nh6mile

The Vantagetravel.com site is operational.  Per Vantage:

As of 6:30pm ET on Friday, April 28, the Vantage Travel website went back online with limited functionality as we continue to troubleshoot. Our call center is anticipated to be back online no later than Monday, May 1.

Most insurance policies will not cover a loss due to the travel provider filing for bankruptcy or trip cancellation for similar financial issues. MossyLedge: would like to know if yours does and for future trips would you share which insurer you use. Thanks.

Hi Donna and MikieF.  Would you comment on your current trip - I see the Odyssey is in Mykonos.  Have there been any issues with missed ports, lack of supplies, canceled excursions.  There are lots of rumors about non-payment by Vantage to vendors that are impacting their services for the two ships that are still operating.  Thanks.

Thanks so much Donna. Obviously everyone who is scheduled to embark in May is concerned and confused, especially since their air tickets were canceled. If anyone else on the Odyssey has some insight as to the future trips we would much appreciate hearing what they have to say.

Hi DonnaMW.  Are you on Odyssey now.  (We were on it in December - Mumbai to Singapore) and are scheduled to be on it again in July (British Isles).  However friends of ours are scheduled to embark on it in two weeks in the Mediterranean and have had their air travel canceled by the airlines (non-payment for tickets by Vantage).  They have yet to hear anything from Vantage.  Has there been any talk of journey cancellations for the Odyssey?  Is Gail Bryant still onboard as the Cruise Director.  Thanks.

There was a cruise director, a tour director, and a concierge that almost always went out on the excursions. And each bus had a local guide, most were good. We always liked Vantage itineraries. 

On our journey there were at least six single males and about 40 single women. 

No to mandatory covid test but we took one prior to leaving the states.  Negative.  If we were positive we would have stayed home.  Did not hear of any Covid issues while on the trip but there was lots of coughing.  Masks were optional - about 25% usage. Friends made on the trip did test positive when they got home and they wore masks the entire journey.  It's hit and miss.

You're welcome.  Not everything was perfect but some of the issues may have been caused by the home office not realizing transit times and visa requirements.  The crew and staff (somewhat shorthanded) were excellent.  We had fun.

We are scheduled to be on the same ship in August 2023 on a British Isles journey.  And we are scheduled to do Egypt with Vantage in 2024.

We like Vantage itineraries but we also travel with other travel companies and are playing catch up due to Covid.  Busy schedule in 2023 and 2024.

Happy New Year.

17 hours ago, deec said:

thanks for the great information....too bad the ship did not put in a free laundromat.  Are the floors heated in the bathroom for when it sails in colder climates.  Do people seem to miss a pool?  I think the diagram only shows hot tubs.

Yes on the bathroom floors but we have it turned off. There would have been a couple of days where the pool would be used. Too much movement when we’re at sea and the ship is hesitant to fill it up with less than clean water when we’re in port. The jacuzzi’s have been used. 

Prior to the start of the trip we were informed that we would be bypassing Port Blair (disappointed) and would now have 3 days at sea before arriving Phuket. We had some rough seas with the Dr. apparently running out of motion sickness pills.

The tour leaders kept us entertained with lectures, movies, games, etc.

General passenger comments: Rooms are nice, lots of storage, bathrooms good. There’s lots of open spaces on the ship. Exercise equipment excellent. There should be more daytime snacks available other than cookies in library. For those not getting free laundry (room level dependent) it seems expensive. Ship decorated nicely for Christmas with a gift exchange and carols. No zodiacs yet, supposed to be received in a few days in Singapore.

We are back on this ship in August. It will be interesting to see if some of the smaller issues are fixed by then.

As part of the itinerary we spent a night off the ship, at a nice resort Cinnamon Lodge. The adventure included a Jeep safari at Minneriya National Park, visits to two unesco heritage sites (Sigariya Rock Fortress and Dumballa Rock Cave Temple). Long days. Good to be active. Repositioning ship also allowed the crew to have their holiday party.

There are tables for two along the sides entering the main dining area. Because we are at 104 vs 132 there are also 4-tops where only two are sitting.

Kochi - Southern India. Long bus ride to cruise on a houseboat in the Kerala backwaters. Some passengers felt the time on the houseboat was too long. If you shortened it might not be worth the bus ride. Entertainment that night by Kathakali dancers - good.

Next day we toured part of Kochi, visiting Chinese Fish Market and spending time in area known as Jew Town. Visited the synagogue and shopped.

There are still some glitches on the ship - inoperable elevators, out of order toilet, no broadcast TV although stations listed ( we don’t watch so not an issue for us).

Some disorganization as this is the first itinerary from Mumbai to Singapore for the Odyssey.

