Viking River Cruises what YOU NEED to KNOW

everything you wanted to know about Viking River Cruises but we're afraid to ask stay tuned [Music] joining me today to answer all your questions about Viking and Viking River Cruises are my special guests IRA and Helene Kaplan owners of cruise holidays of Marlboro located in New Jersey IRA and Helene have been satisfying clients in and around New Jersey and across the country since 1988. hi folks welcome back to RTE travel talk good morning Ken how are you oh wonderful it's great to have you with us so Viking Cruises is a very hot topic online and we're getting a lot of questions about Viking in particular Viking River Cruises with regard to their payment policies when you have to make final payment and really a bunch of other questions so I know you folks are the expert invite all things Viking so I thought today we could spend a little time and do some rapid fire questions that come in over the the internet to answer some questions for our viewers and listeners how's that sound sounds like a plan so right out of the game you know something simple when we talk about Viking River Cruises what are the main destinations and stuff that they sell to and how many ships do they have at the moment he has more than 70 River ships wow and a Mississippi ship as well and then he has regular cruise ships and then yeah the river ship the 70 70 ships on the rivers right and seven ships but he has about nine ships right now okay nine oceans 909 ocean ships so if we're talking about Viking River cruises in particular what about the accommodations on board folks how do they how do they compare with for say for example Alma waterways or Avalon if you do Viking they'll give you a couple different type of categories okay we have a couple of big Suites called the Explorer Suite they have full Veranda cabins where you can actually sit on the balcony then they have French balconies a French balcony is like a Juliet Balcony with a doors slide right but you cannot sit on the Belt it just makes it looks like a bigger window although it's fresh air coming in it's a big one to do a slight difference in front of it right and it has a really nice it's a French balcony and then they have Windows then on the bottom of the ship the bottom deck of the ship not many there's not many cabinets is down there they're a window cabinets so in the window cabins the windows are on top of the cabin because the bottom of the cabin is basically into the water so you're on the water line you're on the water line on that and that on that type of category of cap so that's obviously the probably your lead-in price the water line cabin you would you recommend that for people on the river cruise well the majority of our clients no but but when they do the marketing for it and they'll sell you from 13.99 or whatever the fare is that's what they're telling you they're telling you that that basic type of State room and we have clients that'll call or come into the office and they'll say well I saw this mailing for whatever right and it's 14.99 well and then you show them oh no I don't want that then you give them the choice you know I either want a balcony or French balcony depending what they're looking for and then you explain you explain the difference of the regular balcony the French balcony and the size of the cabin because that makes the difference you're if you want luxury you need to go into this week majority of people will take a balcony it's on the middle deck it gives you more flexibility to go to the higher deck on the ship what we like about it and what our clients like is everything's included every day your day begins early you're going to have open seating for breakfast and then the motor coaches are waiting outside take you to your tour that's included for the day there are optional toys that you can add on but majority of people will take the tour that's included wind up in the Heart of the City and make the decision should we stay and Linger on our own and then take a taxi back or we're just going to go back with the motor coach and then walk where the ship is done so actually that that leads leads me to another question when we talk about tours in the city with Viking there is an Excursion included with every port that you visit you are correct every everything every protocol the ship will go to there's tours included right they do have optional that you can pick right but most most you find most of your clients take the included tour right when the ship comes in the motor coaches like Colleen said when the ship comes in they're just waiting for it and they take you on the tour so in reality you don't have to you don't have to take any money out of your pocket for no yes what I love personally is where the ship's dock versus the the regular ocean cruise lines I like the fact that you're in more of the countryside I think you're getting a better feel of the itinerary that you're traveling to on a river cruise so with the dog docking because because Viking is one of the oldest river cruise lines in the business correct me if I'm wrong they have priority docking rights at a lot of these ports along the rivers right they do but they stack the ship they call they call that rafting as far as as I understand exactly but the point I was making about that is because Viking has like the rights to these docs quite often Viking is the inside ship correct so you're not yes you're 100 right yeah you're not you're not walking through somebody else now in terms of size folks as compared to the other River Cruise Lines how do they Stack Up are the ship's basically the same size do they accommodate the same amount of guests uh no actually they hold their long ships