Viking River Cruises
reviews and complaints

Viking cruises cancelled our Alaska cruise back in 2020. They suggested we reschedule using the “risk free” guarantee to the the next year. We did so and then they cancelled again. Again, we rescheduled with the “risk free” guarantee for August this year. Viking is requiring a covid vaccine as well as a covid test prior to departing because we go through Canada. At this point we have no desire to travel with Viking. They have had no contact with us since 2019. They have had our money since 2019. They continue to tell us that it’s no longer money it is now in the form of a voucher. If we don’t have a vaccine we can’t travel and we can’t get a refund because it’s no longer “money”. In addition even if we could travel with them they have never notified us of the requirement to reserve the excursions or the dining. When speaking to the agents they give the speech about the “risk free” guarantee then when asked about the lack of contact with us they say that we only gave them one email address at the time of booking and that they suggest we give them two. Well if that’s the case why didn’t they tell us that in 2019 when we booked?! Viking is supposed to be the best in the business. If they are the best I would hate to see what the other cruise lines are like. My suggestion - don’t book with Viking. They have had our money for 3 years and now claim it’s not money?!?!? Lastly, they changed their contract by requiring a vaccine to travel. Why are they allowed to do that and not give a refund? When we paid for this cruise it wasn’t under the current stipulations that they have to travel now. We want a refund and believe they are in breach of their contract by changing their travel rules!

On Friday June 17th we left the Fjorgyn for a shore excursion. When we returned the air conditioning on the ship wasn’t working correctly. It affected the dining room, lounge and third floor rooms the most. My husband and I had a room on the third floor and the temperature was above 85 degrees most of the day during the event.

The staff worked hard to make us more comfortable. They let us know what was happening with the repair to the air conditioning system. The compensation offered to the passengers both days was free drinks.

The loss of air conditioning greatly affected the last 2 days of our cruise. There was no where on the ship that my husband and I were comfortable during the day. The lounge was a favorite spot of ours and it never cooled off.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Ann Puntel

[protected]@gmail.com

Booking#6367412

On Saturday 19/6 while on Duro river cruise and although not required by Viking we conducted our own Covid Test - my wife tested positive which although not required to we reported it immediately

We were - confined to cabin immediately - advised we would be *offloaded*that day!- given option of 7 days in quarantine hotel or sign "waiver" and be flown home asap.

We had to chose the latter to control costs and were made to sign waiver

We spent day in cabin - fed and watered - at 6.00pm we were taxied to Porto and spent evening in Pestana Riverside. Subsequentley flown back to Norwich on the Sunday.

Viking recently decided not to do regular tests or insist on mask wearing - we understand you had lots of complaints. There were many onboard clearly ill/coughing who were not testing /reporting. We were advised Viking staff were not allowed to question them on this issue.

AS THE 100% HONEST AND CAREFULL PARTIES WE FEEL THE VIKING

POLICY IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE AND FAILED US IN YOUR DUTY OF CARE.

We are now left to pick up the the pieces and claim on our policy. We would clearly appreciate a full response and clarification of_

* your current policy

* the reason for the recent change of policy

*your failure to protect us.

P.S. Onboard staff were insistant, but very helpful "they could only say Co Policy

Hello,

My wife and I took the British Isles Explore cruise with the pre cruise four day extention Best of Norway and Scenic Train.

We were informed by Viking that a pre cruise covid test is required within 72 hours of departure of our first international flight. That was a Lufthansa Airlines flight from Washington D.C. on Sunday May 29,2022.

On Thursday May 26 we went to Walgreens for our pcr tests and were informed that since this was a holiday weekend of Memorial Day our results that normally would be returned within the normal 48 hours will not be back until Tuesday May 31. The rapid covid test would not fall into the 24 hour window and would miss the mark by 48 hours.

The last test of that day was at 4:00 P.M. and no way possible to get a negative result before the 72 window required. We then tried CVS and the county board of health all said it could not be done.

I called Viking and explained since it it a holiday the labs are closed and our test results would be 2 hours to long making it 74 hours before departure.

I was told we will not be allowed to join our extension in Norway nor would we be able to board the ship.

This created stress on us that was incredible, being a heart patient was extra stressful. The next day Saturday May 27 we found a B&W Rexall drug store that could administer the long pcr tests and have the results back in one hour. The catch was it costs $200 a person. Needless to say we took the test costing $400.

When we arrived in Norway and was met by the Viking Rep were never asked for the test results. When we boarded the ship 4 days later one again we were never asked for the results. It turned out that of all the people we met on the extension we all had the same bad stressful experience due to Viking not taking labs being closed for the three day holiday.

