Voyages to Antiquity Pompeii etc. May31

[Ontariotrekker]

How far in advance of the actual sailing do the shore excursions become available?

 

Also, someone mentioned a reading list -- I wonder when that will arrive? After final payment?

 

Questions, questions!

 

You should get your full package of info after your final payment.

They might send you the excursion book via pdf if you give the FLL office a call.:) Shar

[London380sl]

If you go to the Voyage of Antiquity website they now have a tab entitled "Shore tours". Select the country you are visiting and then the "view details" button. It will give a brief explanation of the tour, the estimated time (1/2 or full day) and the tours that it is available and the price if its an optional tour. The good news is that most tours are included and the optional ones are pretty reasonable in price. Here are the destination countries currently up:

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/greece-1.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/turkey-3.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/italy-4.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/sicily-5.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/croatia-9.html

[cruisemom42]

If you go to the Voyage of Antiquity website they now have a tab entitled "Shore tours". Select the country you are visiting and then the "view details" button. It will give a brief explanation of the tour, the estimated time (1/2 or full day) and the tours that it is available and the price if its an optional tour. The good news is that most tours are included and the optional ones are pretty reasonable in price. Here are the destination countries currently up:

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/greece-1.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/turkey-3.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/italy-4.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/sicily-5.html

 

http://us.voyagestoantiquity.com/country/croatia-9.html

 

 

The excursions for my sailing are not yet included, even for the stops in the countries listed above. :(

[SwissMyst]

The excursions for my sailing are not yet included, even for the stops in the countries listed above. :(

 

Slow down, mom:p! We have to still get through summer and fall before we get to depart on this one. You know what they say, anticipation makes the heart grow fonder.

 

I got the book "The Middle Sea" (Norwich) and that will be my summer reading project for sure.

[cruisemom42]

Slow down, mom:p! We have to still get through summer and fall before we get to depart on this one. You know what they say, anticipation makes the heart grow fonder.

 

I got the book "The Middle Sea" (Norwich) and that will be my summer reading project for sure.

 

A very good point. :D I'm going back to planning for my HAL cruise for now.

 

Let me know how you like Norwich's book. I have it reserved at the library; hopefully will get it soon.

[SwissMyst]

A very good point. :D I'm going back to planning for my HAL cruise for now.

 

Let me know how you like Norwich's book. I have it reserved at the library; hopefully will get it soon.

 

Talk about birds of a feather, we leave next week for our HAL cruise - Alaska Inside Passage on the big hulk of the Zuiderdam.

[Ontariotrekker]

The library on board is smmll but chock full of non-fiction material on all the ports. It has all the books by country or civilization, not catalogued ( my librarian's heart wept) but there are a lot of great books. It also has the most uncomfortable chairs I've ever seen in a library but all the various lounges on board make up for that.. there are lots of cozy places to sit and read.

[cruisemom42]

The library on board is smmll but chock full of non-fiction material on all the ports. It has all the books by country or civilization, not catalogued ( my librarian's heart wept) but there are a lot of great books. It also has the most uncomfortable chairs I've ever seen in a library but all the various lounges on board make up for that.. there are lots of cozy places to sit and read.

 

Ooh....you are on board! Hope you're having a wonderful trip and take good notes -- we want details when you return. :)

[cruisemom42]

Talk about birds of a feather, we leave next week for our HAL cruise - Alaska Inside Passage on the big hulk of the Zuiderdam.

 

I don't know how I missed that you are on the same VOA sailing as me. For some reason I had it in my head that you were on the one before mine. Duh! :o

[Ontariotrekker]

Ooh....you are on board! Hope you're having a wonderful trip and take good notes -- we want details when you return. :)

I'm posting live on the other board - Shar:)

[Doubloon]

I'm posting live on the other board - Shar:)

 

What other board? I'm SO wanting information from people who are among to first to sail with Voyages to Antiquity because I LOVE what I have read about them in the preliminary information and brochure.

[Ontariotrekker]

What other board? I'm SO wanting information from people who are among to first to sail with Voyages to Antiquity because I LOVE what I have read about them in the preliminary information and brochure.

I'm posting on the VtoA roll call. Search and you'll find us under other cruise lines or use search function at top and use the full name .:)

[cruisemom42]

Talk about birds of a feather, we leave next week for our HAL cruise - Alaska Inside Passage on the big hulk of the Zuiderdam.

 

I just started a roll call for our cruise, BTW. I wonder how full the ship will be?

[Caroleh123]

Nightmare two weeks from 1/6/10-15/6/10.

 

Atrocious management and organisation.

 

Mediocre food.

 

Ship smelt of sewage for at least 5 days.

 

Air con often didn't work.

