Voyages to Antiquity Pompeii etc. May31

[Aureol]

Sorry, Lynn. I know it must be cold comfort to know things are being fixed after you spent your time and money on a less than perfect vacation. But I guess it is better than things not being addressed at all.

[cruisemom42]

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

 

Peter, your articles were terrific and the pictures were beyond. Thanks for your efforts.

 

Almost all new ships have a bit of a rocky start. I'm sure, knowing what I do about this outfit, that things will get sorted out pretty quickly.

 

I'm still looking forward to my unusual itinerary in November without real worries.

[Livestotravel]

london380sl - where did you read the posting from the ship. I haven't been able to find any postings from the current trip.

 

I'm trying to get a roll call going for the August trip.

 

I wonder if we will have the new tenders? Glad to hear of their intention to fix some of the other problems.

[London380sl]

There was one blog from www.***************** which I copied and posted above. Nothing else since then. If I see something I'll post a note.

[germantart]

I am going on this cruise as a solo. I have just returned from the Pompeii cruise and had no problems being solo there were plenty of us. The trip was good and the destinations well planned.

[SwissMyst]

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.

 

One could have written exactly the same things about the MV Discovery, yet everyone still has a good time and they have a very high return customer loyalty. This was obviously not a good match for you. You also failed completely in commenting on its primary purpose - the enrichment itinerary. This ship nor is the Discovery intended to be a "luxury" cruise or a high-touch cruise. It is intended to be a unique adventure cruise. You missed the point totally and am glad you will serve to scare away similar complainers like you who are not fun to travel with in the first place.

[Aureol]

As a three time past passenger on DISCOVERY, I can say there was no comparison. First of all, DISCOVERY does not purport to be a luxury cruise but they deliver a strong, well-managed product. I cant wait to return. The problems on my AEGEAN ODYSSEY cruise were serious and too numerous to just ignore or laugh off. They need to get their act together and are hopefully doing so quickly.

[Caroleh123]

Since you wish to comment on the "enrichment part of the cruise, I will

oblige you.

 

I found the tours very basic and far too short:

2hrs in Pompeii for instance or 1.25hrs in Herculaneum. No visit to the museum in Herculaneum. No visit to the archaelogical museum in Palermo.

A day spent on Taormina which although very picturesque is a tourist trap

of little historical merit.

15 minutes in the museum in Syracuse. Poor logistical planning and too great an emphasis on meal times (American passengers seem to have to eat at specific times on the dot) meant that tours were short and inadequate.

I booked to go on this cruise because I wanted intellectual stimulation with like minded intelligent people so that I could further

my knowledge. This is what the brochure promised. It failed to deliver.

Many of my fellow passengers wanted leave the sites before we were finished and commented that they didn't want to visit because it was another ruin and it wasn't finished.

Furthermore, at the price I paid I would expect aircon to work, crew to be trained, excursions to be run properly, lecturers and a cruise director.

If you are not bothered about any of the above and are happy with sub standard 2 star service then this is the cruise company for you.

[Ontariotrekker]

Lynn - you bring up many very valid points. I found that many people were "templed out" very early in the cruise. Many others complained that the local tour guides just droned on and on. Others said that the visits to the sites were too long.. too hot.. too rocky etc.

 

I found it rather ironic, since the brochure clearly stated that the cruise was history based, that so many peole had so many issues with the excursions. I agree that many were too short or ill-timed. I enjoyed many of the off ship lectures and tours.. ( the onboard lectures not so much) so, if the others just wanted to shop, or swim or drink?? then why did they take this cruise? - Shar

[Caroleh123]

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

I was surprised that there were not more passengers of my age and demographic.

 

Many of the American passengers seemed elderly and not terrible interested,

this did not enhance the experience at all.

 

However, I think that VtA wants American dollars and is happy to dumb down its programme. It would also appear that many of these passengers

and others who have cruised a lot more than I have, are used to and accept faulty equipment, smoke, poor organisation and abbreviated tours.

[bullshead]

One could have written exactly the same things about the MV Discovery, yet everyone still has a good time and they have a very high return customer loyalty. This was obviously not a good match for you. You also failed completely in commenting on its primary purpose - the enrichment itinerary. This ship nor is the Discovery intended to be a "luxury" cruise or a high-touch cruise. It is intended to be a unique adventure cruise. You missed the point totally and am glad you will serve to scare away similar complainers like you who are not fun to travel with in the first place.

