Voyages to Antiquity

[marysb]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I wish that I had some sense of what "some time" means. My trip sails in 2 1/2 months. I can't cancel on my own because I looked after my airfare by myself, and insurance won't refund all of it if I choose to cancel. So I have to wait to see what happens.

This repair really needed to happen and I'm not sure why that ship is still putting along and why it took so long to come to this conclusion.  I'm guessing that the Captain probably resigned in the middle of our cruise over this as we secretly had a new captain after our stop in Malta.

Anyway, I would say by 2 1/2 months the engine will be repaired or it will be trash.  But we will know one way or another.

[gnome12]

51 minutes ago, marysb said:

This repair really needed to happen and I'm not sure why that ship is still putting along and why it took so long to come to this conclusion.  I'm guessing that the Captain probably resigned in the middle of our cruise over this as we secretly had a new captain after our stop in Malta.

Anyway, I would say by 2 1/2 months the engine will be repaired or it will be trash.  But we will know one way or another.

Thanks. I think you are right; it shouldn't take that long to repair or replace an engine, but at the moment it is hard to be hopeful because there is NO information anywhere except here.

[Joan47]

Check the website - all cruises until Sept have been cancelled

 

[gnome12]

11 minutes ago, Joan47 said:

Check the website - all cruises until Sept have been cancelled

 

I just called my travel agent and got that information; all cruises for May, June, July and August have been cancelled.

 

The Canadian website has not yet been updated, nor has the US website. I see the notice on the UK site.

Edited April 30, 2019 by gnome12

[cruisemom42]

Sad to hear all this about the AO.  I've enjoyed about a cruise per year on her since her launch with VTA, but I've felt over the last couple of years that the ship itineraries were being put together with an eye toward not stressing the ship's engine capacity overmuch. (Many stops close together, a number of overnight stops.)  Not that this bothered me from an itinerary perspective, but I did wonder if there was not a lot of confidence in the ship's ability to handle longer distances at speed. Not to mention I've heard the stories of some cruises that did not go so well (including Shar's). 

 

With all that, I'd be a bit reluctant to book a cruise on AO just at the moment. I wonder if there is some contractual obligation to hand her over in (good) working order to Road Scholar operations?  I would assume they are also a little concerned over the recent turn of events.

 

A question for those in UK:  are you not able to book with Road Scholar? I notice several have mentioned that it is not targeted to UK travelers, but what does that mean for you?

 

I join others in wishing there was another alternative similar to VTA or the defunct Swan Hellenic....  I will miss both the small size of the vessels and the excellent enrichment programs both offered. 

[rog747]

Sorry to hear that all voyages are Canx until 5/9/2019

The engine issues must be quite serious to be out of action for 4+ months - maybe this is something that VTA should have dealt with sooner, and were running ''on luck'' which has now run out?

Quote'' 

A question for those in UK:  are you not able to book with Road Scholar? I notice several have mentioned that it is not targeted to UK travellers, but what does that mean for you?''

 

Well,
I had a fab cruise ATH to Alexandria last Oct and all mostly went very well - I'm sorry to say that combined with abandoning the UK and other markets to lease the ship to RS this latest event is highly damaging to the VTA brand and many folk will drift away and be wary of ever booking again.
The RS is not AFAIK aimed at UK or other markets....

Edited May 1, 2019 by rog747

[LandC]

We received a refund cheque today for the Black Sea cruise. This is a good sign. Hopefully others will get their refunds promptly. Good luck everyone.

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, LandC said:

We received a refund cheque today for the Black Sea cruise. This is a good sign. Hopefully others will get their refunds promptly. Good luck everyone.

