The guy who leads my yoga (for seniors) class gave us the 15 minute review of his trip. First thing he said was that he and his wife did not follow the light luggage rule on the Rick tour, but he admitted you have to carry it yourself sometimes up flights of stairs. He was in Italy and Greece (I think). He did not regret taking the luggage he wanted.
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Arggh! The Sydney hotel we’d booked with HHonors points next February has dropped out of the Hilton system and our reservation cancelled. There are two more Hilton properties - one with somewhat more points needed, and the other with way too many more points needed. Husband will talk to Hilton (it’s his account) to see if there’s any deal they can give us at either other property. If not, it’s either pay somewhat more points at the one other property, or elsewhere for money.
We were really looking forward to that specific property but it would be $400/night; too much. We had planned our Sydney add on the the New Zealand tour partly because the hotel would be free! Time to research…
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Don’t leave for my first river cruise until next week but already booked my second. I used Viking’s insurance for the one we are taking next week but for the next one, I don’t really want to give them my money this early again…..you have to purchase the insurance within 10 days of booking the cruise. Would that be the same if I went with a 3rd party insurance company? My main concern about 3rd party insurance at the moment is “world events” and Viking canceling but it being one of those rare excluded events. Do you have a recommended insurance company that would cover most everything that Viking would cover for same $$ or less?
The people at tripinsurancestore.com are very knowledgeable about travel insurance. Don’t forget about the travel insurance through credit cards.
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If you buy travel insurance early, it covers pre-existing conditions. Otherwise, it’s much more challenging to parse whether one is or isn’t covered.
Cancel for any reason costs more but allows cancelation for whatever reason (read the terms of the policy). My sister has canceled 2 trips—one due to death of a friend and one to death of our brother. She had travel insurance and I believe she got fully refunded.
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Exactly, I don’t want to pay $$ 2 years before my trip! Every one I’ve checked asks for $$ 10-16 days after booking. Less worried about pre-existing and more worried about cancelation due to FIL (88 today) health and world events in 2 years. I’m thinking about skipping insurance for now and wait until closer to payment deadline which is 6 months before departure and may just lose the deposit and cancel the trip if it either doesn’t look good at that time.
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I have previously registered with the State Dept when traveling out of country - however, on a river cruise, is there even any point to it?
So Viking just sends me an email (I fly out tomorrow for Amsterdam) that they have oversold our river cruise (15 day cruise) plus the extensions - offering upgrade to a suite if we go in 2026 or 2027 at no extra cost and all prepaid excursions transfer over. I had to pay for this cruise 16 mos in advance. How do you oversell a river cruise that only holds 190, you don’t get your money back and it’s not cheap? I’m tempted but I waited a long time for this cruise. I am a little worried about air travel shutting down but our Governor just started using state funds to pay for meals for TSA folks and free parking. Not a great start Viking - weather looks fantastic though while we are in Amsterdam. Edit - I guess I’m over-reacting. They said this is an option offer but someone has to be missing the boat, literally, if it’s oversold and they are making an offer.
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That is the Viking business model. They oversell, knowing there will be some cancels. Supposedly if you want to accept the offer, you have to do so very quickly. Some travelers are just hoping and praying that they will get picked. (But I thought it used to be there was also money refunded in addition to the other offered perks? Might be wrong on that.)
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Viking oversells its cruises because they bet that there will be a certain amount of cancellations.
Sometimes not enough people cancel so they offer what is basically a golden ticket. Accept their offer, which is beyond generous. Full refund, book another cruise on their dime in an upgraded cabin. Sometimes for a longer period than was originally booked
It happens and when it does, you can be sure that there are plenty who are happy to go on a free cruise later.
I’ve seen the same offer on other cruise lines.
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Yes they refund the money and give you a complementary cruise fare on your new voyage (what does complementary mean - free or reduced?) I still don’t think I have an interest but I did email asking what “complementary” means in detail and what the restrictions are including dates, etc.
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Are you sure it is a “free” new cruise and not a reduced rate?
