Viking River Cruises
Reviews and Complaints

I booked an Alaska cruise in 2020 for June 2022. I was sent an itinerary and a "Risk-free Guarantee". I called viking in Feb 2022, 104 days before sailing. Due to circumstances, I needed to cancel the booking. I was told that I would receive either a voucher good on another cruise or a 20% penalty. I would be unable to use the voucher and had to accept the penalty.

The cancelation penalty was NEVER mentioned by the agent during booking.

This is theft by viking cruise line.

We booked the Rhine river cruise in 2019, for a 2020 trip. In 2020 my husband was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer with a 90% cure rate. The cruise was rescheduled for 2021 due to covid. We asked for our money back then but were talked into the voucher because Viking said it will take two years to get a refund so just reschedule your trip with a voucher. My husband's cure rate was 90% and we had every intention of taking the cruise so we agreed. We also purchased their trip insurance two times, once in 2019 and also in 2020. The 2021 cruise was also cancelled due to covid by viking. Again we purchased the insurance. In early 2021 my huusband's cancer went to stage 4, so much for 90% cure! We asked for our money back and were told we couldn't have it because we took the voucher. The voucher that they talked us into because they said we wouldn't get our money back for "two years anyway". In December 2021, my husband's kidneys started being attacked by the keytruda infusions that he is on for the cancer. AT that point his oncologist said you cannot travel especially out of the US, due to your cancer and now the kidneys. Viking will not give us our money back. They told me to file an insurance claim, which I have done but now I am seeing people that say the ins co won't refund it either.

It appears that alot of us were intentionally deceived by Viking for the purpose of minimizing customer refunds. As the pandemic was in its early stages, Viking offered nervous customers a chance to postpone their trips and receive a voucher. Then, ten days later after numerous scared people took the offer, Viking then offered a full refund, except to those who took the vouchers. ( that was our group) When asked, Vikings explanation was that voucher holders were not eligible for a refund, as though there was some insurmountable rule that wouldn't allow it. The fact is that Viking simply chose not to accommodate voucher holders, and now the reason is clear. The offering of vouchers was simply a ploy to reduce the number of refunds it would have to give. No other explanation makes sense. This short sited policy decision will undoubtedly cost Viking a lot of future business, as repeat customers like me book with their competitors and warn friends and family of their deceptive practices.

I understand Covid-19 threw the whole world into a state of uncharted territory but this is no way you should treat all your customers. Other customers who have expressed disappointment with this policy were told that a "service specialist" would contact them. This was simply another ploy to give the impression that the issue would be resolved, when, in fact, Viking has no intention of correcting this unfair practice.

We booked in 2019 for a Rivercruise down the Rhine for April 2020 from Basel Switzerland to Amsterdam. We also invited 2 other couples who have never sailed with Viking cruise and since we had we gave viking raving reviews. Now here we are 3 yrs later still trying to go one the cruise. Covid still a issue in Europe and all the different regulations in place. We must be Fully vaccinated that includes Booster if eligible, wear mask on the boat and off the boat, must have a covid test with negative test before you fly, before embarking plus stay in your room up to 3 hrs while you wait for test results. We did not sign up for this, this is not the Rivercruise we all purchased to celebrate my 60th and my friends 65th birthday and a honeymoon for the 3rd couple. I would love for a service Specialist to call me and resolve our complaints and issues.

Waiting now since 2020 to celebrate my 65th birthday. Since then my husband almost died from a blockage in his stomach this year I had to have a hip replacement and now we have a new complaint that we have to be boosted. We’re getting older we only want to take a Viking cruise because we heard so much about it and how wonderful it was and now I’m very disappointed that they have all these mandates. Time is running out and they are taking peoples money some people have even died and they won’t even transfer it to a family member what is going on with Viking and they will not replace I’m sorry they will not refund your money!