My travel agent said that they were informing people (and I presume refunding them) in the order of their sailings. Since I was July, it might take a bit of time. I also need the official cancellation notice in order to process my cancellation insurance claim, which covers mostly my airfare. However, I'm still trying to decide what to do, and one of my options is to use the flights, spend some time in Copenhagen, then maybe fly to Edinburgh and spend some time in Scotland, returning to spend more time than I expected in London. However, for a (not massively sociable) single, that is a lot of time on my own, and I'm not sure that I want to do it. From my perspective, I'll be happy if they take a bit of time to inform me officially, because after that I have to make the claim promptly.

[Ontariotrekker]

I know it sacrilege to say this here but could you maybe pick up a land tour for Scotland?  I did one for Ireland last June and it was great but a lot of bus time.

 

Shar

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, Ontariotrekker said:

I know it sacrilege to say this here but could you maybe pick up a land tour for Scotland?  I did one for Ireland last June and it was great but a lot of bus time.

 

Shar

That's a possibility too. There remains the issue of single supplement, but thanks for the suggestion.

[Ontariotrekker]

I got matched with a room buddy and it turned out very well - she was tidy, funny and well travelled.  I know how lucky I was.

 

I know I can't mention the company name here so  - travel.chick88 at sign gmail.com if you have any ??

 

Shar

[nume450]

We were notified today that our St. Petersburg & Baltic capitals cruise has been cancelled.  Very disappointed.  But, would rather be safe. 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Ontariotrekker said:

I got matched with a room buddy and it turned out very well - she was tidy, funny and well travelled.  I know how lucky I was.

 

I know I can't mention the company name here so  - travel.chick88 at sign gmail.com if you have any ??

 

Shar

My last experience with a room mate (besides my sister or cousins) was on my first cycling trip. She snored and I couldn't sleep. I was exhausted. The last night in Paris, I got dressed and went to the lobby to sleep. I vowed I would never share again, and so far I have kept to it. (I'm probably not the best person to share with either; I think I snore, but it almost never wakes me up 😉.)

 

I'm seeing train tours or Scotland which would probably beat buses, but the dates aren't right.

[gnome12]

Just now, nume450 said:

We were notified today that our St. Petersburg & Baltic capitals cruise has been cancelled.  Very disappointed.  But, would rather be safe. 

I got my official notification today too.

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

That's a possibility too. There remains the issue of single supplement, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

I also haven't done this [nor traveled single], but for Scotland we have been considering Hebridean Princess cruises.  Also the Belmond Royal Scotsman luxury train.

[Griller]

Whew! Narrow escape!  We nearly  booked the June 18th  Norway cruise next month and as we live in the US we would have had high non refundable air fares when our cruise  was cancelled. It was a really good deal considering what was included.

 

 

When I say we nearly booked it I mean were just about to book and then  we read  reviews about some aspects of the ship being a bit iffy, like passengers being antique ( so are we really)  , noisy cabins and the food being somewhat variable, and some tours being rather rushed.

So we booked Royal Princess instead. Different but we hope more reliable.

 

We are really sad to hear about the engine trouble, hope they fix it, we already cancelled a Transatlantic on another small ship last year, Sea Dream 1, after reading  it had to be towed back to dock  after some  problem.

Edited May 1, 2019 by Griller

[lwschwartz0]

About 340 passengers were onboard the Voyages to Antiquity (VTA) cruise from Malaga, Spain
to Piraeus, Greece from 13 April to 24 April. The ship, called the Aegean Odyssey, is a 47 year
old 12,000 ton converted ferry and is the only ship of the VTA line. This cruise was seriously
compromised by the weakness and eventual total failure of the starboard (right) engine. The
status of the starboard engine was known to VTA before the start of the cruise, since the
previous repositioning cruise from South Africa to Malaga missed many or most of the
scheduled ports because of engine failure. We were told, by several of the continuing passengers
that they had been promised a full refund of the cruise fare for the repositioning cruise. I do not know if such payments were received.
The last half of the Spain to Greece journey was affected by the engine failure. The speed of the
ship appeared to be limited to about 5 knots, instead of the 14 to 16 knots for which an undamaged
ship of that class is capable. The ship left Malta about 2 hours earlier than scheduled and
ultimately docked in Chania, Crete about 5:30 p.m. which was more than 8 hours later than
scheduled. A tug boat was lashed to the starboard side of the ship to aid the docking
in Chania, by replacing the inoperable starboard engine.
The following cruise leg to Heraklion did not take place. Instead the ship remained in Chania
for about 30 hours. The passengers were bussed to Heraklion instead, spending about 5 hours
on rather cramped buses for the round trip journey. Shortly thereafter it was announced that the day-long scheduled stop on the island of Santorini would not take place and that the ship would
instead go directly to Piraeus. Santorini is the most famous and popular of the Greek islands
and was arguably the high point of the entire cruise.

