VikingReviews of viking.com

The cruise company demands a full payment one year in advance of booking a cruise. Customer service was atrocious. During the initial booking they quoted a price of $1100 for trip cancellation insurance. That fee was charged immediately and it came out to be $1700.A complete misquote by the Viking agent. We wanted to upgrade our cabin to a higher category. After confirming that ,we reviewed the document and discovered that the agent actually downgraded our stateroom category ! We decided to cancel our booking which is a year away! We had to forfeit almost $2000 dollars as Viking does not refund the trip cancellation insurance even thought our trip would have been a year alter!!! This is very unfair and predatory business practice. Don't be taken in by the customers service rep on initial inquiry.They are very smooth talking and play the game well...

The river cruise its self was fine , staff were great and a great service .However Viking arranged our flights i was told it was direct flights . Once we paid we were given connection flights . First flight was OK. 2nd flight ww got denied flight with KLM had to wait hrs for next one . On the way home we had a standby flight so for 8 hrs we didn't know if we would be getting home . We did however it felt like we spent 2 days in airports for a 3 hr flight . My 2nd time with Viking never again . They book the cheapest flights and the after care not good . I'm not impressed for the money I paid . If you book a river cruise don't bother with a balcony they park other boats next to them, so glad I booked a inside room. I have contacted my travel agents regarding our flights still no contact from Viking . Once they get your money they don't care . Its a shame as I enjoyed my last ocean cruise i will not be booking with them again or recommending them.

Poor experience whilst on the cruise, level of customer service is dreadful. The experience has put us of cruising ever again. Definitely not worth the money.

This was not our first cruise with Viking but our 4th. The 3rd had issues but this one was a financial disaster! How many companies keep your money by issuing credits for what they cannot provide and then give you a couple of days to spend the credits or donate them to Viking? They could not provide the rail trip on the Glacier Express and then countless lunches which we had to buy in different towns. We paid for a leisurely river trip and spent hour after hour, day after day in buses. When all this adds up to $900+ in credits it’s the biggest rip-off ever. I have not received as much as an acknowledgment of receipt of my complaint from Viking. I guess that is not surprising considering how they do everything else.

Our cruise started on the Sunday from Lyon France however we didn't leave until the Tuesday, during most of that time in dock we had another river boat tied up at the side of ours , our view from the room balcony was another bedroom on the other boat which meant we had to close the curtains as the other bedroom was occupied, this happen a number of times throughout the voyage and one boat had its engine running for hours, this sent diesel fumes throughout our boat. We booked an excursion to the Ardeche this included a visit to a lavender farm and a visit to its museum, what they didn't tell when booking is that the lavender had been harvested, they showed us a video of what we should have seen. Included in this excursion was lunch, this was a set meal for all which consisted beef and veg, no choices ( although the restaurant had an extensive menu) it appeared pre cooked plated and ready to serve, My wife and a couple of other guests who said they don't not eat meat were not offered an alternative they just took the meat off the plate. The boat had a top deck with sun loungers, tables, chairs and awnings from which you could view the surroundings, there is also a games areas and a smoking point, once the boat left dock all these items were folded down and stowed away, we were told this is to allow the boat to sail under there bridges across the river, the meant that whenever the boat was moving we were confined inside to our cabin or the lounge. Had we have known about the above we would not have booked this type of river cruise

This is a warning to anyone who is intending to sail Viking Sea - be very careful if you have any special dietary allergies. I have a gluten-free intolerance, a lactose allergy, cannot have nuts. When you fill in the Viking comprehensive diet form before boarding you think great 👍 in fact it is total rubbish. We were on an eight day cruise and it wasn’t until the seventh evening did I get a three course meal on time alongside my husband and friends without either having to wait for at least 20min for my bread etc. Twice I was given a dessert which had almond milk in it after being told it was free from my allergies this gave me a horrendous itchy rash ( which I luckily had my medication) this could have been fatal for some one else. We went on a paid trip out and the guide was not told of my allergies or anyone else’s ( there were five others) my paid lunch was some lettuce and a slice of red pepper- Viking did refund the trip but the day was ruined 😫 like wise every evening meal on board. The “hotel manager “ was very rude to us especially when on the second to last night when my new perfume bottle (Chanel No 5) was stolen from our cabin. Our cabin was searched five times even stripping our bed - this was very degrading and the manager more or less accused us of taking it ourselves-as only the cabin boy and us were in the room that night and he trusts his staff they don’t steal 🤷‍♀️ And asked if we took a photo of it - I didn’t know we had to take photos of things we left out. He grudgingly refunded the cost but I was left with no perfume. When we got home I phone Viking a week later asking why they hadn’t been in contact as they said they would - no excuses. They eventually offered us two £500 voucher each then said their mistake only one £500 voucher each - ridiculous, I told them that for me £500 does not cover the missed meals and the worry I had the anxiety of what was going to happen each night , I began to dread 😬 the the meal ahead. So please take note if you have any life threatening allergies. Please lock your expensive perfume away. It was such a shame because the ship 🚢 was lovely Our room a penthouse veranda was really nice. Landside staff were brilliant The food issue was intolerable - we were also told that food is not a big thing on their cruises - well that says it all

Viking provides a quality product and service but the evening entertainment is very dull and designed more for the elderly ie violin and piano music 😢

Did our 2nd Grand European cruise in 2017 and it was a disaster. The water levels were down and we misses a third of our cruise. Viking did refund 25% and the rep out in California promised a 850 dollar discount for me and my wife on our next cruise. Well no luck with that when we tried in 2019 or 2022 or 2024. What a shame Viking just does not care!