VikingReviews of viking.com

We have just returned from a wonderful cruise on Viking Sea from Athens to Venice. Unfortunately the airline lost our luggage for five days which was far from ideal but Viking staff provided us with toiletries and also laundered our clothes each evening returning them early next morning. Our cabin stewards, Angel and Rhuel went beyond the call of duty to help us out with a few other missing item. The food was very good, the cleanliness was excellent and most importantly, the Staff were lovely. We mainly did the included excursions and the guides were very knowledgeable and interesting. All transfers were well organised and there were representatives at the foreign airports guiding us to check in and sorting out our luggage transfer so we only had our hand luggage to carry. All in all we were very happy people and have already booked our next ocean cruise with them.

European Sojourn: 22 days from Bucharest to Amsterdam. July - August 2023 My wife and I have enjoyed almost a dozen ocean cruises including two very favorable cruises on Viking. This was our first river cruise, and we had heard so many favorable things about it. We have traveled extensively throughout Europe and hoped this would add favorably to our great experiences. Unfortunately, a majority (perhaps over three-fourths) of the passengers and crew was infected with respiratory and/or gastroenteritis infections. The program director stated that our ship had reached "Condition Red". Nevertheless, there was no enforcement or even encouragement of the use of sanitizing stations prior to meals. There are no medical personnel on the ship. There was constant coughing, and masks were rarely worn. The Program Director was on duty while visibly ill. Due to a significant staff shortage, as a result of these medical issues, service was subpar, especially in the dining room. Entire courses were missed simply because the dining staff couldn't keep up. Although the food was never terrible, only one meal would be considered outstanding. The excursions rarely offered anything other than the usual "castles and churches" and required long bus rides to unremarkable sites. However, I was very impressed with the guides who were consistently knowledgeable and personable. I also appreciated the fact that the excursions started exactly on time. We didn't expect entertainment, fortunately. There was one musician and the occasional folkloric dances. Internet was very spotty even in our third-floor cabin very near the middle of the staterooms. We were forced to use our own cellular service. In 2023, adequate Wi-Fi is a base-line requirement. I knew the French Balcony stateroom would be small, but moving about in it was very awkward. Our Program Director was perhaps the biggest disappointment. His condescending, snarky manner was ill-suited for his role. Incredibly, he acknowledged the many issues with the voyage but still strongly encouraged passengers to give marks "Far above expectations" since "nobody was at fault". Anything other than "Below expectations" would have been dishonest, and I resent the pressure to rate otherwise.

Multiple airline delays and flight cancellations resulted in my wife and I missing the first three days of the cruise and no realistic plan to meet up with the boat later, so requested a return flight to US ,which we got. After arriving home, we filed for reimbursement from Trip Mate. Payment was denied because we had used vouchers from covid cancelled cruises to pay for current cruise. $7,000 out the window. Never again Viking!

Our first ocean cruise on Viking Sky in the eastern Mediterranean was very enjoyable with both the onboard crew and staff being very professional, helpful and a pleasure to interact with. From the point of booking and attending this cruise, we were impressed with the provision of documentation for the trip, travel arrangements, excursions on the cruise and the ship's cleanliness, the overall onboard facilities including dining and leisure and through proficient updates on the ship's program by the crew and staff. We therefore have booked a Viking River cruise in 2024 on the back of our comments above. We rate Viking Cruises as 5 star.

On August 8th, Hurricane Dora made landfall on Maui, unleashing powerful winds reaching speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. These formidable gusts resulted in downed power lines that sparked fires, ultimately engulfing the entire of Lahaina, Maui. Tragically, the disaster claimed the lives of many, along with the destruction of countless homes and businesses. While our own residence miraculously escaped the flames, it remains uninhabitable due to the absence of both electricity and water. Regrettably, even after a span of two weeks, power has yet to be restored. The forecast suggests a daunting additional weeks of darkness and inconvenience. My place of employment also burned to the ground leaving me with no income. Given the extraordinary circumstances, both mental and physical limitations prevent us from embarking on any travel. We had a 10 day Viking Cruise scheduled for our 37th wedding anniversary. Viking would not give us a credit or any money back (which we could really use at the moment). They had no concern or empathy for what we experienced. They should be ashamed of themselves for not giving us a credit or our money back.