 

Sorry, SwissMyst, but I agree with Lynn Duncan. I was on the same cruise and I'd echo what she says. I note that a link on an earlier post has been 'redacted' and I suspect this was mine, I wonder why? Anyway, for MY warts-and-all review go to trencherman.org then click the black (bottom LH) tab

[SwissMyst]

Sadly, the reports on constant diesel smell and grit finally convinced us to cancel. We are now waiting to see if we get our deposits back. It will bode poorly for anyone else contemplating these trips if we do not. I will keep everyone posted. I still drool over the Cairo-Athens itinerary and wish them the best and hope we may join them again some day once everything has worked out.

[rugbypopsie]

OMG after being totally into VtA next year when DH retires I am totally despondent after reading the reviews. It sounded like the perfect mix, small ship, wonderful itineraries, guest lecturers etc. etc. etc.

 

Obviously some of the wrinkles that inevitably come with a new ship, staff training etc. can be worked out but from what I have read, sooty, noisy and smelly are not something that is easily or quickly fixed.

 

Food is not a primary concern for me, but I would expect the catering to know the difference between beetroot and beef!

 

Cruising for us Aussies anywhere away from our shores is an expensive business I am just not prepared to risk lots of dollars on what I have read so far.

 

Sooo who has some suggestions for an alternative cruise, on a small ship in the Med?

 

I am so disappointed.:(

[cruisemom42]

OMG after being totally into VtA next year when DH retires I am totally despondent after reading the reviews. It sounded like the perfect mix, small ship, wonderful itineraries, guest lecturers etc. etc. etc.

 

Obviously some of the wrinkles that inevitably come with a new ship, staff training etc. can be worked out but from what I have read, sooty, noisy and smelly are not something that is easily or quickly fixed.

 

Food is not a primary concern for me, but I would expect the catering to know the difference between beetroot and beef!

 

Cruising for us Aussies anywhere away from our shores is an expensive business I am just not prepared to risk lots of dollars on what I have read so far.

 

Sooo who has some suggestions for an alternative cruise, on a small ship in the Med?

 

I am so disappointed.:(

 

I know someone on these boards who has been very happy with Oceania cruises. Smaller ships (a little bigger than Aegean Odyssey though; around 600 pax) but great itineraries, excellent beds (not always a given on a cruise ship :rolleyes:) and food that is considered by some to be better than Crystal. They've done 3 Med cruises on this line and highly recommend it. I look forward to giving it a try one day when I can find a good deal (e.g., no single supplement or a great sale).

 

You might look into them and see what you think. They also apparently have a lecturer or lecturers on board who give more than the ordinary mass-market spiel.

[SwissMyst]

VTA notified us the deposit refund check was in the mail. I wish them well and we will be back once they get a good track record for a few years.

[rugbypopsie]

VTA notified us the deposit refund check was in the mail. I wish them well and we will be back once they get a good track record for a few years.

 

Well at least that part of the organisation seems to work. I will follow their progress to see if anything improves I was looking to sail around this time next year with them so fingers crossed.

 

Thanks for the other suggestions I will look at Oceania and Discovery as well.

[Ferry Beach Kayaker]

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

I was surprised that there were not more passengers of my age and demographic.

 

Many of the American passengers seemed elderly and not terrible interested,

this did not enhance the experience at all.

 

However, I think that VtA wants American dollars and is happy to dumb down its programme. It would also appear that many of these passengers

and others who have cruised a lot more than I have, are used to and accept faulty equipment, smoke, poor organisation and abbreviated tours.

 

Hi Lynn,

 

I think I hear a little bit of harsh stereotyping in your above comment and I am not quite sure if it is fair or totally accurate. We are American and pick this cruise because of the historical aspect of visiting Greek and Roman Ruins and listening to the lectures. There were problems with the ship and initially with the tendering but in spite of the problems, my family including my 24 year old son and 26 year old daughter thoroughly enjoyed most of the tours. My 24 year old son was a philosopher major in college and is very knowledgeable about Ancient Greek and Roman history and immensely enjoyed visiting the ruins. Maybe it was the group we were in but I felt for the most part the guides gave us plenty of good information. Only one time did I feel that we had a lousy guide. I do think that the tours to the ruins in the hot weather on uneven rocky ground may of been a little too strenuous for some of the more frail elderly passengers.