This was our seventh Viking trip five were river cruises and this our second ocean I am very disappointed in the way this was handled and found it hard to comprehend that Viking could be so ignorant in the way this was handled and the Viking rep I spoke to about it on the phone showing no concern or offering only the "this is the way it is attitude".

Keep in mind this was just the beginning of our $36528 trip. The ending was having to depart the ship for our trip home at 4:00A.M. for our 10:25 A.M. flight home. It was delayed two hours to 12:30P.M. but that wasn't Viking fault.

Our booking number is 6246677

June 15 2022

Dear Viking Customer Service:

Randy and I took our first Viking trip in 2018, a trip down the Rhine River. Everything about the trip was wonderful. In fact we enjoyed it so much we booked a trip on 1/29/2021 to explore the Rhone River on the Viking Heimnal. We also booked a pre-trip extension to Paris, since our airfare was included with our trip. We purchased the cancel for any reason travel insurance that is offered by Viking. Unfortunately due to COVID, we were informed on 4/9/2021 that Viking cancelled this trip #6229820. We happily re-booked this bucket list trip on 4/27/2021, #6349329, with Tripmate insurance policy UF425V. With our previous experience with Viking still fresh in our minds, we felt that we knew what to expect from Viking. I would like to share our Rhone experience with you so that you may understand our sadness; concern and disappointment in this trip.

We spent three days in Paris. On day two we took our previously booked excursion to Versailles. There were 3 couples on this excursion, which happened to be a Sunday on a busy weekend. The attraction was packed. We wondered why this trip was planned on such a busy day, as opposed to another week day that would have been less busy. Our guide wanted to start our tour in the gardens. She immediately encountered opposition from the staff, due to a special event in the gardens. We followed her all the way back to the office for her to pick up tickets. We waited for her a long time, around 45 minutes. She came back and told us that not all of our tickets were ready, and we were waiting on them to be printed. Finally we get underway. At the end of the tour she offered to take us through a different private section of the chateau, but was again told no. We made it around to the gardens, but we were now required to rush to stay on schedule due to the earlier delay. The next morning back at the hotel, Fatima, who was our Viking representative asked us what happened on the excursion, expressing her concern. We recanted our experience concerning the crowds and the delays. We do not feel that this poor experience was the fault of the guide, but a breakdown in the planning process. This was also the most expensive excursion that we purchased. Fatima volunteered that she would investigate our getting reimbursed for this excursion.

The Paris at night excursion we would really have enjoyed. However we did not book it because instead of it being held on Sunday night, it was on Monday night and ended after midnight. We were scheduled to leave for the train to Lyon at 7:30 that next morning. So in order to be packed and prepared to leave this was not possible. Again, this is an example of poor planning, uncharacteristic of the Viking we had previously experienced.

On the train ride from Paris to Lyon I got a call from a friend of mine in the US informing us that my Father had just passed away very unexpectedly. When we arrived in Lyon, we talked with the activities director who directed us to a manager behind the desk, regarding the process through which to get our flights rearranged to accommodate an early departure, as I was in charge of my Father’s estate. It was then that we realized that Randy had failed to print out the trip insurance policy. It was later realized that this information had not been sent in our final email document sent by Viking on 5/10/2022, but was attached to the initial final document we received on 4/27/2021, booking # 6349329, and Tripmate policy number UF425V. However, we were by then on the Viking Heimnal and felt confident that this information could be retrieved by the staff, since the policy was purchased through Viking. We were instructed to contact the Viking emergency number, which we did. We got a lady on the phone, who disconnected us twice, and then assured us that we were going to be connected to someone who could help us. She sent our call to a voicemail box. The lady did call us back, but could not find evidence of our insurance policy. My husband contended that he was 100% certain that he purchased the policy when the trip was initially booked, and it was part of the re-booked trip. They were unable to find evidence of our insurance policy, and without the policy number they said they could not help us. So we are left with a major family emergency and faced with the potential flight cost in excess of $4000.00, including a layover in Turkey, which we did not feel comfortable with. Without trip insurance this expense was not practical for us. My husband repeatedly expressed with certainty that we had purchased the trip insurance. No one at Viking could find evidence of it. With great reluctance we declined the flight change.

We had boarded the Heimnal on Tuesday 5/24/22 around lunchtime. Our first afternoon had been spent dealing with Viking and the lost insurance, and attempting to plan my father’s funeral. No COVID testing had been performed prior to boarding the ship. The delightful passengers were mingling and getting to know each other. There was no social distancing in the dining area and we were told that masks were only required when moving around on the ship, but not in the lounge or dining room. On Wednesday, 5/25 and Thursday, 2/26 we were asked to provide saliva samples for testing, which we did. We also completed our scheduled activities for 5/25, 5/26, 5/27, while continuing to work on details for the funeral, which was now planned for Friday, June 3, 2022, 10 days after his passing.

