kwbts124

1 hour ago, xmaser said:

Vantage isIf you love cheap, you'll love Vantage.

 

Viking, Avalon, and AMA on several trips provided none of these problems.

I have sailed with Vantage only twice and loved both cruises.  
Positive people CHOOSE to look at the good. They only lament in the moment and only if needed for a retribution to happen.  

:)

I'll be happy to post our review when we return from the Norwegian coast cruise on Hurtigruten. We also did a tour of the Greek Islands. Think it was with a different tour company and the cruise portion was on the world Renaissance - Royal Olympia. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip. Lots of of history and beautiful sights too. Happy travels.

Just wondering how your Norwegian Coastal cruise went....if you're back.

Has anyone done the Hurtigruten Norwegian coast line cruise with Vantage? Or actually, any other cruise ship to share helpful hints. We're booked on the Nordkapp Nov. 1 2016. Would enjoy any info on this trip.

Please let us know how your trip goes. I'm also interested in the Hurtigruten Norway cruises either through Hurtigruten or through Vantage. This has been on my bucket list for a while...

...in the meantime, we just returned from a Greek Islands Cruise on the Harmony G (a Variety ship but our week was leased by Vantage). Here is my review. :)

Anyone familiar with the impact of the sale of the Port of Piraeus to the Chinese:cool:. Port employees are striking to protest the sale. Just wondering if anyone has heard if this will impact Greek Island Cruise (Vantage) aboard M/Y Harmony G.

The cruise is on a small ship (40 passengers) so I'm hoping the strike will have no impact but I'm just wondering.

Portugal, the Douro River and a bit of Spain

 

\Patuxent River, Maryland, working for the Navy...

 

REFLECTIONS ON FOREIGN TRAVEL

 

After living overseas for nine years some years ago and traveling extensively since my retirement in 2010, Ginny and I still love to travel....

 

Therefore, I highly recommend this trip.

Thanks for the awesome review :) and great tips on restaurants in Lisbon.

You mentioned being in Lisbon in 1985 with your family. Were you stationed in Rota, Spain at that time? I'm wondering because I was stationed at Rota 81-86 but sadly never ventured to Lisbon.

Our first head on the Harmony G didn't work at all. The head in the second cabin was in the shower. So, it depends on which cabin you are in. But, as I've said before, there was almost no airflow in our cabin (can't blame that on the AC condenser) and the little air to be had was warm, not cool. We were miserable in our cabin when it was warm outside. And, Vantage 'deluxe' travel who chartered the Harmony G didn't give a damn and still charters that vessel.

 

I haven't bareboat chartered yet, but it's hard to imagine a charter broker that wouldn't happily set you up with a skipper and/or crew on request.

 

I sail Catalinas up to 40' locally and am familiar with the head and shower arrangements there. The Harmony G has a vacuum waste system similar to larger cruise ships.

If you can remember which cabin had the head in the shower and which cabin you were in that was hot, it would help us decide. We are leaning on keeping the trip but still have a bit of time. We chose not to bareboat (or hire expensive and unfamiliar crew) because is it much more work with less time for leisure (lots more worry).

I found my photo.

Thank you for the picture - that helps a lot. Any chance you remember your cabin number?

To

Don't take the Harmony G under any circumstances, even if you have to forfeit a deposit...

We are sailboat people who understand what life aboard a 30-foot boat really means. I was looking for a more recent review and hoping that the cabin head would be more modern than the one on our sailboat.

I think we were on the same cruise and totally agree with the poster's comments. Our cabin was on the lowest deck and once underway, our porthole was partially underwater, creating a 'trapped in washing machine' effect. After complaining about the heated cabin, we were told the air-conditioning was running at maximum but it was a water-cooled system and as the ocean was warm, nothing could be done.

I've read some not-so-good reviews about the M/Y Harmony G. I'm a little nervous about the heads in the cabins and the temperature for sleeping.

Does anyone have pictures of the inside of their cabin? I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade from "C" (below waterline) to "B" or "A" (A & B cabins are on the main deck and look exactly the same to me).

Also - are the showers in C, B, or A separate from the toilet or positioned right over the toilet so the toilet gets wet when you shower?

Booked:

Celebrity Constellation Greek Isles 5-2016

Azamara Quest Norwegian Fjords 8-2016

Norwegian Pride of America Hawaii 10-2016

African Safari 6-2017

Crown Princess Classic Canada & New England 10-2017

Azamara Journey Northern Europe 8-2018

Jazz,

May I ask who you are using for your African Safari in 2017?

