488 total complaints in the last 3 years. Refund or partial credit. International Association of Better Business Bureaus. Viking Cruises is a cruise line providing river and ocean cruises, with operations based in Basel, Switzerland. It was not a condition of completing this trip. Companies can ask for reviews via automatic invitations. Thats because the weight of the cargo such vessels carry affects their draft (the distance between the ships bottom and the water line). The food was excellent. Photos: Major Cruise Lines Are Postponing Sailings Amid Covid Airfares vary on other gateways & departures. Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings, which requires a minimum two-night stay, through American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card. It also stated that if we were unable to use the voucher we could be refunded the original amount we paid to Viking. I ask if I could have the number to her managers boss she said no. The current welcome offer on this card is quite lucrative. Subscribe to Apple News. We also ensure all reviews are published without moderation. The difference between what they gave us as a credit for a 2023 cruise (which we booked so we didn't lose all of our money) and what we originally paid is $3,494 dollars. passengers asked if ports on the new itinerary may close and if there's a chance the cruise could be canceled while underway. We paid some #10,000 for premium air. The typical characteristics of river boats regardless of cruise line are about the same. We used our voucher prior to the expiration of the voucher, to book a cruise for March of 2023. RHINE GETAWAY. Europe has many rivers where cruise lines operate. Disassembling the shades on the sun deck. Viking River Cruises The line is canceling all 2022 departures of its Kyiv, Black Sea and Bucharest itinerary. It goes against our guidelines to offer incentives for reviews. The 766-mile Rhine is one of Europe's most important trade routes, with container ships plying their way around its looping bends. The good news is that there are not the mass cancellations we saw in 2020. How could we?? That is all it took, I was hooked. We were given misinformation by their employee, to which their supervisor stated that verbal statements do not count. When you are covered by the Risk-Free Guarantee you may change your cruise reservation with notification to Viking. - Refusal to honor its cancellation policy, Viking trip shortened due to weather, no refund. . On 9/12/21 we realized the 2022 sailing impractical and cancelled for cruise credits (#s XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX) That' our policy,. On December 9, 2019 we booked********************************* and paid ********* March 11, 2020 that cruise canceled by Viking due to COVID. This 'placeholder booking' means nothing he assured us. Multiple tests were run, including a Covid test, which came back positive. We Vikings inability to resolve an issue with, Withholding of monies and shore excursion, Refusal to honor its cancellation policy, My bag is still missing and I will request. Only in very rare circumstances are the sailings canceled outright. See what a point or mile is worth with our appraisals of a loyalty programs currency, based on redemption values. $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one select qualifying airline. River Cruises Respond to Austrian Lockdown, Impact on Sailings In November 2020, we rebooked, the Cities of Antiquity and Holy Land Cruise, scheduled for Nov-Dec 2022, paying the additional fare. Global warming is indeed having an effect on European rivers. In some cases, an itinerary may be adjusted with certain destinations dropped and new ones added. 'Not the cruise I signed up for': 30-fold increase in Covid cases Europe is experiencing unprecedented drought and heat conditions. Maximum capacities of 164 passengers and 47 crew. We rebooked yet again and we're told that we had to have the vaccine before we would be able to take our trip. Cruises - Very disappointed with Viking River Cruises - Reservation # 2672768 We were supposed to do a river cruise and ended up doing a motor coach tour due to low river levels. As compensation we have been offered a derisory 200 voucher towards a future cruise. Due to Covid pandemic our cruise got cancelled. Want all money refunded. Viking Mississippi cruise passengers hit by cancellations Pharaohs & Pyramids. River cruise lines do have contingency plans for dealing with river flow problems. However, the same problems do not affect river cruise ships. These two rivers are the most popular routes in European river cruising. (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business. . If the region has had an excess of rain, raising the river greatly, the river ship may have problems clearing bridges and other obstacles. I was told Viking doesnt own the hotel and the hotel will not let me make a change since Viking handled the booking. #7. Viking Cruises cancelled all 2022 departures on its Kiev (Kyiv, Ukraine), Black Sea & Bucharest itinerary in response to Russia's conflict with Ukraine. However, as everyone knows, predicting the weather is not an exact science. If, however, we forfeit the ******* spent in anticipation of this vacation, Viking would loose us as customers, but as a sophisticated internet user, my wife will use her homebound time posting this saga on as many travel sites as possible. SPRING SALE Special Fares Reduced Airfare Dates: Availability: Most river cruise lines do not allow guests to cancel pre-cruise without penalty except for in the most extreme circumstances. Like other river cruise lines, weve dealt successfully with low-water situations in the past, and we have a variety of strategies that we can deploy as necessary. Unfortunately, there are still cruises being cancelled in 2022 due to Covid-19 and the uncertainty surrounding it. This is an awful company to deal with. It's also a classic cruise itinerary. 