As a result of newbuilds and acquisitions, in 2014 the company had a river fleet of 52 vessels with a total of 9200 berths. The voyage starts from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA) on December 24, 2021, and ends in London City England. 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! 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. Must be noted, that the 2013-launched Viking Grace (2800-passenger cruiseferry operated by VIKING LINE) was the first-ever passenger ship with a Snow Room. In October 2017, Viking River Cruises announced a shipbuilding order for 7 new riverboats. Plus two new Med itineraries in the welcome back program (don't know if this is for US pax only or not). 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. Powered by Invision Community. My TA had called them two days prior to the rescheduling to ask why we were locked out of our MVJ acct & she was told they were just "doing maintenance" on their systems and everything was fine!! This is a parallel situation I had a month ago when my Ukraine river cruise was cancelled just days after I paid the balance. Until the 2015 slowdown, the company reported a steady growth of over 30% per year for the period 2010-2015. Viking's Nile River cruisetour is themed "Pharaohs and Pyramids". So I will have a look tomorrow. Fully refunded (100% in FCC) were also all prepurchased through Viking packages and services. Replacing the biodegradable oils, the water is being directly discharged into the sea. It imposes restrictions on where USA-based ships can navigate and how to be staffed. Had a look atpossible cruises following todays cancellation and the fares seem to have increased substantially. Viking River boats operate on the European inland waterways Danube, Rhine, Main, Mosel, Seine, Rhone, Saone, Douro, also in Asia (Mekong, Irrawaddy, Yangtze), Egypt (Nile, Lake Nasser), Ukraine (Dnieper), Russia (Volga, Svir, Neva, Lake Ladoga, Lake Baikal) and in the USA (Mississippi). Repositioning cruises are officially themed as: Viking Baltic itineraries are operated in the summer, themed as "Viking Homelands" (14 nights in length). 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). The first 6 Longships were launched in 2012 and collectively won "Best New River Ship" award. Viking's Antarctic cruises are inclusive of 2 domestic charter flights (between Buenos Aires-Ushuaia) and an overnight hotel (in Buenos Aires / pre-cruise). Fourteen new sailings for Iceland have been added as of this morning. Asian rivers - Ukraine's Dnieper, Russia's Volga, China's Yangtze, Myanmar-Burma's Irrawaddy and Vietnam's Mekong. I hope I'm wrong but all the signs point to another round of cancellation--and I would rather be wrong than offer you false hope. The voyage starts in the USA (Duluth MN) and ends in Argentina (Ushuaia), also sailing to Antarctica. MVJ is locked for this specific cruise , and if you try to book the cruise (UK website) the first available Fjords cruise in now April 2022. Weird that you read. Viking Cruises. Starting in 2018, Viking River Cruises is the first non-domestic company licensed to operate cruise ships on the Nile River in Egypt. Call us at 800-454-0927 to speak to a Cruise Concierge today. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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). On November 23, Disney . MV Viking Star became world's ever-first ocean ship with a "snow room". The KD purchase included an extremely valuable asset - the landing stages, and now Viking Cruises owns docks in more cities in Europe than it stops in. Thanks for the update! Keyles reminded the representative of the promise she had in writing from the other agent said about working with them on a cash settlement instead of the vouchers. Had they waited 10 more days, they would have received the full refund. It worked out for us. However, the process is slowed due to issues regarding the so-called "Jones Act" (Merchant Marine Act from 1920). Unless the low water area is more-or-less in the middle of the route, this practice doesnt enable ship swaps. The boats are constructed by the Norwegian shipbuilder VARD (subsidiary of Fincantieri Italy). It was to be on the Alruna from Basel to Amst. In 2016-Q3, Viking Flusskreuzfahrten AG terminated the charter deals with Pericon AG (shipowner) and stopped to operate the riverboats Viking Spirit (now Seine Comtesse), Viking Sun (now Rhein Melodie), Viking Helvetia (now Rhein Symphonie), Viking Pride (now Bijou du Rhone) and Viking Danube (now Filia Rheni 2). 