which is what they use mostly down the rivers run about 190 passengers some of the other cruise lines like you mentioned ammo or Avalon they'll have some of their ships are smaller ships not many past less 160 150 depending on the ship that you do with them okay Viking has most of them are all the long ships right those are the 440 foot long ship what about the age range like on a Viking river cruise mature on these ships everything is double occupancy there are no statements that'll accommodate threes or fours so it's basically double occupancy with it but most of the time you're going to see this 60 55 age category on there right not Ada accessible not at all not at all they are not Ada friendly to put it that way also where the ships dock it's all Cobblestone right even if they had accessible State rooms it's not conducive for someone that has disability right will do this type of itinerary so River cruising it's just it's as much as we'd like it to be it's just not a great experience for mobility issues I don't think it would be safe nor would be comfortable yeah right for somebody in a wheelchair if they had to or if they had a walker and they had an issue with it I think would be very uncomfortable for the past right plus the fact you mentioned if if you do get into a rafting situation you can't be climbing over ships so what's the atmosphere like on board of Viking river crew let's say relaxing because you're up in the morning right and everybody has breakfast at the same time predominantly it's an open seeding breakfast and then nine o'clock usually those motor coaches are ready to go on the tour so you're out and about first thing in the morning for the tour usually between 12 and 1. that's where I'll end in the city then you can stay in the city do shopping doing this schmoozing basically it's not your traditional foods right because it's a river cruise right there's no Casino uh a boutique very limited the entertainment is local and it's very interesting but if someone wants a very active nightlife it's not it's not I mean when when we were on with with some of our group we kept the bartender but probably later than he's ever been what's the truth we were just a very Lively crowd but it was more discussing the day looking forward to tomorrow's attempt but you're you're at the bar you're relaxing there is local entertainment player from town comes in and plays on the show a historian right exactly but it's very interesting it's different right it probably would Fair be fair to say than instead of like the Broadway shows and all the fancy entertainment that's not you're going to derive a lot of the great experience and entertainment from meeting the other guests correct absolutely and good old fan good old-fashioned conversation you only have 190 or so passengers so you tend to get friendly with the passengers on the ship right and in the evening because you all basically have dinner together you're going to go back into the lounge sit down have a cocktail talk about your day talk about the tour look to the next day well what are we doing tomorrow where are we going to be tomorrow what are we going to do and you go oh wait like this what I also find very interesting um in the course of the conversation there are some instances that people chose that particular itinerary because of family where their parents came from where their ancestors came from where their grandparents came from and that made it very interesting as well discussing background you're very steeped in history right those types of river cruises now we talked about dining probably no such thing as specialty restaurants on board they ship none of the Viking ships they're specialty restaurant it's basically one one restaurant on the ship and they have an Alfresco on the the ship as well right but there's no specialty restaurants on the ship the other thing that's come up folks is gratuities is that included as part of your all-inclusive you can't add it in if not it's not positive right it's not part of the fair the fair that's separate altogether okay talked about informal so there's in terms of address code it's just pretty pretty much casual comfortable shoes and a nice pair of slacks and a shirt for the men in the evening it's dress appropriate there was one evening where you wore a sports jacket um you're meeting the captain but formal nights no no no not at all so if I wanted to book a Viking river cruise what's the best way to go ahead go about doing that besides calling Cruise holidays of Marlboro booking it well in advance well in advance people book anywhere between a year and a year and a half in advance and having a travel advisor do that for you probably makes a lot of sense because number one you're going a long way and number two you have better knowledge of the ships and the itineraries right besides it will also going to explain all the the is about adding in a traditional fee they call at air plus and it allows us to contact the air Department sooner than later to check on pricing and availability of your air what's also nice with Viking because one of your questions was paying in advance it also allows a viking to secure lower airfares on some itineraries which is very attractive to the client so let's talk about that for a minute because I had another question come in just yesterday about Viking air and the comment was but I think I think what you're going to tell me is that this is going to be standard the comment was well if you go with Vikings air you could have multiple stops and they send you here and they send you there before you reach your final destination as a layperson I would have to think that's probably because of the air contracts that they have they may not