Vantage Deluxe World Travel - WARNING

[Austinite by birth]

2 minutes ago, Billybob79 said:

Does anyone know whether any land or cruise trips are currently going off as scheduled? It appears that all land tours are listed as "sold out" until the Fall, which means they have been cancelled. The Ocean Odyssey is on its way to Gibralter, almost certainly w/o passengers and the Ocean Explorer is currently in Reykajik, Iceland. It will be until at least until September until we know if Vantage survives as a shadow of itself.

How do you know that the Odyssey is empty?  We are booked on Odyssey in July and again in September.  The July sailing still doesn't have flights which makes me very nervous.  This makes me very sad because I have had several wonderful vacations on Vantage cruises.  So sad that this might be happening.

 

[Billybob79]

A prior post said all passengers were taken off the Ocean Odyssey in Rome. The fact that CruiseMapper shows the next desination to be Gibralter indicates the ship is not heading to what would have been its next destination if the stated itinerary was being followed. I believe the ship may be in the process of being repossessed by the owner. I hate to say it but the chances of your going on the Odyssesy in either July or September are not looking good. 

My wife and I were supposed to leave for South Africa on Monday and we received our cancellation notice last Monday, even after our plane tickets had been paid for. We had been on 14 prior Vantage, all of which we enjoyed. As I have said before, such a shame as Vantage provided the best value for the money.I researching other South Africa trips, no tour company has anywhere near the same itinerary for anywhere near the same cost. We now need to look for other options for some of the trips we were planning on taking, including on the Ocean Explorer, which we were on last October (Boston to Montreal) and which we really enjoyed,

[love2dance2]

Fortunately, we paid for our cruise with credit cards.  When the river cruise was cancelled we opted for a full refund and was told there was no timeline for refunds.  This happened before the so-called website problems.  It took only 2 weeks from when we disputed the charges with our credit card company for Vantage to send the refunds to our cc accounts.

 

My advice is DO NOT book future travel with Vantage and always use credit cards when booking travel.  I hope the thousands of people affected finally get their money back. 

[Austinite by birth]

4 minutes ago, Billybob79 said:

A prior post said all passengers were taken off the Ocean Odyssey in Rome. The fact that CruiseMapper shows the next desination to be Gibralter indicates the ship is not heading to what would have been its next destination if the stated itinerary was being followed. I believe the ship may be in the process of being repossessed by the owner. I hate to say it but the chances of your going on the Odyssesy in either July or September are not looking good. 

My wife and I were supposed to leave for South Africa on Monday and we received our cancellation notice last Monday, even after our plane tickets had been paid for. We had been on 14 prior Vantage, all of which we enjoyed. As I have said before, such a shame as Vantage provided the best value for the money.I researching other South Africa trips, no tour company has anywhere near the same itinerary for anywhere near the same cost. We now need to look for other options for some of the trips we were planning on taking, including on the Ocean Explorer, which we were on last October (Boston to Montreal) and which we really enjoyed,

Been to S Africa... our friends are going on a Gate 1 tour (not sure when), and they really like Gate 1.  I recommend a safari with Inyati in the Sabi Sands... we have been on a safari in Tansania and Kenya-- savannah-- the Sabi Sands is wooded, so a complete different look.  This is upsetting... sorry!!

[Teddybauer]

I was on Ocean Odyssey for world tour (all prepaid of course) until yesterday when told to get off ship in Rome with all other passengers due to Covid and ransomware demand.  Neither of which appear to be true.  Offered 2 days without tours in Rome Hotel. Declined and requested immediate return to USA.  Sent to airport by cab to Delta with all flight details and ID number  BUT not ticket number.  Delta advised the seat had been reserved and everything fine EXCEPT Vantage had never paid.  My only choice after communicating with ship's cruise director (who honestly did everything she could to fix the unfixable) was to pay Delta a second time in order to get home so that is what I did. 

Expect $50,000 refund in my next life,

[Bohemond]

@teddybauer thanks for that post. We were scheduled to board in Rome this week and of course we did not.

