Any know about river cruises from Vantage Travel?

[AJMED1]

I am considering doing a river cruise for the first time and was considering the Danube Odyssey river cruise on the ms River Odyssey from Vantage.

 

It is a 12 day cruise from Nurenberg, Germany, to Budapest, with stops in Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest and others. I'm new to river cruising and have not had much luck finding any reviews or opinions on Vantage.

 

Anyone have any information or recommendations?

 

Thanks

[BJS]

I am considering doing a river cruise for the first time and was considering the Danube Odyssey river cruise on the ms River Odyssey from Vantage.

 

It is a 12 day cruise from Nurenberg, Germany, to Budapest, with stops in Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest and others. I'm new to river cruising and have not had much luck finding any reviews or opinions on Vantage.

 

Anyone have any information or recommendations?

 

Thanks

I'm sure you will get many responses to your question but until you do try typing Vantage in the search feature and you will finds lots of posts.

[npphotog]

We did a Vantage river cruise last year - Went from Amsterdam to Hungary. A great trip. We were on the Odyssey - took the cabin on the bottom of the boat. Rooms the same size as those on the upper deck. Excellent food, great tour directors and great stops. We were so impressed with Vantage that we signed up for their China/Yangtze trip next May 8th. I think you will have a grand time with them. Willard

[Toranut97]

DH and I have done two Vantage cruises, both of them "President's River Cruises" (meaning a few more items are added to the itinerary. We first cruised from Budapest north on the Danube to Passau, Germany, and then on to three days in Prague. The next year we went south -- three land days in Zagreb, Croatia, then to Budapest, south to Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania -- to the Black Sea. We were on two different ships, and loved both experiences. The crew was wonderful, the meals were fine for us, and the cabins were comfy. Like so many trips, the most discord came from demanding or arrogant passengers. You quickly learn who you want to avoid!

 

To me, a highlight with Vantage are the "cultural connections." The dance groups and performers who come aborad in different locales, on shore lectures, waltz lessons in Vienna -- and the opportunity to eat in the homes of local folks -- enhanced our experiences greatly.

 

Perhaps the best indicator of our satisfaction is that we have booked another President's cruise next May! We want to try out the new ship, the River Discovery.

 

Donna

[Judyumcer@aol.com]

I will write of our experiences on Vantage after our 14 day cruise 9/17/06 from Budapest. This cruie line came highly recommended from friends we met on an ocean cruise. We will see!

[tmk1941]

Any updates on Vanatage River Cruises. They sold the Discovery and now the Navigator seems missing. WE need to decide soon among Vantage, Avalon, or Uniworld. Recommendations??!!

[halbfl2]

We are leaving on the Discovery Aug. 28 on their cruise from Budapest to the Black Sea. Yes, they have sold this ship, but apparently it is finishing most of the itinerary for this summer. We have our travel documents now with all the info on that ship. Don't know anything about the other ship, but may find out. I will report upon our return. This is our first Vantage trip and first river cruise, so have nothing to compare. So far we have been satisfied working with Vantage. They do not use TAs, so you have to communicate w/them directly.

[orchestrapal]

Vantage as now sold 3 of it's newest ships which leads one to think the are in BIG trouble. They canceled a cruise we were to be on in October and were terrible to deal with to to get our deposit back. It took about 10 weeks....:mad:

[alexandra cruiser]

Vantage as now sold 3 of it's newest ships which leads one to think the are in BIG trouble. They canceled a cruise we were to be on in October and were terrible to deal with to to get our deposit back. It took about 10 weeks....:mad:

 

I found this while googling,,,know its old,,but whats the status NOW?:confused:

[LindaRH]

I found this while googling,,,know its old,,but whats the status NOW?:confused:

 

I am booked for a Holland cruise on the odyssey leaving April 1st. I'm not sure there is a problem now. I get their beautiful catalogs on a regular basis with many wonderful trips. They even added a new trip that they didn't have before. That doesn't sound like a problem to me. If there was a problem they might have fixed it. I wouldn't worry. Enjoy. :)

 

Linda

[CruiseDirections]

I am booked for a Holland cruise on the odyssey leaving April 1st. I'm not sure there is a problem now. I get their beautiful catalogs on a regular basis with many wonderful trips. They even added a new trip that they didn't have before. That doesn't sound like a problem to me. If there was a problem they might have fixed it. I wouldn't worry. Enjoy. :)

 

Linda

 

We were on the River Explorer last month from Amsterdam to Budapest, it is sold and Vantage is leasing it back until the new ship Discovery 11 is completed. I think the main reason they are changing ships around is to correct design flaws in the other ships. Our cabin was category C1 on the middle deck in the very front of the ship, it was very noisy going through the locks during the middle of the night. The new design has the Public Rooms in the very front of the ship instead of passenger cabins. We had a great cruise and the trip itself was amazing.