Anyone else booked on Vantage Harmony G. We would also like to hear from past voyages on the Harmony G.

Wondering which date in June is your Greek Island cruise aboard the Harmony G?

We are going June 13 (overnight flight to Athens).

We are expecting small quarters...but are interested in the Greek Islands not spending time in our cabin.

Let me know if you are still going....

When I asked about a price guarantee, I wanted to know if they would offer compensation if a paid in full cruise was subsequently advertised at a lower price?

What did they say??? I had to forward the email to get my price.

My experience has been they definitely do NOT have a price guarantee . In fact I had a catalog less than 2 months old and they would not honor published prices. Although when a less expensive cabin became available we were allowed to switch.

 

We have been happy with our 2 vantage cruises and have scheduled a third.

I am taking my 2nd trip with Vantage (Greek Island Cruise) and they definitely honor email prices. I received an email for a reduced fair for several cruises but I had to immediately book. Since I was not comfortable booking without doing any other research, they offered me a 30-day money back cancellation (no penalty - in writing) for booking immediately to lock the fair.

I watch the other cruises to judge which dates for the same cruise to see which ones sell out and which ones have a lot of room - dates with a lot of open cabins may ask customers to shift to a different date.

I also book my airfare through Vantage at economy - then once the flight is ticketed (45-days prior to departure) I call the airline and take care of upgrading myself (via points or purchase). I only upgrade long stretches.

Vantage has booked us great flights (only two cruises so far).

Anyone else booked on Vantage Harmony G. We would also like to hear from past voyages on the Harmony G.

Did you ever take the Greek Island cruise on the Harmony G?

If so, we have a deposit on a Jun departure and wanted to get your thoughts on the yacht, the ports, and the itinerary.

Thanks,

kwbts124

Glad you enjoyed your first river cruise. Warning, they can be addictive!

 

Besides Budapest, where else did you go?

Budapest (pre-trip 2 nights & overnight on ship) - my personal favorite

Bratislava

Vienna

Melk

Linz & Salzburg (moored in Linz - bused to Salzburg)

Passau (overnight)

kwbts124- Thanks for the interesting write-up.

 

 

 

...What ship were you on?

Vantage's River Splendor

This was our first river cruise and the entire Vantage team did such a good job, we are deciding our which itinerary will be our next.:D We normally travel independently, but occasionally choose an organized trip; river cruising was uncharted territory for us - so we decided on a Christmas cruise that fit my winter break (yes, I'm a teacher but also retired navy).

I chose Vantage after much research on ports, schedules, prices, tours, amenities, ships, reviews...well, you name it, I looked it up. It took me two years to commit and I'm so glad I chose this company and this schedule.:)

We took the pre-trip to Budapest and really enjoyed the location, hotel, transfer service and local shore excursion to the opera house and day in market with included themed lunch. I highly recommend this pre-trip. We had plenty of time to wander the city of Budapest and really see the area. The Funicular was my favorite “thing-to-do” besides walking around (eating local food and drinking gluwein) the Christmas market.

The crew was perfect (all of them) and our hats off to the captain and entire nautical crew for keeping us on (or ahead) of schedule even during the already stressful low water conditions on the Danube. My husband is a working boat captain and was amazed at how competently and flawlessly (and silently) the nautical crew navigated, moored, and worked around passenger events and needs.

The hospitality staff and crew cannot be matched. They were on par with the fanciest of 5-star hotels. Our cruise director (Martin Kratkoczky) and our concierge (Renata Lovrovic) were wonderful and made the cruise perfect for everyone despite some “critics in the crowd.”

Our cabin was huge (at least for this old navy retiree – 165 sqft) and our head and shower were opulent and had enough head and shoulder room for my XXL husband.

The dining room service and food was amazing and the dining room staff worked very hard at making meal time memorable and fun. This is when most of us met other passengers and became friends. The dining room and kitchen staff went out of their way to remember our names, what we liked to drink or eat.

Our room attendant (Melinda) was extremely diligent in keeping our cabin perfect. I know that there is more crew that work out-of-sight that I'll never be able to name.

Disembarkation was flawless as expected. We checked in for our flight via cell phones the day prior so we didn’t use Vantage’s rep at the airport. We did like that Vantage required our bags in the passageway only an hour prior to our departure time to the airport. We have been on tours where you have to be packed the night before).