[Billybob79]

Just learned on Facebook that the Barcelona cruise was cancelled. Most likely the Ocean Odyssey is in the process of being taken back by ther lessor.

[Roadlamp]

I wrote directly to Vantage and received the following email regarding my August cruise to the British Isles.  I noticed that they state that they do not anticipate  any changes...

 

Thank you for your email.  Please disregard the rumors that you are hearing.  Our passengers have not been stranded without flights home and the ms Ocean Odyssey has delayed only one departure.  We do not anticipate any changes to the British Isles cruise.

 

Kind regards,

Customer Service

 

 

[MOssyLedge]

We are supposed to go on the Ports of Timeless Wonder cruise from Copenhagen to London  from July 15th to July 30th. So we'll know before you  are supposed to go to the British Isles, All of the postings about cancelled trips, unpaid airfares, unpaid hotels and tourist guides, etc, makes me severely doubt that their response has any validity. 

Based on what everyone else is experiencing, apparently Vantage doesn't have the courtesy or integrity to cancel trips more than a few days in advance.  It presents  so many trauma inducing options as to whether to cancel all our private tours that we've scheduled, try to get back the airfare that I used 532,000 point to book, or notify the travel insurance company that I researched and paid for myself.  

At least I don't have any young kids or pets to worry about. If we prepare 2 days in advance we can be fully ready to travel.  

I suspect for the first half of July, we'll be vacationing at home. 

 

[deec]

9 hours ago, Billybob79 said:

Just learned on Facebook that the Barcelona cruise was cancelled. Most likely the Ocean Odyssey is in the process of being taken back by ther lessor.

This is probably pointless given the fact that Vantage is failing quickly  but I was under the impression that the two Ocean Ships had been specifically built for Vantage...obviously financed but built for them and not leased.

Edited May 21, 2023 by deec

[Stayce's_Mom]

14 hours ago, Teddybauer said:

I was on Ocean Odyssey for world tour (all prepaid of course) until yesterday when told to get off ship in Rome with all other passengers due to Covid and ransomware demand.  Neither of which appear to be true.  Offered 2 days without tours in Rome Hotel. Declined and requested immediate return to USA.  Sent to airport by cab to Delta with all flight details and ID number  BUT not ticket number.  Delta advised the seat had been reserved and everything fine EXCEPT Vantage had never paid.  My only choice after communicating with ship's cruise director (who honestly did everything she could to fix the unfixable) was to pay Delta a second time in order to get home so that is what I did. 

Expect $50,000 refund in my next life,

I was on the Ocean Odyssey trip with you (Athens to Trieste leg) and I am so sorry that your lifetime adventure has been cancelled. I posted a few days ago that Vantage would be out of business or bankrupt by the end of the year. I didn't think it would happen this quickly. So many people being swindled. 

[Stayce's_Mom]

1 hour ago, MOssyLedge said:

We are supposed to go on the Ports of Timeless Wonder cruise from Copenhagen to London  from July 15th to July 30th. So we'll know before you  are supposed to go to the British Isles, All of the postings about cancelled trips, unpaid airfares, unpaid hotels and tourist guides, etc, makes me severely doubt that their response has any validity. 

Based on what everyone else is experiencing, apparently Vantage doesn't have the courtesy or integrity to cancel trips more than a few days in advance.  It presents  so many trauma inducing options as to whether to cancel all our private tours that we've scheduled, try to get back the airfare that I used 532,000 point to book, or notify the travel insurance company that I researched and paid for myself.  

At least I don't have any young kids or pets to worry about. If we prepare 2 days in advance we can be fully ready to travel.  

I suspect for the first half of July, we'll be vacationing at home. 

 

I have been battling with Vantage since 2020 through the Attorneys General for both Massachusetts and New Jersey where I live. I reported them to the Better Business Bureau and got this online response from the BBB:

"Please understand, the reservations for Ms. Mooney's party are not due a refund. We remind our guests of the Terms and Conditions which were agreed to by the customer upon making their inital reservations. Specifically, within the Alterations & Modifications section where it clearly states:

""We reserve the right to modify tour itineraries and substitute hotels and accommodation in our discretion ... Additionally, Vantage may, for any reason, without prior notice, cancel a cruise; deviate from the ports of call, route and timetable; call or omit to call at any port or place or cancel or modify any activity on or off the vessel; take any and all necessary action to comply with all governmental laws and orders given by governmental authorities; render assistance to preserve life and property; change the date or time of sailing or arrival, change the port of embarkation or disembarkation, shorten the cruise or substitute a vessel or other transportation or lodging. Vantage is not responsible for any losses you may incur as a result of such cancellations or deviations."" 