 

Smoke pouring out of ship's chimney means that all the sun loungers

were covered in soot and sitting out on the lido deck was frequently very unpleasant.

 

The ship is an antiquated car ferry.

 

Excursions often cut short or rushed.

 

Housekeeping of a good standard.

[Doubloon]

Nightmare two weeks from 1/6/10-15/6/10.

 

Atrocious management and organisation.

 

Mediocre food.

 

Ship smelt of sewage for at least 5 days.

 

Air con often didn't work.

 

Smoke pouring out of ship's chimney means that all the sun loungers

were covered in soot and sitting out on the lido deck was frequently very unpleasant.

 

The ship is an antiquated car ferry.

 

Excursions often cut short or rushed.

 

Housekeeping of a good standard.

 

Shar, thanks again for all your informative posts! Were you on the same cruise with Lynn Duncan (see above)?

Angie

[London380sl]

Yes she was.

[Ferry Beach Kayaker]

We were also on this third voyage of the Aegean Odyssey from June 1-June 15, 2010, I think there is a need to improve the cruise experience of this ship. Hopefully the line will work out the kinks. The concept of an educational cruise with guest lecturers and included excursions was what appealed to us. The included excursions were for the most part very interesting (except for the 3 days in Palermo which was way to long for this gritty city).

The positive about this cruise:

 

1. There was one to two included interesting excursions each day on all but 2 of the 14 days of the cruise.

 

2. The local tour guides for the most part were good ( I would say 8/10 were good)

 

3. Each passenger was given a whisper set so you didn't have to be right next to the tour guide to hear them.

4. Very comfortable air conditioned buses with very experienced bus drivers were used to transport you to all of the tours except for the walking tours.

 

5. At every excursion, each passenger was given a bottle of water to take with them and encourage to drink to avoid problems with the heat and sun.

 

6. The room stewards and wait staff were very friendly, some of the wait staff were experienced and some new but they all tried hard. The room stewards were very good and our room was kept spotless. I thought the maitre d' and chief housekeeper were both very good, worked hard, and were visibly present.

 

7. Cosmetically the rooms and most of the ship looked brand new, the mattresses were comfortable.

 

8. Red and white wine were included for dinner and they were enjoyable.

 

9. The two young ladies working in the spa (Jessica and Sain) were excellent, they gave very good massages, were friendly and approachable and Jessica did a 6:30 a.m. yoga class on most mornings. The gym is very small but has 2 treadmills, 1 elliptical, and 2 stationary bicycles and some free weights. The gym closed at 8 p.m.

 

The problems encountered during this cruise were:

 

1. That many of these excursions required tendering and the tender boats were old and dilapidated and the crew at first were inexperienced. I think this was their first cruise that the boat was totally full of passengers. The first 3 tender ports were a nightmare with some people not even going on the excursions because of the amount of waiting and if you were in the later tender boats your tour was rushed because it seemed like the meal times were at short inflexible hours and they had to get you back for the meals.

 

2. There didn't seem to be evidence of management visible around the ship to solve problems and trouble shoot. There was no cruise director on this voyage. After the first three days and a near riot by the passengers; they finally did bring on a woman from Sicily with good organizational skills and the later tours ran more smoothly.

 

3. There was always black soot coming out of the smokestack and it did fall on the lounge chairs and on the deck. The black smoke would hang like smog over some of the ports. I think they really need to do something to work on the engine to fix this problem.

 

4. They need more flexible hours with the dining. Most of the time the food was of good quality, a couple of times the meals were mediocre, there was no room service so if you missed the 1 and 1/2 hour window for the meal you were out of luck. Our personal preference --we would of liked to be able to choose some spicy food and more local cuisine.

 

5. The ship absolutely died by 9 p.m... The hot tub, pool and gym closed at 8 p.m. There was suppose to be a 45 minute lecture every day at 8:45 p.m. and this didn't happen every day (although this was because one lecturer had to leave and another fell and was injured). Except for the 6:30 a.m. yoga class there was no other exercise classes.

 

6. On many days in port the swimming pool was drained of water. So you come back from the excursion hot and want to jump in the pool and the pool would be drained with a net over it.

 

7. The ship's air conditioner failed twice and at those times the dining room felt like a sauna and it was hot in our cabin. They did work on it and get it fixed both times.

 

8. When there was a problem, communication with passengers concerning the problem were nonexistent.

[Ontariotrekker]

Generally I agree with Agnes M, her comments were all very valid. 3 cruises in, most of these problems not only should have been addressed but considered and corrected prior to the first sailing. Stuff happens even on the most experienced cruiselines but some of these issues, spec. the safety concerns are just basic things that should be in place. The 'lips' on the stairwells and the ridges in the walkways need to be corrected for example.