10-days prior to Viking cancelling our 2020 Paris-Swiss Alps River Cruise with full refunds, we cancelled due to pandemic fears. We received vouchers. After multiple attempts to convince Viking that under those circumstances, we should be offered a full refund, they continuously refused. We now are using our vouchers to go to Alaska. Today we learned that mask wearing whenever outside your cabin was required. Since my wife has trouble breathing when wearing a mask, they again refused a refund. If vouchers expire, we will forfeit our entire $12,000+ . Instead, more vouchers were offered. In our late 70s we hope Viking would reconsider, but NO DICE. #6495737

Booking #5988019 - Transfers from/to airport originally included with booking. After 2 years delayed (due t0 Covid-19) we hope to finally go April, 2022 to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary (on our 42nd). We decided to extend our stay in Munich at the end of the cruise, on our own. Viking was originally supposed to transfer us from Passau to Munich airport (2 hours away) to fly home. We expected nothing different from them, they would take us to the airport that morning (as if we were flying out then) and we would be on our own from there (but flying home 3 days later). Because we booked our air through Viking, and did not book an extension with them, they now say they will not transfer us to Munich airport but are on our own in Passau (2 hours away). We greatly disagree with this "policy" as we are asking nothing extra from them and believe we should still receive the transfer to Munich airport on the same morning they originally were to take us. Viking giveth and Viking taketh away.

Issue is we are trying to obtain a refund through travel insurance. We cannot as they issued us vouchers when for medical reasons we postponed our trip. They never informed us when we postponed that this would in any way affect our insurance. If we had known we never would have rebooked. We even asked if this would have any affect on insurance and they said it would not. They are now saying with vouchers we can never obtain a cash refund. The medical issue is Parkinsons and doctor says he cannot travel. Viking will not give us our money back.

June 12, 2020 we booked the Grand European cruise. This was to be a family trip with my brother and sister in law and we booked as travel companions with the same trip number.

We booked through Brandt travel agency. We asked a lot of questions in the beginning regarding insurance as we wanted to make sure that should medical conditions change that the trip could be cancelled for a refund.

The travel agent was aware that my brother in law had Parkinsons and that factored into our decisions.

We made our final payment for the trip Sept. 17, 2020.

June 24, 2021 we rebooked our trip due to concerns over medical condition. We paid additional funds at that time to pay for insurance. We asked questions at that time about the insurance, any affect this would have on our insurance but no mention was made that this conversion to vouchers would void any ability to cancel the trip for a refund at a later date. We rebooked as we hoped at a later date he would be doing better and may be able to travel. We absolutely never would have rebooked if we thought in any way that was going to jeopardize our chances of getting a cash refund. If we had known that we would have cancelled the trip at that time for medical reasons and would have received a full cash refund less the cost of insurance. We knew it was always a possibility that he may not be able to make the trip and we would need to cancel. We always thought we could submit for a cash refund if necessary.

Now his doctors are saying his disease has progressed and that it is too risky for him to travel. We want to cancel the trip and be reimbursed.

We have tried numerous calls to Viking and Trip Mate. What we have been told to date is that Trip mate cannot refund vouchers. If we pursue an insurance claim our vouchers are null and void. We have been told it is very likely our claim will be denied and then we will also lose the vouchers and could end up with nothing.

We have now moved the trip into vouchers again and have been told that once we rebook we cannot change the date or lose everything. We are not in a position, given ages and his condition, to book a trip and know that it will be able to proceed. And now we have no insurance for this purpose.

We also feel deceived in that we always thought we had an ability under a medical condition to cancel this trip and receive a refund if necessary.

We entered into this with Viking being comforted by their “risk free guarantee”.

We thought we had purchased very good travel insurance that protected our trip as we are all elderly, this was meant as an experience together, and we are traveling with someone who has a progressive condition (Parkinsons).

We made sure we were covered in the event that his condition progressed to where we could not travel.

What we have been told is that we can postpone our trip. This is not possible as Parkinsons is progressive, if we can’t travel now, we can’t travel later.

We can transfer our trip to someone else. None of us have anyone who we can transfer gifts of that size.

We want to get a cash refund for our trip and Viking has made that impossible. We feel very deceived and that what they are doing is highly unethical. Thank you so very much for your help.

We just got back from an ocean cruise to the French Polynesian islands (Jan. 5 - Febr. 6, 2020. When we booked the cruise it was listed as a Hawaii/French Polynesian Islands cruise. Soon after paying for the cruise the Hawaii Islands were dropped because of Covid restrictions and Viking said they would pick up more islands in the South Pacific. We were disappointed but we justified it in our minds that we would be seeing more islands in the South Pacific. Viking also compensated us for this change with an on board credit voucher.