Food is good - not great. Don’t like the fact that you have to pay for soft drinks. A little chintzy.

Service excellent. Bars are nice and there’s plenty of open space.

Internet in cabins spotty but stronger signals in common areas.

Colombo Sri Lanka was very excited to receive their first cruise ship in two years. Press coverage. Hopefully you can open the link below.
 

https://srilankamirror.com/news/ocean-odyssey-ship-arrives-with-americas-richest-tourists/

Ocean Odyssey ship arrives with America’s richest tourists

Embarked Monday 12/13, later than planned due to Bollywood excursion running late. Immediate safety briefing and port talk followed by dinner.

About 104 passengers, typical foreign mix of crew. All friendly, relatively young’s. Not sure of total crew count. 
Lounge spacious, well done, multiple TV screens for talks and lectures.

Dining room also fine. First night meals and wines (complimentary) were acceptable. Need to check out wine list.

Internet spotty- no surprise.

Will explore ship tomorrow morning. Our first stop - Goa - isn’t until noon with a 10AM lecture.

We had business class flights booked through Vantage several months ahead. However, not Vantage, but the airline changed our flights to where they were no longer acceptable. About two month’s ago we asked Vantage to change our flights to what we preferred and they did so without a problem. We received final docs about 12 days before we left. As to the extra night we paid for that.

Vantage is doing their best to handle interesting situations. If you’re in Presidents club there are some discounts so it’s not too costly. Typical long sleeve shirt $7, socks $2.50.

You pretty much stay with the same group during excursions. All the pre-trip passengers remained intact. 
 

Our day yesterday cruising on a houseboat on the backwaters in Kerala was enjoyable. 
 

P.S. I too had to look up the meaning of gheraoed.

How do you make it a separate roll call?

We were unable to tour Goa yesterday. The article below, published in the Goa Herald, explains what happened.

After around 100 American tourists, passengers on the cruise ship ‘Ocean Odyssey’ that arrived at the Mormugao Port on Wednesday, were forced to go back to their ship after local taxi union members obstructed the buses that were supposed to take them on their tour. Francis Vaz, the manager of Le Passage to India,  has complained to the TTAG, the Tourism Department, the Chief Minister and DGP. tour operators from Goa have expressed outrage. An impression was created that Goa is not safe for tourists, Otto De Oliveira Fernandes, Owner of Le Passage To India Tours & Travelsstated. The tour operators met Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday and said CM Sawant had assured them that he would initiate an inquiry and take action against those involved.  

Tour operators also alleged that the taxi drivers gheraoed the coach and assaulted the driver who sustained injuries. They said the image of Goa is at stake and cruise agents have immediately cancelled docking at Goa due to Wednesday's incident. 

There is no drink package (as yet). They offer a red, white, and rose included at dinner. Some good, some not so good.  They do have a wine list of better wines to purchase. Typical restaurant prices, double retail price. They also offered three different packages of discount wines by the bottle. I did not partake.

There is a cocktail of the day, e.g. Negroni ,  Manhattan, etc. at $5.

Some days there are different excursions to choose, listed on the detailed itinerary on the website. Today and tomorrow in Cochin we all do the same.

There is no guest washing machine. We are using the laundry service and hand washing some stuff.

It’s been fine. There is a forum, just like this one, titled LIVE FROM VANTAGE ODYSSEY MUMBAI TO SINGAPORE, that you should be able to easily find. Do a search using Vantage or Odyssey.

See my posts on LIVE FROM VANTAGE ODYSSEY MUMBAI TO SINGAPORE 

I am currently on the Odyssey and posting on Live from Vantage Odyssey Mumbai to Singapore.

This is a new ship that is experiencing some minor issues but overall it’s been good. By minor e.g. elevator has needed some maintenance, our a/c in the bedroom does not provide enough cooling but is fine in our sitting area, there’s something wrong with the hair wash basin in the spa. Small stuff.

The showers are good. Access to balconies good.

The exercise room has plenty of equipment but hardly used thus far.

There’s only one spa attendant doing it all - massages, pedicures, hair, etc. - so appointments fill up quickly. 
Three bar areas. Restaurant service good, food okay. Breakfast omelette was good with typical self service choices.

Have not yet been to the second restaurant Athena.

Lecture hall (lounge) nice setup and our first lecture was interesting.

The library is a nice area to relax but needs more books which should grow over time.

Today will be our first sea day so we’ll see how much the pool area with the two jacuzzis accommodate the passengers.

Our stop at Goa was an experience. After disembarking there was a labor dispute going on between the cab drivers union and the bus drivers, something like that.  It got heated enough where the buses that were to take us on our excursions had to turn back. This was something beyond Vantages control. You never know what to expect when you travel  to foreign countries.