New Atlas Ocean Voyages info

[sand2sea01]

36 minutes ago, keokukjoe said:

I tried to call our second Atlas advisor, Laura, this am. We started with Alan Pollack. Well, along with Alan(quit) and the Atlas Air guy, Ken Goldberg (retired?), Laura quit. So I spoke to a Lisa at Atlas. She again said that laundry was included and that “standard” internet service is included. Who’s standard???  I was very blunt and strongly advised her to share the comments on CC with the powers that be. I told her that Atlas needs to deliver what they promised as the bad publicity they are generating will literally sink their ship! She promised to call me back by the end of the day. We’ll see. I promise to share anything I find out. 

I just spoke with Lisa at Atlas.  She assured me that they are aware of the situation and the concerns and are working on a solution.  She advised me that someone from Atlas will be in touch with me today.  While the information we are receiving is disappointing, I am willing to give Atlas a chance to work things out.  They certainly have faced an "uphill" battle to start a cruise line in the face of the pandemic.  i will take a deep breath and await their call back to see what information is forthcoming with regard to the laundry and internet issues.

[jwsfun]

6 minutes ago, sand2sea01 said:

I just spoke with Lisa at Atlas.  She assured me that they are aware of the situation and the concerns and are working on a solution.  She advised me that someone from Atlas will be in touch with me today.  While the information we are receiving is disappointing, I am willing to give Atlas a chance to work things out.  They certainly have faced an "uphill" battle to start a cruise line in the face of the pandemic.  i will take a deep breath and await their call back to see what information is forthcoming with regard to the laundry and internet issues.

Sand2Sea- totally agree- Let's give them a chance to fix it!  However, I have to say, isn't it the great the Power of "community" here at Cruise Critic.  The fact that we have an opportunity to communicate with Joyce in Real time and each other and have an effect on potential policy changes.  Wow!  Thanks Cruise Critic!

[amunhbuu]

41 minutes ago, keokukjoe said:

Yep.

I have no idea what the turnover rate looks like in this industry, but I know I have been contacted by the same person from SilverSeas for close to 10 years.

[keokukjoe]

1 hour ago, sand2sea01 said:

I just spoke with Lisa at Atlas.  She assured me that they are aware of the situation and the concerns and are working on a solution.  She advised me that someone from Atlas will be in touch with me today.  While the information we are receiving is disappointing, I am willing to give Atlas a chance to work things out.  They certainly have faced an "uphill" battle to start a cruise line in the face of the pandemic.  i will take a deep breath and await their call back to see what information is forthcoming with regard to the laundry and internet issues.

Please let us all know what you find out. I'll do the same.

[joyce Ottawa]

So I talked with someone from head office who is on the ship.  He has been following our comment thread. I identified myself and said I might be causing him some trouble!  He has talked with his bosses at head office and they are fully informed that expectations are not being met. I made that point that I usually find high end cruise lines over achieve, and that I thought they would be very particular about keeping their new clientele happy and wanting to sign up for future cruises… so who knows what will happen next.  

[jwsfun]

5 hours ago, goghd said:

First I want to thank Joyce for posting a daily review of the adventure with the 1st Official Atlas Cruise.  

I will be on the ship in Egypt when you leave for their 2nd cruise  I'm taking a land tour via Atlas for 4 days pre-cruise starting Tuesday next week when I land in Cairo.  

 

Glad to hear about the great food and service.  Disappointed about the internet.   Expectations are why I book this cruise and Atlas and Atlas has failed in the WIFI area.   

 

Joyce,  Please keep the daily journal coming as it is beneficial to  document the pros and cons of Atlas for all.  Plus I enjoy reading your journey and it helps in lowering my expectations of what is advertised as a luxury cruise. 

Goghd-Like Joyce- We will be hanging on every word!  Please try to drop a note or two here during your voyage- Your opinion matters and of corse- Leave a review when you get home!  Thanks!!!!!

