Q – We are – I should say “were”, booked on a Viking Cruise on, what we believed to be, an excellent Scandinavian “Homelands” itinerary in July of 2022. I cancelled when I learned that Viking requires full payment right now for this cruise. I am told this is the way “our company is set up”. Well this is how my financials are set up – I just cancelled. But why do they do this? If they are in financial trouble shouldn;t you be pointing it out on web site which is otherwise extremely truthful. I think that consumers like us should be warned about this scam and told if it is related to Covid and the fact that Viking is essentially shut down for the rest of the year. Love your site but would have appreciated the heads up.
A – You have a valid point. But this is not a debt issue or related to the Covid crisis. The privately-held Viking brand is owned by wealthy Norwegian investors who quickly intend to have the most vessels in the upscale cruise market. They are building more new vessels for both river and ocean than any other company in the industry.
The philosophy at Viking is that consumers should be willing to pay 18 months or more in advance to lock in and secure their best deal pricing. It is a business philosophy and, for the most part it has worked well. In some situations, you could have opted to pay the full, or non-discounted rate, and that would have allowed you to make final payment at the same time as Viking’s competitors. But you are absolutely correct that we should have emphasized this early payment requirement on our site. By your question, and our response, we hope this has now been achieved.