On Saturday 5/28 we took the demanding hike in the Hermitage vineyard area. We were the only couple on the trip guided by Elsa, who was absolutely fabulous. We returned to the ship around lunchtime and spent the afternoon on the rear deck with new friends. Around 4:00 PM on Saturday May 28th, after being tested on Friday morning May 27th, we were informed that Randy had tested positive for COVID. We were both told to stay in the ship stateroom to quarantine. We were also informed that some staff members had also tested positive, including the ship Manager. A gentleman, we think his name was Phillipe was filling in for her. He told us that we would be removed from the ship and be sent back to Paris, a 7 hour taxi ride. We expressed concern regarding the fact that Viking had told us that we did not have the trip insurance that we were certain that we had purchased. He informed us that Viking would pick up the bill for all costs incurred during quarantine in Paris. I reminded him that I was not positive and I had concerns regarding being quarantined in such a small space, with a positive spouse. He offhandedly said “Oh, well, you will be positive tomorrow.” I told him that I did not agree with him and explained why. I have worked in Physical Therapy, in the US for the past 27 years for a major hospital network. I have worked throughout the pandemic on the front line and been exposed to COVID numerous times during the pandemic and have never been sick or tested positive. I expressed my desire to have my husband retested, as he had no symptoms and the rate of false positive testing can be high. I was told firmly no, that retesting would not be until Wednesday 6/1/22. We are both fully vaccinated and have received two booster shots each. Randy was completely asymptomatic. My understanding is that false positive test results are common. This gentleman had absolutely no interest in hearing my request for retesting, telling us that we would “just have to talk to the people in Paris”. This delay made my heart sink. No one seemed to care that my Father lay in the morgue in the US waiting on my arrival. Not being able to fly on home initially was bad enough, and this additional delay, up to 7 more days was unbearable to me.

We spent all evening in the small stateroom on the ship and did not leave for Paris until after 10 am. We were given a bag with two sandwiches and two bottles of water. The trip to Paris took 11 hours due to traffic and we were now quarantined in our room around 8:00 pm. We had two very short stops to use the restroom. The driver told us that 11 cars were going to Paris that day. So, in excess of 30 people on the Heimnal tested positive for COVID. As a front line healthcare worker I cannot for the life of me understand why the folks on the pre-trip extensions were not tested prior to boarding the ship as the materials indicated that we would. Instead it was performed a day too late.

We finally arrive in Paris. The taxi driver tells us that he is to check us in the hotel, and needs our credit card. I protested, asking why, since Viking was to cover this expense since we had no evidence of insurance. He insisted that the hotel needed the card, and after 11 hours in the car, we were too tired to fight. The driver takes us up to the 4th floor to our room. We get a call from Freddie Smyth after 8:00 PM. He informs me that we cannot be re-tested until Wednesday. He also states that 98% of the Viking customers test negative the second time. I reminded Mr. Smyth that it is common to test positive for up to 90 days after having COVID. We were very concerned that Randy would again test positive. Mr. Smyth said that if this happened that it would require an additional 2 days, after which he would get a letter of recovery from a physician, which could take a couple more days. I then requested that the letter of recovery be planned for the same day as testing, reminding him of our family emergency. His reply was “Don’t worry and just hope that you test negative on Wednesday”. This was not very comforting for me. He also assured me that we would be checked on daily, and someone would be sent to get whatever we need. He did instruct us on how to order food, and stated he would help us get a bottle of wine. The food we ordered arrived, but not the wine. A small let down by Mr. Smyth.

So the next day, Monday, we had more questions. Randy tried calling every number we were given. No one answered the phone. He did this multiple times, and still no answer. Our room was running low on supplies. I heard someone out in the hall, and a worker was cleaning a room. He was nice enough to give us some towels and toilet paper and coffee for our room.

By 7 pm on Monday after attempting to use the phone contacts for Viking, but having no contact with anyone from Viking the entire day, Randy called the front desk, to find out why no had contacted us. Another let down by Mr. Smyth. It was after 8 pm when we heard a knock on the door. It was the lady from Viking that was doing the shopping. She received a lot of my pent up frustration from not being able to get in touch with anyone, and was very nice in spite of this. I explained our concerns to her and she offered to contact Rebecca, her boss, who we had tried several times to call earlier in the day. She got Rebecca on her cell phone and allowed me to talk to her. I told Rebecca that the only people that cared that my father was lying in the funeral home was my husband and myself, and that no one from Viking was listening to what we were saying. My Father’s funeral was planned for Friday, and I needed to be there. I had also done some research during my quarantine time, concerning the rules of the French equivalent of the US department of the CDC. France does not require quarantine for “cas contact” from a positive family member. It also states that retesting was to be done on day 2. I relayed my concern regarding the frequency of false positive test results. Rebecca told me that she could retest us on Tuesday morning. I thanked her and told her that this was what I had been asking for. She instructed us to have passports ready, and to have our luggage ready as well, in case we tested negative. I told her that I had not unpacked my bags.