[bullshead]

Hi cruisemom42

I reckon I was the person who commented favourably on Oceania (and the trencherman.org review is also mine). To reiterate, I'm not in the industry, but our 4 cruises prior to the V2A June 1st voyage were with Oceania, which helps explain our dissatisfaction. They have 3 identical ships (a larger 4th one on the way), one of which was parked next to us in Taormina. I was discussing the smoke problem with a fellow passenger at the time and she said that it was interesting that the 'massive' ship next to us wasn't emitting smoke at all. I said "define massive"? and she said "Oh, I guess about 2000 pax". I say "try nearer 650" and I don't think she believed me. But Oceania is better in almost every respect than V2A (cost is the obvious exception, but you need to shop around and find a good cruise consolidator; in the UK we use cruise.co.uk).

Our 1st cruise with Oceania was Beijing-Hong Kong, 2nd Istanbul-Rome, 3rd Auckland-Sydney, 4th Singapore-Sydney. On the 4th there were many more Australians than there had been on 1-3, but a normal mix might be 50-60% N American, 10-25% British, 10-25% other English-speaking.

If you Americans can handle a bit of stereotyping, one of the reasons we like Oceania is that it is heavily focussed on US tastes. Basically the Yanks tend not to put up with anything substandard, as opposed to what we witnessed on V2A (and amazingly we're STILL reading about on these forums from I guess mainly British people) which is "mustn't grumble". Having spent a load of cash Lynn Duncan thinks she is entitled to grumble; why wouldn't she be?

[Caroleh123]

Agnes I think that the tours were not what they could have been had things been better organised and we had been allowed to have the maximum amount of time on visits. I agree that many of the local guides were actually good. I think that your family was the exception not the rule!

All the press that we saw in the UK led us to believe that the passengers would be mainly from the UK and definitely between 40-60 hence the surprise when we discovered that there were so many elderly people and that we being charged in dollars on board and that mealtimes and food were in line with American dining rather than European. VtA, which is a British company, has stated in its press releases that it was targetting younger passengers than the norm but in my view, has had to look outside this remit in order to get XXXX on seats.

Just a theory.

[cruisemom42]

Hi cruisemom42

I reckon I was the person who commented favourably on Oceania (and the trencherman.org review is also mine). To reiterate, I'm not in the industry, but our 4 cruises prior to the V2A June 1st voyage were with Oceania, which helps explain our dissatisfaction. They have 3 identical ships (a larger 4th one on the way), one of which was parked next to us in Taormina. I was discussing the smoke problem with a fellow passenger at the time and she said that it was interesting that the 'massive' ship next to us wasn't emitting smoke at all. I said "define massive"? and she said "Oh, I guess about 2000 pax". I say "try nearer 650" and I don't think she believed me. But Oceania is better in almost every respect than V2A (cost is the obvious exception, but you need to shop around and find a good cruise consolidator; in the UK we use cruise.co.uk).

Our 1st cruise with Oceania was Beijing-Hong Kong, 2nd Istanbul-Rome, 3rd Auckland-Sydney, 4th Singapore-Sydney. On the 4th there were many more Australians than there had been on 1-3, but a normal mix might be 50-60% N American, 10-25% British, 10-25% other English-speaking.

If you Americans can handle a bit of stereotyping, one of the reasons we like Oceania is that it is heavily focussed on US tastes. Basically the Yanks tend not to put up with anything substandard, as opposed to what we witnessed on V2A (and amazingly we're STILL reading about on these forums from I guess mainly British people) which is "mustn't grumble". Having spent a load of cash Lynn Duncan thinks she is entitled to grumble; why wouldn't she be?

 

Nope, wasn't you, unless you've been posting on these boards for several years under a different name...

 

Oddly enough, the things like the smokestack soot, lips on stairs, etc really do not bother me. I guess I am more concerned about the "fixable" things being fixed. Tours that are the full length promised, good guides, basic tendering skills, reasonable service on board. I hope they don't "dumb things down" else I might as well just stick with a large, mass market cruise.