2. Our trip was canceled and a voucher was issued. We booked a Viking River Cruise with AAA travel in August of 2019 for $14,497 for two people which excludes the insurance cost. On the last day, all running water was turned off until we left the ship. This met the 11/30 deadline for a "risk free guarantee" enabling change of plans up to 24 hours before sailing. We have had to cancel our river cruise because of their ludicrous covid policy. Guests have the option to transfer their reservation to 2022; receive a 100% future cruise credit . He lied. We would never do a river cruise again, Paid for a cruise in Nov 2021 for an Oct 2022 cruise, 2 days before departure I broke both wrists, contacted Viking about a credit for for a future cruise - a very rude man said Viking would do nothing- they had my money for almost a year and basically told me "to bad". We asked to transfer the trip to my son and grandson, but transferring the tickets is not allowed. Utter and total joke. They will charge you a lot of money but would not care for you at the end of the day.The places I saw needed much to be desiredI was told that at the airport someone will help us until we boarded our plane. Viking offered us to support the company and not get a refund if we accepted a voucher of 125% My experience with Viking River Cruises is that if they cancel, they will either refund your money or . She is scheduled to start ************ this week. Viking booked the hotels for these excursions. Schreiner does not hold with that assertion because river cruise lines simply adjust their schedules year after year for optimal weather conditions. This offer covers all Viking reservations that are made between November 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 on any 2022 voyage. I explain ship swapping in the section: What Happens If Your Cruise Is Affected By Water Level? What does Viking do Nothing. Viking Cruises | Cruise Ship List - Cruises Only Viking Cruises Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of Dozens of cruises have been cancelled and some ports in the Caribbean and South America are turning ships away from making . Cruise Canceled Due to Low Water Levels An apology is not good enough. Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews. However, the most important part of any cruise, for me is the excursion choice. 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. We were given the option of a voucher or cash This was a question that I asked myself before booking my Rhine River cruise. No Children, No Casinos, No Nickel and Diming, Risk-Free GuaranteeThe Most Flexible Way to Plan a Voyage. Other than the hassle of packing up in the middle of the cruise, travelers still get the full Rhine experience they paid for. They also issued non refundable vouchers for our port excursions. In this case, you will receive a full refund of your cruise fare. It is obvious to the casual observer that VRC is not in financial distress as they have added ships to their fleet and the CEO is listed a a billionaire. I was never informed that the vaccine would be required to sail and that our money would not be eligible for a refund. I was told I would have to pay full retail fare in addition to what had already Viking made an error and owes me reimbursement for charges made on February 1. The food was awful , the service bad some waiters were very rude we were forced to do a lot of included tours or couldnt leave the ship . After 5 Viking Due to my cancellations, Viking held onto $8,000 of my Funds for about two years. Yazmin Hope and Libby Gallagher If you voluntarily cancel your cruise you may only get a partial or no refund depending on how close to departure you cancel your cruise. At this time, we expect the ship will resume its scheduled operations on February 18, 2023. The river flows are falling so if you are booked for a cruise this year, check with your cruise line and obtain their current assessment of operating conditions. Tauck says it deals with compensation on a case-by-case basis. A place on the excursion I tried to book. we went to our connecting American Airlines flight with our Boarding 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 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. It closely resembles one of Viking's highest rated world cruises in the past, Chairman Torstein Hagen said in a live webinar Sunday when passengers were notified of the change. For Further Assistance If you have any questions or need further information please contact Reservations at 1-877-523-0579 or email customerrelations@vikingcruises.com, Monday - Friday, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM, PT. Editorial disclaimer: 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. We are older and don't want to keep rescheduling this with the hopes of one day being permitted to board their ship. Cancellation conditions 2. Cruise lines cancel Ukraine and Russia calls - Travel Weekly When I asked to speak with a supervisor the "customer service" representative said "I am not allowed to transfer you - the supervisor will give you the same answer." It is the standard architecture that gives the river boat some leeway with rising and falling river levels. 