The next morning Rebecca and Freddie come to test us. We are told results would be in 30 min. We are called and told our tests are negative and they are working on our flights. An email with these results was sent to Randy. She said that as soon as we get an email regarding flights to come down and check out. Two hours passed. Randy emailed Freddie Smyth back and asked if it should take this long. The email had not been sent. This was a significant let down by Mr. Smyth. Mr. Smyth forwarded an email to Randy from Alexis Werner, at 10:43 am and it stated that we were checked out and waiting in the lobby. We were still in our room. It indicated our flight began boarding at 11:25 am. We rushed down, wearing N95 masks as a precaution, dragging our bags to the lobby. The Driver was already there to take us to the gate. And we were told that we were already late. Then we were handed a bill from the hotel. I told the clerk that no, Viking was to cover the cost. She said no we must pay the hotel and get the money back from our insurance. I told her that we had been told that we did not have insurance. She said that it would be an hour before Rebecca was back in the hotel. I suggested that she call her cell phone, as we were not paying the bill, as we had not chosen to come there. We were then told that we were not responsible for the bill. Later a charge listed as “Paris Charles de Galle A” for $2,124.67 appeared on Randy’s credit card statement as pending. It was later removed. There is now a statement charge for $525.35 from “Paris Charles de Galle Roissy CDG”, which we have no statement or other info for, and did not approve. This was the card we were told we had to give to the motel upon arrival. Please remember, we have been told multiple times by different Viking staff that Viking would be responsible for this.

We then rushed through the airport, almost running at times to catch our flight. The baggage lady commented “we do not usually take bags this late.” I apologized to her and cited our family emergency. With the help of the Viking guides we navigated the airport in record time and made the flight despite Randy getting flagged for an additional security check. We got home at 1:30 am on Wednesday morning. We planned to retest ourselves first thing when we arose to make sure of our status, which we did. My test was negative; Randy’s test was positive. Randy informed his personal physician and was immediately started on medication, and has since tested negative. No time during the time in quarantine on the ship, car or at the motel did anyone every asked Randy how he felt or even offered to check his temperature, despite the initial positive test results.

The most upsetting thing upon arriving home was when Randy pulled up the documents for our travel insurance, purchased through Viking, which no one at Viking could find a record of. We could have flown home immediately after my Father’s death and avoided ALL of this nasty mess. For us, this fact is absolutely inexcusable.

We thought that once we returned to the US, we would have better success in getting help and answers. On 6/3/22 while at home with family after our funeral we received a call from Walter Byrne thanking us for being loyal customers and wanting to share special offers to book future trips. Randy requested we wait until next week to talk and requested a call on Tuesday 6/7 due to his schedule being lighter. On Monday 6/6, when Randy had some openings in his scheduled he attempted to contact Mr. Byrne then. We finally received a return call from Mr. Byrne on Wednesday 6/8. We explained the details of our trip and he assured us that we do have active Tripmate insurance. His assistance included his giving a toll free number for customer service, which we had and a toll free number for Tripmate. He recommended we call customer service and plan to remain on hold for at least thirty minutes to contact someone. He stated we could also request a call back from them at a certain time.

Giving this advice Randy set aside Thursday 6/9 to contact customer service 1.877.523.0579 starting just after 9 am EDT. The wait for a live agent was over 30 minutes, closer to 40 or 45. Randy began explaining the circumstances of this trip, the funeral and the trip insurance. Once there was a period of silence and Randy asked the lady if she was still there and she stated she was. Approximately 5 minutes into the call Randy heard a busy signal on the phone and no one was there. We have specifically used our landline, which is fiber optic, because we live in a rural area and cell phones are not always reliable. As it was now almost 10 am, Randy felt that since he had provided our booking number and confirmed our address and contact information that surely we would receive a return call. After waiting until 11:30 am Randy then spent another ten minutes waiting for the opportunity to leave a request for a return call and did so requesting between 1:30 and 2 pm that afternoon, specifying the local time zones. No return call was ever received and Randy remained waiting until 5 pm.

On Friday 6/10, Randy again asked for the courtesy of a return call from customer service with no specific time request. There has been no evidence of any calls from customer service.

On Monday 6/13, Randy called the Tripmate insurance 1.866.303.1165. Fortunately, the wait time was short for an agent. The first lady stated her name was Lela. However, after a minute or so there was another busy signal, and the call was ended.

