Recent Voyages to Antiquity Cruisers

[habitoiyam]

Last summer I followed comments on the Voyages to Antiquity's inaugural season with great interest. Lately, I haven't seen much of anything posted. Has anyone had recent experiences to share?

[strawbs1]

I'll be sailing them on July 4th, so I'll check back when I return--July 13th or so. From what I hear, they've addressed the problems that plagued them early on. We'll see!

[tullbja]

Check out the two reviews posted this week under member reviews.

[rugbypopsie]

We are about to book for September 24 next year...does anyone have a suggestion re cabins..our choice is G or H midships..what would be better?

 

We have been planning this cruise for 3 years..unfortunately a lot of the places we would have liked to visit are currently unavailable but we have decided its time to go.

[Ontariotrekker]

We are about to book for September 24 next year...does anyone have a suggestion re cabins..our choice is G or H midships..what would be better?

 

We have been planning this cruise for 3 years..unfortunately a lot of the places we would have liked to visit are currently unavailable but we have decided its time to go.

As I've said many times before, I really like the Belvedere deck and definitly get a room where the beds can be linked to become a queen size. The fixed twins are very small. I'll be in a G starting July 4 and it's mid-ship so I can quickly post here to let you know. Shar

[patseacruiser]

Category H has fixed twin beds and are obstructed.

 

Category G has convertible beds and not obstructed.

[Ontariotrekker]

How difficult is it to get in and out of the pool this year ? Is the ladder still rather steep and short? thanks Shar

[gaomm]

You will love your cruise on the Aegean Odyssey. We went last year and again this year on the first cruise of the new season. It was a delight both times. Enjoyed our G cabin this year. We were on Belvedere, close to reception, and it was a hop skip and a jump to any place on the ship (not that any cabin is very far). Had 2 windows in our spacious cabin--lots of light and lots of space. Can't go wrong. Wish I were booking again. It has been our favorite cruise experience of all those we have taken. Book it, then go enjoy!

[rugbypopsie]

We booked the cruise for the 24th Sept next year. Have done a few cruises and love them all but I am particularly excited about this one as we have been thinking about it ever since V to A started but were worried by the early adverse comments....now its full steam ahead cant wait.:) We ended up booking a G on Belvedere deck.

[Mickie]

I have not yet had a chance to post a review of our recent trip from Venice to Istanbul, but by and large it was very nice. We were in a G cabin on the Bridge Deck, very convenient to most areas of the ship.

 

We are not buffet folks, so ate 99% of our meals in the dining room. Staff there and everwhere on the ship were wonderful. Ship's food presentation was nice, though we had issues with the lack of beef on the menu. No chance for a steak and a potato AT ALL.

 

Enjoyed the ports, though tendering on a lifeboat did leave something to be desired.

 

Cabin on Bridge Deck was one of the nicest we have ever been in.

 

Particularly enjoyed having those "voice boxes" (whatever they are called) to use while on tours. Some tour guides were outstanding, though one or two spoke SO FAST you couldn't grasp what they were saying.

 

Liked some of the on board lecturers - some were better than others.

 

That's my short take on the trip. Certainly would consider another voyage to another place on this ship.

[patseacruiser]

Know people who were on that trip and only had very positive comments to make to me also. Glad you enjoyed it!

[Ontariotrekker]

Just back from a b2b trip on the AO. There have been big and postive changes in the food in both selection and presentation but steak is not on the menu too often. The crew seems happier, more upbeat and the shore excursions on the Black Sea portion of the trip were exceptional.

[delta4]

I have been watching this line for a little over a year now and saw this trip come up and decided this was the time to give them a try. Our cabin is category H, Bridge Deck, obstructed view, but I think this will be OK. The comments I have been reading all seem very positive. We spend 7 days in Sicily and we are looking forward to that. We really like Italy. If anyone did this trip earlier I would appreciate your feed back.

 

Thanks,

Russ

[Alphabravo]

We were on the Greek Isles tour starting 4th July. We enjoyed it greatly but there are a couple of things to watch out for. Normally when you pay for a cruise, meals are all provided during the cruise. We assumed this was also the case during the two days of the land portion of the trip. But it is not. It is bed and breakfast only.

