Yorktown

[Floridiana]

The parent company of Yorktown is listed as Travel Dynamics International. Has anyone travelled on this ship? I have some questions concerning the cabins and the food.

[LHT28]

Just wondering if you did a cruise with them??

 

Lyn

[Suitcasefull]

I'd like to know if OP has sailed with them, too. Looked at their cruises but they were higher than Blount so went with them.

[LHT28]

Probably nicer than Blount ;)

 

We decided to go on American Queen ...maybe try the Yorkton another time

[Suitcasefull]

Probably nicer than Blount

 

Could be; never traveled on Yorktown. Have sailed with Blount and know we'll have great food, crew and service even though no casino or spa and cabins are small and no-frill. Figured paying almost double for Yorktown to visit the same places wasn't best use of cash; would prefer being able to do more traveling. :cool:

[LHT28]

Been on ACCL before they reinvented themselves as Blount

The only good thing I can say was the food was very good & the ports were good

 

Staff you rarely saw them outside of the working hours EG: meals

Management was a joke

The 1stCaptain would not talk to you if you had a problem too busy with his girlfriend

The other Captain had no authority to do anything ..it had to come from H.O. & they did not want to deal with you either

 

Not very good for business

 

To each his own

[Suitcasefull]

Wow! Don't know anything about before they were Blount. Maybe Blount has made all the changes.

Our experience was nothing like yours...... The crew was around any time we were on board, friendly, talkative, funny. Captain and others were personable and answered any questions, etc. Any time you spoke, they instantly had time for you, whatever you wanted.

In one port one of the girls took a package to the post office for me since I'd signed up for an excursion and couldn't get there during hours it was open on Saturday morning. That cut into her free time on shore and she didn't have to volunteer.

Sorry you had a bad experience with ACCL but things can improve and evidently Blount has. We go with Blount again this summer and I'm looking forward to it (last was 2011 and it was great).

[Soars5]

We've only done a few cruises over the years, but our experience with M/V Yorktown was definitely not among the top. This is an older ship, cabins are small, and bathroom not worthy of the name (we had a larger, more comfortable cabin on a Galapagos Island cruise on a small 35 pax boat). For a ship this size there were some surprising amenities missing: no elevator!

 

Average age on our cruise was about 80. There were lots with mobility issues.

 

Meal service for breakfast and lunch was terrific. Buffets were generous and many options. BUT dinner was another issue -- 2.5 hrs (with a 7:30 pm start time) seemed excessive for the less than full pax load and large kitchen crew.

 

Tour leaders did not know address for ship's final tour docking -- this caused great confusion for those who arranged to be met.

 

If you really want to go because of the itinerary (our situation) just be aware of what you're getting!

[ILgirl]

We're just back from a 5 night cruise on the Yorktown. We sailed on Wednesday, 7/3 from Chicago's Navy Pier and returned this morning, 7/8 at 5:30AM to Navy Pier. We have mixed feelings about this cruise. Listed below are some positives/negatives/observations:

 

1) Our cost for a mid grade cabin for 5 nights was $1,300 each. The cruises that are coming up this summer are 7 or 8 nights and start at close to $4,000 each. I would be VERY DISAPPOINTED if I paid $4,000 for a cruise on the Yorktown.

2) Cabins are sufficient - pretty small but clean. No TV, twin beds.

3) It was easy to get around because it is such a small ship. The lack of elevators could pose a problem for those having issues with stairs.

4) The cruise staff was very friendly and we were well taken care of.

5) The food went from inedible on the first night (a ravioli appetizer that you couldn't cut through with a knife and a square piece of trout that you could bounce off the table) to passible on subsequent evenings. Breakfast and lunch are buffets - just okay. Dinner is single seating, most of the time at 7:00PM which is a bit early for us. We did arrive later and were always accomodated which is nice. Lunch and dinner do include beer and wine, again another plus.

6) On the subject of cocktails, the pricing seemed rather high. Drinks ranged from $8 - $12 each. Soft drinks were free.

7) We were told by the travel agent that the age demographic for this 5 night cruise was younger than usual. We are in our 50's and we were some of the youngest aboard. Probably about 80% retirees made up the passenger roster.