Randy then contacted an agent named Martha, again attempting to explain the process. All Martha could do was recommend we file our bills with the insurance, but this is somewhat difficult as we have no written or verbal communication with anyone from Viking. She did offer to make a test call to my land line which was successful. She stated she did not have access to the other information but provided me with a number that should be able to have this access, [protected]. When Randy contacted this number on 6/14/22, he was told he would need to contact Tripmate or Viking customer service, which to this point had been totally futile.

Part of this information is being provided to Viking as constructive criticism. The lack of communication from Viking despite multiple attempts and hours of waiting is entirely inexcusable. While there appeared to be many competent staff involved in this experience, the few who were not, and the current policies of this company made this experience a nightmare. We have been told repeatedly that we should expect refunds for portions of our trip, which we will not accept as a voucher. We did not receive a final statement from the Heimnal before we were removed, which we were told we would get. At this point after more than a week of trying to get answers all we currently have is an unexplained bill we did not authorize, for over $500 from the Paris Hilton where we were forced to quarantine, and being told this process was following French protocol, which it clearly was not. We are hoping for an immediate satisfactory resolution.

Barbara and Randy Revis

Booking #6349329

The Cruise was completely ruined by your lack of attention to detail, and inability to plan around the closure of the lock for annual maintenance. The Hotel in Nuremberg was barely adequate, no air conditioning made sleeping virtually impossible. The restaurant in Nuremberg was completely inadequate, there was no choice in food, we had to eat the one item they planned, no options. The quality of the food was well below average. We stopped eating at the assigned restaurant after lunch the second day. This whole experience was not close to what we paid for, and what you promised to deliver. The whole issue was caused by your inability to plan around the published, known maintenance dates. We are requesting a complete refund of all monies paid, You, Viking willfully neglected to adequately plan to deliver the trip we contracted for. You can reach me at my cell [protected] or email me at [protected]@gmail.com. Please advise me how you intend to make this right, and when we should expect our refund.

I have attached some of the information that supports my case and contradicts what Viking has told the passengers on the IDI.

1) 20 year Schedule for Annual Maintenance showing Koblenz lock being S/D for annual maintenance on May 16th, 2022. I have emailed the MoselKommission asking if there was any change in the schedule to account for Viking to plan travel through the lock after the maintenance work was scheduled to begin (I can provide a copy of that request).

2) Bulletin #0716 / 2022 from the ELWIS (German Electronic Waterway Information System). This system provides Navigation and Safety information including “Notices to Skippers”. In addition to getting this notice, I scanned the last two months of notices and all of the notices around our supposed time to transit the locks and found no indication of any unplanned maintenance that would disrupt the lock passage. This is what the Cruise Director Jane told the passengers on the buses returning from Marksburg Castle and to all of the passengers when we assembled for the news that we would be bussed the rest of the trip. Note: the blockage began at 00:00 May 16th, 2022, approximately eleven hours before the time that we were told that the ship would proceed to Koblenz.

3) I have contacted the German Federal Waterway and Shipping Administration to determine if there was any unplanned blockage or was this just a matter of Viking not adhering to the published schedule and the navigational warnings of the lock closure. This initial response, just says that they are forwarding it to the WSA-Mosel-Saar-Lahn (this is the organization with direct responsibility for lock and Mosel ELWIS notices).

in March 2022, my husband and I booked a cruise for Paris for 2023. However, our granddaughter called to inform us she is ngetting married during the time of our ntrip. We called Miles Parkhill and asked if he could hold on to our deposit of $2937.75 on 3/22 until next year but not sure of when. He said yes, no problem.

Now he says we have to pay $30,000 for our trip by June 30th 2022, or lose our deposit, We have been on Viking two othern trips, First from Amsterdam to Basil and the second last year from Budapest to Amsterdam. If you make us pay over a year in advance, we will NEVER travel on Viking again. My cousin is planning on booking Viking to Portugal, but I told her to wait intil this is resolved. All we want is for you to hold onto our money until we can pick a date next year.

On April 30 my wife and I were on a Viking river cruise from Switzerland to Paris I tested positive for Covid second day on the cruise was taken off ship and sent to Mainz Germany to quarantine I was told Viking would cover expenses After I arrived home tried to contact Viking and have been having trouble ever since The one time I talked to a Viking customer rep was told I could not get a refund only a credit I don’t want a credit I feel with their customer service I have experienced they will not be in business to honor any credit I have tried repeatedly to contact Viking but get transferred to a offshore call centre where English is not understood or spoken to date I have not been reimbursed for expenses or unused cruise I will never set foot on another Viking cruise ship they sure don’t believe in repeat business

In September 2020, my husband and I, along with my daughter and her friend, booked the Danube Waltz river cruise for 2-9 June 2021, figuring that the 2 weeks to "stop the spread" would be over. We were all excited and eagerly awaited departure day.

