The orginal cruise was paid by cash. fortunately as travel consumers we have lots of choice. Get the answer in writing if possible. Heres funny math on an airline refund in 2019. $10.00 In other words, it just hiked prices to the point where even the 125 percent vouchers were inadequate. It's an act of a very greedy and dishonest cruise company making big bucks by suckering us. In late June, Keyles got a call from a Viking representative who said he would be reviewing the case. air is received. please contact our team at Elliott Advocacy through this form. %PDF-1.7
Recent updates have been made to cancellation schedules and refund guidelines for various cruise lines. Instead they provided hotels, buses and meals. Fosse and her husband had initially booked a cruise for April 2020. Covid hit and we were unable to go in May 2021. more. 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). And I'm urging everyone who got shafted to do the same. Absolutely ridiculous. Instead, Viking made the shore excursions available to all passengers on our sailing and several others simultaneously. 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 Deluxe package cost us $300 per passenger, more than the basic accommodations would have cost with no priority reservations. 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. Texas. Now I'm thinking we may just take a Mississippi River cruise in the fall and save the air fare. We think we were able to reach a reasonable settlement and are glad to put this behind us, Keyles said, noting that Viking asked them to sign a non-disclosure form that prevented them from giving the details of settlement. 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. Powered by Invision Community. Future Cruise Vouchers valued at 125% are available exclusively for those guests whose cruise was cancelled due to, or associated with, our suspended operations. The "free" flight from Venice was arranged by a Viking booking agent. Sorry. This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. 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. If its taking your money, its always going to use math that favors it. 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. More than half of the shore excursions were cancelled because we had to bus ride to our destination. Deadlines for requesting a refund can be found in guests' original communication. so Viking Helvetia ship is wonderful. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Can a vacation rental host cancel my stay and keep my money? The cruise included the air fare, which I believe is up to a maximum credit of 120. They charged us 846.00 each to get a plane ticket. 1. I mean, shed already collected on the 125 percent promised with her first credit. 909. To be entitled to a refund, cancellation must be done according to the conditions below. Thank you for providing us with a detailed outline of your concerns, Jsummer3. Started August 27, 2021, By 119-90. If you cancel a cruise, the cancellation matrix applies. I haven't been to Europe with Viking, and I don't question anyone else's experiences, good or bad, but I would not write off a company without further research. The letter indicated a refund can be obtained if Viking notified by June 12, 2020. We paid $1325. Chicago SW Suburb. It promised refunds later,. This has always been Vikings ambition and will remain so. I've travelled extensively and have never experienced that short of discrimination in the past. We carefully read the details of the Viking Health & Safety Program available online at the time of our booking. Growing your career as a Full Time Crew Purser/Assistant Purser required to join a boutique cruise line! Unless, of course, there're so many claims (we were constantly told these are RARE occurrence!!! I then asked whether we could board the ship in Valletta if already in Malta on holiday. Good luck on your cruise! I can't believe this is legal! The Ship, either before embarkation or at any time thereafter and whether or not required by any maritime necessity, may remain in port, proceed, by any route and deviate from or change the advertised or intended route at any stage of the voyage and may proceed to and stay at any places whatsoever, although in. However, Viking gets HIGH remarks from many, many people on this board. They essentially had a bus trip in Europe. Viking River. Or it could have fixed the problem quickly when she raised her concern. What Viking advertises in not what you get. Also post #22 cites the procedure and due date tom request cash. Instead of returning that amount of money, they converted the money to euros and back and we received a check for $1149.61 which is over $170 less than we paid. Viking has an office in California. 1 0 obj
Read (or re-read) post #24 above. So it could be a good experience, as long as you do your own homework. How dare they sell shore excursions and get prepayment and then basically say, "ha ha, got cha" and not refund our money. 59 or less. YodaMom, December 19, 2011 in River Cruising. We publish the names and emails of customer service managers. But all of these excursions last only one and a half to two hours per day. 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. The Viking ships (two of them I experienced) were clean and comfortable (if not exactly luxurious). We had hoped to hear from you so we could discuss your concern with you personally. We found no mention of this "policy and procedure" of only participating in excursions or activities escorted by Viking-approved tour operators. .. this is not an Act of God. He advised us that if we were thinking about rebooking in 2021, we should wait to see if Viking cancelled our 2020 cruise making us eligible for a 125% voucher. We hope that the flexibility provided by this guarantee truly puts your mind at ease when it comes to the decision of whether or not to travel. On that note, anyone considering Viking can actually work around this issue the same way: buy the cancel-at-your-whimp insurance. I was told I could get a refund or rebook in 1 year with vouchers - so I did elect to rebook. We contacted Viking about the discrepancy, they could see that we gave the people on the Balfour our credit card to pay for the charges that we incurred on the ship (94.50 euros). Refunds are made upon receipt and depend on the working times of banks. But all was not lost. nr. