bridgetpage

My husband and I are planning to take a world cruise with either Oceania (departing January 2020) or Vikings Ocean (departing December 2019). We went on an Oceania cruise 6 years ago and had an enjoyable experience on a much shorter (10 day) cruise. We are obviously planning this well in advance. I don't believe either cruise line has actually published their 2019-2020 cruise dates so I am using the information/dates/ports of call posted for the 2018-2019 as planning guides (I understand that elements of the current cruise options may change but probably not much). I believe that Viking is at this moment in the middle of their inaugural world cruise and that may be why I haven't been able to find any reviews or much detailed info.

Here are he topics that I would e interested in learning more about should anyone have perspectives to share:

1) Would you recommend booking directly through the cruise lines or using a travel agency (and if a travel agency do you have an preferences). It seems like we can get 2-1 pricing on Oceania directly with some benefits added in (airfare, beverage package or shore excursions). I'm not sure if we can do better than that with a travel agent. I haven't see anything but list pricing for Viking. Do they offer any promotional rates?

2) Any specific reviews on Oceania world cruises or Viking world cruise would be much appreciated.

thanks in advance.

jacketwatch

Good question. With all those perks what could a TA do? The only way to find out is to ask and see. They may to able to give you some OBC or other niceties. If the TA books it that's a substantial commission so they should be able to do more than a token gesture.

Just be sure it's a reputable agency. The one I have used for yrs. has been very reliable and my son uses them too after I recommended them.

Bon Voyage!

RoamsAround

I'm sure you realize that a "World Cruise" (on any cruise line) is really just a series of shorter itinerary cruises linked together and that the majority of the passengers you encounter on the ship will be embarking and disembarking after each "cruise segment". Only a few passengers will remain on board for the entire "world cruise", the rest might stay on for 1, 2, 3 or 4 (or more) segments.

We use a Travel Agent to book all our cruises because he helps us with other pre- and post- travel arrangements. We have always paid the same or less than the cruise line's published fares. Our TA has affiliations with several different "travel advisors" like Virtuoso and Andrew Harper which give us free perks like free hotel room upgrades, food and beverage credits at hotels, special tours and excursions not available through the cruise line, private cocktail parties, etc.

A good TA is worth their weight in gold. We've been using our TA for at least 15 years and although we have never personally met he knows us and our travel style very well. He has never let us down.

Now, as far as we are concerned 2 for 1 pricing is a myth - we have NEVER, REPEAT, NEVER paid the full "per person" published fare for any cruise no matter if it was booked early or late. The most we have ever paid was the 2 for 1 price and more often than not it's been less. And we get all the so called "perks" offered by the cruise line (i.e. airfare, beverage packages, shore excursions). So, bottom line is you won't "miss out" on any of those if you book through a TA vs. booking directly with the cruise line.

wunderbar2

Have you ever gone into cruisecritic.com? There are several very interesting threads on Viking World Cruises. If you're not familiar with Cruise Critic go onto the webpage, at the top of the page click on Boards, on the next page scroll down and you'll see the header Cruise Lines P-Z, click into Viking Oceans under Sub-forums. You'll find a few posts on the above, some interesting exchanges. Hope you get some answers. I think, may be wrong, but I don't think the world cruises are broken down into segments. It's good reading.

RoamsAround

wonderbar2 - maybe you misunderstood what I meant by "segments". The World cruise on Viking, Oceania and other cruise lines are made up of a combination of shorter cruises, each off which can be purchase separately. I don't have time to research exact itineraries but for instance, on Viking, the first segment of one of there world cruises goes between Miami and Los Angeles, the "second" segment is a Pacific crossing from Los Angeles to the Marquesas where you begin a 13 or 14 day cruise through the South pacific ending in New Zealand, the next "segment is a cruise from New Zealand to Sydney followed by another cruise segment from Sydney to a port somewhere in Asia. Subsequent segments take you in a westerly direction until you reach London, the final Port of Call. If you compare the Itineraries for Viking's "shorter cruises you'll see date and ports of call all dovetail with the so called "World Cruise. It's the same way with all the other cruise lines. So like I said, not all the passengers on each "segment will be doing the "world cruise".

wunderbar2

My error