On 6 April 2021, we were notified that the Viking had "suspended" their cruises and had 3 offers, 2 vouchers and 1 refund. Our travel agent suggested that we re-book for a future date as surely this BS couldn't continue. (This is hilarious in hindsight!) Normally I would have taken a refund, but we really wanted to go as my daughter's friend is losing her eyesight and may be totally blind in a few years so we figured that we would re-book the trip for the following year, 1-8 June 2022.

In June 2021, we were having issues with the US State Department, as they had "lost" one of our passport applications and we were advised that we couldn't sail if there were less than 6 months remaining on the passport before it expired. We were also informed that the State Department had a 9 month backlog for applications/renewals. At this time were thought that we should re-book it to a later date and got prices for a Passage to Eastern Europe Oct-Nov 2022 sailing with the intent to take a side trip to Dracula's Castle for the Halloween timeframe. We kicked this around and in August 2021 decided to just cancel the cruise all together and get a refund rather than keep on rescheduling it in the hopes that the world doesn't continue to be crazy.

On 25 August 2021, we got an email from our agent saying that Viking would only issue vouchers, but these were non-refundable and non-transferable! This is totally unacceptable and a far cry from the fully priced cruise with the refund and transferrable guarantee that we had when we initially made a reservation and goes against their Risk-Free Guarantee which they publish on their website! https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/10RF3-210910_RiskFreeGuarantee-US-AU.pdf

Additionally, they had to be used NLT December 2022, so we didn’t even have the full two years to redeem the voucher. Our travel agent was at a loss as to what to do. We continued to discuss changes and tried to coordinate the schedules of 4 working adults and kept checking with our agent to see what was available. We were really liking the Passage to Eastern Europe cruise and were working on coordinating everyone's schedules for time off.

On 23 September 2021, Viking announced that ALL its passengers had to be vaccinated to sail. This was not going to happen for several reasons and we informed our agent of this. The cruise was canceled and a voucher was issued with the NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-TRANSFERRABLE caveat. My agent contacted Viking and they gave her the run around saying that we had 2 years to use the voucher and that things could change at any time.

It's been 8 months and we have heard nothing and have been checking their website for updates about refunds or changes and nada.

Today, 9 June 2020 I called Viking and according to the representative and supervisor that I spoke to I am not getting anything back…..period. Not only are we out over $12,000, but we also cannot transfer/sell the vouchers to someone who could use them.

We booked a cruise on Saturday morning of the Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday night I realized that my husband’s passport was expired. I called first thing on Tuesday and ask to please null the reservation until we have the passport in place. The answer was NO. things are alreay bad... but they get worse when I call their so-called "customer relations" department. Here are some exact quotes they said to me, "100% penalty", "no cancelations", "no reimbursement” a oh yea “we can give you a voucher”.

I have never experienced this type of customer service especially with a company that prides themselves with how well they supposedly treat their customers.

Never got a call back from my travel consultant or any customer service managers. They told me multiple times that someone will call me back. I am being forced to go to a cruise with the company that I am not comfortable traveling with. I am disgusted with this entire experience and will never recommend Viking to anyone.

In March 2021, my 91-year-old husband paid for 3 cabins for his children. When booking we were informed there was a no-fault cancellation. In March 2022 his son developed a brain tumor. He and his companion were rendered unable to attend the June 2022 cruise paid for by his father. Viking would only give a voucher for a future cruise in the son's name and another in the companion's name even though they knew my husband paid for the cruise. I then had to transfer the both vouchers if we wanted to use them. The process with no help from Viking (they only corresponded by email) entailed names and customer numbers 11 digits long for his son, companion and myself. Due to the complexity of the process I transferred the vouchers to me for booking a cabin for my husband and myself in the future. When I went to book the cabin for us I was informed I had to transfer one of the vouchers to my husband in order for him to be in the cabin. When I tried to transfer the voucher I was informed vouchers could only be transferred once.

Now we either have to purchase 2 more trips paying for my husband each time or not use the vouchers because it would cost an additional $14,000 plus. Either way they are swindling that $14,000 from us.

Their claim is the voucher states it can only be transferred once. I never would have considered buying one cabin for us a transfer.

Myself & a travel companion booked a trip with Viking in 2019 to the Christmas Markets in Europe. I got sick & travel insurance reimbursed us. We rebooked for 2020. COVID-19 hit. We were given the option for a refund or 125% credit. We took credit & booked for 2021. In 2021, we canceled 10 days before sailing because Austria was a level 4 COVID-19 country & had shut down everything for 2 weeks. We did not want to risk sickness or missing markets due to closures. We were given vouchers. We rebooked for this November 2022. My travel companion has now decided she does not want to go. She is willing to surrender her voucher so I can go alone. Viking will not accept that saying the only way I can be in the cabin alone is to pay her 1/2 again. Totally wrong as we have already paid for this cabin! Please help. I just want to finally go on my cruise.