4. Viking Cruise recommends that their customers insure their travel & trip with Trip Mate Travel Insurance. Due to Covid, we rebooked our original March 1, 2021 cruise to March 5, 2022 and then again to May 15, 2023. We were running between the airlines at ***** to find out what was going on, very frustrating. Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. We are not asking for anything other than our money back. Thank you. The river cruise lines will tell you that low water levels are rare, and that few sailings are altered due to water levels but the truth is the risk is always present. We have spent $25,000.00 including air far which we are also going to lose if not used by 12/31/2023. Viking River Cruises is probably the best known European river cruising company, and has a wide range of river cruise options in Europe. If ships have to lighten their loads to cross shallow water, fewer goods can be transported at once. We have rescheduled 2x as we refuse to get the Covid vaccine and Viking will not allow boarding if you are not 100% vaccinated. Bookings with more than 30 persons Conference bookings made by Customers Service and Sales Department Bookings paid by invoice by companies Companies with annual agreements Bookings with more than 5 hotel rooms The specific conditions that apply to your booking can be found in your . I had to cancel due to ill health and provided over five months notice. Last week, the cruise line cancelled all 2022 departures on its Kiev, Black Sea & Bucharest itinerary and said it was evaluating 2022 sailing that call in Russia. At the time we did we also asked that trip insurance be added. Italy is in the worst drought in over 70 years. The area is protected and thats where you have the low water issues. The Po River flows 400 miles across the top of Italy from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. 2023, International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., separately incorporated Better Business Bureau organizations in the US, Canada and Mexico and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, Inc. All rights reserved. A Vaccinated Passenger Tested Positive for COVID-19 on My Icelandic Then they said (under the Risk Free Guarantee) we could have a voucher, but it would be a combined voucher which could only be used for one future trip. 23. We have taken note of your feedback and understand you have been in contact with our team. Viking will not honor this request. 1. My husband surprised me with the explorer suite,the room was beautiful,the balcony was amazing. Not at all, according to Rudi Schreiner, president and co-founder AmaWaterways as long as youre willing to be a little bit flexible. Ships might be able to pass through a tricky spot, like Kaub, today but not tomorrow, or cant this week but can next week. $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Desired outcome: Voyages offering the excursion to Floriade 2022 operate between July 16 and August 27, 2022 aboard River Empress. One thing Amawaterways and many other river lines do is run two ships simultaneously on the same one-way itinerary, with one ship starting at one end and the other on the opposite end. Our ships have a very low draftabout five feet, he explained. We missed 2 ports of call and 1/3 of our sites to see the auroras. Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. After checking cancellation conditions online which indicates $200 up to a certain date I booked a river cruise for 2024 the deposit was $2000pp. 3. Desired outcome: All Mekong River cruises through Vietnam and Cambodia have been suspended until November 30. . These hotels are Marriott and hilton properties that have such rooms. This also had the water turned off and was unable to flush. All I got was 'you must pay in full for your trip before booking extras'. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. The even occurred in February of 2023. 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. My Trip - Updates on Current Sailings - Viking River Cruises Viking cancellation policy - Viking Ocean - Cruise Critic Community Cruise lines scrap Russian, Ukrainian ports from 2022 itineraries "You might see some cities you might not have expected to see and you might miss some you wanted to see. Jan. 17, 2022. Really, what is a big deal here? Viking Cruises has ceased all operations in Russia this year in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit. Viking Cruises ceases operations in Russia for 2022 Viking River Cruises Viking Rolf (Photo: Viking River Cruises) Do your homework and always make informed decisions. Sometimes it's worth a large investment to reap the benefits of a great credit card. Editor in Chief My travel agent has since tried to sort this with Viking but they are refusing to help. Not your fault but took 5 flights, 1 whole day in airport, 1 whole night and 2 hotels to get to the ship 3 1/2 days late. Because of the positive test result as well as his need for further dr evaluation, we had no choice but to cancel the trip. This offer covers all Viking reservations that are made between November 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 on any 2022 voyage. 