Vantage Deluxe World Travel - WARNING

[DonnaMW]

Oh great I had to call again. Well ticket and ressie says MR donna Ward???    Don’t want problem later. They are to correct and send me new email. What a mess. Lucky I get thru to President number quick. 
waiting now

[DonnaMW]

MikeF.  Are you on the Dulles Austrian flight???

[scottsol]

On 3/22/2023 at 4:07 PM, MikieF said:

ensure all of your ducks are in a row.

Shouldn’t that be “docks”.

[sfm629]

Hi, after booking a trip in 2019 to Greece in 2020 and being rescheduled by Vantage 3x to an itinerary that is not as good, we are supposed to sail on the Ocean Explorer to Greece and the Dalmatian Coast on April 26th 2023. I'm 19 days out and my Cabin # is TBD. My flights through Vantage on Austrian Air (departure) and Lufthansa (return) are currently showing as unpaid. I know that it is nearly impossible to get anyone from Vantage on the phone but based on your experiences, do I need to call them to address the air and cabin or do I wait it out? I am skeptical that this trip will even happen but I'm hoping that it will, if only because I'm tired of them having our money for that long. It has been such an ordeal that I will never use Vantage again and I just want this trip, which was for a milestone event, to be over and done with. Advice on calling them now or wait is appreciated. Thank you!!

[twototravel]

@sfm629 I'm surprised you don't have a cabin number. When Vantage rescheduled you to this cruise they didn't assign you a cabin? Have you checked your online account? Since you are 19 days out, you should definitely already have your air booked. I would call them for sure, and just wait it out until someone answers. Their website does have an online chat function but I have had poor experiences with the agents that respond...they don't seem to know any current info. 

[sfm629]

We were not assigned a cabin when they rescheduled us from a departure last May to this April. We were told by customer service that the cabin assignment would be done "close to" the sailing date. From what I read on these boards, the Ocean Odyssey was not even built last May and didn't start sailing until November 2022. I check my Vantage online account daily as I know that they will not email me any information. Last year, I saw my rescheduled trip on My Portfolio Page a full week before Vantage emailed me to notify me that the trip was postponed. I will call them this weekend to ask about the cabin and air fare being paid. It's pretty discouraging to see "The payment for this booking is incomplete, please complete the payment for this booking" on the airline websites. Vantage has had our money enough time to pay for the tickets. I'm just tired of the hassle of calling them and waiting on hold forever but I will try again. Thanks for your advice!

[DonnaMW]

I believe I am on the cruise before you leaving April 14. . They did not pay my air until the last week in March.  
man I was nervous but it was completed. 
Their excuse was that with so many changes they don’t pay until the last month??

but I have had my cabin for months. Definitely check on that   If you are a President member call that line not as long. It’s on website. I got all my paperwork from fedex. Now hoping the problems in isreal allow us to go there???

[sfm629]

@DonnaMW Thank you for the reassurance about your flights not being paid until the last week of March. I was able to get a customer service person on the Vantage chat today and she told me that TBD cabins are assigned 5-10 days out. I’m traveling with another couple and they got their cabin assessment today so I’m hoping that mine will be soon. I asked about the flights on the chat but they didn’t have information and said that I have to call the Flight department #. I’m not a Presidents member as this is my first trip with Vantage. I plan to call on Monday.
I hope that you have a wonderful cruise and get to visit all of the ports.🤞🏻🙂

[deec]

Curious to know with ALL the problems that Vantage seems to be having were you able to insure the CRUISE?

[TiiiSailor]

Wow.  Wonder if this company will be in business much longer.  This is no way to treat customers. In today's world of the Internet, everyone will know the company is not appreciative of it's source of income before the company president has a hint there is a problem.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 hours ago, TiiiSailor said:

Wow.  Wonder if this company will be in business much longer.  This is no way to treat customers. In today's world of the Internet, everyone will know the company is not appreciative of it's source of income before the company president has a hint there is a problem.  

