Viking Cruises' ocean liners made the company world's largest "small ship cruise" brand with a dominant share on the luxury travel market (23,9 % by year 2020). Also my flight went from ticketed to pending. The Risk-Free Guarantee allows guests to change their cruise date up until 14 days before their planned departureand Viking will waive any fees. Viking Cruises - Ships and Itineraries 2023, 2024, 2025 - CruiseMapper Among the vessels' innovative marine technologies are energy-saving hybrid engines, top-deck solar panels, pollution-minimizing exhaust systems. It is one of the sailings that is affected. The note proceeds were used for repaying all the company's loans used to finance the building of the Viking Ocean liners Star and Sky, as well as for repurchasing Viking Sea (operated on sale-leaseback agreement). Viking named two more ships in Oporto (Portugal) on March 21. But all was not lost. All of these really long ships have the same/hybrid engine powerplant. Two of them could not be rebooked at this late date. In the mid-1990s, the company's founder, Torstein Hagen enjoyed a river cruise in Russia and was so excited that decided to create his own river cruising company. As we watched the COVID pandemic expand and followed the news about the cruise ship outbreaks, we knew we would not be going on our upcoming trip, Claire Keyles said. That is what Azamara have done despite the the 2022 advertised fare being more. MS Amarco Antares (Nile River, Egypt) is an Amarco-owned hotelship operated by Viking under a charter. Each PCR lab contains equipment and chemicals for conducting test analysis. If we were changed by several days it would impact all our before and after cruise hotels, that would take a bit of work on our part to change all the dates, especially last minute. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Poor Customer Service, Refund Policy due to Covid-19 - Review of Viking Share. The 65-day itinerary (March 2 through May 5, 2023, on Viking Octantis) visits 29 ports (9 countries, 3 continents) departs from Buenos Aires Argentina, visits the Antarctic Peninsula, continues northward around Cape Horn, along South America's coast (Chile, Peru, Ecuador), passes through Panama Canal, then up to Mexico, Florida USA, NYC New York, Canada (Nova Scotia and Quebec) and via St Lawrence River to Ontario and via Detroit MI, ending in Milwaukee WI. All the signs are right and so is the timing. All affected bookings received a 125% refund in FCC (future cruise credit) with rebooking or 100% monetary refund. On March 20, 2013, the newly renamed company "Viking Cruises" launched 10 ships at one time, thus entering Guinness Book of World Records. Note: For the itinerary's all call ports see at the ship's Wiki section here. The lounge has floor-ceiling and wall-to-wall windows (providing 270-degree unobstructed views) and an outdoor deck seating (Finse Terrace). https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/welcome-back.html. In mid-December 2020, Viking and China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings officially announced the creation of the new joint venture company "Viking China Coastal Cruise" focused on mid-sized luxury ship voyages in China exclusively. Viking EXPEDITIONS summer 2023 season includes a new 2-week itinerary in the Great Lakes along with additional offers in North & South America. In October 2018 was announced as a potential start-up (with Mississippi-based boats) the year 2021. Viking Cruises Extends Suspension Until June 2021 Viking Cruises has announced that its river and ocean operations will remain on hold through May 31, 2021, which means cruises won't resume until June at the very earliest. In Fall 2016, Viking became the first European river cruise company offering itineraries on dedicated to Chinese tourists riverboats. It appears that all 2021 Scandinavian based cruises are no longer available. (Barcelona to Rome, 7-nights) "Romantic Mediterranean" (visits 4 countries, included 8 land tours), (7-nights) "Mediterranean Getaway" (visits 3 countries, included 6 land tours), (9-nights) "Empires of the Mediterranean" (visits 5 countries, included 7 land tours), (12-nights) "Mediterranean Odyssey" (visits 6 countries, included 10 land tours). 