[vicd1969]

1 hour ago, joyce Ottawa said:

So I talked with someone from head office who is on the ship.  He has been following our comment thread. I identified myself and said I might be causing him some trouble!  He has talked with his bosses at head office and they are fully informed that expectations are not being met. I made that point that I usually find high end cruise lines over achieve, and that I thought they would be very particular about keeping their new clientele happy and wanting to sign up for future cruises… so who knows what will happen next.  

For a new lux-adventure cruise line, it's crucial to provide free internet in terms of marketing. The most credible advertising you can do is have your passengers post good things about their experiences. You're being penny-wise and pound foolish by setting up a steep barrier to those who want to post but are turned off by the extra surprise charges of doing so.

[saddledowndani]

These are photos from the welcome kit we got for the cruise next week. Not to belabor the issue but maybe something to show the head office people. I get that they have some things to work out but those of us that are arriving on board with these expectations should be accommodated. However, I am glad to hear that these two relatively minor issues are the worst thing happening on board for the current passengers. If not resolved I’ll bring extra clothes and watch my wifi usage and still be very happy!

[keokukjoe]

4 minutes ago, saddledowndani said:

These are photos from the welcome kit we got for the cruise next week. Not to belabor the issue but maybe something to show the head office people. I get that they have some things to work out but those of us that are arriving on board with these expectations should be accommodated. However, I am glad to hear that these two relatively minor issues are the worst thing happening on board for the current passengers. If not resolved I’ll bring extra clothes and watch my wifi usage and still be very happy!

1. Still doesn't jive with the "Not only are laundry services available on board, they are included in your cruise fare!" statement in the FAQ's section of the website and confirmed by AOV agents. "Available" and "included" are two different things entirely. 

2. Standard Wi-Fi included. Especially on a luxury ship, there shouldn't be a limit on "standard" which should include the very basics of emails, texts, Wi-Fi calling throughout the voyage not a small limit that Joyce burned through on her first day.  I could understand not including streaming but some  the luxury vessels include that as well. This a brand new ship with supposedly the latest technology. Providing adequate standard Wi-Fi  should not be difficult. Even the low end mass-market ships don't charge anywhere near the prices that Joyce was made to pay. This is ludicrous.

With our pre- and post-cruise extensions, we will be gone 19 days. I was counting on the advertised included laundry services. As for the Wi-Fi, again this was advertised. I expect that AOV will correct these problems. 

[Cybele 727]

Thank you Joyce. We are very appreciative that you are taking time out of your vacation to keep us informed.
   We are booked on the Sept 6th trip out of Athens. We will be in Greece for 4 days before cruising. Where does anyone suggest we get the PCR COVID test in Athens ??

   Also to the management of Atlas …who I know are reading this…. We are all traveling for weeks. If you don’t provide laundry facilities then people will be washing out their clothes in the bathroom sink. Then dripping them out into the living room or veranda to hang to dry. 
  Your beautiful ship will look like it is inhabited by the Beverly Hillbillies!!!!

[keokukjoe]

Did Lisa at AOV ever call you back? 

[keokukjoe]

7 hours ago, sand2sea01 said:

I just spoke with Lisa at Atlas.  She assured me that they are aware of the situation and the concerns and are working on a solution.  She advised me that someone from Atlas will be in touch with me today.  While the information we are receiving is disappointing, I am willing to give Atlas a chance to work things out.  They certainly have faced an "uphill" battle to start a cruise line in the face of the pandemic.  i will take a deep breath and await their call back to see what information is forthcoming with regard to the laundry and internet issues.

Did you get a call back from Lisa at AOV? While she promised me a call back today as well, She never called back. I called her and am NOT HAPPY.

[keokukjoe]

6 hours ago, joyce Ottawa said:

So I talked with someone from head office who is on the ship.  He has been following our comment thread. I identified myself and said I might be causing him some trouble!  He has talked with his bosses at head office and they are fully informed that expectations are not being met. I made that point that I usually find high end cruise lines over achieve, and that I thought they would be very particular about keeping their new clientele happy and wanting to sign up for future cruises… so who knows what will happen next.  

Hi Joyce:  

Just noticed that AOV updated their FAQ's page.  They totally removed the info about the laundry being included and changed the info about Wi-Fi. They removed the statement that standard Wi-Fi is included and replaced it with: Your cruise fare includes complimentary Wi-Fi connection for up to approximately 2 hours for one guest at a time.

