CC Help Jenn I said on the Rhine (where it is in the middle) and meant to imply with other itineraries some on the Danube (where a section is almost in the middle). They offered us a 150 dollar non refundable credit to be used onboard. I had an online chat with Viking yesterday, where he said that our cruise had not been cancelled (yet) and to check back in 24-48 hours when MVJ is back online. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. The new domestic travel brand (China Coastal Cruise Project) was scheduled for inauguration in 2021-Q1 with Viking Sun - transferred to the joint venture (news 8277). 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. CC Help Jenn I am sure I will get the dreaded e-mail today or tomorrow. Yes, you must use the entire voucher on one cruise -- and you must use it before you sail for cruise fare, gratutities, shorex or drinks package. The Risk-Free Guarantee allows guests to change their cruise date up until 14 days before their planned departureand Viking will waive any fees. Prices start at US$11,000 per person with discounted airfare. For instance, on the Rhine Getaway in December, all Friday and Saturday sailings in both directions are suddenly sold out. Weird that you read this on the website before getting an email as the update says those affected were notified. Followers 7. Multiple sailing dates are available in November 2022; additional sailing dates are available in January-June and October-December 2023 and 2024. Their godmothers were from USA (Los Angeles), the UK, and Russia. The lack of communication is extremely disappointing! Viking Mediterranean itineraries are themed as: In November 2018, Viking announced an 11-day itinerary named "Greek Odyssey". Exclusively for Viking Expeditions voyages, Viking Cruises partnered with Cambridge University's Scott Polar Research Institute (Polar Museum) that specializes in polar researches and glaciology. Viking Cruises' arrival to the Mississippi represents a commitment to tourism and economic development in a lot of communities along the river, with the new sailings expected to bring 5,800+ guests to the region in 2022 and 17,600+ during the first full cruise season in 2023. Passengers can experience the exciting scenery of Meteora, with its medieval monasteries, or explore the religious center of Dion, situated on the foothills of Mt Olympus. 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. This relaxation area has 1 hot tub, sauna room, heated ceramic loungers, therapeutic showers, salt-water thermal pool. Company's Net revenues for FY2017 were estimated at about USD 1 billion. The strong demand led the company to open additional 2023 sailings sooner than expected. 8-day "America's Heartland" from Saint Louis to Saint Paul. The brand's enrichment program is based on shipboard events (lectures, entertainment) and shore excursions themed on local history, traditions, nature, food. In April 2021 was inaugurated the joint venture company "China Merchants Viking Cruises Co Ltd" (operating via the brand "Viking China Coastal Cruise"). geordie_jim, May 4, 2021 in Viking Ocean. Fares started from USD 45000 per person with double occupancy. Here you can compare all Viking cruise ships (RIVER, OCEAN, EXPEDITIONS) and their itineraries, destinations, and departure dates. In 2015, Viking's river fleet expanded to 64 boats, 40 of which longships (capacity 190 passengers) introduced in 2012. They are environmentally friendly, with a patented interior design creating 2-room suites, numerous French Balcony staterooms, full-size rooms, and verandas. The largest cruise ship to ever sail on the Mississippi River is scheduled to set sail after June 2023. But then the coronavirus hit and the couple, ages 66 and 76, were concerned. The first custom vessel of the company, Viking Mississippi, is scheduled to debut in August 2022 and sail cruises on the Lower and Upper Mississippi River, between Saint Paul Minnesota, and New Orleans Louisiana. The new ship was scheduled to start operations with a World Cruise 2022-2023. I am sure I will get the dreaded e-mail today or tomorrow. Both packages are priced from USD 50000 (EUR 43100 / ~GBP 39300) per person (double occupancy outside cabin rates). Pricing starts at US$4,000 per person with discounted airfare. So I will have a look tomorrow. Each tour boat is fitted with latest Safety Equipment (satellite phone, VHF radio, ropes, life jackets, survival kits). Viking's Ukrainian and Russian ships were laid up, but their staff remained on the payroll. 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. By. Cruise fares start from around USD 4,300 pp. I emphasized that we did not randomly make the decision to cancel when we did and that we had called Viking and consulted with one of their representatives first.. Till the end of 2014, the fleet grew to 52 riverboats. Viking's Arctic cruises (to Svalbard Islands and Arctic Russia) are roundtrips from homeport Tromso Norway and priced from USD 14,000 per person (double-occupancy balcony cabin). Bookings opened in 2020 - on March 31 (past customers) and on April 15 (general public). 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. Passengers can visit the remains of Byzantine Basilica of St John, enjoy sights like the massive Great Theater and Library of Celsus, and see the modest home where the mother of Jesus, Mary, lived out her final days. But on Mar 11 (9 days later), a notice on Viking site stating all cruises cancelled and offering full refund or 125% voucher and refund if not used in 2 years. It appears that all 2021 Scandinavian based cruises are no longer available. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Of those, 6 are Longships (Einar, Sigrun, Sigyn, Tir, Ullur, Vali) plus one modified Longship design Douro River cruiser (Helgrim). Later on 7/15 we got an apology email stating they made an error and that we would indeed be on the 9/3 cruise - in a different stateroom and our prebooked excursions were gone as well. Asian rivers - Ukraine's Dnieper, Russia's Volga, China's Yangtze, Myanmar-Burma's Irrawaddy and Vietnam's Mekong. 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. When Will Cruises Resume? - US News & World Report It takes them a few days to get their ducks in a row before they send out the cancellation notices. They include both the river cruising portion and hotel stays. 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. This technology lowers the vessel's maintenance costs and also the risk of sea pollution. Most were constructed by Neptun Werft GmbH in Rostock, and several by Meyer Werft GmbH in Papenburg (Alsvin, Bestla, Eistla, Ingvi, Lif). Changed to Aug 29. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. This was the reason for modifying the parent company's name to "Viking Cruises". Exploring the World in Comfort | Viking River Cruises American Queen Steamboat Company: Crusing as of mid-March 2021 American Queen Steamboat Company resumed select sailings in the South in mid-March, followed by voyages through the Pacific. No idea about other rivers. Today our group of four received emails confirming our Vikingtrip is a go! We hear your concerns and have arranged for a Customer Relations Agent to connect with you directly to discuss available options for your upcoming voyage. The inaugural cruise itineraries of both expedition vessels are 13-day polar voyages - one in Antarctica, the other in the European Arctic. at a time when other cruise lines are canceling. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Owned & operated fleet, with the best docking locations in Europe. Which means that some passengers will change ship and date. The company's turnover (gross revenue) from both river and ocean shipping operations for 2015 was about USD 2 billion. The vessel's hull and superstructure are assembled at the shipyard in Tulcea Romania, then towed to VARD Soviknes Shipyard (Alesund Norway) for outfitting. It is of course for low water scenarios, I did not say that explicitly. Viking's Antarctic roundtrips are from homeport Ushuaia Argentina, with prices starting from USD 15,000 pp (fly-cruise packages from Buenos Aires with included overnight hotel stay prior departure and return flights to Europe-USA-Canada-Australia). Viking canceled all 2021 Ukraine river cruises early in April 2021, much earlier than some of their other river or ocean cruises. I still have not received their e-mail, I expect it will be in a day or two, so I will have to work with it and figure out how to shift the two weeks worth of hotel rooms and the Avalon cruise on Dec. 9. 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). The first boat (Viking Mississippi) starts operations in August 2022. . Our August 9th British isles Explorer cruise (which was supposed to be on the Venus) has obviously been canceled. 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). Provides us a link to sign up for notifications as they become available. Not sure on the UK site. 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). 10 more were launched in 2013, and additional 18 launched in 2014 (including 2 smaller ships purpose-built for Douro River in Portugal). In 2011 was launched Viking Legend's sistership Viking Prestige. I'm not disappointed, just a bit disappointed in Viking's communications of a loyal 9 cruises and two more upcoming customer. I just paid for a cruise using a voucher. (14-nights) "Mediterranean Explorer" (visits 5 countries, included 12 land tours). Later was added the 21-day "Malta, the Adriatic and Greece". If we had waited even one more day, we would have only been entitled to 50% cash and 50% travel vouchers, Keyles said. Viking Expeditions ships operate in Arctic-Antarctica, Great Lakes, USA and Canada), Viking Ocean (global). Currently, Viking River Cruises USA offers 4 itineraries, themed as: The Viking Mississippi itinerary program offers visiting 7 states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota) and the port cities Baton Rouge, Darrow, New Orleans, St Francisville, Natchez, Vicksburg, Memphis, Hannibal, St Louis, Burlington, Dubuque, Davenport, La Crosse, Red Wing, St. Paul. Just like on all Viking riverboats, Viking Ocean deals are inclusive of popular amenities, such as Wi-Fi Internet, alcohol (beer and wine at lunch and dinner), shore excursions (at least one in every port of call along the itinerary), spa usage (thermal pool, sauna, hot tub, Snow Grotto room (snow falling from its ceiling), Gym (fitness center), library (with books reflecting the cruise itineraries), 24-hour room service; absolutely all meals at any of the onboard restaurants; beverages (cappuccinos, espresso drinks), self-service laundry; in-room movies on demand, lectures, airport to cruise port transfers. Repositioning cruises are officially themed as: Viking Baltic itineraries are operated in the summer, themed as "Viking Homelands" (14 nights in length). Yes, we are booked on the Mani, Basel to Amsterdam December 3rd. These ships also use seawater as a lubricant for their propeller shaft bearings. 2022-2023 Viking Mississippi itineraries include: In April 2021, Viking announced that the new 2024 sailings of its Mississippi River voyages were open for sale. The London City (Port Greenwich) roundtrip itinerary was officially listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's "longest continuous passenger cruise".