[Billybob79]

I find it interesting that nobody has discussed the Ocean Explorer, which has been in Rekjavik for at least the last 3 days. It does not look like it going to move anytime soon

 

[Billybob79]

In view of what Stayce's_Mom just posted about the so-called contract where Vantage claims it does not have to refund for a cancellation, if your trip is cancelled and Vantage offers a refund, make sure you get that offer in writing (via email). Also, if you paid by credit card, file a dispute for failure to provide services with the credit card company.

[Flyinby]

2 hours ago, Stayce's_Mom said:

I have been battling with Vantage since 2020 through the Attorneys General for both Massachusetts and New Jersey where I live. I reported them to the Better Business Bureau and got this online response from the BBB:

"Please understand, the reservations for Ms. Mooney's party are not due a refund. We remind our guests of the Terms and Conditions which were agreed to by the customer upon making their inital reservations. Specifically, within the Alterations & Modifications section where it clearly states:

""We reserve the right to modify tour itineraries and substitute hotels and accommodation in our discretion ... Additionally, Vantage may, for any reason, without prior notice, cancel a cruise; deviate from the ports of call, route and timetable; call or omit to call at any port or place or cancel or modify any activity on or off the vessel; take any and all necessary action to comply with all governmental laws and orders given by governmental authorities; render assistance to preserve life and property; change the date or time of sailing or arrival, change the port of embarkation or disembarkation, shorten the cruise or substitute a vessel or other transportation or lodging. Vantage is not responsible for any losses you may incur as a result of such cancellations or deviations."" 

Whoa...that covers a lot of ground!  If that's the case, and you booked a 'round the world cruise with them, they could change it to:

"We've changed the world cruise to one that goes around Lake Erie.  The associated hotels are full, so you will need to bring an RV for some of the land nights (we will pay for the space, if available, other land nights will be at Motel6 in Detroit, assuming they haven't figured out that we don't pay our bills).  Ports of call will be Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo.  Except they won't let us tie up there since we have a bad payment record, so if we are able to get fuel we will cruise around the lake and anchor offshore.  We don't guarantee tenders, so you'll have to arrange your ship to shore access.  All costs are your responsibility, we are not responsible as should be obvious to everyone by now.  If you have questions, call customer service and have a valid credit card ready.  Thanks for being a valued customer."

[MOssyLedge]

Well, your scenario sounds absurd..... BUT, then again Vantage is absurd and they spent  a lot of money on great attorneys to screw their customers every which way.   Your scenario is just one of the ways.

 

Of course, if someone could get Vantage into a courtroom,  a jury would undoubtedly convict them, notwithstanding their clauses. 

[MikieF]

On 5/13/2023 at 5:16 AM, sfm629 said:

Ok, I will try to answer your questions as best and as honestly as I can.

 

1.     How were the temperature controls- whether it be heating or cooling?   There was an individual thermostat in the room that controlled heating and cooling. We kept it on the lowest setting the entire trip since we like it colder and some of our ports were warm. The AC worked pretty well. It was chillier at night but not as cold in the daytime when the sun was shining on the ship. There was also a knob with numbers on the dial under the thermostat but I never learned what it was for.

2.     How good were the housekeeping services?  Things like cleaning the room daily, making the bed and cleaning the bathroom. Our housekeeper was brand new so she did an average job with cleaning the cabin. She seemed nervous when I interacted with her initially but she warmed up by the end of the trip. She didn’t introduce herself on the first day, which was a first for me as this was my 17th cruise. The steward always comes by to say hello. I think she was just nervous. She switched the towels and made the bed. We got 1 towel animal on day 6 of 10. The service was perfunctory. Other cruisers raved about their stewards so hopefully you get a more seasoned one.

