Viking River Cruises

Due to Covid and Viking's requirement for its passengers to be fully vaccinated, my husband and I have not been permitted to cruise for the past three years. We had hoped that Viking's vaccine mandate would be lifted and believe more than a reasonable amount of time has passed.

At the time of the original booking, there was NO COVID AND NO MANDATE FOR VACCINATIONS. Had there been one, we would not have booked. And, had Covid not hit, we would not have cancelled. We paid $7154 on January 24, 2020 and another for $198 on May 30, 2021 for a river cruise. Unlike our last four rebookings that were made risk-free, penalties would now be incurred for future rebookings, as Viking's stance with regards to their vaccine mandate remains unchanged. How is this fair when it is they who prevents us from cruising? Why should we be penalized for their policy?

History will show exhaustive exchanges with Guest Services/Customer Relations in attempts to resolve this matter with a reasonable and satisfactory outcome. Unfortunately, however, an equitable resolution has been unattainable.

There are NUMEROUS reviews with identical complaints posted on this and other sites. Some of the stories are horrible where one spouse was forced to travel alone.

Like others, I am also in contact with a party interested in pursuing a class action lawsuit and hope that Viking will take action to resolve this matter favorably, once and for all.

How much longer will Viking keep our monies hostage for "services not rendered?"

Date of incident: August 3, 2022 on Viking Idi. My husband and I were removed from the ship due to a possible false positive COVID test. We had no major illness, just minor symptoms that we attributed to environmental allergies. We tested because the ship staff asked everyone to test if they had any symptoms. When they determined that we had tested positive, we were given short notice to leave the ship and travel 1.5 hours away to a run-down quarantine hotel. As we left the ship, our friends watched in disbelief as we were walked down the gangway to waiting vans. The "meal" they provided us with did not meet my dietary requirements and was sub-standard. Our driver to the quarantine hotel didn't wear a mask, although we, and the other couple being removed, did.

For the duration of the cruise, staff were seen wearing masks improperly (down below the nose and or chin) or not at all. Viking policy states that all crew are required to wear masks. We had tested negative prior to the start of our trip and wore masks during all travel.

The evening of August 4, 2022, another Viking rep visited us in the quarantine hotel to test us again. We were both negative this time. The Viking COVID response agent who contacted us by phone to let us know the result offered to let us rejoin the trip, but the way we were humiliated in front of our friends made us ask to return home. She was to have sent our negative result to the hotel, but she didn't send it until after we were back in the US. Because the results were not sent in a timely fashion, the hotel staff asked us to take a third round of tests so they could release us from the hotel.

Viking's promotional materials boast that the air filtration systems on board filter 99.99% of airborne viruses and bacteria. It was never offered that we could stay on board in our stateroom until a second test could be administered. If the air filtration is so good, why couldn't we have stayed on board and gotten room service for the few days left on our trip?

We can provide trip # and receipts upon request.

My wife and I booked a cruise back in December 2021 with Viking cruises for our 30th anniversary. It was scheduled to sail in August 2022. Less than one month before we were to set sail they cancelled the cruise. They first offered a voucher plus 10% which I thought was insulting considering inflation so I asked for my money back. After three attempts with their customer service, we've yet to receive our refund or anything official concerning it.

Today, 1/22/22 I contacted Viking Cruise lines about canceling a river cruise to France for this June, plenty of days before the cancellation date, and was told that I could not get ALL my money back. The start of this story began in April 2021 when Viking CANCELED my July cruise to Norway and Iceland. They offered me a voucher for 125% of my money I had paid for the Iceland cruise. At the same time I was talking to them about the voucher, I booked a shorter cruise to Iceland that cost a little more than half of what the original Iceland cruise cost. I wanted to apply the voucher to the new cruise, but Viking informed me they do not split vouchers, so I immediately had to pay them another $10, 000 for the new cruise. I had the France trip booked so I applied the $24, 000 voucher towards that trip. Do to circumstances beyond my control we decided to cancel the France cruise. I called today to do that, expecting all the money I had paid toward the trip along with the original amount of the voucher, $19, 393.50, not the 125% ($24, 241.88) of it back. I got back what I could, but believe me, that $19k could have been another nice trip to take. Now, this all takes up to 21 days to process. They certainly want their money a year in advance of the trip. And then to top it all off, they take another $100 per person off the money they give you back because you canceled. Now, let's talk about their insurance, another $1, 838. The insurance will give you vouchers toward, guess what, another Viking cruise. So glad I was talked into that scam. Thanks guys. Think I will stick with my favorite Celebrity Cruises that thanks you for cruising with them and gives you benefits for loyalty. Something Viking never did.

