River Cruise Basics: Deposits & Final Payment
May 30, 2013
PLEASE SEE OUR UPDATED POST: Deposit Policies Across Major European River Cruise Lines
Every river cruise line has policies in place that govern what kind of deposit or down payment youll need in order to secure your reservation, and when the balance of your cruise fare is due. While the vast majority of lines require payment in full no less than 90 days prior to departure, a few extend this window to 60 days.
Where there is no consistency, however, is how much money youll have to dole out up-front in order to make your booking. While these numbers shouldnt be a surprise to anyone who has cruised before, the difference in required deposit amounts between cruise lines can add up to some major coin.
Heres how some of the most popular river cruise lines handle deposits and final payments:
AmaWaterways: A deposit of $400 per person is required within seven days of making the initial reservation, or within three days for voyages departing in 90 days or less. Final payment is due no less than 90 days prior, or within one business day for voyages departing in less than 90 days.
A-ROSA: A total of 20 percent of the cost of the cruise is due within seven days of booking three days for voyages under 90 days out. Along with Tauck, A-ROSA allows guests to make their final payments 60 days out. Reservations made less than 60 days until departure require full payment within 24 hours of booking.
Fly Premium Economy Or Business Class
Viking is pleased to offer Premium Economy and Business Class air upgrades on select itineraries. Available on transoceanic flights, Premium Economy offers a more spacious seat than coach and additional amenities for a significantly lower add-on price than that of Business Class Business Class provides the ultimate in comfort, amenities and cuisine.
Discover The World’s Best By River And Sea
More than 20 years ago, Viking® was founded with the purchase of four river ships in Russia, and through the years, set the standard for what river cruising should be. Viking then took their destination-focused experience to the seas, redefining ocean cruising.
Today, they are not only The Worlds Leading River Cruise Line®, they are also rated The Worlds Best Ocean Cruise Line. Their river fleet of more than 60 state-of-the-art ships sail in Europe, Russia, China, Southeast Asia and Egypt, while their elegant ocean vessels cruise through Scandinavia and Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, Alaska, North and South America, and Africa.
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Why Does Viking Need Full Payment Upfront
Q I will be taking my wife on a Viking River Cruise on the new Odin Longship sailing from Germany on June 12th. My travel agent informs me that I have to pay in full six months in advance of my cruise departure. In reading the fine print, Viking makes it clear that final payment is due ninety days prior to departure. I feel like someone is trying to take advantage of us and Id like to know if this is some sort of a scam. This must affect others who sail with Viking River.
A It does. You have read the fine print correctly but you are leaving out the key sentence which exempts certain promotional fares. The fact is that nearly everyone who books Viking is on some sort of a promotional fare, if they werent, they would be paying list price.
Normally, your travel agent would have explained Vikings payment schedule. It is not at all standard industry practice and it does raise questions about the financial situation at any company that requires full payment for a travel product that will not be consumed for another half year.
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Destination Focused Culturally Enriching Carefully Curated
Viking believes in well-designed cruises that bring you closer to the cultures of the world. You sail into the heart of your destinationwhere discoveries are just a short walk from your ship.
Viking has fine-tuned the art of exploring the world in comfort. From the Viking Longships® on Europes rivers to the elegant sister ships on the worlds great oceans and seas, its award-winning vessels have been thoughtfully engineered by nautical architects to bring the outside in. Graceful staterooms and suites are designed for ultimate comfort and serenity, and light-filled public spaces inspire and refresh you throughout your journey.
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Making A Cruise Deposit
A cruise line may hold your reservation for a period of time before requiring a deposit. For example, Carnival Cruise Lines provides a courtesy hold for 24 hours before a deposit is required, and Holland America doesn’t require a deposit until one to five days after you reserve. The amount of your cruise deposit depends on the number of people you are traveling with and the total cost of the cruise you’ve chosen. It can range from $50 to 50 percent or more of the cruise price.
Pay By Echeck And Save
Enjoy the convenience of paying for your trip by echeck . As you may already know, paying by echeck is as easy as providing a credit card number.
- You may use echeck to pay for your Viking cruise or cruisetour, and for airfare. Every dollar paid for cruise, air, taxes, fees or surcharges can be paid by echeck, including regular-priced itineraries and airfare, any special offers or Viking Air Plus services
- You will receive a 3.3% discount and there is no fee for this service
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Minimum Age Policy On Viking Cruises
Due to the nature of our cruise itineraries, Viking Cruises does not maintain facilities or services for children aboard cruise vessels. On all cruises and cruise journeys, minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied and share a cabin with a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult over the age of 21. We reserve the right to limit the number of minors under the age of 18 years on board. The carrier reserves the right not to accept passengers who are in an advanced state of pregnancy either upon commencement of or at any time during the river or ocean cruise.