3.     How comfortable did you find the bed and pillows? How hard were the pillows? Did they have a pillow menu like many 5* boats? I thought that the bed and pillows were comfortable. There was no top sheet on the bed until Day 3. I know that happens in European hotels sometimes but again, I never saw that before on a cruise ship. There was definitely no pillow menu but the bed had 4 pillows so you can choose from 1 of them.

4.     How informative and accurate were the port talks that are supposed to occur daily? The pre-tour briefings given by the cruise director to let us know what we were doing the next day were pretty good, although she kept saying “I have bad news” that things were rescheduled or postponed, which is never fun to hear on your trip. The port talks were not that great. The lecturer was a German man who could be found in the library, researching the port the day before we got there so he could do his slide show, which 1/3rd of the time the IT guy could not get to work. The cruise Director made the excuse that this was a new itinerary for Vantage so we were supposed to be understanding that we didn’t get everything we were supposed to get or go to places we were scheduled to go. The lack of a good port talk didn’t help much. Vantage’s lack of preparation was not our fault as passengers. 

5.     Was the Odyssey able to dock alongside piers or how often, if ever, did you have to take a zodiac or other smaller boat to shore? Yes! We were able to dock along the piers most of the time and only tendered once. It was a highlight to be able to get off of the ship and walk directly into the city for 4 of the ports. The other ports had a shuttle bus. This was one of the advantages of this cruise, being near the ports. 

6.     What was the quality of the group tours in town? It depended on your local guide but I thought that the tours in town were mostly good. The guides were knowledgeable and friendly. I would give them an average letter grade of B to B+.

7.     What was the quality of the guides and their overall knowledge and personality? See above. 

8.     Now that you’ve completed your cruise, how would you rate the overall food selection and preparation- especially compared to your past experiences. I know that I may get flak here from other Ocean Odyssey cruisers but I found the dinners on the ship to be poor. The food selection was limited and overall very bland. I don’t like spicy food and it seemed bland to me! I got the NY strip steak on the Always Available menu twice and both times, it was like shoe leather. If I didn’t eat the bread, I would have left the dining room hungry after dinner. The breakfast buffet was very good though. Lots of options and eggs and omelettes made to order. Lunch buffet was not too good to us either so after Day 2, we ate lunch off the ship in the ports and that was fantastic. I am comparing the food quality to Viking Ocean and Celebrity, for reference. Now, I will say that many cruisers thought that the food was good and had no complaints. This was especially true for repeat Vantage travelers so perhaps they knew what they were in for and I didn’t since this was my first Vantage cruise. Food is very subjective though so hopefully you will be one of the people who enjoys it. I can not recommend the dinners at all but the breakfast buffet was very good.

 

For curiosity, how many passengers were actually on board? 121 passengers on board for our sailing.

 

Again, even if mediocre, I was lucky to get the trip. The bar and waitstaff were fantastic. The ship was easily manageable. The loyal Vantage cruisers said that they would cruise with Vantage again, when I asked them about it. I think that they are gambling with their money but to each their own. I will never cruise with Vantage again, and I’m actually happy to put this trip behind me because it was very nerve-racking on if we would even get to go. That did not make for a positive experience even before we left. I do hope that everyone on this board gets their trips and that you have a great time. Traveling opens the world to everyone and I’m not going let this experience stop me from traveling. I just will not use Vantage again.

We had an issue with the room thermostat, but our cabin stewardess (Man) had engineering six it.  Much better!  The other temp control knob mentioned in #1 ws for heating the bathroom floor.  It really did do a good job drying clothes we hung over the string at hight!

[MOssyLedge]

As you might recall, I don't do Facebook, but I get updates from my wife's account..  There are more than 420 distinct members on the Vantage thread.   That in reality, probably means about 800+ folks, all of whom, myself included, are getting screwed.  The horror stories are truly incredible.  