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. That would be your quickest way of making contact. Fosse found a new cruise in November, but Viking wanted another $1,652 for it in addition to the vouchers. She sent them a brief email outlining her grievances. Did we mention it's free? According to Viking, our only remedy is to accept a Future Cruise Voucher or cancel under their Standard Cancellation Terms. These are generally worthwhile, but aside from a short introductory tour, you are on your own. Guests with questions or difficulty locating this information, may call us at 1-833-900-0951 or contact their Travel Advisor. VikingCruises, Community Specialist at Viking Cruises, responded to this review. 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. AND watch carefully of the water level prior to departure! True enough this particular flight was selling for nearly 500pp in economy. 3. Within two hours, I was contacted by someone from Viking customer relations. Needless to say, I won't be taking a Viking River Cruise. Im happy that my team and I could assist. With all But does it have to? It seems the cruise industry knew the COVID-19 situation was dire. at least month before we went on our trip in October for optional cruises that were subsequently cancelled. Check out Elliott Advocacy Today, our free, daily newsletter with links to your favorite commentary, tips and news about consumer advocacy. A discussion ensued. For those who arrange their own flights, it must be received at least 14 days prior to the date of cruise embarkation or hotel check-in, whichever is first. 6. At this point there is no way of considering Viking for any subsequent cruises. Had they waited 10 more days, they would have received the full refund. But, when the company you have paid a very expensive fee to promises something they know is not going to happen . July 27, 2011. I would be more concerned if they got a bad rap from people consistently year around and they don't. 10APR-200501_RiskFreeGuarantee.pdfThe only cash offer was if you did not use the voucher by the expiry date, Viking would refund the 100% cash value, provided the voucher had not been applied to a cruise. We even had the insurance! Consumer Alert: No more automatic refunds for skipped ports? Plus, we have insightful letters, insider tips, and more. And I'm urging everyone who got shafted to do the same. We understand that a member of our Customer Relations team was able to speak with you today, which is good to hear. 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. Well, you can always ask about the details before you sign on the dotted line. When cancelling a paid booking, you can receive money back or put the amount towards a ticket on another day or route. For example, Carnival states, "If you would like . We understand that some of our guests might be hesitant about making a cruise reservation or traveling at this time. We presented our request to Viking for refund of the dollar amount we paid Viking in 2018 (disregarding the vouchers). Please email us at Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com if you have additional concerns you would like addressed. What was her trick, other than contacting the right person? Its been a month and they have not called. This covid crisis has shown companies for what they truely are. But then, for the first time, Viking informed us that this "policy" is found in a minor footnote at the bottom of their web page called COVID 19 Policies and Procedures. :|?OK>wv&OMj?q~bULLW=IgT~|N37W76nkimon#[5_fDn'[nak"=QOMg+_V3H_sn-MgWf:Okj_n
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nk. #1. A different Viking representative called them back. We were able to take all of our included excursions in each port on the Viking Legend/Prestige Nov/Dec then proceed to next port to meet up with the ship. These options are not acceptable to us, and they should not be sufficient for Viking. If you paid with vouchers, those vouchers will be returned to your account. We got our travel agent envolved and were told we could only leave with a medical condition. :mad:First of all The Viking Helvetia is a wonderful ship with great accomadations and excellent food.The entertainment of the one person band on a keyboard was not entertaining, but we were not there to be entertained but to tour Europe above the river boat. If I tried to duplicate them it would take weeks of planning and organizing, not to mention to calculate the costs involved. <>/Metadata 582 0 R/ViewerPreferences 583 0 R>>
Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. But Keyles wasnt ready to accept such an offer. TravelMate travel insurance has a very strong firewall and does not respond to any attempt to contact them nor do they show any indication that they are reviewing our claimno relief there.We now join the growing crowd of very unhappy Viking customers. Shame on them. We both have autoimmune conditions. . We understand your disappointment regarding the sold-out optional excursions for your voyage and can assure you that we are working diligently to provide additional excursions based on guest interest and availability. Any, such procedure shall be considered not to be a deviation but within the voyage herein intended as fully as if specifically described herein. endobj
After all, this too shall eventually pass. Wheres the refund? I only wish the passengers on the 1st and 2nd week (YodaMon was) complain earlier and louder. Not to defend Viking by any means but Uniworld did this to a friend. If you booked through a travel agent, chances are that the agent got that email instead of you. Windstar Cruises. Will I ever see my refund from Pacific Holidays? 125% Future Cruise Vouchers are transferable, so that you have the flexibility to gift them to a loved one. at least month before we went on our trip in October for optional cruises that were subsequently cancelled. 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. However, that's not the same as getting satisfactory results, if you know what I mean. 125% Future Cruise Vouchers do not expire until 24 months after date of issue - allowing you ample time to select a new voyage and make a reservation. I have been recommended that I not be vaccined and I asked for a refund. Ten days later, on March 30, Viking announced the cruise was canceled and 100% cash refunds would be given to customers but only for those who hadnt canceled previously. 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. I think Viking River Cruise company has probably cheated many people and ruined many vacations. We were shuttled around on a bus from one ship to another. 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). 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