I called Lisa back (she was supposed to call me back but never did) and she said that it was now 2hours for the entire cruise !!!!! That it not what they stated when we booked or paid for the cruise. 

She also said that laundry is no longer included. Again, a bait and switch. She didn't disagree with me and advised that I call back on Monday to speak with a supervisor. I understand if they want to change what they offer as included in the cruise fare for future bookers but they need to honor the inclusions that we all booked under. We were seriously considering booking the circumnavigation of Ireland cruise for a total of 8 cabins. Now I'm afraid I can no longer recommend AOV to our friends unless they make good on their promises.

 

 

 

[amunhbuu]

That is disappointing to hear.  I have been trying to give everyone a break given the difficult circumstances of the past 1.5 years.  But this sounds like them shooting themselves in the foot.

[andiamo76]

I couldn't agree more with all of this.  Unreal.  

Meanwhile as I was doing laundry today naturally I kept thinking about all this and what I would pack given the bait and switch false advertising about laundry service.  It struck me how smelly the ship will get with people on  longer journeys and no laundry.  We now plan to pack our Columbia hiking clothes as they are great for easy wash and dry.  Also the washable exoficio underwear is perfect for this and very comfortable.  No need to worry about a nice upscale attire for such a luxury cruise line with no laundry. 

The balcony should work just fine or draping it across furniture in the room in the event the weather isn't great for drying, especially as we spend 8 days crossing the Atlantic to Barbados.  Hopefully Atlas planned ahead for this so the furniture in the staterooms is luxurious formica suitable for wet clothes.  I am however adding to my shopping list to pick up some good clothes pins.  I saw really fun large ones  recently that should fit nicely even over the balcony.  

Then it struck me that we are all being far too concerned about the laundry or lack there of issue.   Looking on the bright side, we don't need to pack nice clothes so we can always also do the throw away clothing where you wear it once, then toss it.  Usually I save those for my yard projects but what the heck, this will be a good use of those older worn or stained  garments.   

I had a few loads of laundry to do so my creative mind kicked in and I thought I needed to think out of the laundry box.  So I came up with a few more ideas,  Why we could have some games like a bean bag toss where the drying laundry becomes the receptacle for catching the bean bag.  I thought of a few good articles of clothing for this but I will leave that to some of you to come up with.   Or perhaps we could have fun pool parties whereby we all wear our dirty clothes, lather up and jump in the pool.  The rooms sinks will be far too small so the pool should work quite nicely. 

I began wondering if Atlas will provide bathrobes.  If they do then that really helps the entire issue as we can just hang out in their bathrobes.  Surely Atlas has a plan for washing those along with sheets.  Aha!  Another idea popped into my head - toga parties.  Again no need for clothes.  Then it struck me that perhaps we could really spark advertising for Atlas  -  the first luxury nudist cruise.  Now that really solves the issue.  At this point words of a song began popping into my head,  "what kind of fool am I....." And with that the dryer buzzed.    

 

[joyce Ottawa]

34 minutes ago, andiamo76 said:

I couldn't agree more with all of this.  Unreal.  

Meanwhile as I was doing laundry today naturally I kept thinking about all this and what I would pack given the bait and switch false advertising about laundry service.  It struck me how smelly the ship will get with people on  longer journeys and no laundry.  We now plan to pack our Columbia hiking clothes as they are great for easy wash and dry.  Also the washable exoficio underwear is perfect for this and very comfortable.  No need to worry about a nice upscale attire for such a luxury cruise line with no laundry. 

The balcony should work just fine or draping it across furniture in the room in the event the weather isn't great for drying, especially as we spend 8 days crossing the Atlantic to Barbados.  Hopefully Atlas planned ahead for this so the furniture in the staterooms is luxurious formica suitable for wet clothes.  I am however adding to my shopping list to pick up some good clothes pins.  I saw really fun large ones  recently that should fit nicely even over the balcony.  