The final bill was accurate and VERY REASONABLE. We are from Key West and the drink prices beat anything we are used to…the gratuities were also very modest – we left envelopes for each member of the staff that went out of their way to make our vacation special. The exchange rate onboard was fair but rates were better ashore at local money exchanges.

We did use Vantage for our airfare. It was very reasonable and our flights were as direct as possible (MIA-VIE-BUD then MUC-MIA) and the flight times Vantage reserved were perfect - we flew economy but would recommend upgrading to at least economy plus (my husband is XXL and it's more comfortable in a wider seat when flying 10+ hours).

Port excursions - 95%. This is the only area that I am hesitant in giving a perfect rating - not because of anything that Vantage crew or local guides did or didn't do...my complaint is with other passengers who insist on pretending they are fit enough for a full-day or even half-day walking tour – this made my husband a little agitated. Possibly Vantage can suggest breaking groups into slow/fast or mobile/less-mobile groups or offer an abbreviated or "slower-paced" tour choice or a quicker tour for the few who want more individual time but still want a short guided tour.

UPGRADED: We originally booked a D-class cabin (Odyssey Deck - lower level) but it only had a standard window so we upgraded to a C-class cabin prior to sailing (#328 on the Explorer Deck - middle level). The cabin we chose had floor-to-ceiling windows which opened into a French balcony. Surprisingly, Vantage upgraded our cabin to a B-class cabin (#302) which was on the same deck and identical to our chosen C-class cabin but was in a more forward location on the ship (the upgraded cabin was amid-ship while the cabin we selected was aft - closer to the engines). Even if we were in the stern of the ship, I must say the engines were relatively quiet and vibration was almost non-existent even when we walked to the stern while underway.

Overall – excellent experience on our first river cruise – we will be back for another!:D:D:D

Planning a Christmas Market cruise on 2016, which is the best way go. Rhine or Danube?

Just returned from Christmas on the Danube with Vantage (Budapest to Passau)....loved every minute of every port.

Thinking of doing another Christmas cruise next year...maybe the same one maybe not...contemplating.

I wrote a review on our cruise but it hasn't published yet...:cool:

Is the low water level the reason you might not be able to dock in Budapest?

We are on Vantage's River Splendor and have just boarded our ship just 5-min north of the Chain Bridge. No Viking ships at any of the Viking docks and we've been here in Budapest for 3 days. Wonderful pretrip - just starting our river cruise portion - fingers crossed - water levels are low but hopefully not too low.

...There really is no request to great or too small. They genuinely seem to want to surprise you with service. They give you a 3 digit number to reach their cell any time you need something or have a question. They provided us at the end of a cruise with a nice gift of a scarf for my wife and olive oil for me. This really takes the level of service to a whole other level. With the hectic schedule of the excursions it really is a nice touch to have these two butlers to help you with the smallest of details.

 

I will close my postings in either later today or tomorrow with some random thoughts. Thanks for following along

Butler service sounds fantastic. Just wondering if you tipped the butler throughout your trip or just at the end. We're sailing with Vantage in a regular cabin so no butler - I don't even think Vantage offers butler service at all but since this is our first river cruise..we're not loyal to any line...yet.

I can't wait:D...12 days 'til we leave - out of MIA (not my favorite airport).:(

Sorry Jazz - I should have been clearer. First, click the link, then look for "Documents" and try to open the pdf file labeled "Elbe Princesse."

The spec sheet won't load for me...http://www.croisieuroperivercruises.com/ships/elbe-princesse-2016

I was exploring this feature the other day - really cool.

 

...I can't wait to take my first River Cruise:D....I realize some folks are

uncomfortable going over seas but I can't wait to see the Tulips in Amsterdam:)

I'm right with you Lois R - this is my first river cruise and I can't wait to see some Christmas markets and snowy European scenery and drink mulled wine.

I'm cruising on the Danube as we speak. We left Vienna yesterday on GCT. The landscape is covered in snow--quite beautiful!!

Thank you for the update on the Danube...we got our travel docs yesterday and I'm getting excited... Dec 20th marks the start of our first river cruise - woot, woot!

I didn't pay attention to your home country before I clicked "reply"...but if it's the US - Happy Thanksgiving!

Would love to hear about the Christmas Markets if you get a chance...

Enjoy your cruise