot control water levels, but their business practices and customer service sound awful. The total cost was $15,599,. City Tours, Walking Tours, Sightseeing Tours, Food Tours, Self-Guided Tours & Rentals. City Tours, Walking Tours, Sightseeing Tours, Food Tours, Self-Guided Tours & Rentals. 89-60. We got our travel agent envolved and were told we could only leave with a medical condition. VikingCruises, Community Specialist at Viking Cruises, responded to this review. Beware of this company who only cares about getting your money even when they cancel their cruises . Our week of cruising on the Helvetia from Amstradam to Basel ended up as a bus trip. Once you're a member . 0144983-8, PB 166, AX-22101 Mariehamn, land, Finland. read more, We booked a cruise which included Turkey. . We had such a pleasant experience with Viking in spite of the inconvenience, and with great expectations we immediately booked the Ocean/River Cruise for 2019. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. Business Incorporated: We are looking to hire an expert Crew Purser/Assistant Purser required to join a boutique cruise line! Now it wont refund my $3,606. An act of God is one thing when it is unknown. Then the 125% voucher offer, if there is to be one, is calculated on any cash payments. Then what? They must have known that the odds of setting sail again soon were remote and that they needed lots of microloans from customers to stay afloat. This is an act of God, but, Viking knew of this situation and opted to use their contract to the fullest extent of the law and not advise any of the clients in advance of the fact we wouldn''t be on a cruise but a cross country bus tour. The "free" flight from Venice was arranged by a Viking booking agent. Is this legal? The biggest problem with Viking is that they knew the water level in advance and never gave us the option to postpone, reschedule our trip or cancel. This guarantee is combinable with all other Viking offers available. With penalties and costs that would not be reimbursed, including the cost of travel insurance, the couple had lost nearly $6,500 in cash. Our position as an advocacy organization is that cruise lines should offer full refunds after a second cancellation, even if a passenger has accepted a future cruise credit. The Elliott Report is a consumer news site supported by Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that offers free advice and advocacy for consumers. operators in regard to the cruises described herein. Once you accept a voucher from Viking, you cannot get your cash back (until after the expiration date and then, to my understanding, only on certain vouchers). (And you'll typically have a much larger room in a nice hotel). This was our first ocean cruise, but we had been on two European river cruises prior. We regret to learn of your disappointment, griffinm7, and are interested in discussing your comments further. 2. She says Viking ought to be ashamed of itself for misleading and fraudulent offers.. We reached out to the company to ask it to reconsider, especially because some of its customers did indeed receive full refunds. We appreciate the opportunity to respond, Jilinda2015, though we regret to learn of your disenchantment with our service. You will be able to leave a comment after signing in, By I was thinking of taking a Viking cruise in the fall to compare in case we wanted to take a 3rd & 4th river cruise. There. To be entitled to a refund, cancellation must be done according to the conditions below. The booking must be cancelled before applying for a refund. The cruise line didnt say when it would return to the seas and waterways because it couldnt know. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Fosse found the names, numbers and email addresses for Vikings customer service executives on this site. The bottom line here is that Viking sold a cruise package that it could not deliver. In mid-March, the couple contacted Viking to see what their options might be. 6. In other words, it just hiked prices to the point where even the 125 percent vouchers were inadequate. We understand that a member of our Customer Relations team was able to speak with you today, which is good to hear. It is not the geographical location of the trip as much as being in any enclosed space with a large group of people and the U.S. has not been a model of controlling the virus anyway, Keyles said. It promised refunds later,. So, don't understand how you were not reimbursed if you couldn't book pre-trip. Since we knew with our health concerns and our ages we would likely not take any other cruises, we did not want to risk losing any more money by waiting.. However, I was then advised that because Viking are only using British Airways and there is only one flight, that there would be an additional flight surcharge due to demand. Most unfortunate that our last experience on our trip