Someone recently posted a conversation with a local shore excursion guide.  They had asked for assurance that they would get back to the ship on time for sailing.  The guide said words to the effect "With social media, if I ever strand one customer my business is gone in a heartbeat."  Cruise lines need to think the same way.

[deec]

Please let us know how the cruise is once you are onboard!

[MikieF]

On 3/29/2023 at 1:33 PM, DonnaMW said:

MikeF.  Are you on the Dulles Austrian flight???

I need to read this more often!!!  YES, we are on the Austrian Flight out of IAD (14th).  I'd tell you our seat numbers, but we don't have them yet...:(  Somewhere in Premium Economy    Look forward to seeing y'all then!!!

[DonnaMW]

Yes see you then I’m 32a.  Let’s hope we hit Haifa 

[Shmoo here]

OK, an update on our twice changed/moved Vantage trip.

 

First, a little background.  We booked an Ireland trip while onboard our last Vantage trip.  The Ireland trip was removed when they decided to redeploy the ship, so the trip was changed to a Norway coastal cruise (with a nice additional credit incentive to make the change).  Then, in March, we were notified that the Norway coastal trip was longer available and we were moved to a "similar" cruise.

 

Vantage finally called me back (2 phone calls and 2 emails later).

 

Offer was - we would pay no more than the price on our current booking, including already applied credits (in spite of the fact that the new cruise was about $3000 more per person), plus they would give us an additional credit to change the trip.

 

Sounded good so we took the offer.

[jeandugan]

Traveling with Vantage would be a terrible decision! 

 

 Their travel practices are deceptive and their customer service is non existent. A trip initially booked in October, 2021was rescheduled twice in 2022 on very short notice. The second time they canceled the trip they sent a deceptive communications saying that the trip's departure was delayed but not saying that they had instead rebooked us on a different cruise to a totally different area of the world. Only after requesting a full refund were we offered a reservation departing on the April 14, 2023 cruise with our desired itinerary. Then on March 29, 2023, Vantage canceled our reservation saying due to an inventory problem there was no cabin available for us. Although their Tour Participation Agreement states that if they cancel a cruise a full refund of all funds paid to them would be promptly made, they have never offered a full refund but always tried to retain the funds and substitute another cruise. Contacting Vantage is time consuming and rarely productive. Wait times for their customer service numbers can be literally hours. Customers are expected to frequent their customer web site to stay up to date on the status of their trips rather than receive proactive communications of changes from Vantage. Their customer web site has frequent technical glitches, Chat has limited functions and after waiting to Chat you are directed to call Customer 888 number and wait endlessly. All communications with Vantage staff start from the premise that they are in the right and you are the problem.
 

[jeandugan]

This was posted in April 2023 Not 2017-

[GeezerCouple]

6 minutes ago, jeandugan said:

This was posted in April 2023 Not 2017-

 

I think that "2017" should reflect when you joined CruiseCritic...  Does that match when you first signed up here?

 

If you look at the other posts throughout CC, that date under the name stays the same; each separate post gets the current date.

GC

[twototravel]

@jeandugan The August 2017 date is the date you joined cruise critic.

[MikieF]

17 hours ago, DonnaMW said:

Yes see you then I’m 32a.  Let’s hope we hit Haifa 

Yes m'am!!  I have been around Israel a bit in the late 70's...but my husband hans't.  We are praying we can safely go to Jerusalem!!  Donna, are you traveling alone?

[Shmoo here]

58 minutes ago, jeandugan said:

Traveling with Vantage would be a terrible decision! 