Viking Travel Protection Plan
For your convenience, Viking makes a Travel Protection Plan available to you. This may help protect your travel investment, your belongings and most importantly, you from many unforeseen circumstances that may arise before or during your trip. The Viking Travel Protection Plan includes a non-insurance Cancel For Any Reason Waiver , Travel Insurance Benefits and Non-Insurance Services . Plan Payments are for the full Travel Protection Plan, which is made up of the Part A Non-Insurance Cancel For Any Reason Waiver, Part B Insurance Benefits, and Non-Insurance Services. Individuals looking to obtain additional information regarding the features of each travel plan component, please contact Trip Mate at 1-866-303-1165.Insurance benefits in the Plan are subject to limitations and exclusions, including an exclusion for pre-existing conditions.Plan benefits, limits and provisions vary by state/jurisdiction and not all coverage is available in all states. To review full plan details online, go to:www.tripmate.com/wpGR425V.
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Get Your Timing Right
Courtesy of Viking Cruises
When booking your cruise, youll have an easier time finding staterooms during certain months of the year. For the best possible time, youll want to be flexible.
Guests sailing the rivers in December can experience the traditional European Christmas markets and see the cities in a new way while enjoying local holiday treats and hot mulled wine, our source notes.
If youre taking a river cruise, do a bit of research on the cities youll be visiting. Find out whats happening, then plan your itinerary appropriately. An easy approach is to sign up for the Viking Weekly, an online newsletter with recommendations, itinerary spotlights, videos, and more. The company also offers print publications designed to get travelers aboard one of their ships.
With ocean cruise, timing is less of an issue, but youll still want to plan as far in advance as is possible. Viking cruises can be booked several years in advance, and for some travelers, that extra planning time can ensure a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Viking Cruise Lines Final Payment Policy
- Viking requires a 12 month advance final payment on every cruise booking.
- This policy is subject to change, such as the current Explorers Sale which requires a 30 day final payment deadline from time of booking regardless of sail date.
- If a person is a past guest and has a sailing scheduled already within one year, and makes a request for payment delay, they can have a 6 month advance final payment.
- If a guest has received, and can accurately recite, a promotional code, received directly from Viking, that lessens the final payment requirement, their final payment time can be adjusted accordingly.
- Viking reserves the right to change their final payment policy at any time, whether announced publicly or not.
And that folks is the long and short of it.
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Making A Final Cruise Payment
Norwegian and Royal Caribbean require the final payment between 60 and 75 days before the sailing date. For holiday cruises at Christmas and New Year’s, you need to pay in full 90 days before the sailing date. Contact the cruise line or your travel agent to make your final payment before the deadline arrives. Travel documents and complete itineraries often only are available after the final payment is received.
References
Viking Cruises Salary Faqs
The average Viking Cruises salary ranges from approximately $84,478 per year for a Travel Consultant to $139,071 per year for a Sales Consultant. The average Viking Cruises hourly pay ranges from approximately $17 per hour for a Sales Consultant to $21 per hour for a Customer Service Specialist. Viking Cruises employees rate the overall compensation and benefits package 3.6/5 stars.
The highest-paying job at Viking Cruises is a Sales Consultant with a salary of $139,071 per year.
The lowest-paying job at Viking Cruises is a Travel Consultant with a salary of $84,478 per year.
Viking Cruises employees attributed a compensation and benefits rating of 3.6/5 stars to their company. Read what they think about their salaries on our Compensation FAQ page for .
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What Is The Cruise Industry Standard For Final Payments
The hospitality industry, unlike other types of business, is known for advance payments for services, with penalties charged, for prior cancellations. Airlines have always required payment in full at time of reservation. The cruise industry, in particular, has travelers making advance payments from 60 to 90 days out, with a few exceptions.
Of these, Viking Cruise Lines, has, in the past, required as little as a 6 month prior-to-sail-date final remittance. However, in late 2018, Viking started demanding a full year in-advance-of-cruise-sailing final payment. This policy, seems to be here to stay, but with a few different iterations.
Viking Cruise Voucher Problem: Dont Forget To Read The Fine Print
Always, always read the fine print.
Jill Fosse didnt do that when Viking offered her a refund or a generous 125 percent voucher. And now she has a Viking cruise voucher problem that seems unsolvable.
Elliott Advocacy is underwritten by Travel Leaders Group.
Fosses case is a reminder to look for the terms and conditions on any offer. If you find it, read it. If you dont see it, ask for it. Had she done so, Fosse could have avoided this mess.
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Viking Ocean Cruises Tipping Policy: Information On Tipping And Gratuities
One of the best things about a fancy cruise trip is the kind of luxury services that you can avail of. When you add this bit to the fact that the cruise journeys are unique and exotic, many tourists actually want to be a part of a nice cruise trip at least once in their lives. One thing, however, seems to be a debatable issue for the people travelling on the cruise and that is the issue of tipping.