was with the front desk at the Palace Hotel. Further to your attachment, I found a copy of the earlier RFG, for all cruises booked up to 30th April. If we had waited even one more day, we would have only been entitled to 50% cash and 50% travel vouchers, Keyles said. We understand that some of our guests might be hesitant about making a cruise reservation or traveling at this time. OK, you didn't get your river cruise. It's not a big deal and we always make the best out of the bad river. (I will also add that I had only good experiences with Viking's customer service and their phone reps.). more. We're looking forward to sailing with them in June. Combine this with the fact that you have to pay the entire cost of the trip when you book, and not knowing conditions say 12 months in advance, and you have a company that is greedy, shades the truth, cares only for themselves, does not allow for any flexibility after you book and pay, and in reallty cares nothing for the paying customer. Customer service is great from all the staff and ships crew. most do research before making an investment in travel products. All of Vikings competitors made the same offer. Will I ever see my refund from Pacific Holidays? Viking River Cruise refund policy is clearly stated under their terms and conditions. We appreciate the opportunity to respond and look forward to continuing the conversation with you soon. Stay current with special offers, news and destination-focused content. Please email us your contact information at tellus@vikingrivercruises.com so we can call you. Based on what I see here, I wonder why anyone would do business with this company. And while the travel vouchers are good for 24 months, given the state of the pandemic, the couples medical conditions and age, they didnt think they would be traveling any time soon. I will certainly take your advice and write the State of California. Review tags are currently only available for English language reviews. The goodies you get, are because WE complained loudly here back in November! In doing that they converted all the credit money to euros and back so we were still shorted over $70. Exceptions to this payment policy apply for cruise tours more than 35 days, including Viking's World & Grand Cruises which require a 20% deposit of the Full Fare at time of booking the cruise tour. ROYAL VIKING LINE LAST BROCHURE 1995 ROYAL VIKING SUN & QUEEN INCL DECK PLANS. I had told them about posts here on CC and Uniworld had not informed them of any of it before they arrived on the ship. The Ship may adjust compass, drydock or go, on ways before or after commencement of the voyage and may sail without pilots, tow or be towed, and assist vessels in all situations and deviate for the purposes of, saving life or property. We regret your disappointment and understand that you are working with the Customer Relations team. This resulted in the cruise price jumping by 600! Ask yourself: Why is it doing this? Viking cruise voucher problem: Dont forget to read the fine print! CC Help Jenn I mean, shed already collected on the 125 percent promised with her first credit. You'll find it cost considerably less. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. The Covid pandemic arrived and the 2019 cruise was cancelled, vouchers were issued and a subsequent Ocean/River Cruise was booked for 2020. Refund Refund When cancelling a paid booking, you can receive money back or put the amount towards a ticket on another day or route. :|?OK>wv&OMj?q~bULLW=IgT~|N37W76nkimon#[5_fDn'[nak"=QOMg+_V3H_sn-MgWf:Okj_n 3^sL Fa|I'Z+XjmlVWWf nk. That would penalize us 75% of the total fare. I can't believe this is legal! Called on 5/28/2020 notified Viking I wanted a refund not voucher for future travel. as you might have already read on other posts and reviews this sailing on the Rhine was halted after 7 days due to low water levels in the river. Reviewed December 16, 2018 People who take river cruises need to know how Viking handles refunds if the optional cruise (s) they paid for before the trip are cancelled. Vrbo took my $1,270! Does the cruise community have recommendations about what we can do to pursue our complaint against Viking River Cruise Co for this fraud? After all, its her second Viking cancellation. Nevertheless should you like to continue the conversation we remain open to discussion at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. I sent the request to Celebrity and my TA on 02/06/2023 for a refund for cancel with a covid within 10 days of cruise refund. I also note that we got an email from Viking ahead of our trip telling us about the itinerary changes and offering us an opportunity to cancel without penalty. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for USN VS-29 FAREWELL CRUISE 2003 USS NIMITZ patch S-3 VIKING SQUADRON at the best online prices at eBay! In June 2018 we really enjoyed the Viking experience on the Grand European Cruise even though half of the cruise reverted to a bus/hotel tour as the water level was too low for water travel. Refunds are made upon receipt and depend on the working times of banks. :confused: Have you read the cruise contract to see what your rights are? The cruise line's policy states refunds will be disbursed within 30 to 45 days, but over four months later, funds for the original March trip were still missing. We were shuttled around on a bus from one ship to another. It wasn't the cruise line, it was the river. The 125 percent cruise credit had no visible terms and conditions. I would be very surprised if the contract does not allow this. When I didn't get my phone calls answered, I posted there and they reacted. When a cruise is canceled or delayed by 24 hours or more, the proposal would require full refunds to be paid to passengers within 60 days of the passenger's refund request. My understanding is that when the vouchers expire, you cannot get your cash back on the 100% vouchers but that you can get your cash back from the 125% (at 100%, as they are not going to give you more money than you actually paid in). The same thing happened to the group getting on as we got off..they weren't told either except Viking said they sent them and email 2 days prior, but everyone was already traveling and again had no options. But does it have to? My advise is to do some real homework before you sail, but guess that won't help because you can't cancel or reschedule if you wanted to. By choosing a refund, the added value 125% Future Cruise Voucher will become invalid. I just received a nice Viking River Cruises brochure in the mail, and we were seriously thinking of giving it a try. I am so disappointed - no I'm disgusted with Viking cruises management. Windstar Cruises. The representative promised to get back to Keyles. 6. 3. If you don't want to spend the time of planning, you can duplicate that by taking a bus tour that covers the similar itinerary. CC Help Jenn It flows from north to south, through the Irrawaddy Delta, emptying into the Andaman Sea. Shame on them. Not exactly our idea of an "active" vacation. How can they do that to passengers. I have to say that I'm surprised by your post and experience. Stanley Keyles looks at the Viking River Cruise website. Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. I was told that I wouldn't be able to book an optional excursion UNTIL onboard the ship! <> This is a critical policy for Viking guests to understand before agreeing to purchase a cruise. . By When they KNEW we were not going to finish the cruise and, in fact, we actually only had three days on the ship with buses waiting for us, I think that is plain fraud. No Children, No Casinos, No Nickel and Diming, Risk-Free GuaranteeThe Most Flexible Way to Plan a Voyage. Viking should not sell a product that it cannot convey. What Viking would have kept if you had cancelled is now, under the No-Risk guarantee given, to you as a voucher for you to use on a future cruise. Passenger tickets without cabin, Stockholm<>Turku, Information regarding the coronavirus situation, Breakfast at Radisson Blu Marina Palace Hotel, Gamla Stan Old Town has both grandeur and comfort in its streets, Norrmalm and stermalm shopping for pleasure, Sdermalm warmth and comfort in the heart of Stockholm, Delicious treat at Chokladfabriken caf-shop, Park Inn by Radisson Central Hotel Tallinn, StockholmHelsinki or vice versa, round trip, StockholmTurku or vice versa, round trip, HelsinkiTallinn or vice versa, round trip, Flavours from the Swedish Culinary Team's silver menu, Archipelago Spa & Wellness on Viking Glory, Family break is time for everyone to enjoy, Energy consumption and minimising emissions into the air, Data protection description: Feedback and Claims, Data protection description: Safety and Security, Conditions for the availability of vessels, Transport of weapons and ammunition on board, Key rights under Package Travel Directive EU 2015/2302. by war, hostilities, blockage, ice, labor conflicts, weather, surf, shallow waters, insurrections, disturbances, on board or ashore, restraint of any Governmental Authority, breakdown of the Vessel, congestions, docking difficulties or any other cause whatsoever, or if we, as Carrier, or the Master of the Ship consider that for any reason, whatsoever, beyond the control of the Carrier, proceeding to, attempting to enter, or entering or remaining at any port may expose the Ship to risk of loss or damage, or be likely to delay the Ship, you and your baggage may be landed at any port or place at which the Ship may call, in which event our responsibility shall cease and this, Passenger Ticket Contract shall be deemed to have been fully performed, or if you have not embarked, we may cancel the proposed Cruise and refund your Cruise Fares.

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