Then it struck me that we are all being far too concerned about the laundry or lack there of issue.   Looking on the bright side, we don't need to pack nice clothes so we can always also do the throw away clothing where you wear it once, then toss it.  Usually I save those for my yard projects but what the heck, this will be a good use of those older worn or stained  garments.   

I had a few loads of laundry to do so my creative mind kicked in and I thought I needed to think out of the laundry box.  So I came up with a few more ideas,  Why we could have some games like a bean bag toss where the drying laundry becomes the receptacle for catching the bean bag.  I thought of a few good articles of clothing for this but I will leave that to some of you to come up with.   Or perhaps we could have fun pool parties whereby we all wear our dirty clothes, lather up and jump in the pool.  The rooms sinks will be far too small so the pool should work quite nicely. 

I began wondering if Atlas will provide bathrobes.  If they do then that really helps the entire issue as we can just hang out in their bathrobes.  Surely Atlas has a plan for washing those along with sheets.  Aha!  Another idea popped into my head - toga parties.  Again no need for clothes.  Then it struck me that perhaps we could really spark advertising for Atlas  -  the first luxury nudist cruise.  Now that really solves the issue.  At this point words of a song began popping into my head,  "what kind of fool am I....." And with that the dryer buzzed.    

 

Thanks for the chuckle this morning!

[amunhbuu]

9 minutes ago, joyce Ottawa said:

Thanks for the chuckle this morning!

I do hope things are going well despite the bumps and that you are enjoying your trip!

[joyce Ottawa]

Here are a few photos from Patmos. I also wanted to add that the food is excellent!  In addition the entertainment staff, although small is mighty, Sean the cruise director has an amazing voice and is quite the showman. Gino the piano man can play pretty much anything you ask, and let my husband sing Mac the Knife with him last night! The wait and bar staff are wonderful, no complaints there! And to put things in perspective, it is wonderful to be cruising and traveling after such a long time. But I do wish they would live up to their published promises, and not under deliver.  Someone here on this thread asked are they at the level of other high end lines, I would say , not yet. 

[keokukjoe]

57 minutes ago, andiamo76 said:

I couldn't agree more with all of this.  Unreal.  

Meanwhile as I was doing laundry today naturally I kept thinking about all this and what I would pack given the bait and switch false advertising about laundry service.  It struck me how smelly the ship will get with people on  longer journeys and no laundry.  We now plan to pack our Columbia hiking clothes as they are great for easy wash and dry.  Also the washable exoficio underwear is perfect for this and very comfortable.  No need to worry about a nice upscale attire for such a luxury cruise line with no laundry. 

The balcony should work just fine or draping it across furniture in the room in the event the weather isn't great for drying, especially as we spend 8 days crossing the Atlantic to Barbados.  Hopefully Atlas planned ahead for this so the furniture in the staterooms is luxurious formica suitable for wet clothes.  I am however adding to my shopping list to pick up some good clothes pins.  I saw really fun large ones  recently that should fit nicely even over the balcony.  

Then it struck me that we are all being far too concerned about the laundry or lack there of issue.   Looking on the bright side, we don't need to pack nice clothes so we can always also do the throw away clothing where you wear it once, then toss it.  Usually I save those for my yard projects but what the heck, this will be a good use of those older worn or stained  garments.   

I had a few loads of laundry to do so my creative mind kicked in and I thought I needed to think out of the laundry box.  So I came up with a few more ideas,  Why we could have some games like a bean bag toss where the drying laundry becomes the receptacle for catching the bean bag.  I thought of a few good articles of clothing for this but I will leave that to some of you to come up with.   Or perhaps we could have fun pool parties whereby we all wear our dirty clothes, lather up and jump in the pool.  The rooms sinks will be far too small so the pool should work quite nicely. 

I began wondering if Atlas will provide bathrobes.  If they do then that really helps the entire issue as we can just hang out in their bathrobes.  Surely Atlas has a plan for washing those along with sheets.  Aha!  Another idea popped into my head - toga parties.  Again no need for clothes.  Then it struck me that perhaps we could really spark advertising for Atlas  -  the first luxury nudist cruise.  Now that really solves the issue.  At this point words of a song began popping into my head,  "what kind of fool am I....." And with that the dryer buzzed.    

