点评:A Viking Danube Cruise I Would Never Have Purchased
Our Viking River Cruise from Bucharest to Budapest has been a deeply disappointing experience and bears little resemblance to the trip we originally purchased.
A few days before departure, Viking informed us that low water levels on the Danube required changes to the itinerary. We understood that river conditions were beyond Viking’s control. What we did not expect was that Viking would use those circumstances to deliver an experience dramatically different from the upscale river cruise we had paid for, while refusing our request to cancel or reschedule the trip.
The first two days were particularly dreadful. We spent approximately seven to eight hours a day on buses, sometimes without Wi-Fi or power outlets, for very short visits to attractions. On the first day, after approximately thirteen hours of traveling and touring, we finally boarded the ship and had dinner close to 10 p.m. The restaurants selected for meals during the land portion were unacceptable, with poor service and food that several members of our group could barely eat.
Once we were finally on the boat, things improved considerably. The food and service onboard have been much better, and we have been enjoying the company of Brazilian friends traveling with us. Unfortunately, the fundamental problems with the itinerary and Viking’s handling of the situation continue.
Viking has skipped ports, canceled tours that were included in our package, shortened other excursions, and repeatedly failed to keep passengers properly informed. Most troubling, some of these changes do not appear to have anything to do with the low level of the Danube.
For example, we were originally supposed to spend one night in Belgrade. We will now spend three nights there. Viking has also added an additional night in Budapest, but with a free day for passengers to spend entirely on their own. Organized tours have been substantially shorter and more limited than those described in the itinerary we purchased.
Had this revised itinerary been presented to me before booking, I would never have purchased this trip, regardless of the price.
Communication has also been extremely poor, and the performance of the tour coordinator has been particularly disappointing. I raised my concerns repeatedly and complained about several aspects of the experience, but she never meaningfully addressed the issues or responded to my concerns as I believe a tour coordinator should. At a time when passengers were already dealing with major changes and considerable frustration, effective communication and responsive leadership were especially important. Instead, I felt that my complaints were essentially ignored.
We often learn very late what will happen the following day, making it difficult to plan anything independently. My travel agent has now promised to contact Viking management on Monday to escalate my concerns, since they have not been adequately addressed during the cruise itself.
Viking has offered a voucher representing a portion of what we paid, valid for twelve months toward another Viking trip. That is not an acceptable resolution for me. I have no intention of traveling with Viking again. Even if I did, another Viking trip would likely cost considerably more than the voucher, forcing me to spend additional money with the same company in order to receive the supposed compensation.
I intend to pursue a cash reimbursement equivalent to the value of the voucher. Compensation should not require a dissatisfied customer to purchase another vacation from the company responsible for the dissatisfaction.
I recognize that Viking cannot control the level of the Danube. It can, however, control how it treats its passengers, the quality of the alternatives it provides, how closely those alternatives resemble what customers purchased, how transparently it communicates changes, and how fairly it compensates passengers when the product delivered is substantially different from the product sold.
For us, this has not been the Bucharest-to-Budapest Danube river cruise we purchased. It has been a significantly altered trip that I would never have chosen.
Overall rating: 4/10.
翻译:我绝对不会购买的维京多瑙河游轮之旅
我们参加的从布加勒斯特到布达佩斯的维京河轮之旅实在令人大失所望,与我们最初购买的行程几乎毫无相似之处。
出发前几天,维京方面通知我们,由于多瑙河水位过低,行程不得不做出调整。我们明白河流状况并非维京所能控制。我们始料未及的是,维京游轮竟然利用这些情况提供了与我们所付费的高档河轮游截然不同的体验,同时还拒绝了我们取消或重新安排行程的请求。
头两天尤其糟糕。我们每天大约有七八个小时都花在乘坐巴士上,有时车上既没有无线网络也没有电源插座,而参观景点的时间则极为短暂。第一天,在经历了大约13个小时的奔波与游览后。我们终于登上了游轮,并在晚上10点左右吃了晚餐。在陆地行程期间选择的餐厅实在糟糕透顶:服务差劲,食物更是让我们团里的好几个人几乎没法下咽。
一旦上了船,情况就有了显著改善。船上的食物和服务都好多了,我们还享受着与同行的巴西朋友们相处的时光。可惜的是……行程安排上的根本问题,以及维京游轮处理情况的方式依然存在。
维京游轮跳过了多个港口,取消了套餐中包含的旅游项目,还缩短了其他游览时间,并且屡次未能及时向乘客通报相关信息。最令人担忧的是,这些变动似乎与多瑙河水位偏低并无任何关联。
比如,我们原定在贝尔格莱德停留一晚,现在则要在那里待三个晚上。Viking还在布达佩斯增加了一晚的行程,但为游客提供了整整一天的自由活动时间。不过,实际提供的有组织的游览活动远远少于我们购买行程单中所描述的,且时长也大幅缩短。
如果在预订前能看到这份修改后的行程安排,无论价格如何,我都绝对不会购买此行程。
此外,双方的沟通也极为不畅,而导游的表现更是令人失望至极。我多次提出自己的担忧,并对整个体验中的多个方面表达了不满,但她始终没有像一名合格的旅游协调员那样切实解决这些问题或回应我的顾虑。当时游客们已然面临着诸多变化与巨大的挫败感,因此有效的沟通与迅速的应对就显得尤为重要。然而,我感觉自己的投诉实际上被完全忽视了。
我们通常要等到很晚才知道第二天会发生什么。这使得我们难以独立规划任何行程。我的旅行社现已承诺,将于周一联系维京游轮的管理层,以反映我的诉求,因为这些问题在游轮旅行期间并未得到妥善解决。
维京游轮方面提供了一张代金券,金额相当于我们所付费用的一部分,可在12个月内用于预订下一次维京游轮之旅。但对我来说,这样的解决方案是不可接受的。我无意再与维京游轮合作。即便我想再坐他们的船……另一次维京之旅的费用很可能会远高于该代金券的面值,这就会迫使我不得不向同一家公司支付更多费用,才能获得所谓的补偿。
我希望获得与该代金券价值相当的现金补偿。补偿措施不应要求一位不满的客户必须从造成其不满的公司那里再购买一次度假服务。
我明白维京无法控制多瑙河的水位。不过,它还是可以……该公司应当控制其对待乘客的方式、所提供的替代方案的质量、这些替代方案与顾客原购买产品的一致程度、在变更信息传达上的透明度,以及当实际提供的服务与所售产品存在显著差异时对乘客的补偿是否公平。
对我们而言,这次旅行并非我们购买的布加勒斯特至布达佩斯的多瑙河游轮之旅。实际上,这是一次经过大幅改动的行程,是我绝对不会选择的。
总体评分:4/10。