 

 Their travel practices are deceptive and their customer service is non existent. A trip initially booked in October, 2021was rescheduled twice in 2022 on very short notice. The second time they canceled the trip they sent a deceptive communications saying that the trip's departure was delayed but not saying that they had instead rebooked us on a different cruise to a totally different area of the world. Only after requesting a full refund were we offered a reservation departing on the April 14, 2023 cruise with our desired itinerary. Then on March 29, 2023, Vantage canceled our reservation saying due to an inventory problem there was no cabin available for us. Although their Tour Participation Agreement states that if they cancel a cruise a full refund of all funds paid to them would be promptly made, they have never offered a full refund but always tried to retain the funds and substitute another cruise. Contacting Vantage is time consuming and rarely productive. Wait times for their customer service numbers can be literally hours. Customers are expected to frequent their customer web site to stay up to date on the status of their trips rather than receive proactive communications of changes from Vantage. Their customer web site has frequent technical glitches, Chat has limited functions and after waiting to Chat you are directed to call Customer 888 number and wait endlessly. All communications with Vantage staff start from the premise that they are in the right and you are the problem.
 

Not really my experience.  

 

We had already taken 3 Vantage trips before COVID hit.  We had a Tulips cruise booked for March 2020, which we had to change.  We chose a different itinerary since we had to pick one in 2020 to change to.  Later we were able to change that to the tulips cruise in 2021.  Well, obviously, that one didn't happen, either, but we moved it to 2022 and it went off then.

 

I will agree actually getting hold of a real person (that can actually help you) on the phone is a challenge, and can take time, but I've always been able to get things done eventually.

 

We've always (except for the initial change on our 2020 cruise) been notified of changes via email, as well as the notice section on our online reservation page.

 

As to your "All communications with Vantage staff start from the premise that they are in the right and you are the problem."  comment  I've never encountered that.  

 

 

[DonnaMW]

1 hour ago, MikieF said:

Yes m'am!!  I have been around Israel a bit in the late 70's...but my husband hans't.  We are praying we can safely go to Jerusalem!!  Donna, are you traveling alone?

Yes I’m solo. And first to isreal. So I hope a go. Been to Greek islands many times and Athens. This is my bucket list like Petra.  

Fifth trip with Vantage.  Love there product but their customer service is atrocious

Will be nice to meet you guys. 

[GerryL13]

21 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Not really my experience.  

 

We had already taken 3 Vantage trips before COVID hit.  We had a Tulips cruise booked for March 2020, which we had to change.  We chose a different itinerary since we had to pick one in 2020 to change to.  Later we were able to change that to the tulips cruise in 2021.  Well, obviously, that one didn't happen, either, but we moved it to 2022 and it went off then.

 

I will agree actually getting hold of a real person (that can actually help you) on the phone is a challenge, and can take time, but I've always been able to get things done eventually.

 

We've always (except for the initial change on our 2020 cruise) been notified of changes via email, as well as the notice section on our online reservation page.

 

As to your "All communications with Vantage staff start from the premise that they are in the right and you are the problem."  comment  I've never encountered that.  

 

 

Consider yourself lucky. Many of the people I met on my "down-graded" river cruise -- first-timers and Vantage veterans -- were upset about the treatment they had gotten. Heard many say "never again." 

 

There are plenty of travel companies willing to offer service for my money. Neither the frustration of dealing with Vantage nor the revised program I was forced to settle for were worth the cost. I would be a fool to give them another chance. Unless they want to court me with an all-expenses paid trip, you won't find me on a Vantage cruise in the future. 

 

Best of luck to you.

[DonnaMW]

Yes Athens has lots of memories 

my hubby and I stopped there on our first Mediterranean cruise (our honeymoon). 20 years ago. 
lost hubby 3 years ago but can’t stop the travel need. Vantage is good because as a solo I am really not alone on all tours. 
that’s probably why I put up with the Boston people. 

[MikieF]

On 3/29/2023 at 1:33 PM, DonnaMW said:

MikeF.  Are you on the Dulles Austrian flight???

Yes, we are...Coming in on UA from TPA.  Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, MR Ward!  🙂  Sure hope Res has that 'heal'ed!  No, we are not Pres. club members...This is only our second Vantage vacay