I just took my first cruise ever. I chose Viking based on reviews and advertising about the extremely high level/quality of service. I unfortunately did not experience that on my trip. Many things occurred, including with dining and servicing of the cabin, but the two biggest were that I was injured during dinner when the boat hit the side of the river/canal with the force of an automobile crash. The person at the desk didn't ask if I was okay. They didn't say they were sorry that it had happened. There was no level of concern at all. I was locked out on my balcony; I discovered it at 12:30 am. It took four people to get my cabin door open. I was taken aback when no one from the crew followed-up with me the next day to see if I was okay or to check the sliding door, so I mentioned my experience to the Program Director. The engineer came to my cabin the last night on the boat and determined that there was a problem with the door. He mentioned that many of the screws and other parts were loose and that is what caused the lock to engage. While on the boat I also discovered that Viking Air was free with my cabin class. I was charged $100 for it by the Viking representative who booked my cruise. (My air was booked AFTER the cabin was booked so there should have been no confusion.) I had to fight with Viking to have the charge reversed when I returned from my trip, but they eventually refunded the money to me. I called Customer Relations on three occasions after my cruise to share my concerns and ask for a refund. I was offered either a 2,500 voucher or a 200 cash refund. I spent close to $20,000 for this cruise. I shared that if I take a voucher from Viking, it doesn't affect Viking in any way since I still have to spend money, approximately $18,000 more to go on another cruise. The representative shared that I would not get any more with either a cash refund or voucher since Viking has a rubric system to make these decisions and that was what it come out to. I was told that if I chose to take the $200 cash refund, I would need to sign a non-disclosure agreement first before Viking would send me the $200.00. If I signed the NDA then I would not be allowed to tell anyone about what happened to me on my river cruise with Viking. I shared that it now made more sense as to why Viking seems to have such a high level of service when that is nowhere near what I experienced in my time on the boat or when dealing with Customer Relations. I shared that I did not want any money and I would rather truthfully share what happened to me with others who might be considering a Viking cruise so that had a first-hand account to consider before making up their own minds. I would stay as far away from Viking as possible!

This was my first, and now last, Viking cruise. One of the excursions we took was completely misrepresented–fewer than half of the promised activities occurred, and those that did were sad excuses for the kinds of things one can reasonably expect. The highlight of the trip was a soggy piece of tasteless pancake with a line of whipped cream sprayed on it in front of us, which we received after waiting in the rain for 20 minutes. It was not just a waste of $400, but of one entire day of the cruise. The trip was led by a 19-year-old who was pleasant enough, but did not know how to run an excursion. He mostly talked about himself and TV shows–on a trip focused on how 19th Century farmers lived! I explained the problems in detail upon getting back on the ship and a few days later received a message from the excursion director–Sasha, I believe. She summarized my complaint with the least important details while leaving out the important ones, and offered 10% credit. So I would only be paying $360 for wasting an entire day on a misrepresented excursion run by a kid barely out of high school! Viking obviously does not vet their excursions with care, and does not stand by their products. They saved themselves 90% of my payment–and lost 2 customers for life. There are many other cruise lines that do take care about whom they entrust their guests to and do care about their guests’ satisfaction–stick to them and avoid Viking.

Never pay the $150 fee to speak with Airplus. It's a total scam. They never helped us with our seats and the seats we booked dropped off the night before our flight and we were put in the last row of the airplane. Our only recourse at that point was to pay for comfort air directly through the airline as those were the only seats left. Of course, Viking says it was out of their hands and will not refund the $150 each we paid them for help with our air. It's a scam. Also unless you've paid for a more expensive room, you may not get the excursion you want nor the free excursion they promise, nor reservations at their fancy restaurants. Very elitist. Not a premium cruise line. I'd almost think they were going bankrupt. Bad business, bad company.