Sometime after this, some of the islands they picked up were also dropped and unannounced, the last stop at San Diego was dropped with no further explanation given. We were really looking forward to this stop. The 10 land days, 9 ports turned into a 8 land day, 4 ports cruise. We had to go back and revisit some of the islands we had already been to.

We realize that the Viking contract allows for such changes and we do appreciate the hard work of the Viking management and staff to make the very most of what they had to deal with. We rolled with the changes and still had a good time.

My friend and I booked the river cruise from Amsterdam to Copenhagen for 3/23/2020. The cruise was booked using my friends credit card. After the trip was cancelled due to Covid my friend received a full refund for her portion of the trip. After many calls and emails with Viking I only received a voucher. I have documentation with details that I have sent to Viking that they have not responded to. Due to underlying health concerns and a letter from my Doctor a voucher will not work for me based on the current state of the pandemic. I would like a full refund that my friend received for the same trip.

I am looking forward to a resolution to the issue above. Thanks

We are scheduled for a Spring European river cruise with Viking...booked & paid for all aspects last year (booking # 6413455). Effective Feb 1, 2022, Viking has announced that proof of both COVID vaccine and a booster if more than 5 months after vaccine is required in order to sail. We all understand & appreciate policies that insure the health & safety of passengers in this environment. However, this policy gives no credence to natural immunity/anti-bodies as just as effective of a deterrent to the possibility of contracting COVID. Viking DOES provide for an anti-body testing alternative for the immediately prior to sailing requirement. Why the double-standard? My wife & I were both vaccinated fully in May '21, then contracted COVID at Christmas. After consulting with our physician and doing research, we have decided to NOT take the booster (as we have natural immunities that now supplement the original vaccine). Due to your policy change just a short time before our scheduled river cruise, we are now faced with cancelling and either paying a hefty penalty (because your decision is so close to our trip) if we want a refund, or to accept a voucher for future travel with you within 2 years.
(1) You should allow for an anti-body test to substitute for a booster proof, especially since so many contracted COVID from the recent Omicron spread (stats show that as many as 50% of Americans who received the initial vaccine are now electing to NOT receive a booster largely due to so many having now also contracted COVID).
(2) You should also allow for a full refund if desired in this scenario due to your late decision for those like us with near upcoming cruise dates

We are 7-year loyal Viking clients... 5 previous ocean cruises, 6 future cruise bookings that we are footing the bill for, and countless recommendations to friends that turned into Viking bookings. A lot of hard earned money! We have just rebooked our Cities of Antiquity cruise (Booking #6610506) using vouchers from a previous cancellation...$24, 000 total. When we asked about reinstating Trip Mate insurance, we were told that should we get sick or have some type of emergency that would cause us to cancel, that Trip Mate would refund NONE of that money because vouchers were involved. To make matters even worse, we were then informed that despite being documented on page 2 of our invoice (dated 20 Jan 22), that their standard Guest Cancellation Schedule doesn't apply for the same reasoning. So for example, if either of us had a pre-cruise major medical emergency or an overriding family emergency that caused us to cancel, Viking would keep all our money...which they have had since 13 January 21. That is clearly not reasonable. In my opinion it almost constitutes outright theft if we hd to cancel. I want to hear their response to this and what remedy they propose. To be perfectly up front, if Viking does not provide us with an acceptable resolution, we will have no other alternative but to begin cancelling our currently booked future cruises with them and to re-establish ourselves with another cruise line. We could no longer trust them to be the stand up company we thought they were.