 

 

Mary: What a way to make lemonade (or Limoncello) out of lemons!! On viewing the room pics l came up with a few ideas. The Mid-century Modern looking metal room dividers are perfect for hanging clothes to dry. Magnetic backed clips from the dollar store would work just fine. Can also hang a piece of rope between the two dividers as a clothesline and we won't have to worry about articles of clothes blowing off the balcony and littering the ocean. Won't those room pics look just lovely. Can't wait to post those. Won't AOV simply appreciate that advertising??

Love the toga party for a fun formal night. They have to launder the sheets! We'll have to bring fun jazzy  accessories.  Think vintage large colorful pins, maybe boas?? Perhaps a contest will be in order. Any other ideas??

Edited August 7, 2021 by keokukjoe

[keokukjoe]

Don't you think that the hot tubs would be a better place for your dirty clothes pool party?

[AOV Alberto]

Hi everyone. Alberto here.

 

I am on board World Navigator right now and am acutely aware of these issues.  These topics are significant and a high priority for us. 

 

I regret there has been a miscommunication about our laundry service from our web and marketing team. We mistakenly communicated an element planned for World Traveller, our second ship currently under construction. Although not announced yet, we will offer a complimentary guest launderette on that ship. Regrettably our promotions team inserted that new amenity into our current ship, World Navigator. That insertion has misled readers to infer all laundry was complimentary, while we had only meant to convey that the launderette would allow guests a chance to do laundry at no charge. As many have seen, the travel documents we issue to guests do not include this incorrect information.

Regarding internet, please bear with us as we continue to adjust our communications systems, including our Wifi. During our positioning voyage to Athens, we finally stress-tested the system with a high volume of users and discovered a technical issue with the newly installed system. As such, we had to fall back on limiting Internet access while we correct the issue. We continue to look forward to offering our guests a complimentary WiFi service that will meet their basic internet needs. However, we have always stressed that our included internet would offer basic capabilities, while guests would have an opportunity to upgrade to a higher-capacity transfer rate for an additional fee.

 

We sincerely appreciate everyone giving us an opportunity to serve you and I apologize for any confusion and inconveniences. Please know that our onboard team is working hard to align our experience with our product definition, and we are looking forward to delivering a more encompassing, high standard of service.  We are confident that these elements of the guest experience will very soon equal the otherwise high-quality shipboard experienced everyone on board is already enjoying on our wonderful new ship. 

[jwsfun]

1 hour ago, AOV Alberto said:

Hi everyone. Alberto here.

 

 

 

I am on board World Navigator right now and am acutely aware of these issues.  These topics are significant and a high priority for us. 

 

 

I regret there has been a miscommunication about our laundry service from our web and marketing team. We mistakenly communicated an element planned for World Traveller, our second ship currently under construction. Although not announced yet, we will offer a complimentary guest launderette on that ship. Regrettably our promotions team inserted that new amenity into our current ship, World Navigator. That insertion has misled readers to infer all laundry was complimentary, while we had only meant to convey that the launderette would allow guests a chance to do laundry at no charge. As many have seen, the travel documents we issue to guests do not include this incorrect information.

 

 

 

Regarding internet, please bear with us as we continue to adjust our communications systems, including our Wifi. During our positioning voyage to Athens, we finally stress-tested the system with a high volume of users and discovered a technical issue with the newly installed system. As such, we had to fall back on limiting Internet access while we correct the issue. We continue to look forward to offering our guests a complimentary WiFi service that will meet their basic internet needs. However, we have always stressed that our included internet would offer basic capabilities, while guests would have an opportunity to upgrade to a higher-capacity transfer rate for an additional fee.

 

 

 

We sincerely appreciate everyone giving us an opportunity to serve you and I apologize for any confusion and inconveniences. Please know that our onboard team is working hard to align our experience with our product definition, and we are looking forward to delivering a more encompassing, high standard of service.  We are confident that these elements of the guest experience will very soon equal the otherwise high-quality shipboard experienced everyone on board is already enjoying on our wonderful new ship. 