Viking Ocean cruises are extremely popular and thousands every month are aboard in their fine cruise ships. A question that many are concerned with is the Viking Ocean cruises tipping policy. A common doubt in the minds of the traveler is, do I have to pay gratuities on Viking Ocean Cruise. The answer, we hope you will find easily once you are done with this write up on the Viking Ocean cruises tipping policy.
Travel Industry Math Is Always In The Companys Favor
Travel companies always do the math so it favors them.
Heres funny math on an airline refund in 2019. And heres a 2015 case involving United frequent flier points.
I call this travel math.
How do you know a company will use travel math? You could say the fine print gives them permission or that lack of fine print gives them permission . But for me, the best explanation is that the company is in business. If its taking your money, its always going to use math that favors it.
Fosses case is a borderline one, when it comes to travel math. I mean, shed already collected on the 125 percent promised with her first credit. Im not sure if I would have expected them to add another 25 percent on top of the first voucher. Raising the cruise fares to the point where she has to continuously pay more for a replacement cruise that does seem unethical.
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A Misleading And Fraudulent Offer
Fosse and her husband had initially booked a cruise for April 2020.
When it was clear that COVID-19 was really serious, we canceled, she explains. Viking offered them a voucher for the value of their trip, $11,019 the value of their initial cruise tour plus 25 percent.
The Fosses rebooked their cruise for this April. But by then, the price increase had claimed the voucher plus an extra $628.
Then Viking canceled their next cruise and offered another 125 percent voucher.
Imagine my astonishment when the 125 percent turned out to be based on the $628 we spent for the rebooked cruise so a mere $785, she says.
In her view, shed given Viking an interest-free microloan for a year. Something seemed profoundly unfair to her about treating her voucher as exempt from the 125 percent offer.
Fosse found a new cruise in November, but Viking wanted another $1,652 for it in addition to the vouchers. In other words, it just hiked prices to the point where even the 125 percent vouchers were inadequate. And it did so twice.
She feels ripped off.
And I have a miserable autumn date to sail on, she adds.
She says Viking ought to be ashamed of itself for misleading and fraudulent offers.
Viking Ocean Cruises Tipping Policy
For those concerned with is tipping mandatory on Viking Ocean cruise, the answer happens to be a simple yes. They do offer you with a lot of complementary services. These include the free wine and beer you get with your lunch and other complementary services.
For all of this, however, a little cost is added to your hotel and dining charges. The charges are low indeed and will not be a cause of worry for you as a traveler. You have to cough up only $15 every day for each person during your trip.
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The Thinking Person’s Guide To River Cruising
Welcome to River Boat Ratings, the internet’s leading site for those who are seriously considering sailing on one of the world’s great waterways. It is good to have you here and we’d like to begin by making a few promises to you:
- We will never talk down to you or insult your intelligence. This is a site for adults who do not need advertising hype, phony “user reviews” or PR double-speak.
- This is the only river cruise review site that does not accept paid advertising from the companies we are reviewing. We do not accept promotional fees from any river boat company. You will never see an ad of any kind on riverboatratings.com
- We use only the industry’s most respected professional sources for information. Unknown “users” will never be quoted. The bulk of our material is sourced from leading industry reports and from the most respected travel journalists. Our evaluations are never based on popularity polls or self-appointed critics.
WHY TRUST US?
Actually, we’re not sure you should “trust” anyone you meet on the internet. We urge you to check our background and credentials. Make certain you feel comfortable entrusting some of the best moments of your life to our consultants. Here are a few things about us we hope will be of interest:
Look around our site. Do you notice anything unusual?
How To Pay Tip/gratuities
The Viking Ocean Cruise ensures that the services on offer are of extremely high quality. The tip you provide simply works as an incentive for the staff members who cater to your needs. Keeping that in mind how much does Viking Ocean Cruise charge for gratuity? Not a large amount by any means. Like we have discussed they just add to your hotel and dining charges by only $15 each day per person.
Apart from this they also have a system where they add 15% to the services of the bar, beverage and other normal deck services. In case you are in two minds on should you do prepaid gratuities on cruise the answer would be a no. It simply is not required of you to make the prepaid payments.
If you are faced with any problems regarding the same you can walk up to the Explorers desk and narrate your issue. In case there has been a local excursion or tour guide who served you well you can pay in cash after the trip. Same is the case with the local drivers and you can pay them in cash as well.
Read Interesting Article:Carnival Cruises Tipping Policy
So like you can understand tipping is somewhat mandatory. You can stay away from making the personal tips to individuals, but as a part of the cruise policy, some amount is mandatory taken away from you. For the great quality of fine services that you are offered with, it seems only fair that you have to pay a little token of appreciation for the same.
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