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. 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. Heres what you need to know. The first five miles of headwaters have completely dried up. On 12/20/20 Viking cancelled this cruise. European Cruise River Levels Are Falling To Critical Levels - Travel Codex The trip was more expensive so we paid with our vouchers as well as cash. Fraud and deception! The drought category in England has reached the most severe designation of severe drought. I am truly an "out-of-the-box" traveler which has enriched my travel experiences. Viking Celebrates Start Of Inaugural Season In North America's Great Lakes Read More May 17, 2022 Newest Ocean Ship In Viking's Award-Winning Fleet Named By The Countess Of Carnarvon Of Highclere Castle Read More May 12, 2022 Viking Takes Delivery of Newest Ocean Ship Read More April 25, 2022 The Viking Ocean Cruises 2022 Grand Polynesia Voyage has come to a triumphant completion in Los Angeles. Viking refused to admit to us that we were misinformed, and did not apologize, but their policy will not change. 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. This complaint has been resolved automatically due to user's inactivity. The cruise was cancelled due the pandemic ($11,367.50) Viking offered us to support the company and not get a refund if we accepted a voucher of 125% We said yes. Taking over the Hilton in Taupo NZ, they were obnoxious. Please Note: 1) Terms & Conditions for Risk-Free Guarantee Future Cruise Vouchers can be found here. If you book a river cruise, you acknowledge that you might not get the exact itinerary you signed up for. Viking Cruise Offers What? 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. Because Viking issued a voucher , insurance denied the claim as the voucher was considered a refund BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. 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. Premium Air. When I called to cancel they said we did not purchase the insurance. This allowed Viking to retain the majority of our payment since We booked a cruise in 2019 to sail early in 2020. Read full review of Viking River Cruises The dire news youre reading about low water levels in Europe now, especially along the Rhine River, mostly concerns the cargo shipping industry in Europe. Viking revises world cruise itinerary on eve of departure | seatrade Viking Ocean Cruises has sailings listed for June, 2021. I have contacted Watcdog BBC who are interested. Under our flexible deposit policy, qualified guests can cancel their booking before final payment due date and receive deposit back in the form of a future cruise voucher. 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. An apology is not good enough. The draft is the amount of vessel that is below the water line. Earn 5X Membership Rewards Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. A longtime editor at Cruise Critic, Erica has also written for The Washington Post, Fodors and Lets Go travel guides, and numerous print and online cruise publications. Because these problem spots are well known, river cruise lines can find ways to mitigate the issues with savvy itinerary planning. After contacting viking to inform the situation, Viking booked another flight for us. Looks like our September cruise to the Fjords is in the process of being cancelled! Viking Shores and Fjords - SEPT 2021 - Cancelled? Viking suggested that I should talk to my travel insurance company to reimburse the cost of additional airfare cost. He will call us immediately - he said. "We will not cancel any cruises," said Shreiner. I was sailing aboard the Avalon Vista two months ago on a cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland along the Rhine River. A river level that is too high or too low can affect an otherwise great cruising experience. is a travel editor for TPG, with a focus on cruise travel. Poulsbo, Washington. 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. Viking, please give an explanation. You will, however, still get a vacation in Europe, even if its not the one you expected. With this terrible Jim. Which cruises have been cancelled in 2022? | Cruise.Blog The Amex Platinum comes with access to a premium concierge service that can help you with everything from booking hard-to-get reservations to finding destination guides to help you plan out your next getaway. Rather than focusing on the number of complaints, BBB considers how frequently and effectively those complaints are resolved. The problem with river cruises is that they are affected by both high and low water levels.
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