[npphotog]

We have been on 4 Vantage river cruises and awaiting our 5th, leaving Dec 7th on their Cruising the Rhine during the Holiday Season. Been very very satisfied with all of them. I have to say that their China trip is really great. Willard

[PCruzer]

We took our first Vantage river cruise in September - Danube Odyssey - on the River Odyssey. We had previously been on river cruises with Grand Circle. If there are problems with Vantage, they were not visible to us. We had a wonderful time, and we felt that the Vantage trip offered more than the Grand Circle trips and was definitely the much better value for the money.

[npphotog]

PCruzer - Vantage and Grand Circle are owned by brothers. Grand Circle might be somewhat cheaper to start with but I found that they offer more option tours that are included with Vantage. I could be wrong but looking at each one's catalog it seems that way. Willard

[PCruzer]

PCruzer - Vantage and Grand Circle are owned by brothers. Grand Circle might be somewhat cheaper to start with but I found that they offer more option tours that are included with Vantage. I could be wrong but looking at each one's catalog it seems that way. Willard

Willard - We had heard that GCT and Vantage were each owned by brothers - feuding brothers, at that!! - We felt that just about everything was better on the Vantage trip as compared to the GCT trips....Pre & Post trip hotels were of much higher quality than we experienced with GCT....Food onboard the Vantage river cruiser was much better than we had on GCT....And, like you mentioned, there were many more included tours with Vantage that you would have to pay extra for with GCT.

[alexandra cruiser]

regular river cruise lines,,I know and can book with TA,,since I checked BBB ratings of Vantage,,and has "no rating"...why take a chance..Others on similar post,,mentioned long phone waits and don t want any hassles.

 

Sure those of you will do fine on future bookings,,but I m still concerned and worry about ALL details..;)

[Talisker92]

We have been on 2 Vantage River cruises- one in 2007 and one last year. Their pictures and stories are on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

We have booked a cruise next year with Vantage also

[pbnjrockette]

regular river cruise lines,,I know and can book with TA,,since I checked BBB ratings of Vantage,,and has "no rating"...why take a chance..Others on similar post,,mentioned long phone waits and don t want any hassles.

 

Sure those of you will do fine on future bookings,,but I m still concerned and worry about ALL details..;)

 

 

We just returned from our EIGHTH trip with Vantage. (China) We have been on Ocean cruises, River cruises and land tours with them. We have LOVED every trip and found the quality of hotels, food and guides to be exceptional! Would not hesitate to tour with them again.

 

People who have problems tend to post their complaints more often than satisfied consumers..... Everything isn't "perfect" with Vantage but we have been more satisfied with them than with Grand Circle and others.

[Two from Virginia]

DH and I have done two Vantage cruises, both of them "President's River Cruises" (meaning a few more items are added to the itinerary. We first cruised from Budapest north on the Danube to Passau, Germany, and then on to three days in Prague. The next year we went south -- three land days in Zagreb, Croatia, then to Budapest, south to Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania -- to the Black Sea. We were on two different ships, and loved both experiences. The crew was wonderful, the meals were fine for us, and the cabins were comfy. Like so many trips, the most discord came from demanding or arrogant passengers. You quickly learn who you want to avoid!

 

To me, a highlight with Vantage are the "cultural connections." The dance groups and performers who come aborad in different locales, on shore lectures, waltz lessons in Vienna -- and the opportunity to eat in the homes of local folks -- enhanced our experiences greatly.

 

Perhaps the best indicator of our satisfaction is that we have booked another President's cruise next May! We want to try out the new ship, the River Discovery.

 

Donna

 

How do you sign up for the "President Cruises"?

[Host Jazzbeau]

How do you sign up for the "President Cruises"?

 

The post you quoted is from 2006, and the poster hasn't been back to the River Cruise forum since then. You would have done better to start a new thread on this topic. Hopefully some other Vantage cruisers will reply.

[4774Papa]

We have done Vantage Russia and China and loved both trips.

Here are my reviews.

 

Russia, Kiev and Baltics

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1478384

 

China

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1718320

[Toranut97]

Sorry I have not popped in here lately. We have been ocean cruising for the most part. You sign up for the Presidents Cruises like any other Vantage journey -- find it in catalog or on website and book it. There used to always be one President's River Cruise, a President's Small Ship voyage and some other special President's trip every year. You need no special status or connection to book one.

Once again, my apologies for the tardy response. We are Vantage enthusiasts and I feel the company is underrated!!!