be the best well here's the thing what's the scoop on that necessarily at all some of the openers they have they give you free air right they have a grand European tour that they actually include air and some of their itineraries wow the other part of the air is we always tell the client to do what's called air plus okay or plus is a fee that allows us to go directly to the air department at Viking they will tell us the client's air schedule depending what the sailing is six months eight months out of departure that will let us know yes it is a Non-Stop yes there is a connection but usually in a perfect example if you do the Rhine River which is a Basel to Amsterdam type of itinerary right nobody goes non-stop to Basel no so because of it you have to tell the client you're going to have a change of plans you're going to have a change of plane and that's just the way it is yeah it's just the way it is Amsterdam will have a Non-Stop let's say back in by our hometown in Newark you'll turn around and get a Non-Stop but you'll find that out six months to eight months prior why because you paid that air plus fee it's well worth it it's well worth it absolutely and why and why is it worth it to find that out in advance because if you don't add that 100 per person fee and it's their choice but we do suggest it we have to wait until Vikings AFC Department actually books your flight your itinerary it is sent to us then we look at it we tell the client well I'm not too thrilled with this now you go to the air department and it's months after the fact that if you would have paid that air deviation fee excuse me the air plus fee we would have been able to go to the air Department sooner than later now they're a better schedule might not be available in their contracts of seats right so the air plus fees like a hundred dollars a person correct it is well worth it yeah I would I could well I could see where that that could be a very well it opens the door to the conversation of a flight itinerary sooner than later all right now the other 800 pound Grill that's been out there online is their cancellation policy and when you have to pay for the cruise we've had people tell us us that you know what I had to pay for my cruise in 30 days and we've had people say no no no that's not right you can you don't have to pay for your cruise for six eight 12 months and there just doesn't seem to be anything any Rhyme or Reason other than so I was kind of hoping that you could kind of explain that my my thought on it was sometimes it has to do with the promotions they're running but I wanted to talk to The Experts to get the get the ultimate skinny on it well if you do it it depends when you're sailing right right if somebody comes into you in July and they're going to sell in September they're going to pay right up front correct yeah now if you come in today to book something for let's say early 24 you're going to pay for now you're going to pay within the next couple of months he gets paid Viking gets paid eight months to a year in advance of when you're actually going but he does give you two choices right you can pay by credit card and depending on what your point likes are he does offer you if you pay by E-Check what is an E-Check you give them the routing and your checking account and he will save you 3.3 percent in our uh explanation to the client that's the the savings of what the credit card charges have depending on the selling they can save three four hundred dollars if not more if not more if they pay with the E-Check I had a client he saved five hundred dollars and that was the toss-up do I put it on my credit card or not he weighed the value of the points that the credit card was going to give him versus the savings from Viking exactly you got it yeah you gotta do you got to do it yeah you're going to do your homework on it right all right so here's an example I want to book a Viking river cruise for May of next year okay okay and it's today it and it's March of 2023. when would I have to make final payment on that roughly probably the end of June okay you took him and made departure in 24. you probably have to pay for that somewhere towards the end of June of this year okay but again if you pay with that E-Check you're going to save that amount of money 3.3 but here's the other part to it they do have an administration fee of a hundred dollars a person should you cancel before you actually travel before you try to pay before that 100 they got 120 days out at which point that penalties do take effect after that 120 days and then closer to the Box okay so to put a cap on this yes I'm booking a cruise today March of 23 for May of 24. that will perform uh you'll hold on the cabin right yep you've told me that I can expect to pay in full for that cruise by June of 23.3 probably by June of 23 you'd have to make final payment make final payment I can either use my credit card or use the E-Check and say three percent right three point three percent yes 3.3 three percent and if I had then had to cancel that cruise I have up to 120 days before sailing before we're into some sort of penalty on it is that that correct 120 days out and they charge you a hundred dollars per person administration fee because there it graduates right and after 25 50 75 100. yeah once you once you get in once once you get inside 120 days from sailing but that's where your insurance comes in that brings up the conversation of taking out insurance right yes absolutely so booking in advance for a Viking river cruise or even a viking Ocean Cruise you recommend booking a year out at least absolutely first of all it's giving you a better choice of availability of deck and location which is very important to us right