A previously announced talk by two academic lecturers appeared to have been replaced by a question and answer session about the cruise interruption. The discussion was already in progress when I entered the auditorium. Most of the audience was surprised and upset. At leased two of the passengers werefilming the discussion on their mobile phones. A man wearing captain's strips was answering questions. When asked about the previous history of the ship and the cruise, he said that he had only been the captain for two days and could not answer such questions. He was asked why the Santorini visit had been cancelled and he replied that it was due to rough seas. A passenger commented that, at that very moment, 8 to 10 cruise ships were in Santorini and
obviously were able to load or unload passengers there. He  repeated that safety was the issue. We were within about 50 miles from Santorini at the time and the sun was shining and the sea was calm. He was then asked whether the starboard engine was currently working and he did not answer. It was clear of course that it was not working because no propeller wake was visible. He was asked if some compensation would be forthcoming and said yes, but that it was not his department. He then left and the meeting broke up into groups of passengers discussing the situation. The cruise director, called Allison, then went around to each discussion group and shooed them away by saying that they were being very rude, presumably because the academic lecturers were waiting to speak. Later that day I asked for a list of passenger contact information at the main desk of the ship and my request was refused.
The Aegean Odyssey is a twin-screw ferry design. Each propeller shaft is offset from the ship
centerline and the propellers are meant to rotate in opposite directions. With one screw inoperable, the rudder must be deflected in order that the ship can move straight ahead. With the rudder deflected, the bow will no longer point in the direction of motion; thus the ship drag is
increased. Also, with only one operable screw, there is an unbalanced rolling torque, meaning the
ship will tend to tilt to one side. These loss effects increase with ship speed and,
combined with the obvious loss of power, explain why the ship moved so slowly. All this would have been known to the the VTA company well ahead of the start of our cruise. Since there are many similar ferries in Greek waters, it should have been possible to obtain the necessary parts and repair or replace the inoperable engine during the 30-hour layover in Chania.
I believe VTA chose not to do this and planned instead to distribute a very small refund to the
passengers. I received a check for 300 USD from VTA with a letter of apology implying that the failure to deliver the promised cruise experience was some sort of unanticipated event or accident. This refund is less than one-tenth of my cost for the cruise. Such a sum would be even more inappropriate for those passengers who traveled from America or Australia or elsewhere specifically to take the cruise.
 
I believe a class action claim against VTA is warranted. I would be pleased to receive
contact information from other passengers who share my belief. I hope it will be possible to
use the internet to form a significant group of the passengers who were on the cruise.

I am Dr. Leonard Schwartz
(schwartz@udel.edu) and I have been a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University
of Delaware for more than 30 years. My specialized field is fluid mechanics and I am knowledgeable in naval hydrodynamics. I have served as an expert witness and have given depositions in several technical legal matters and believe that I could qualify as an expert witness in this matter as well.
I would be especially pleased to hear from any passengers with legal experience. I believe that there are laws in the European Union upholding the rights of passengers in situations such as this.
 

[rog747]

Sad to hear such a debacle which seems to have started on the South Africa voyage (I nearly booked that - phew what a lucky escape)
This seasons cancellations are not good for the brand - folk will drift away...and not come back
VTA has no real alternative - they were picking up where Swan Hellenic left...