 

As 1/2 Ukrainian,(my grandmother was born in Kyiv in 1902) from when it was part of the USSR, I've reached out to Yevgeny Preghozin, and asked him to bring two frigates from the Black Sea to intercept the Ocean Odyssey and Explorer.  Hank Lewis will never know what happened.  Then, he should command the captains, to sail the boats to Boston and New York where we can all board the ships for a custom itinerary that we will announce, once on board.  Maybe, we can evendrag Hank Lewis along and put him on trial. How much fun would all of that be?

 

I find it fascinating that some folks on FB still live in hope that their cruise will take off as planned. I for one wish that Vantage would tell us that we are screwed so that at least those of us who bought our own travel insurance policy can make a claim to see if they too have some sort of an "out."  I told my company, everything upfront, but who knows, they are a lot more savvy than I am. I just have integrity that seems to be in short supply these days. 

[ATL1234]

If you want to join the Zoom meeting you will need to join

Vantage Deluxe World Travel Complaints Page -Refunds Trip Cancellations etc    

FB page:

and then pm the moderator Charles with your email address, and he will send you the Zoom link.

Edited May 23, 2023 by ATL1234
adding FB page link

[ATL1234]

From the Vantage Complaints FB page:  I am not sure how any trip can operate right now, and how Vantage is STILL selling trips to unsuspecting consumers. Both the new ocean ships on lease from SunStone, are reportedly not being operated by Vantage right now, and are headed without passengers for lesser known ports where these ships may be for quite a while. (Ocean Odyssey en route to Ceuta (ES) and Ocean Explorer to Caen (FR). Their ship the River Splendor has not been released from the river management company as they presumably have not been paid, and are hence not releasing the ship to Vantage. Even the trips on the Douro River, operated by Douro Serenity have been cancelled, again presumably for lack of payment. All Hurtigruten Norway cruises cancelled reportedly due to non-payment. And we are starting to see land trips being cancelled too. We even have unpaid vendors on this page, and we have heard from overseas contracted staff who are owed thousands and thousands of dollars. We need to get this story the national media attention it deserves, and some T.V. exposure - The Today Show, 60 Minutes, DateLine -- what other ideas?

[ATL1234]

Vantage should not be selling trips right now, unless:

 

a.  They are sure the trip is going (No ships currently operating and trips cancelled due reported payment issues)

b.  They are sure they have to funds to reimburse if/when trip is canceled

 

Is anybody else upset by this?

[LynnS08]

I am very upset about this. I saw on the website that they are advertising trips now at reduced prices trying to get people to pay for trips that they probably never will go on.  There practices are so shady and they should not be able to get away with it.  I honestly can't believe one thing that Vantage says these days.  I felt so sorry for the travelers that were on the ships when they were asked to leave and most of them had to pay for their trips home.  Something needs to be done but I don't know what else we can do.  We have filed complaints with the BBB and the attorney general.  Everything on the internet is negative feedback from consumers of their shady business practices.  

[Billybob79]

31 minutes ago, LynnS08 said:

I am very upset about this. I saw on the website that they are advertising trips now at reduced prices trying to get people to pay for trips that they probably never will go on.  There practices are so shady and they should not be able to get away with it.  I honestly can't believe one thing that Vantage says these days.  I felt so sorry for the travelers that were on the ships when they were asked to leave and most of them had to pay for their trips home.  Something needs to be done but I don't know what else we can do.  We have filed complaints with the BBB and the attorney general.  Everything on the internet is negative feedback from consumers of their shady business practices.  

I find it interesting that nobody has discussed the Ocean Explorer, which has been in Rekjavik for at least the last 3 days. It does not look like it going to move anytime soon

 

[ATL1234]

• The Ocean Explorer is headed without passengers to a docking location in Caen, France.

 

• The Ocean Odyssey is currently headed without passengers for Ceuta, Spain.

(Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.)

 

[ATL1234]

• At least Vantage is not allowed to sell Travel Insurance right now! 

 

• Trip Mate previously dropped them and now something is going on with Allianz as they are not allowed to sell that right now either.  Probably because Vantage is responsible for refunding claims that have been adjudicated by Allianz (and Trip Mate) and they have not done so - they are very far behind with refund of all types.  It is not known if ANY refunds at all are being issued right now.