 

The smuts from the smokestack situation has not been resolved yet. You are quite likely to sit on black smuts while dining at the stern or on the pool deck.

 

And you can book a cruise in advance but may get bumped off your chosen trip if the ship is block chartered. That is a real problem if you have planned time off work or booked flights.

 

Otherwise I echo the positive comments. Good food, friendly helpful crew, good shore excursions.

 

I would like to be there again.

[HDS]

Looking for more information on this ship and line, particularly Black Sea and western Mediterranean/Red Sea cruises.

Our agent is spruiking the benefits of land excursion "priority boarding" for balcony class travellers. Is priority boarding a big advanage? Do priority boarders get a better guide, a smaller group on their bus or longer at the excursion venue?

Any other advanages, apart from the toiletries, obvious larger size cabin, balcony and upper deck, none of which we want or need?

Our priorities are the destinations, small tour groups, good guides and free time to explore the venue, not the souvenir shop. Our agent promises groups of 25, which I consider large, some Cruise Critic reviews say 35-40, and mediocre guides unfamiliar with the Vox technology.

The ports look good but I am concerned about half-days only in some ports and reports of late arrivals and slow disembarkation by tenders seriously curtailing time on land in these ports.

The relaxed atmosphere on board sounds great, as do the on-board lecturers. Do they share their knowledge well?

Suggestions for other small group/small ship cruise lines also welcome.

[patseacruiser]

See answers in red

Looking for more information on this ship and line, particularly Black Sea and western Mediterranean/Red Sea cruises.

Our agent is spruiking the benefits of land excursion "priority boarding" for balcony class travellers.

 

Is priority boarding a big advanage? not necessarily. But it does allow an earlier tour start and while the “tour timings” are the same for each group – the “priority” generally gives those guests slightly longer free time between tours (if more than one is operated on a day). Do priority boarders get a better guide, no a smaller group on their bus or longer at the excursion venue? based on numbers of people in the applicable categories, plus past guests, etc. - generally no.

 

Any other advanages, apart from the toiletries, obvious larger size cabin, balcony and upper deck, none of which we want or need? no

Our priorities are the destinations, small tour groups, good guides and free time to explore the venue, not the souvenir shop. they don't do shopping - tours are geared to sites - it's an ancient civilization theme

 

Our agent promises groups of 25, which I consider large, some Cruise Critic reviews say 35-40, and mediocre guides unfamiliar with the Vox technology. Not sure what that means but each coach group is kept to around 35-38 (or 40 in some cases if the ship is full). The tour program has been well rated at over 92% for every cruise this year (and last year)…Can there occasionally be a poor guide? Yes – but as they review guide assignments before every voyage – the “poor” ones from the beginning of a season are weeded out over time. They generally keep the same guides for each port throughout the season. Vox technology is new to the Med – VTA is the only cruise line that uses them for EVERY tour and does not charge extra, etc. It’s part of what they do…. and their staff that accompany the tours work with the guides in the case guests report “issues”.

The ports look good but I am concerned about half-days only in some ports and reports of late arrivals and slow disembarkation by tenders seriously curtailing time on land in these ports. This appears to be an issue that may have been related to last season when they only had the two tenders - and not the four. The comments they've been receiving have all been positive - saying embarkation/debarkation by tender is really good and the whole tour program is exceptionally well organized. Late ship arrivals happen when there is weather and is an issue unique to some of the ports they go to...

The relaxed atmosphere on board sounds great, as do the on-board lecturers. Do they share their knowledge well? Generally speaking yes - there is a lecture (or two) almost every day and the lecturers accompany the tours and mingle at meals.

Suggestions for other small group/small ship cruise lines also welcome.

[HDS]

Thanks Pat, for your very prompt reply. Really appreciate your time to share the information.

 

All sounds good except the size of the land tour groups. Do you mean 35-40 people have only one guide at the tour sites? That's more than the maximum class size allowed in our schools.

 

We've done that with another tour company and even with Vox technology it didn't work. Tolerable on outdoor walking tours but inside houses and galleries it was impossible for the people at the back to see the artefact the guide was talking about.