I can fully get why the Santorini call was canned on the last doomed cruise, because ships do not anchor in the Caldera but basically just manoeuvre all day with their engines to stay in position - As the AO was down to limited engine power then to enter and try to stay safe in the Caldera would be a risk if they lost power on the remaining engine.
We all know what happened to the Sea Diamond liner that got too close to the cliffs and hit supposedly uncharted rocks.

However, the last two cruises were a mess and I feel that VTA knew that the engines problems were more serious hence now the months of the ship in dry dock - 
Where most cruise companies would have offered a full refund and a possible 50-100% off a new cruise VTA have not.

- From the post above  pax Dr. Leonard Schwartz was offered a measly $300 - I suggest he writes to VTA again and do not cash the cheque but insist on a full refund and let VTA first have the opportunity to make decent amends to you before any litigation is mentioned -
 
Here in the UK we have the credit card consumer act where a section 75 claim will give you cover from your card issuer bank to seek redress in full and with compensation too, if you suffered further losses.
In the US do you have the same card cover? We have it, even if you only paid your deposit by CC.

Thus call your credit card company and ask them to give a full refund as you simply did not get what you paid for, if VTA do not play ball. Good Luck.

Then and only then if all fails do you start litigation - but give VTA a chance first to make amends. 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by rog747

[lwschwartz0]

Rog's suggest is a good one. $300 rebate for an aborted cruise is quite inadequate and is much less than preceding cruise (total refund) and immediately following cruise ($1000 I have been told, even though all ports we're visited, albeit slowly). I will contact VTA, and, in the absence of a satisfactory or no reply, ask my credit card for a refund. I suggest all of us do the same. And keep us posted.

[cheese please]

We (4 of us) just cancelled our September Grand Voyage They may or may not be ready. Where are they going to get staff for 30 days as this is the last cruise till April I think. How committed would they be to our enjoyment. They are turning the ship over to Road Scholars so no investment in us. We are past VGA people ( 3 cruises) and really disappointed in the information to their clients on the ship and off. An other era has ended so time to look else were.🤧

[Ontariotrekker]

Cheese Please - mind sharing what cabin category you were in.  I was on the Capetown-Malaga cruise and am considering doing the one in September.

 

thanks  Shar

[Alphabravo]

On 5/11/2019 at 4:44 PM, lwschwartz0 said:

Rog's suggest is a good one. $300 rebate for an aborted cruise is quite inadequate and is much less than preceding cruise (total refund) and immediately following cruise ($1000 I have been told, even though all ports we're visited, albeit slowly). I will contact VTA, and, in the absence of a satisfactory or no reply, ask my credit card for a refund. I suggest all of us do the same. And keep us posted.

I was on the following cruise, Athens to Athens finishing on 6th May. I have not heard anything about any refund. Are you sure your information is correct?

[SuSuTrav]

This is do very upsetting to hear. I wonder if Road Scholar is having second thoughts about leasing the Aegean Odyssey for three years. 

I have talked to RS recently and they said Odyssey Club benefits will not be offered “at this time.” No hotel stays rather stay on ship in port. So instead of the Grand Bretagne in Athens you will be stuck in scenic Piraeus for two nights! I was told some of their cruises are almost full in certain categories. 

I will miss this ship but would fear sailing on her again especially with Road Scholar’s cut backs. Where we should turn for a similar experience?

Edited May 22, 2019 by SuSuTrav

[lwschwartz0]

On 5/22/2019 at 1:10 PM, Alphabravo said:

I was on the following cruise, Athens to Athens finishing on 6th May. I have not heard anything about any refund. Are you sure your information is correct?

 

[lwschwartz0]

I received an email in response to my posting on May 7 from a passenger on your cruise.

He gave me a phone number in Florida and asked me to call him which I did. He told me he

had received  $1000 refund. Perhaps he complained to VTA.

If you email me at schwartz@udel.edu, I will give you his contact details.