We booked a Viking river cruise in June 20 21 for the following May 20 22… By December the Covid rates were horrific for Europe and the USA so we decided to push the cruise back until June /July 2022… Viking was OK with this but then said the changes would cost $300 due to the flights each with no choice we paid $600. At this time we indicated that our flights would need to be discussed, I was advised that changing the flights would result in further charges and indicated that we should call after the new year to confirm our flights etc. I called today and was informed that I needed to speak to the air department and there would be a charge of $50 per passenger to speak to them… They're again no choice I explained due to our lengthy travel arrangements that we wanted to arrive in Budapest a day or so early to relax before we got on the cruise… They said no problem it will just cost another hundred dollars each. On our return trip we wanted to stay a few days in London which is on our route home and we would be flying from there anyway… No problem just another hundred dollars each . I would have understood all the extra charges if our flights had already been booked but they haven't no itinerary or discussion of dates has at this time been finalized…Ian Greenwood…[protected]@gmail.com

We booked a cruise through Viking. They canceled (pandemic shut down) then offered us a voucher. We accepted, wanting to give them our business. Since then they changed their policy (requiring a vaccination). We cannot receive the vaccine so cannot board their vessel. They will not refund since we booked with a voucher. Insurance is also no help. #6010707

Unable to get a refund of my $37k after cancellation due to illness verified by M.D. Viking "requires" travel / trip insurance (Trip Mate) before confirmation of booking. Viking requires monies not their "voucher $". Upon applying a Trip Mate claim, although meeting qualifications except for Viking vouchers being the only option offered upon cancellation. They offered vouchers for future travel (they knew that I am not able with death imminent) or I could leave to my estate executor. Even though I booked during Viking's "NO-RISK" time where the document states "vouchers 100% monies-paid can be refunded and are transferable". I have been denied both. Where can I appeal or help to litigate? I believe I have been scammed by Viking because they require "all of your monies and Trip Mate insurance, then they issue vouchers that cannot be used for claim purpose (even under their risk-free time) nor able to transfer, so that my niece (travel companion and booked on trip with me). I only can get my $37k reimbursed/transferred to another at my DEATH AS A PART OF MY ESTATE. Please help.

My wife and I booked our honeymoon cruise in 2019 for a summer 2020 sailing. When Viking cancelled our honeymoon in 2020 due to COVID, we were offered a refund or a 125% voucher for fees paid to date to rebook in 2021 which we did. At no time were we told that accepting the vouchers eliminated our ability to obtain a cash refund.

When Viking again cancelled our honeymoon in 2021, we requested our money back. This is when we were told we hadn't paid anything for the 2021 cruise as we had used vouchers so there was nothing to refund. After several phone conversations we were told that if we rebook for 2022 but later decide we don't want to go we could receive a cash refund. I called to initialize this refund process this morning but it seems that customer service is back in 2021 mode where, because we had accepted the vouchers, there was no cash to refund.

Further, Viking has changed the terms our our contract by now requiring a COVID shot in order to go on the cruise. Neither my wife will be receiving the shot as it violates our religious beliefs. Viking's published updated terms & conditions related to COVID indicate that if I have made a reservation prior to the new requirements I can request a refund. However, again, because their position is the vouchers have no cash value they will not refund cash, will only allow a re-book. I no longer want to sail with this company.

Viking has been sitting on $25, 000 of my money for going on 3 years. All the cancellations have been due to Viking decisions, not mine. I just want my money back so my wife and I can FINALLY have our honeymoon.

Booking #6438443

I booked a European Cruise for April of 2021, which was fully paid for. In March of 2021, Viking canceled the cruise, and I was offered a full refund, or a 125% credit to book another cruise. I took the credit, and rebooked the same cruise for April of 2022.
I learned in November of 2021 that I would not be permitted to go on this cruise because at least one of the host countries required proof of vaccination, and when I called to cancel, I learned that Viking had a similar policy, but that I would not be getting a refund due to their claiming that taking the credit made the money non-refundable.
I was never told that, and when another cruise line canceled a March 2021 cruise, they DID tell me taking the credit became non-refundable, so I refused. This is not something I would agree to.
Not only were they unwilling to be reasonable, since it was four months pre-sail, they wanted a cancellation fee on top of keeping my money.
I agreed to the credit because it was a cruise I really wanted to take, and planned to re-book, and thought I would ease their cashflow issues in a bad time for the travel industry.
I never agreed to put the whole amount at risk. Even if I had, this would be totally unreasonable and unfair, since the vaccine requirement was not part of the contract when I paid.
This is disgraceful.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/cruise-covid-cases-ship-industry

This is a damning report on the ship we were to have left Buenos Aires on Feb. 10. All this was happening on the Jupiter when Viking sent out a memo saying all cruises would sail and there would be no cancellations and thus no refunds. The timing on this made it impossible for us to do anything to get a refund, including our excursions. So we were forced to cancel and Viking gets to keep our $16K for a year until our rescheduled cruise in 2023. This borders on fraud. Given these problems of Covid, Viking should have just cancelled the cruise and refunded the money instead of issuing vouchers for a future cruise.