 

Thank you Mr Alberto The members onboard overall right now seem happy with the Food, accommodations and service, thus far.  Looks, like  you have a winner and these two issues hopefully will in fact be resolved by the next sailing. Can you share what sending out laundry costs?  Is it by piece or like some lines can you just send a bag of clothes for a set price. While this issue may be small  and seem a bit petty, so many folks are buying back to back sailings per the message board  often laundry becomes a bigger selling feature for those folks. As for internet, for those of us sailing soon,  whats the plan?  Is it as member Joyce going to be just 2 hours for free. Is there an ETA on a fix?   Connectivity in this day and age really isn’t optional. We applaud you for what appears to be a fantastic launch and personally I look forward to sailing with you next month, more than you could know. 

[Sam Ting]

2 hours ago, AOV Alberto said:

Hi everyone. Alberto here.

 

 

 

I am on board World Navigator right now and am acutely aware of these issues.  These topics are significant and a high priority for us. 

 

 

I regret there has been a miscommunication about our laundry service from our web and marketing team. We mistakenly communicated an element planned for World Traveller, our second ship currently under construction. Although not announced yet, we will offer a complimentary guest launderette on that ship. Regrettably our promotions team inserted that new amenity into our current ship, World Navigator. That insertion has misled readers to infer all laundry was complimentary, while we had only meant to convey that the launderette would allow guests a chance to do laundry at no charge. As many have seen, the travel documents we issue to guests do not include this incorrect information.

 

 

 

Regarding internet, please bear with us as we continue to adjust our communications systems, including our Wifi. During our positioning voyage to Athens, we finally stress-tested the system with a high volume of users and discovered a technical issue with the newly installed system. As such, we had to fall back on limiting Internet access while we correct the issue. We continue to look forward to offering our guests a complimentary WiFi service that will meet their basic internet needs. However, we have always stressed that our included internet would offer basic capabilities, while guests would have an opportunity to upgrade to a higher-capacity transfer rate for an additional fee.

 

 

 

We sincerely appreciate everyone giving us an opportunity to serve you and I apologize for any confusion and inconveniences. Please know that our onboard team is working hard to align our experience with our product definition, and we are looking forward to delivering a more encompassing, high standard of service.  We are confident that these elements of the guest experience will very soon equal the otherwise high-quality shipboard experienced everyone on board is already enjoying on our wonderful new ship. 

 

The passengers paid for one thing, and the cruise line provided another. What’s so confusing?  I wouldn’t expect that from a luxury line. 
 

seadream does not provide free laundry services either, but they never say they do, you know that going in.  These excuses about marketing teams mistakes are just that excuses, and, are making the problem worse. It’s time the company does the right thing as a whole, and do the right thing instead of somehow pretending the companies internal missteps are somehow the clients responsibility. 

[Primus]

I don't buy the excuse that the laundry inclusion error is the result of the marketing team since I brought up the issue with Atlas in December 2020.  The Terms and Conditions stated laundry was not included but the FAQs said it was.  I questioned my Atlas Voyage Specialist and he assured me, in writing, that it was included per the FAQs.  There was plenty of time to make a correction before now.

 

I made a booking in December 2020 on the World Navigator for a February 2022 sailing.  I didn't proceed to making a deposit due to:

1. Wrong Terms and Conditions document provided
2. Terms and Conditions frequently updated during the booking process
3. Guest Statement included incorrect Cancellation Statement
4. Conflict about laundry inclusion
5. Husband's last name (same as mine) spelled wrong on Guest Statement

All of these issues made us leery that Atlas would be ready and able to provide the promised product.  The brochures and descriptions for Atlas sound wonderful which is why I have been following these boards.  Atlas still seems to be in the concept stage.  

 

[sand2sea01]

17 hours ago, keokukjoe said:

Did you get a call back from Lisa at AOV? While she promised me a call back today as well, She never called back. I called her and am NOT HAPPY.

I did receive an email from Lisa indicating that the Executive Team was working on resolutions and suggested that a decision should be made early next week.