[SwissMyst]

I am workng my way through the book "The Middle Sea: History of the Mediterranean" by John Norwich that allegedly inspired thid cruise line's inception and itineraries. It is a fascinating sweep of history of this entire area that provides context and does make one hungry for actual visits.

 

Right now our own next cruise (another line) leaving from Barcelona to Sicily and on to Malta just about retraces the 1500's Spanish Emperor Charles V's fleet chasing the Barbary Coast prirate Barbararossas across this area. So many sea battles in this area that were pivotal to western European civilization and its clash with the Islamic world - all the sudden all those missing pieces of history that still resonate today fall into time and place.

 

I don't think the Barbarosas got to munch on powder sugar donuts and have a pedicure the way I will, traversing these same waters. :p

[Ontariotrekker]

I just got back from a b2b with this company and we never had more than 25 on any excursion we took. Since we are assigned colour groups to disembark, we ended up knowing each other's names and country by the end of the 3rd day. I would strongly recommend taking the optional tours as well since they can extend the day for you and often include a bit of a drive away from the port so you can see the countryside. Shar

[Louise22]

HDS - for other small ship cruises you might try Corinthian11 offered through Travel Dynamics and Clipper Odyssey through Zegrahm. I have cruised on both although not the area you are interested in and both are lovely ships.

[patseacruiser]

Shar - I went right to the horse's mouth for those answers and am sure she gave me the answer based on worst case scenario (such as when she said if the sailing is full it can happen to be a large group) so as not to mislead but as you and Cynthia and many others here know because you are all past passengers that you did not have problems and like this line a lot.

[HDS]

Thank you for your thoughful responses. Really appreciate the time you have taken to help me.

 

Waiting for the Australian agents to post us a brochure. I find some things are easier to read "off-line" and "off-screen.

 

Deb

[Ontariotrekker]

Thank you for your thoughful responses. Really appreciate the time you have taken to help me.

 

Waiting for the Australian agents to post us a brochure. I find some things are easier to read "off-line" and "off-screen.

 

Deb

 

Have you noticed the excellent discount available to Australians???? :)

[HDS]

Ontario Trekker, there were some great offers advertised in the Ausralian Press last weekend. That started my enquiries.

 

Several major cruise lines have banned US discount travel agents from marketing to Australians, so it is good to see a "home-grown" bargain.

 

Thanks for asking,

Deb.

[cruisemom42]

I was on one of the later cruises last year, and yes, there were often 35-40 people on our tours. Perhaps this was due to having more cruisers onboard our particular voyage.

 

My review was probably one of those you read that was a bit hard on the tours. Like you, I prefer small group tours. However, on balance, the tours were good and if you do your reading/research in advance you will already know quite a bit.

 

We had one guide who wasn't so great, in Syria (unfortunately, it was for our overnight to Palmyra; also the next day, to Aleppo, we had the same guide). Since this port was only visited once in the season, VtoA may not have the clout or experience there to vet or hire the best guides.

 

Our Egypt guide was only so-so. The other guides we had were good. Please keep in mind I am a hard grader on guides. :o

 

The Vox units posed the biggest problem at St. Catherine's monastery. There is a very small museum onsite where rare manuscripts are displayed. The guide was so far ahead of the back of the group that her commentary added little and in fact was distracting. Luckily signage was so good that I finally just turned the unit off and browsed on my own. Perfectly workable.

 

The itinerary I cruised was so unusual and there are very few opportunities to visit the ports we visited (Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey), so the small quibbles I had with the tours were, in the larger scheme of things, negligible and I'd highly recommend the itinerary to anyone....although possibly not Syria and Lebanon THIS year.

 

I'm cruising again in October with thi outfit, to some ports where guides and tourism infrastructure should be a bit more well established. Also, with a years' experience, I'm sure VtoA has ironed out some of the smaller glitches.

 

Also, you always have the option of going it on your own in port if you wish.

 

The guest lecturers were a real high spot for me. Their lectures were fascinating for the most part, and they did indeed travel with the various tour groups on occasion, they also ate and mingled with the passengers while onboard ship.

 

From my perspective, I don't think the priority boarding/bus loading for some cabin categories is a big deal. The total number of passengers on the ship is small enough that getting on/off was never a big deal or more than a few moments' delay.

 

Hope this helps answer a few more questions!