8-day "America's Heartland" from Saint Louis to Saint Paul. When Will Cruises Resume? - US News & World Report But a pattern is there that is certainly deliberate. Funny, we are on the Rhine & Viking Shores and Fjords on August 3rd this year and this is still showing although I cannot get onto My Viking Journey as it is saying that "We're sorry, but our site is currently undergoing maintenance". The next day, they got a phone call. When will Viking make the next cancellation announcement? We are Budapest to Bucharest, August 23 -September 2. An Early Booking promo (for bookings made for September 30, 2021) offered USD 2000 pp (shore excursions credit), USD 1000 pp (OBC-onboard credit) plus USD 1000 pp OBC (for Viking Explorer Society/loyalty program members). Viking's Arctic cruises visit Tromso Norway, Svalbard Islands Norway, Polar Ice Cap (scenic cruising), Spitsbergen Island (Barentsburg, Smeerenburg, Barentsburg, Alicehamna/Alice Harbour, Hornsund, Nordfjorden, Liefdefjorden), Bjornoya (Bear Island), Barents Sea (cruising). It is expected to allow passengers to explore the Aegean Sea's ancient empires of antiquity during the quiet season. It could be true for the Main and I think they intend it also for the Elbe. Shorter itinerary segments are also available for booking, including the 119-day "Viking World Horizons 2022" (Los Angeles to London, departure January 10, 2022) that visits 49 ports in 22 countries. Hopefully they let everyone know soon. This Arctic-themed facility is part of the ship's thermal suite (within the spa complex). Oh, sorry to read that. Viking Cruises also partnered with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). NOAA scientists are present on all Great Lakes USA voyages to conduct researches (on local weather changes and ecosystems) and present lectures themed on the Great Lakes region. Anything unspent WILL NOT rollover to your shipboard account. This is no way to keep customers happy. The 12-day itinerary incorporates 7-day cruising on Nile River and starts with a 3-night hotel stay in Cairo and tours to iconic attractions like Grand Egyptian Museum, Great Pyramids of Giza, Mosque of Muhammad Ali. Northbound Atlantic: "VIKING EMPIRE" (Istanbul-Stockholm), Southbound Atlantic: "PASSAGE THROUGH WESTERN EUROPE" (Bergen-Barcelona), "SCANDINAVIA TO SPAIN" (Stockholm-Barcelona). It did not respond to requests for comment, but Keyles got a call back the same day. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. By jonthomas, November 15, 2020 in Viking Ocean Followers 6 jonthomas 1.7k March 20, 2020 #1 Posted November 15, 2020 We have a. At additional cost are only spa massages, beauty salon services; specialty beer, premium alcohol (wine and spirits), and some shore excursions. Only says "Additional 2021 Voyages Coming Soon". Yes, we are booked on the Mani, Basel to Amsterdam December 3rd. By 2023, the newbuilds (by Fincantieri Italy) expanded the fleet to 10 liners. LauraS These boats are with modified longship design ("baby Longships") with only 2 decks (1/4 lighter) and capacity 98 guests (46 cabins). Details of world cruise itineraries for 2024-2025 have been released by Viking Cruises as the company reported strong demand for longer itineraries Viking Cruises named its newest ocean ship, Viking Neptune, with a celebration on Sunday, January 8th, in Los Angeles CA. On 7/15 I got an email that said our cruise was going as scheduled. Cornell Lab's ornithologists are also always present on the ship to interact with the passengers. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Disney Cruise Line . VIKING OCEAN restarted operations on May 22, 2021, with Viking Venus (UK from Portsmouth England). Viking Cruises Ltd (shipowner) is the parent company of Viking Flusskreuzfahrten AG (Viking River Cruises) as well as of KD Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt GmbH, which is subsidiary of Koln-Dusseldorfer (aka KD Cruises, fka KD Line). In May 2017, Viking celebrated its 20th anniversary. Your personal data will be processed and information from your device (cookies, unique identifiers, and other device data) may be stored by, accessed by and shared with third party vendors, or used specifically by this site or app. Following the COVID crisis, in May 2021 VIKING OCEAN scheduled for three ships (Sea, Venus, Star) a mini-season (July-October departures) based on 11-day roundtrips (3 itineraries) from homeport Valletta Malta. The funding helped the company's growth, particularly on the ocean cruising market, and also strengthened its balance sheet as it