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Old September 12th, 2017, 08:48 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Surreyman[_3_]
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Default Viking River cruises, WTF!

On Monday, September 11, 2017 at 7:55:23 PM UTC+1, tim... wrote:
So,

I know that Viking are not the preferred supplier for some people here, but
I didn't realise just how bad they were

Just booked myself, through a specialist TA a bespoke package:

7 night Nile cruise, 2 nights in Luxor and 6 in Cairo, 4* on the ship, 5* in
the hotels, £1600 single occupancy (I calculated that it would be about 1300
double occupancy - single supplements are well down ATM because of the
political situation there). Plus a nanny to guide me from place to place
(Oh I do hate that, but I suppose sometimes it's necessary).

What do Viking want for their nearest equivalent, 3 nights shorter, but
admittedly a 5* ship?

5595 pounds, double occupancy with wait for it, a 100% surcharge for single
occupancy (are they going to be buying me two seats on the flight FFS!?)

OMG. Only difference is that the Viking offer includes tours in Cairo,
which I am going to have to pay for/arrange separately. (and for which I
want to do my own thing anyway, if possible). Plus they include the
unlimited drinks package (on the boat) which I was offered at a not
particularly attractive 20 pounds per day, so I declined.

And as for the 5* ship, word on the ground is that I get a good chance of
being upgraded anyway because business is so bad not all of the ships
operate each week, and you can't downgrade the punters who have paid for a
5*.

Most amazing thing is, some dates for 2018 are already sold out!

How much research do these people do?

tim


Have I understood you correctly - nearly £1,000 per night?
There must be an error?
Book your own flights and fix the cruise locally, saving thousands?
Maybe I'm naive, but I've seen such silly prices elsewhere recently - while searching to book a specific hotel at, say, £200 per night, up come 'offers' from established companies (Expedia, for instance) at around £700 per night. I can only assume they're just waiting there for some idiot to sign up?