 

Agnes I think that the tours were not what they could have been had things been better organised and we had been allowed to have the maximum amount of time on visits. I agree that many of the local guides were actually good. I think that your family was the exception not the rule!

All the press that we saw in the UK led us to believe that the passengers would be mainly from the UK and definitely between 40-60 hence the surprise when we discovered that there were so many elderly people and that we being charged in dollars on board and that mealtimes and food were in line with American dining rather than European. VtA, which is a British company, has stated in its press releases that it was targetting younger passengers than the norm but in my view, has had to look outside this remit in order to get XXXX on seats.

Just a theory.

 

Although American (:rolleyes:), I think I'm their target demographic as well -- definitely the right age group, well educated, armchair historian, well used to scrambling around over ruins, etc. Unfortunately, I think some travel agents will push this cruise to customers looking for something different, without clearly explaining what that "something different" really entails.

[Livestotravel]

Hi Lynn,

 

I think I hear a little bit of harsh stereotyping in your above comment and I am not quite sure if it is fair or totally accurate. .

 

The distain I'm hearing for Americans (dumbing down the program!) is bothering me more than any of the complaints about the ship. I just finished reading several recent reviews on other forums that were quite favorable. Despite the soot, pool, lips and lift problems, I'd be fine and certainly looked forward to the camaraderie of other passengers - now, I don't know....I looked upon this as a learning experience, not requiring me to already be an antiquities scholar. Looking forward to postings from the current sailing to see if the tender loading, unloading has been mastered!!

[cruisemom42]

The distain I'm hearing for Americans (dumbing down the program!) is bothering me more than any of the complaints about the ship. I just finished reading several recent reviews on other forums that were quite favorable. Despite the soot, pool, lips and lift problems, I'd be fine and certainly looked forward to the camaraderie of other passengers - now, I don't know....I looked upon this as a learning experience, not requiring me to already be an antiquities scholar. Looking forward to postings from the current sailing to see if the tender loading, unloading has been mastered!!

 

I hope you did not take my comment the wrong way (after all, I am American). :o

 

What I meant was that I booked this cruise under the expectation that the tours/tour guides/lectures were going to be at a level higher than those of your average Mediterranean cruise. In other words, not just the basics. If guides have to repeat all the basics on a half-day tour, there is not enough time to get into anything more advanced. (And I will just be hearing a repeat of what I have already read and heard on previous travels.)

 

I can live with a few inconveniences onboard if they will live up to that. I guess I'm one of those "feed the mind" types, not "feed my body at the 24-hour buffet" types. :D

[Livestotravel]

I hope you did not take my comment the wrong way (after all, I am American). :o

 

What I meant was that I booked this cruise under the expectation that the tours/tour guides/lectures were going to be at a level higher than those of your average Mediterranean cruise. In other words, not just the basics. If guides have to repeat all the basics on a half-day tour, there is not enough time to get into anything more advanced. (And I will just be hearing a repeat of what I have already read and heard on previous travels.)

 

I can live with a few inconveniences onboard if they will live up to that. I guess I'm one of those "feed the mind" types, not "feed my body at the 24-hour buffet" types. :D

 

No, not you. I agree with what you are saying and always research every Port so that I can get the most out of what I am seeing and hearing. It's just that not having a background of study in these areas, perhaps I'm not the "demographic" these tours are aimed at. And I do see it would be disappointing to those who are well-versed in the history, if the lectures or tours were at too basic a level. I want to be awed by ancient temples and spewing volcanos, not the Vegas-wanna-be shows on the big "boats" - hence chose this trip. Just a little over six weeks to go.

[SwissMyst]

Probably the best background book to read is The Middle Sea since it allegedly inspired the ship's owner to create this itinerary. That might be sufficient to get one up to speed for context if this is missing. Sadly, I now have the book on my shelf but no longer have the trip. Oh well, hope to rejoin them next year when the kinks have been worked out and the reports back all (almost all) positive.

[bullshead]

Hi Livestotravel

I was on the June 1st cruise and I'd echo the recommendation re The Middle Sea. It's not exactly an easy read, but I found myself reading about parts of Sicily a few millennia ago that we just happened to be passing at the time which was nice.

I also research everything to death, hence I was particularly annoyed to find myself on a cruise where the actual experience was a million miles from the offering.

For a warts-and-all review, check out trencherman.org and click the bottom LH (black) link.