We love your cruise line. But his treatment is beneath Viking. We will consider filing a complaint with the better business bureau.

Jim and Bobbi Baca [protected]@gmail.com [protected] USA

Dear Viking Cruises:
After speaking with customer service this morning, we were told some disturbing information about the No Risk Guarantee and future cruise voucher offer made to us by Mr. Torstein Hagen. A copy of the letter we received from Mr. Hagen is attached.
We learned that no matter how we are affected by the current pandemic, there is no value in our original fare because we took advantage of the offer made in Mr. Torstein's letter.
There is considerable discrepancy between what we heard from customer service and what is outlined in Mr. Thorstein's letter. There is also conflicting information on the voucher receipt itself about refunding the original cruise fare. Copies of those receipts also are attached in the file format accepted.
If Viking continues to hold itself accountable for what we heard from customer service this morning it would constitute something a bit unethical at best as the documentation we received clearly can then be interpreted as misleading.
We do not believe Viking had any kind of unethical intentions, however the outcome could be interpreted otherwise. We do not believe we will be able to travel this year, as we are in a high risk age group for COVID and there is no ability to determine when that risk will subside. It would be better for all concerned for Viking to refund the original fare amount paid. As stated in the voucher wording, we should intend for it to expire at which point we would receive a 'refund of monies paid on the booking'. When such time as travel once again becomes safer, we will re-book as we very much wish to go. Even if the fare is much higher in the future, we'd be much more agreeable to re-book at that time if only we would be shown a good faith gesture on behalf of the cruise line at this time. Thank you.

My husband and I booked a Viking river cruise for our 50th anniversary in October 2019 for a March 2020 cruise booking number 6400964. We have travelled on Viking River Cruises in the past and have thoroughly enjoyed our trips and were really looking forward to the cruise in 2020.
The world fell into the Covid pandemic in March 2020. As senior citizens we were very frightened to travel and decided and tried to cancel our trip, understandably, but Viking claimed they never cancelled their voyage. I called Viking to get our $10, 896.00 returned to us. Viking refused but pushed our sailing date ahead 2 years. At this point I spoke, many times, to Bruce ext.8651. We were very upset but we pushed the date ahead. Then again in March 2021 I spoke, at length, with Scott many, many times. I also spoke with, at length, with Bruce but the answer was always the same.NO REFUND!We were and still are VERY upset over the loss of OUR funds and the terrible policy Viking has for the little people of this, our world! I called Viking, again, 2 weeks ago demanding our money back to us. No such luck AGAIN! I spoke with Ren from Viking. Since then, I have contacted the U.S STATE travel department, the Better Business Bureau and spoke, at length, with Nicholas at the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General's Office -- speaking as well as sending in forms of complaints. I have reached out to the television media Kris Anderson for Solveit7 at WHDH television in Boston, Consumer Affairs bureau, The Federal Trade Commission and spoke, at length, with Freida. I also wrote a hand written letter to the President of the UNITED STATES! We are elderly and how LONG can this go on? We want our money returned!We obviously NEED it MORE than VIKING! Just a side note my husband, Jim, has cancer and finds it hard to travel with the pandemic still raging...do YOU blame him? I am a retired Boston nurse and KNOW the effects of this virus! Why wont you help us? I guess there is NO fair play with the Viking Corporation! Very, very POOR PR!
In summary, Viking has had almost $11000 of our money since 2019 and we have not received any consideration except to continually move our commit date out. With no end to COVID in sight, we do not want to risk our health by booking with Viking any time in the foreseeable future. We would like our funds returned to us as well as consideration for holding on to OUR money for over 2 years. Jim & Lynda Stamboni