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. Line's river cruises are targeted primarily to English-speaking travelers in the UK, North America and Australia. When will Viking make the next cancellation announcement? Ten days later, on March 30, Viking announced the cruise was canceled and 100% cash refunds would be given to customers but only for those who hadnt canceled previously. Cruise tourists then fly to Luxor to visit Karnak and the Temples of Luxor before boarding the Viking cruise ship for a 7-night Nile cruise to Aswan and back. Viking emailed Mar 2 2020 offering a voucher for the 75% cancellation fee those on cruises in Apr. You kind of knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing. Owned & operated fleet, with the best docking locations in Europe. Viking's 7th ocean ship (Viking Venus) joined the fleet in 2021, with an inaugural season in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. It is of course for low water scenarios, I did not say that explicitly. Among the vessels' innovative marine technologies are energy-saving hybrid engines, top-deck solar panels, pollution-minimizing exhaust systems. Wehad been locked out of MVJ for several days prior to this. 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. Vacationers can discover the beauty of Patagonia while sailing out of Santiago (Valparaiso, Chile) to Ushuaia (Argentina) on the new 2-week Patagonian Shores & Chilean Fjords itinerary, while passengers looking to explore destinations in North, Central & South America, can choose the new 18-day Panama & Scenic South America itinerary. (14-nights) "Mediterranean Explorer" (visits 5 countries, included 12 land tours). VIKING OCEAN operates a 10-ship fleet of newbuilds (identically designed vessels). Viking Expeditions (as a travel brand) was officially launched on January 15, 2020, with cruising operations starting in January 2022. Each ship has all 8 Mandarin-speaking tour guides assigned to 25-passenger groups. Posted elsewhere, but we received our official cancellation email this am from Viking for our Oct 4 Trade Routes Bergen to Barcelona. Award-winning Viking Longships. Fares started from USD 45000 per person with double occupancy. He started in 1997 by purchasing four Russian vessels. Offering 125% FCC. Viking Neptune's World Cruise itinerary offers overnights (also double overnights) in 11 ports, including Auckland New Zealand, Sydney NSW Australia, Benoa Bali Indonesia, Saigon Vietnam, Singapore, Yangon Burma, Colombo Sri Lanka, Mumbai India, Haifa Israel, Istanbul Turkey and London-Greenwich (before the debarkation). That's just what happened, and we are now booked in July 2021 with an upgraded cabin and air fare. Thanks. Each tour boat is fitted with latest Safety Equipment (satellite phone, VHF radio, ropes, life jackets, survival kits). Yes, we are booked on the Mani, Basel to Amsterdam December 3rd. LauraS Viking's Great Lakes cruises visit ports and destinations in Canada's Ontario state (Thunder Bay, Toronto, Welland Canal, Niagara Falls, Point Pelee NP) and the USA's Minnesota-Michigan-Wisconsin states (Detroit MI, Alpena MI, Mackinac Island MI in Lake Huron, Apostle Islands WI, Houghton MI on Lake Superior, Traverse City MI, Milwaukee WI on Lake Michigan, Duluth MN) and feature passing through Soo Locks at Sault Ste Marie (Lake Superior - Lake Huron transition). Viking Cruises also partnered with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Viking's main competitors on the US market are American Cruise Lines and American Queen Voyages (fka AQSC). The strong demand led the company to open additional 2023 sailings sooner than expected. Our August 9th British isles Explorer cruise (which was supposed to be on the Venus) has obviously been canceled. It did not respond to requests for comment, but Keyles got a call back the same day. The components are kept in freezers and refrigerators and stored at correct temperatures. Changed to Aug 29. Next are listed all Viking Expeditions cruise itineraries by length and theme. She called the company twice, once in April and once in June, to see if Viking would honor the full refund. This was the reason for modifying the parent company's name to "Viking Cruises". The ship design features several spacious open-deck areas, including Promenade Deck and bow-located Observation Deck (forward on Lounge Deck). In November 2020, Viking Cruises announced investments from its minority shareholders TPG Capital (fka Texas Pacific Group) and CPP Investments (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) that added ~USD 500 million net proceeds to support Viking's development. In late June, Keyles got a call from a Viking representative who said he would be reviewing the case. On 7/15 I got an email that said our cruise was going as scheduled. Just phoned Viking UK as still locked out of My Viking Journey and informed