May 29, 2022 and on going. My husband purchased a cabin for his son and companion. Due to a brain tumor they were not able to travel. Rather than provide a voucher to my husband. The company insisted on generating a voucher for his son and companion separately. I have been acting as his agent so after the vouchers were issued to his son and companion I transferred them to me intending to purchase a cabin for us. Viking then said the voucher could only be transferred once so my husband could not use it.

We have a voucher in the amount of $682.29 that expires 12/31/22. I'm told that this means we must sail by 12/31/22, not simply book a future cruise by 12/31/22. Due to their mandatory vax requirement, we are currently not allowed to cruise w/Viking. So it's not our unwillingness to sail that's preventing us from using the voucher by the end of the year, but Viking's policy. We are wanting the voucher applied to a 2023 sailing (in hopes that the vax mandate is lifted by Viking), but are being told this is not possible.

We have been researching various River Cruises for fall 2023.

Today we received Vikings 2023 Brochure.

Cover

Viking -

2023

Rivers * Oceans * Expeditions

25th Anniversary Sale: Expires June 30, 2022

Free International Airfare

Page 1

Letter from Torstein Hagen, Chairman

Again, he offered the Free International Airfare

Bottom of page in Red …Again. Free International Airfare.

It does state expires June 30, 2022

Which one presumes one must Book by June 30, 2022 to qualify for the promotion.

If not … Why would it even be mentioned in the New Brochure - For sail dates in 2023. The Brochure is titled 2023

Imagine our surprise when I called to book 3 Staterooms for the City of Lights Cruise to be told -

No - that offer is not Applicable …. You must Sail by June 30, 2022 !

WHAT it is on the cover of the 2023 Brochure AND it was just received May 31, 2022.

Simply thought the young lady was incorrect… Surely it meant you must book your cruise BEFORE June 30, 2022

Needless to say - it gave us pause and at the moment do not feel comfortable continuing with the booking. It just feels - Bait and Switch sort of thing…

Booking Number 6525546

Explorer Suite 3095

Copy of letter to Customer Service: Stephanie Maldonado 5/20/2022

I am writing today to complain about the poor service we received from Viking Cruises last week. We upgraded our cruise to the Explorer Suite in part because it offered early booking of shore excursions which we highly value. We believe shore excursions are the heart of the trip and almost all of the excursions we wanted were sold out on the first day.

We tried booking shore excursions 90 days out from departure as was offered with our “priority booking” that came with our Explorer Suite package, but were unsuccessful. We contacted Viking about this problem but were told the excursions were not available yet. My wife looked every day for the shore excursions and she continued to converse with Viking’s customer service by using the chat feature on myvikingjourney.com for information, but were unsuccessful.

Apparently the booking were not available until 50 days from departure, 40 days late. My wife noticed this by her daily search for excursions. We tried booking at the earliest we could but were unsuccessful. We tried to resolve this by contacting customer service agent Randy, for assistance and then supervisor Francis. We never obtained the results we wanted. We never had the opportunity to use the priority booking that comes with the Explorer Suite. In fact, there was never even an apology for the delay of shore excursions or our inability to use priority booking.

I understand that problems arise that delayed shore excursion offerings, but I don’t see why Viking did not offer the priority booking on say, 50 and 49 days out and then open it up for everyone 48 days out giving everyone plenty of time to book and honor the priority bookings. This trip will be our 8th cruise with Viking. Previous trips were wonderful and we value and trust Viking to deliver, but this experience has been a huge disappointment.

We request Viking take the necessary actions to fix this problem, either by providing the shore excursions we desire or some financial reimbursement. We have spent over $40,000 on this trip. My wife has stage 4 cancer and she wants to travel as much as possible while she is able. Please respond in the next 5 business days so that we may consider other options if we cannot resolve this issue.

Respectfully yours,

Kevin and Tracey Lakins

To make a long story short, we had scheduled and paid for a cruise for May 2020.

Due to Covid, it was cancelled. Viking would only issue a partial cash payment (which took time to get to us) and a voucher to be applied for a future cruise, voucher which “expires” May 5, 2022. I called today, May 23, 2022, and was told the vouchers expire.

1) I would think Viking could extend the courtesy of “overlooking” this 2 weeks and/or compromise on the amount to be applied to the next cruise. After all, it is in the same month;

2) I was told “you had 2 years to reschedule”.

We are talking about a world pandemic here! Like most, I had other matters on my mind and Covid was and still is very much a reality so I was, as most, very hesitant as to what to do and when to schedule a cruise.

3) A general email should have been sent to customers the month of their voucher’s expiration to alert them.