The pool is a good size but very deep - 1.85m at the shallow end. The ladder is not a good length and requires good upper body strength to pull yourself out.

I read the Maritimes Matters review and agree with his comments too. There are some standouts in the staff - none at the senior level. Case in point.. when all heck exploded at the desk over issues with the excursions, tenders etc. the chief purser was not there. Her staff, most notably Maria, took the full force of the passengers. The ladies responded with concern, compassion and a quiet professionalism that was admirable.

I sensed a high level of frustration from the junior staff. They were on the front line and had to deal with all the issues with the passengers and a few quietly vented a little but had to carry on. Communication on the ship is very poor... bad sound system, no signage at the desk to keep passengers aware of changes etc. ( very few people knew about Stromboli, I would have gotten up to see it.)

I still would consider going on another VtoA cruise but am also looking forward to reading the future posts to see if the operational issues have improved. - Shar

[Doubloon]

Thanks to all of you who have "been there" and took the time to post about your experiences! I'm still very intrigued with the concept of Voyages to Antiquity. The ship size, lectures, and choice of ports for some of the upcoming trips sound just like my kind of ideal cruise. I guess I'll just wait a bit to see how the kinks get worked out, before booking anything.

[Ontariotrekker]

Nightmare two weeks from 1/6/10-15/6/10.

 

Atrocious management and organisation.

 

Mediocre food.

 

Ship smelt of sewage for at least 5 days.

 

Air con often didn't work.

 

Smoke pouring out of ship's chimney means that all the sun loungers

were covered in soot and sitting out on the lido deck was frequently very unpleasant.

 

The ship is an antiquated car ferry.

 

Excursions often cut short or rushed.

 

Housekeeping of a good standard.

 

 

Since I cannot figure out the multi-quote thing, I'll do it this way.

1 - can't say I can argue too much with her comments there. If you've read my posts you will have seen the on-going problems.

2 - food in the MDR was extremely disappointing... arriving cold, bland etc. Some of the desserts looked good but had no taste at all.

The Terrace Grill food for all 3 meals may have been a little bland too but it was hot, plentiful and varied. At lunch there were lots of salad choices, pasta, carved meat of some sort and always hamburgers.. don't laugh, they are really good.:)

3. - there was a very strong sewer gas smell by the washrooms by the Charleston Lounge, Deck 6. Since that leads to the Lido deck buffet, it made for a stomach churning start to some meals. There was also a strong dead fish smell by the tender gangway some days.

4. the air con was frustrating and very noisy in the cabins, espec. my smaller size double. The wait staff was 'drenched' some nights in the MDR... one of the waiters told me he frequently leaves once a night to change his shirt.

5. the first impression of the ship is positive - it's not overly fussy, has clean lines and the decks boast very comfortable furniture. It does still have the various lips and steep ladders that speak to its previous life but hopefully, after all the accidents and bruises among its passengers, the ship will be brought up to tourist class standards.

As for the rest of the comments, I have mentioned a lot of the issues in my previous posts. I still hope to travel on her again. - Shar

[London380sl]

Evidently VtoA is suffering some first season teething pains which is, to a point expected, with a new company and crew. Hopefully by the time we cruise with them (August) most of these issues will be sorted out.

 

I'd thought I would add this review here from another site. This reviewer was on the second voyage for the company - Sicily is the Key to Everything.

 

Lesley Nicholls says:

 

I did the May 18-June 1 voyage from Athens to Citivecchia. I went economy; a cabln on Columbus Deck. It was small, but comfortable and the steward kept in immaculately clean.

The lack of food, coffee etc. after 8.30 am was not a problem for those of us who were regular passengers as we were ashore for most of the day. Many of us chose to eat ashore when the opportunity arose – after all we were visiting countries with two of the world’s great cuisines! The wait staff were uniformally, polite, friendly and couldn’t do enough for us. However it should be noted that the Manager or the owner of the company supplying the catering and staff were aboard during our cruise sorting out various kinks and I wonder if that had an impact on the quality of the service based on other reviews I have read.

It would have been nice to have coffee and tea on tab at all times and I often longed for a beer after a shore excursion – but being hot and sweaty I needed a shower more.

If there was one complaint about the excursions it was that there were too many Greek temples on this particular cruise – I think 10 in all. I have a background in archaeology and even I was saying – enough! I would like to have seen more of the remains of the towns that surrounded the temples as we did at Segesta and Paestrum. The staff accompanying the tours, particularly Drew and ?? (the other young man) were helpful. However on a couple of days when there were a lot of different excursions, there was not enough staff from the ship to accompany each group. This is a safety issue as they were in the ones with first aid training and carried the first aid kit.