I received a promotional booklet in the mail on 01/04/22. The brochure offered a cruise originating and ending in Paris France. The cruise went from Paris to Normandy and back. The advertised price was 1999.00 a savings of 500.00/pp. The rate was for a November 2022 sailing. When I called to ask for the package I was told that the printing must have been an error and that the package was in fact 2499.00/pp a savings of 500.00 off the original rate of 2999.00/pp. The rate was for a standard F cabin on the main deck. I gave the agent the code on the back of the book, Source Code 1QU1ZX, my customer ID number [protected], and the sale "name" Explorer's Sale WAV22. The agent spoke with their manager and said that the rate could not be provided and that the printing was in error. I was quoted a rate of 2499.00/pp.
In reviewing the advertisement, I noticed that the rate of 1999.00 is promptly displayed on page 26 and 27, that they even denote this is a savings of 500.00 off per person, and that it is indeed for a 2022 sailing. I provided the agent with snapshots of the book. The agent declined to honor the promotional offer in their advertisement.
I have a booking on hold but I will am hesitant to proceed based on the company's inability to honor their advertised prices or guarantees.
The booking number is 6621954

I have asked Viking Cruise Lines for a refund of 15, 000 instead of a voucher for a cancelled family trip, which they have refused. If I was well I would be very happy with the voucher. However, I have a nerve disease that has worsened and made it very difficult for me and my family to travel. Since the postponement and Vikings ultimate canceling of our April 2020 trip during COVID, I have decompression surgery and stem cell infusion in June of 2020. I have also been to the Mayo Clinic for a week long evaluation and a second round of stem cell. There is no way I can go on this trip and enjoy the things it has to offer. It would be difficult for me to even navigate the airport. Apparently, Viking never refunds money unless someone is dying. Yes, that was said to me by an employee of the company. Also, the employee that I was speaking to me hung up the phone eventually. Viking has suggested I donate our vouchers or transfer them, which would be a great idea if we were rich. I am not getting any better. Amazingly, we also find out that there is no insurance that would have covered this issue. That is not what we thought. Buyer beware, this company does not care about you! We have been on a previous Viking Cruise. We are very disappointed in this company!

We booked the Rhine river cruise for our 40th wedding anniversary for the last week of September 2021 it leaves from Amsterdam. When we booked the cruise the Netherlands was not a level 4 at the time. My wife subscribes to the state department website and last week they sent her a do not travel level 4 text alert. It just so happens that we do have the risk free guarantee which they gave us when we booked our cruise. They give a voucher for the full amount of what we paid for a future cruise. Yesterday I called viking booking
and spoke to Igor and explained that I wanted to cancel my trip on the Rhine cruise due to the level 4 situation but book another cruise for about the same time to safer place which is only a level 2 and I explained that it was for my 40th anniversary. He looked up the cruise and said there was only 2 rooms left but you would have to cancel your Rhine cruise first and he asked me my permission to do so which I gave him. After he cancelled he then told me that
I would have to wait anywhere from 2 weeks to a month for them to process the voucher, so he could not book me at this time. All I wanted to do was change my cruise to a safer location and they are making a federal case out of it. I called customer relations yesterday and spoke to Michelle who said happy anniversary but I can't help you either. Just think all of these problems with a risk free guarantee. Because of Viking there goes my anniversary cruise. It takes you one minute to take my payment in full which is what I did. Pay almost $10, 000.00 and a month for viking to issue a voucher. What am I missing here.
Both Igor and Michelle had the audacity to say why don't you just pay cash for this new cruise and use the voucher for a later date. What a money hungry company. The employees at this company show no empathy whatsoever.
I'm not asking for a refund just another cruise for my anniversary which I am entitled to under the risk free guarantee.

My wife and I have been on 2 Viking Cruises and had booked a 3rd for June of 2021 on May of 2020. Covid came, we were forced to cancel. Upon notifying Viking in February of 2021, and requesting a cash refund, we were instead told to accept a voucher and see how things were to work out for 2022. We now decided that travel for us will be nearly impossible.

We notified Viking of this and was told that if we don't use the voucher we lose our $9, 000! We were NEVER told that and we wanted a refund when we called in February but were hoodwinked into taking the voucher. Angry is not what we feel, its more pity that Viking has resorted to stealing money from their clients. Our booking# is 6042365. I have spoken to a supervisor named Arath DeLatorre and have reached an impasse. I will seek legal Counsel, but wanted to reach out once more before that happens. We want a refund for what we have paid minus any cancellation fee...