that there is nothing to worry about, Cruise is still going ahead on 3rd August and that MVJ page will be accessible in another 48 hours it is just being updated. Note: For the itinerary's all call ports see at the ship's Wiki section here. In 2015, Viking's river fleet expanded to 64 boats, 40 of which longships (capacity 190 passengers) introduced in 2012. The representative promised to get back to Keyles. All of these really long ships have the same/hybrid engine powerplant. Their godmothers were from USA (Los Angeles), the UK, and Russia. Im going to be nit-picky about this. We had planned a trip in 2021 and when Viking changed their requirements we chose to cancel our trip. By Funky Fusion FoodsJ, November 19, 2021 in River Cruising. This offer covers all Viking reservations that are made between November 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 on any 2022 voyage. Viking OCEAN's Panama Canal cruise prices (balcony stateroom) start from USD 8000 per person (18-day itinerary), USD 6550 pp (15-day) and USD 5500 pp (11-day). The list of its services also includes. The 136-day itinerary visits 56 ports in 27 countries, with 11 port city overnights and 3x new for Viking cruise ports (Phillip Island Victoria Australia, Eden NSW Australia, Yangon Burma). The bright return of holiday river cruising in 2021, heralded as the year the European Christmas markets would return, has dimmed even further as the German states of Bavaria and Saxony have also. In Strasbourg, passengers take the high-speed TGV train to Paris. 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. Till the end of 2014, the fleet grew to 52 riverboats. On May 17, 2013, the company announced the launch of its "Viking Ocean" division. All rights reserved (About Us). 29-day Mediterranean's Iconic Shores, also sailing between Barcelona and Istanbul and including visits to Croatia and Montenegro. The launch platform features a 26 m (85 ft) wide rollers-covered slipway (boat ramp) that allows safe and sheltered embarkation on the RIBs inside the cruise ship. Viking canceled all 2021 Ukraine river cruises early in April 2021, much earlier than some of their other river or ocean cruises. This Arctic-themed facility is part of the ship's thermal suite (within the spa complex). In 2023, celebrating the company's 25th anniversary, Viking EXPEDITIONS offers "Longitudinal World Cruise I". Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. On March 22, 2015, Amsterdam (Holland) witnessed the naming ceremony of 12 longships. The deal resulted in combined 17% stake in Viking. They try to make it better by giving us $250 PP OBC, but after the cancellation of prepaid excursions, we had a pile of OBC and NOTHING to spend it on. That didn't seem. Everybody please keep reporting. Viking's Canada cruises visit NYC New York, Halifax NS, Gulf of St Lawrence (scenic cruising, Cape Breton National Park), Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island), Magdalen Islands Quebec (scenic cruising), Cap-aux-Meules (Quebec), Sept-Iles Quebec, Saguenay Quebec (zodiac cruising through Saguenay Fjord), Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres Quebec, Montreal Quebec, Seaway Locks (transit to Lake Ontario), Toronto Ontario. Later was added the 21-day "Malta, the Adriatic and Greece". VikingCruises, Community Specialist at Viking Cruises, responded to this review Responded December 1, 2021 Thank you for your review, Anna. I know a lot of this was not their fault and up till now I have been very pleased with how they were handling things, but this is just biting the hands that feed them! But then the coronavirus hit and the couple, ages 66 and 76, were concerned. Deliveries were scheduled for 2026 and 2027 (2x units) and 2028 (2x units). Started June 21, 2021, By Viking Cruises China's Managing Director is Brendan Tansey. Risk-Free Guarantee: How it Works 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. 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. Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey is among the world's best-preserved cities of antiquity. Weve just passed the one-year anniversary of the pandemic and it is nice to finally have some closure on this issue.. That is one scenario and pure speculation. For the ex-Malta season, Viking partnered with Lufthansa (Deutsche Lufthansa AG - Germany's largest airline) to offer non-stop Transatlantic flights between New Jersey USA (Newark Liberty Airport) and Malta Airport, exclusively for Viking OCEAN customers. Today our group of four received emails confirming our Vikingtrip is a go! In Fall 2016, Viking became the first European river cruise company offering itineraries on dedicated to Chinese tourists riverboats.