SpaceX and NASA have called off an astronaut launch to the International Space Station after an issue with the rocket's ground system was detected. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu. Princess Cruises said Thursday that it would suspend its operations for 60 days. What are the pros and cons of a nonrefundable cruise deposit? CC Help Jenn Refunds come with future cruise credits of 25% to 100% of the original cruise value depending on when the refunded cruise was to depart. 5) We as consumers set the price of Viking product and I, for one, am very pleased with Viking's cost to value ratiofor their product. If you're looking to support CruiseHabit.com, check out the CruiseHabit.com shop for cruise accessories and shirts. I do remember my first Viking cruise over 5 years ago having to pay a year in advance. What was great? Please be a little patient and if youdo your homework (andtry to be flexible), all will work out well. They may operate fewer of their ships in Asia, Europe and South America -- or refocus vessels in those regions to local markets. If Viking cancels a pre- or post- cruise experience, a refund of monies paid will be available. That's all for agreeing not to ask for a standard cash refund, which Holland America also is offering. I have said before that we will only sail again when it is safe to do so. Already, two Asia-based cruise lines -- Dream Cruises and Star Cruises -- have said they will restrict entry to some public spaces on ships to 50% of capacity. However, if you would prefer the alternative please call Viking at 1-833-900-0951 or contact your Travel Agent by March 25, 2020. Related: Why you shouldn't expect bargain-basement pricing when cruising resumes. Contact your Sales Agent or our Customer Service department online, via email, or by phone at 1-800-427-8473 and ask about potential opportunities for flexible cancellation policies, rebooking opportunities and other options. Maybe Viking has some special deal with Israel. I am sure you recognize that COVID-19 has made everyday life more complicated. But in a one-on-one interview with TPG earlier this month, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio said he hoped itineraries would be able to remain the same as cruising starts up. If you take the cash, you'll have access to a world of opportunity. $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. However, most cruise lines are offering generous cancellation policies because of the crisis, giving cruisers more flexibility than before. The agent, Wayne Crabb, was working from home and he was fabulous! Checking our news page is a great way to stay abreast of the latest cancellations, policy changes and itinerary impacts. By How Soon Before Your Cruise Can You Cancel Due to COVID-19 and Omicron? For all air-inclusive packages cancelled after issuance of an airline ticket, the air portion of the refund, if any, will be subject . Related: Heres how to cancel or postpone a cruise due to coronavirus. Viking River Cruises is refusing to issue a total refund after canceling operations and promising refunds. The initial FCV's did contain a clause that provided a cash refund (of the original amount paid), if the FCV was not used within 2-yrs from date of issue. We are fronting them interest free money ----- what part of that is OK with you? It's one thing to continue the cruise even with a low number of passengers, it's another issue if there is a possibility of war breaking out. I feel we have become one large Viking family of 500,000 guests each year and 10,000 employees. The US state department is not relevant to any of us. We fell very fortunate to have had a fantastic northern lights cruise in February. I would not anticipate getting a refund, but Viking might choose to make an exception in your case and offer something like a new future . We'll make an effort to keep this current, but if you learn something we don't yet have posted please leave a comment below and let us know so we can keep things current. Refund. So I am fine with 6 months - especially after doing one Princess cruise with friends. See what a point or mile is worth with our appraisals of a loyalty programs currency, based on redemption values. Author: bill March 11, 2020, Updated: May 2, 2020. (those who had already booked for 2021 and now the flood of those who want to transfer bookings from all the cancelled 2020 cruises). In recent days we have had an experience where a river cruise guest in Southeast Asia was exposed to COVID-19 while in transit on an international airline. The price for next year is a little lower. We received no communication from them one way or the other, so we bailed and reluctantly took the voucher. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. That's the downside. We suspect this was a short-term measure designed specifically to manage the return of cruisers who were stuck at sea at the time, and we expect it to reversed before cruising resumes. Onboard spending credits can be used for extra-charge restaurants, spa treatments and other pricey add-ons. Like they were when you first booked this cruise, so long ago and no one knew about the virus. We rebooked the trip for 10/12-10/23/22. That's $1,500 in extra value -- a 37.5% return on the original payment of $4,000 -- just for letting the cruise company hold onto the original payment for another year or two. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations of our river and ocean vessels embarking from March 12 to April 30, 2020 at which time we believe Viking will be in a better place to provide the experiences our guests expect and deserve. Powered by Invision Community. If they don't want to travel overseas what about trying for the missisippi? I am writing today because the situation has now become such that operating as a travel company involves significant risks of quarantines or medical detentions, which could diminish the travel experiences for which our guests have been planning. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. What to Expect on a Cruise: Booking a Cruise, Cruise Line Cancellation Policies: A Closer Look, Mega-Chart: Compare Hurricane Sandy Cruise Line Compensation, Booking a Cruise Onboard: How to Score Extras and Discounts, Can I Cruise While Pregnant? Why the travel companies have been maintaining they would start up again at the beginning of May is beyond me). Best they can do is gift the cruise so someone else can enjoy it. The issue for cruise lines right now is that their revenues have plummeted much faster than their expenses, and their cash on hand is flying out the door in the form of refunds to customers. However, if you would prefer the alternative please call Viking at 1-833-900-0951 or contact your Travel Agent by March 25, 2020. We are confident you can weather this storm! Same friends on Princess booked for the first time with Viking for a March 2021 cruise and won't pay until September. Still, in an environment such as the current one, with the length of the travel shutdown still unknown, you may want to think twice before allowing your money to be tied up unnecessarily with a travel company. We still have $$$ "left over" for excursions. If not, a cash refund may be the better bet. When I got in touch with Viking a few weeks back once they out out the new temporary policy I was told we did NOT fall under those guidelines since our ship embarkation date is May 1. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. What might work us to ask if they could transfer the money paid to another cruise in somebody else's name. In order to reserve a room onboard, cruise lines will accept a deposit, or portion of the full cruise fare to secure your place. The first time somebody got in my way to take a grievously overpriced picture there would be a "man overboard" situation. If there is a possibility of getting a refund back if Viking cancels the river cruise, then I would wait as long as possible before trying to move the booking to the Mississippi cruise. Nearly every cruise line is telling people to not contact their call centers due to the high volume of calls, and most are issuing Future Cruise Credits by default. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ukraine, Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Policy regarding COVID related Discussions. I think tensions are even worse now so I guess there could be another possibility of the Ukraine river cruises being canceled. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. Viking will resume its operations on May 1. I am sure you recognize that COVID-19 has made travel exceedingly complicated. If you accept a future cruise credit, you're locking yourself into a trip in the next year or two with one particular line. The booking must be cancelled before applying for a refund. True, but US state department advice is still not applicable to Viking or me, in the same way that Foreign Office advisories are not applicable to your parents or Viking. Take advantage of that. As a guest whose cruise falls within this window of suspended operations, we are offering a Future Cruise Voucher valued at 125% of all monies paid to Viking. But that might not be the case. To check what makes the most sense for you, and if your cruise deposit is refundable, read the following information compiled by Cruise Critic. Our opinions are our own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by our advertising partners. 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. You can read more about how this all got started here. On my recent cruise on Anthem of the Seas in Norway, the ship left at 3 pm. We will stand by our guests, employees and partners in these challenging times and hope that they in turn will stand by us. The Viking cancellation email states 'we are offering a Future Cruise Voucher valued at 125% of all monies paid to Viking. As a private company we do not have to worry about quarterly profit expectations and that flexibility allows us the ability to do what is best for our guests and our employees. We hope they can make it through this. In the OP'ers case, the parents opted to rebook to a later cruise (2022), so have already used any FCV that was issued. //

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