4) I think Viking should have revised their policy during the Covid crisis and reassess the timing for most people to reschedule their cruises with more time offered as Covid is spreading very rapidly, STILL.

If Viking is hanging on to every dollar, that must tell you something about the state of the business.

My husband and I are first time customers, travelling first class, wouldn’t it make good business sense for Viking to meet us halfway rather than lose us (we will be using Tauck)and suffering (I hope) the effects of bad reviews, and possible legal action.

I am going to reach out on Instagram and Facebook to anyone who wishes to take the legal route, class action anyone?

For 2 passengers We are spending $17,000 dollars with you for this river cruise and passion play and you won't give us a ride to the Hotel Thursday morning?! And the friends I'm traveling with have a ride to the hotel for the same flight.

And your support agent Dione Gavlas seemed uninterested in helping me. She just kept repeating, and with a rude tone "That's not included in your trip" "That's not included in your trip"

When I asked to escalate she called supervisor Fabio Martin who wouldn't talk to us.

Dione said I have to escalate through my travel agent. If it weren't for my travel agent, I wouldn't even have a room Thursday night because you sent the hotel and packets out very late and I had no idea Thursday wasn't covered! It was for 8 other of my friends.

My travel agent is in Seattle and it's too early to conf her in. You do not consider how stressful it is to be working and getting ready to leave town. I don't have time to coordinate a three way conf call.

Dione made no offer to set up a conference call between the three of us so now I'm left with nothing!

We booked a Rhine River cruise along with another couple. We both added an extension in Amsterdam and The Hague. The day before we were due to fly home, I (along with the woman from the other couple) tested positive for Covid so we could not fly home and had to quarantine in our hotel for five days. We were told Viking would make rapid contact. This turned out not to be true. We had to call repeatedly and finally got some, albeit minimal, help. When my five days were up, I tested negative but Viking could not arrange an immediate flight due to the Easter weekend. The flight was booked for Sunday and we were told to test for Covid at the airport prior to boarding. Imagine our surprise when three of us tested positive. Again, Viking was of no help, just told us to arrange our own transportation back to the hotel where we again had to quarantine. Despite a promise to help us with medicine or errands, no assistance was given. Finally, we all tested negative and flew home. I contrast this with an article I read where a traveler to a conference tested positive and was well taken care of.

Since we've been home, I've made repeated attempts to contact Viking but no one has answered either our e-mails or phone calls. It is my understanding the other couple received a response and two vouchers for $599 for a future trip. We've received nothing but frustration.

We booked on the ROMANTIC DANUBE cruise for 4/28/20 to 5/5/20 (Booking # 5907723 at a total cost of $5,432. Via a letter from Viking dated 3/11/20 we were advised the cruise had been cancelled due to Covid-19. The letter offered a 125% 'bonus' voucher if we were to re-book on a future Viking River Cruise. And, the letter also allowed for a 100% refund if we chose not to book a future cruise, which is the course we chose. When advising Viking of this choice we were advised that said 100% refund would not be issued until 2 years had expired, which in our case made them issuable on 4/2/2022.

On or about 4/2/22, I contacted Viking to re-confirm our chose of the 100% refund and that they should issue it at that time. They advised that it could take up to 21 days for it to process, and I acknowledged that. Nothing was said about the manner in which payment would be issued (my bad for not pinning that down), so I assumed it would be via check, since we did not discuss what, if any, credit card said refund would be issued to.

21 days came and went and no check, nothing. I called Viking on 4/25/22 and was told it was not yet 21 BUSINESS days (never said that on 1st call), but all was still in order. So I waited until May 4, 21 business days. No check then either, so I called again. This call I was told that the refund would be going to the credit card I paid with (no mention of that in earlier calls). This concerned my as I have recently cancelled several credit cards and I was concerned they might send the refund to a card I had cancelled, which would be a big mess. But I was able to determine that the card they planed to send to was still valid and we conformed the account number on both ends, I was told it COULD take another 21 days to post as a credit on my card, at which time I will have to work with chase.com to get them to send me a check so I can get my money.

As of today (5/20/22) 15 calendar days have passed since I was told by Viking that the refund/credit had been sent to Chase for my credit card. Still, nothing has posted to that account yet.

I don't doubt Viking is overwhelmed with all this Covid stuff and has major money issues as well. But I just wonder what they are doing with my money, if they even have it anymore. In these times when I have a hard time getting even 1% on money I have in the bank, how much can Viking be getting on my piddling $5,432?

Is it just that the individual repeat customer like me is at the end of the line of creditors who want/need their money? I suppose we have to fall in line behind the ship builders, ship lessors, port operators, employees, food/wine suppliers, PBS programs, brochure printers and the USPS for mailing the not less than five I get every week!