branched into China (since 2016). geordie_jim, May 4, 2021 in Viking Ocean. Debuting in June 2023, the 15-day Great Lakes Collection itinerary is due to sail between Toronto (Ontario Canada) - Duluth MN (Minnesota USA), providing passengers with a complete view of the region and call ports in all 5 Great Lakes. In 2017, Viking signed a sponsorship with National Geographic Society for shooting NatGeo's "Genius" (anthology series). Thanks for the update! The new ship was scheduled to start operations with a World Cruise 2022-2023. Scenic cruising: Mt Athos: On sea days, passengers will sail past Mt Athos, the "Holy Mountain" (UNESCO Site, the spiritual capital of Orthodox Christianity). . Finse Terrace also provides alfresco dining and drinking when weather permits. The first river cruises of Viking in the United States had been highly anticipated when they were announced in April 2020. They are environmentally friendly, with a patented interior design creating 2-room suites, numerous French Balcony staterooms, full-size rooms, and verandas. Just looked it is still showing on the UK site but looking again at My Viking Journey I now get " Your booking is currently locked for updates. CC Help Jenn For 2020 were planned the launches and inaugurations of 6 more Longship-Class boats - 4 with smaller capacity (168 pax) and deployed year-round on Seine River in France (Fjorgyn, Kari, Radgrid, Skaga) plus 2 standard (190 pax) and deployed on Rhine River (Gersemi, Hervor). Stanley Keyles looks at the Viking River Cruise website. Pricing starts at US$4,000 per person with discounted airfare. We have listed all Viking ships as schedules (itinerary calendars with prices) and current position tracking maps. These are the liners Viking Star (2015), Viking Sea (2016), Viking Sky (2017), Viking Orion (2018), Viking Jupiter (2019), Viking Venus (2021), and Viking Neptune and Viking Mars (2022), Viking Saturn (2023). Traditionally for an expedition vessel, each Viking Expeditions ship has its own fleet of inflatable Zodiacs (speedboats used for passenger tendering and shoreside cruising), rigid-hulled inflatable boats (large-capacity unsinkable boat with a rigid bottom) and sea-kayaks. Their godmothers were from USA (Los Angeles), the UK, and Russia. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/baltic/icelands-natural-beauty/pricing.html. CruiseMapper's Viking schedules also show how much will cost you to travel with the Viking brand. But to all who are waiting - be prepared to make changes to your plans at the last minute. Viking Cruises' arrival to the Mississippi River represents a major commitment to economic and tourism development in a lot of communities along the river, with the new sailings expected to bring over 5,800 passengers to the region in 2022 and more than 17,600 during the first full cruise season in 2023. Please try again later. " In September 2022 Fincantieri and Viking entered into an agreement for 4x more vessels (based on the option in the 2018-signed contract) with total value ~EUR/USD 1,7 billion. Could all be perfectly benign, may not be. Ok as I predicted, all sold out cruises have been dropped from Viking as of this morning. With many Christmas markets closed, river cruise lines cancel sailings The "Malta and Adriatic Jewels" itinerary started with an overnight in Valletta and visited ports in Montenegro (, The "Malta and Greek Isles Discovery" itinerary also started with an overnight in Valletta and visited ports in Greece (, The "Malta and the Western Mediterranean" itinerary started with Valletta overnight and visited ports in Sicily (. Bookings made by September 30, 2020, receive USD 2000 pp in "shore excursion credit" plus USD 1000 pp in OBC (onboard credit). Viking River Cruises: Reviews, Complaints, Customer Claims The itinerary includes 3 new ports of call for the cruise line: Nafplio, Volos and Thessaloniki in Greece, as well as a visit to Ephesus marking Viking's return to Turkey. All passengers and crew are daily tested onboard and Vikings medical teams get the results quickly. Owned & operated fleet, with the best docking locations in Europe. By Funky Fusion FoodsJ, November 19, 2021 in River Cruising. Viking Expeditions ships are Norway-flagged (registered in Longyearbyen Spitsbergen), smaller-sized (GT 30150 tons, LOA length 203 m, beam/width 24 m) and with reduced passenger capacity (378 each, plus 260 crew/staff) in comparison