The tenders are old and difficult to get into, particularly in rough sea (the Med can have quite a swell at any time). The crew were very good at helping those of us who are less agile (about 80% of the passengers on this cruise) but there are a couple of steep steps down into the tender and then you have to manouver your way around over strutts and beams to get a seat to balance the boat. On one of the tenders there was a wooden step placed over the gunwale and the second step down which made getting on and off a lot easier – why isn’t it on both. Better yet, spend the money and get two new tenders. This is a safety issue.

The lifeboat drill was terrible. I have never cruised before, but there was no way in which this could be considered adequate preparation for an emergency.

The literature supplied in the cabin re the ship, safety procedures etc. was minimal and not very helpful

The food was good in the Terrace Cafe but I imagine with a full compliment of passengers the queues would be endless. There is not enough room in the buffet line to go around someone who is waiting for, for example, a pasta to be especially prepared or an omlet or even someone trying to decide what to have. I enjoyed some excellent meals in the Marco Polo Room and we had great service from our waiter, Emile. The pasta dishes were notable, especially the gnocchi

I think that the cruise was about four days too long, It could easily have been terminated in Naples (especially as the sea was to rough to tender at Capri and we ended up in Naples anyway). The Amalfi stop was a waste of time, we were late and those taking optional excursions got short shrift. We would have been better served by spending a whole day at Paestrum (we had half a day) and seen more of the site and been able to spend more time in the interesting museum. I am glad to hear that they are considering doing shorter cruises next year.

My feeling was that the refit was not yet finished due to the financial problems and strikes in Greece. The economy cabins are very stark though the beds are comfortable. The furniture (a bedside cabinet) looks as if it had been there since its original incarnation as a ferry

The sound system in the Ambassador Lounge, used for the lectures, is not very good and the copper strip ceiling rattles when the ship is moving. Also the layout is not very well thought out – latecomers either take seats by the door and cannot see the speaker/screen or have to squeeze behind the screen or through the maze of fixed settees, tables and chairs. As there is no entertainment except for the lectures and occasional (good) concerts by the trio the set up could be totally rearranged to be accommodate the lectures

One final point – the outside Terrace is a lovely place to eat but it is continually bombarded by soot from the funnel. As the boat mostly travels at night, you will find the tables and chairs covered by a fine dust in the morning. We quickly learned to put a serviette on the chair before sitting down! Also the pool sometimes got covered if the wind was blowing the smoke in that direction. This is something that needs to be addressed because on occasion, when eating while sailing, soot did fall in the food and drinks – ugh!

I took this cruise because it gave me a chance to visit a lot of sites I have wanted to see for some years. Also I liked the idea of a smaller ship – I like to know I am on a boat, not a hotel that happens to float Would I take another Voyages to Antiquity? That would depend on the itinerary and on whether they are able to sort out the kinks. At this point, I would say no I would not. Nor would I consider another cruise.

[London380sl]

Just found another passenger posting on the current tour Venice to Istanbul and it seems that things are improving:

 

 

"Hello from onboard A O

We've been on a few days now and the dinner wines have been the same white and red from Greece. Its actually not bad.

So far everything has been going very well. The odd missing bread basket etc but the staff is SO intent on pleasing that its difficult to complain.

Boarding was the easiest ever. Walked up to counter, exchanged passports for room key and we were done. They even put luggage tags on for us as our TA didn't think we needed the document package!

Tours and shuttle boats have been running very well and the tours have been very good.

The rest of the pax are a very well travelled group and most seem to be having a good time. There's a happy buzz at all the group events."

 

Fingers crossed.

[Aureol]

Glad to see people are interested in this new company. I've returned from a five night cruise from Civitavecchia to Palermo and have posted a detailed and heavily illustrated review at MaritimeMatters. I'm happy to say that VTA have since pledged to address many of the issues that were not right about the cruise. There will be new tenders; stairtower lips will be modified; dining options and room service have been/will be expanded; more enrichment lectures; a hotel manager and cruise hostess have joined the staff, etc.

 

Here are the links to my postings:

 

Part One: http://maritimematters.com/2010/05/aegean-odyssey-to-antiquity/

 

Part Two: http://maritimematters.com/2010/06/aegean-odyssey-to-antiquity-part-two/

 

Part Three: http://maritimematters.com/2010/06/aegean-odyssey-to-antiquity-part-three/

 

All the best,

 

Peter

[London380sl]

Peter:

I'm glad to hear that many of the shortcomings you mentioned are being addressed. That was a great set of articles you wrote and, since reading them and I have poked around a your site, a great site for those interested in Maritime history and current news. I've now bookmarked it and its one of the site I weekly review.

[Caroleh123]

New tenders?

Sorting out trip hazards?

 

This is of no help whatsoever to those of us who have spent

time and money with this shocking outfit.