It’s been widely reported on the Viking cruise forums
I can’t be 100% certain because I’ve never received an offer but those who have been report that the new cruise they didn’t pay for
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Welp, just got an updated email that the overbooking has been resolved so I guess others took the offer. I wish they were more clear about what the “complementary fare” means - it does not necessarily mean free as other cruises have used that term and reduced the price. Also, did not mention all the prepaid excursions - will I get my money back on those, they were pretty pricey and I prepaid tips. Just curious, there is more to consider, before jumping at the offer. Again - this is not an airline with planes going every 30 minutes to the same place and 300 seats on the plane, its only 190 people going sporadically this way and that and weather dependent. Even though it is mostly old folks I’m surprised they oversell if everything is already paid for….you don’t money back except through travel insurance.
I suspect it is because it’s mostly old folks that they do this. Perhaps more reasons they might cancel(?). I certainly understand why you were cautions - complimentary certainly does get used many ways (sometimes for scammy deals, extra fees etc).
WHY?** - FROM GOOGLE - AI Overview**
Viking Oversells and offers compensation for it to prevent significant losses from last-minute cancellations, which are inevitable in the travel industry. By overselling, Viking ensures a full ship and full revenue even with some passenger dropouts, maximizing profitability. Passengers who are “bumped” from an oversold cruise are offered incentives to change their travel plans, such as a future cruise credit, a cabin upgrade, full refund of their cruise fare, and compensation for airfare, to thank them for their flexibility and maintain a positive relationship.
Why Viking Oversells
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Maximizes Revenue:
Overselling ensures that Viking receives payment for a higher number of bookings than its physical capacity, anticipating that some bookings will be canceled or modified.
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Mitigates Last-Minute Cancellations:
The travel industry has a predictable number of last-minute cancellations. By overbooking, Viking can fill those vacant spots with paying customers.
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Aids in Future Bookings:
A full ship is more appealing to potential customers than an empty one, which can lead to increased demand for future cruises.
Viking’s “Move Over” Offers
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Incentives for Volunteers:
Viking actively solicits volunteers from its overbooked passengers to change their travel plans.
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Compensation and Perks:
Volunteers are often offered various compensation packages, which can include:
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A future cruise credit or even a complimentary cruise.
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A cabin upgrade on their new sailing.
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Reimbursement for the cruise fare, airfare, and hotel fees.
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Onboard credit and other amenities.
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Benefit to Viking:
By offering generous incentives, Viking secures the space on the desired sailing, preventing the situation from becoming “too empty” and ensuring a profitable journey.
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I have a church friend who got one of those “golden ticket” move over offers from Viking. Full refund plus a free cruise including a cabin upgrade to a suite on the free cruise. It occurs to me that this works best when you have the cruise air. We always book our own air and for that reason would find it hard to accept a hypothetical move over offer. We also often book private excursions which would add another layer of complication for us.
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I don’t get it at all. If you cancel a cruise within a month, no refund. If you have travel insurance, the insurance pays. The cruise is ‘full’, at least for payment purposes if NO ONE shows up.
Many people are traveling from other countries. that’s a big inconvenience to get bumped, but I don’t even get the economics of it because they are collecting refunding the fee from the first cruise and giving a free second cruise, so Viking is out the cost of a cruise and on the first cruise they just collected what they originally would have (unless some of those cabins were free-bees too.)
It generally advantageous to run with a full ship, ensure tips to the crew and small profit on extras. I think the Viking strategy is to overbook a bit (knowing there are almost always cancels) but also making sure that nobody gets bumped. They give option for the “deal”, and per review of various forums…. for some couples it is like winning the lottery. (I do agree would work best for trips booked with air.)
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Regensburg and Munich both have great Christmas markets and lots of other things to do as well.
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We were in Munich with the kids in May 2015. (After the younger one graduated college, we did a trip to Italy per daughter’s request and Germany per son’s request. Stayed near the train station and really enjoyed Munich. Felt very safe - heck, only a few bike locks amongst the hundreds of bikes at the train station… made me a bit envious.).
Per a friend’s suggestion, we went to Dachau. The tour with a local docent with parents who had lived nearby during WWII but never ever talked about it. It was very meaningful. However the tour was mostly outdoors, and we were rather cold in the May rain. Not sure I’d do it in winter.
Something different my husband and I did while kids did bike tour was a daytrip to visit the Audi factory. That week the factory itself was closed, but the museum fascinated him. It was fun to eat lunch at the cafeteria there. The train ride was a bit long/pricey, but it was husband’s 60th birthday wish.
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