to Viking Ocean's liners (930 passengers plus 465 crew/staff each). Award-winning Viking Longships. Several Cruise Lines Cancel Sailings as Omicron COVID - Cruise Critic Environmental impact is further reduced through the ship's membrane water treatment plant. Unless the low water area is more-or-less in the middle of the route, this practice doesnt enable ship swaps. The start of this story began in April 2021 when Viking CANCELED my July cruise to Norway and Iceland. Mediterranean cruises leave from: Turkey (Istanbul), Italy (Venice, Rome /port Civitavecchia), Spain (Barcelona). Just more work for me! Viking Mediterranean itineraries are themed as: In November 2018, Viking announced an 11-day itinerary named "Greek Odyssey". Departing from Fort Lauderdale and ending in London-Greenwich, "Viking World Voyage 2023-2024" prices started from USD 60,000 (EUR 51015) on Viking Sky/Dec 20, and from USD 55,000 (EUR 46760) on Viking Neptune/Dec 23. Viking Ocean and River is currently operating all upcoming scheduled itineraries. Plus two new Med itineraries in the welcome back program (don't know if this is for US pax only or not). 29-day Mediterranean's Iconic Shores, also sailing between Barcelona and Istanbul and including visits to Croatia and Montenegro. In early 2018 was announced, that the Viking Cruises company raised USD 975 million through a private placement of USD 275 million (5,875% secured notes due in 2027) plus USD 675 million (5% secured notes due in 2028). The onboard cuisine is traditional Chinese (dishes prepared by Szechuan and Cantonese chefs) plus European dishes by Michelin-star chefs. The deal resulted in combined 17% stake in Viking. In March 2021 were delivered Egdir and Gymir - the last longships on order with Neptun Werft. Tours include a private visit to Nefertari's tomb (Valley of the Queens) and excursions to Khnum Temple (Esna) and the Dendera Temple complex (Qena). Keyles reached out to Bamboozled for help. However, due to ongoing travel restrictions in Europe and the USA, as well as Canada's and Australia's ban on cruise shipping, Viking canceled the entire 2020 program (river+ocean) in mid-August. It may or may not work in France - could just be a ship nearby. This relaxation area has 1 hot tub, sauna room, heated ceramic loungers, therapeutic showers, salt-water thermal pool. Beginning on March 17, 2014, Viking christened 16 new boats over a 24-hour period, again setting an industry record. It is fitted with benches and has dark stone walls illuminated by blue light. Feels like it is time to brace for another round of cancellations. Viking Cruise News: Expedition Cruise Ships To Have - Cruise Critic On November 25, 2020, China Merchants Shekou and Viking officially signed the joint venture agreement a separate (China-flagged) fleet of sea liners for coastal cruises. The fact that Viking has so many ships on a route means that when they hit low water there is very likely another ship nearby going in the opposite direction. On 12/27/2021 at 7:29 PM, SM77 said: We had booked a September 2021 Ukraine river cruise in March 2019 (right as the pandemic started thinking that it would be over by September 2021) that we had paid in full. Other destinations are the Great Lakes USA and Canada-New England. Viking's expedition fleet will operate mainly polar cruises - in the European Arctic (Svalbard Islands and Arctic Russia, roundtrips from homeport Tromso Norway) and Antarctica (roundtrips are from homeport Ushuaia Argentina, with fly-cruise packages from Buenos Aires / included an overnight hotel stay prior departure and return flights). We are fortunate that we can accept the date change, but it has cost quite a bit more to change hotel ressies - and our TA is still struggling to get thru to their air dept to get us acceptable flights - she has been trying for a week! Nowadays, Viking manages the world's largest fleet of river cruise vessels, ever. Deliveries were scheduled for 2026 and 2027 (2x units) and 2028 (2x units). Viking's first river voyages in the USA had been highly anticipated when they were announced in April 2020, and a number of sailings have already sold out through the 2023 season. Fleetwide operations were planned to resume on October 1, 2020. (2020-built) longships on Seiner River in France -. If we had waited even one more day, we would have only been entitled to 50% cash and 50% travel vouchers, Keyles said.