exactly what you're taking what's left yes I can get you on that particular sale date and a viking longship but you have the last cabin on that death is terrible no the the placement of a cabin on a river cruise is very different than on an ocean cruise very different no for sure for sure well folks this has been absolutely great information is there anything else you'd like to add before we wrap up well they're going to give you and we'll go a little a little step further for it they're going to include everything with it and what's that you do take their air they'll then include your transfer so they'll pick you up if you're coming from the states you're going to go through the airport where you're flying into if you're going to fly into Munich if you're going to Frankfurt wherever you're flying into you're gonna come through the Customs Hall at which time Viking will be outside of that custom Hall to pick you up and take you to the ship the representatives in a red vest Viking Cruises on it and they're waiting for you the motor coach is outside you have no worries of how am I getting over to the vessel exactly it's all taken care of okay another part of Viking they'll include your beer and your wine at lunch and dinner correct you can buy an alcohol package a silver Plus silver Plus package it's up to yourself 175 per person and you can have alcohol any time of day whenever but they do give you beer and wine for lunch included and for dinner another thing that Viking river does because where they're leaving from they'll always have a perfect example if you're going to do the Danube if you're going to board the ship in Regensburg which now allows you a tour that they offer in Prague and Nuremberg so they'll fly you to Prague give you a couple nights in a hotel in Prague a couple of nights a hotel in Nuremberg and then take you to the ship to board the ship in Regensburg wind up in Budapest right go for a tour or a hotel package at the end just like they do in the beginning their their tour packages pre and post they will have a viking host or Hostess in the lobby of that hotel for your entire staff and give you a city tour along with that when you're staying either before the cruise very good package so in reality then with a Viking river cruise you can do a pre-cruise tour you can do a post Cruise tour 7 to 14 day river cruise and package it all together put your gratuities on it and know exactly Before you depart what your final bill is going to be exactly right everyone on Viking I find is is friendly yes very very accommodating of where you are right very accommodating where the ship is either whatever you're doing the Rhine you're doing them very knowledgeable people very healthy now speaking of knowledgeable people the gratuities that you can either pay up front or as you go along did they cover the guides no you can do that on your own correct I mean that's up to yourself right but anybody on the ship their cabin attendance your waiters your assistants all of these people have been taken care of they're all looked afterwards as far as the motor coach drivers and the guides on the motor coach it's at your discretion discretion and to be honest with a couple that we've done a lot of people give these people absolutely a gratuity of some type as you do something very much you were very informative very knowledgeable and so on and so forth when it comes to that that only makes sense because on this type of a tour your guides and and your motorcross driver putting particular your guides because they're so well informed they're they're a large part of the enjoyment of your tour it sounds to me from what you're telling me that they have a very loyal following no very loyal we have a very loyal following no question definitely and they love the idea that they enjoyed how everything was handled on the river and now they're not concerned let's experience the ocean and the ocean in my opinion is even more upscale than sailing with them on the river wow wow well folks absolutely great information if folks wanted to reach out to you about a possible Viking crew Viking river cruise or Ocean Cruise how would they do that uh just call our office they can do three things they can come into the office okay the Open office right in town or from eight Highway retail location Monday through Friday 9 to 5 30 Saturday 10 to 10. they can call us we have a 732-972-244 or an 800 number 1-800-284-2784 or go on our website which is cruiseholidaysnj.com and that's open 24 7. excellent excellent well folks this has been absolutely excellent and very informative I've learned a lot about Viking River Cruises today so when can we book you on your next Viking well don't say that too loud [Laughter] and and with that folks I'm just going to wish you safe and happy cruising on all your future adventures and travels May the wind always be at your back and I hope to see you too on Alito deck sometime soon and that about wraps it up for today folks very special thanks to my guests IRA and Helene Kaplan of cruise holidays of Marlboro if you'd like to reach IRA and Helene I will leave their contact information in the description if you'd like to reach us simply send a question to questions realtravelexperts.com visit our website realtravelexperts.com or simply leave a comment we always respond and as always folks if you enjoy this content a like subscribe and the Ring of the Bell is certainly appreciated and helps us to spread the word so until next time happy travels foreign [Music]

Channel: Ask a Real Travel Expert - RTE Travel Talk

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Id: MPk4VNRSmUg

Length: 23min 12sec (1392 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 20 2023