8) There were problems on the ship with the A/C. It was uncomfortable in the cabins for sleeping and the dining room was almost intolerable for eating dinner. They tried to bring some fans in but they didn't help. We did lose power all together a few times. This outtage caused us to leave our final port over 3 hours later than planned on the final port day.

9) We visited Saugatuk, Charlevoix and Mackinac Island and the final day was at sea. Shore tours were included in the price but I can't speak to those because we didn't take them. The ports were great.

10) It would have been nice to have a few more activities on board. There was a speaker that would give talks on birds and trees of the great lakes region and a piano player at night but nothing else. It would have been fun to play Trivia or have something else available to do, especially on the sea day.

 

Did we enjoy it? Yes we did. Would we recommend it? No. For the price, the experience had too many negatives to outweigh the positives.

 

I'll try and answer any questions you may have.

[LHT28]

Thanks ILGIRL for your review & thoughts

Yes it would be quite annoying to pay big $$ for sub-par food

 

Hope you let Travel Dynamics know of the problems & disappoint you had

 

I guess they will be off our list for now

 

Lyn

[Suitcasefull]

Thanks, ILGirl, for the review. It will save me second-guessing myself as we had considered Yorktown for Lake Superior this year.

We did Blount's Lake Michigan trip in 2011 and loved it. Glad now that we stayed with Blount for Superior and looking forward to that this month. (Heck of a good price deal now for those who can make arrangements fast.) Know the food and crew will be great and won't mind repeating a couple of ports we'd seen on Lake Michigan. Thank you for posting.

[ChgoBrad]

Well, ILGirl, you seem to have had a better impression of the staff than I did. While they endeavored to be friendly, it couldn't make up for their apparent lack of job skills. I always had trouble getting coffee and juice at breakfast from the wait staff and they always seemed to be rushing me through my meals. The food was at best passable and the "chef" seemed to be averse to seasonings. I discovered on the sea day that the items i thought the tastiest were directly from Gordon Food Supply who was delivering provisions for the trip leaving this afternoon as we were disembarking.

 

Our room attendant kept cleaning out room, meaning she would remove towels and items and not replace them. Talking with some other passengers who had the same attendent, we discovered she was doing the same thing to them. The explanation they were given was that the linen supply was short. Trying to get a straight answer from any senior staff was impossible.

 

The air conditioning problem was very serious as it became more of a conversation topic than the port we had just stopped in.

 

The age of passengers didn't surprise me. I have learned to add at least ten to fifteen years to the quoted average age. So I expect to feel young on one. But I did find all the other passengers to be friendly and pleasant to be around.

 

The itinerary itself was great and I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of the cruise. I just wish I had more line choices for the Great Lakes especially beginning in Chicago. It was great just taking a cab to the ship and having someone pick me up and being home and unpacking in 30 minutes.

 

But the issues of the ship's a/c problems, the only passable food, and the service issues made me reconsider booking another cruise with Travel Dynamics even though I'm interested in other itineraries they are offering. I just can't concieve of giving them any more of my holiday money.

[Suitcasefull]

I just wish I had more line choices for the Great Lakes especially beginning in Chicago. It was great just taking a cab to the ship and having someone pick me up and being home and unpacking in 30 minutes.

 

Wish we were as close to port as you! Blount leaves from Chicago headed to Duluth.......next week or so, I think. Check their web site. Although it's also a small ship, small cabins, low ceilings, no frills, and you'll be the youngest, it might be worth your while to consider them since they're in your neighborhood.

[Mommus41]

I cruised on the Yorktown 6 times -- the first when it was The Yorktown Clipper, then 3 times while it was owned by Cruise West, and, finally, twice when Travel Dynamics International owned it. There were lots of problems the last few times, but I still loved the ship and the itinerary, the cabins were comfy, the food was passable and the price was right.

 

I was interested in cruising again on The Yorktown, but TDI isn't even listing it as part of their fleet. When I emailed them an inquiry I did not receive a reply. Does anyone know what has happened to M/V Yorktown?