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Vantage vs GCT


jmccon2
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Hello everyone. After reading through the conversations on this site, I've decided to try out a river cruise on either Vantage or GCT. I'm thinking of taking the Amsterdam tulip river cruise in late March/early April 2015.

 

After some research, I now understand why the two are mentioned as 'siblings' - it looks like each cruise line is owned individually by brothers.

 

I have a couple of questions:

1) The prices look similar, so which line would you choose and why?

2) I can use cxxxxxfxxx dot net to see what a fair price is for the major cruise lines, but nothing exists for these 2 cruise lines. Not including last minute booking, does the price vary much (much is a $400-500 difference in pricing)?

3) I've read that on rivers, when 'parked' your room is very snug to the other boats that are docked so it doesn't make a lot of sense to pay the extra money for a balcony. So what type of room would you suggest?

 

Thanks so very much in advance!

 

Janet

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I recommended this cruise on Grand Circle to my neighbors. They loved it so much that they came home and booked another cruise for 2015. I gave them my name and GCT number and each person received a $100 referral fee/discount.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either company.

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Hello everyone. After reading through the conversations on this site, I've decided to try out a river cruise on either Vantage or GCT. I'm thinking of taking the Amsterdam tulip river cruise in late March/early April 2015.

 

After some research, I now understand why the two are mentioned as 'siblings' - it looks like each cruise line is owned individually by brothers.

 

I have a couple of questions:

1) The prices look similar, so which line would you choose and why?

2) I can use cxxxxxfxxx dot net to see what a fair price is for the major cruise lines, but nothing exists for these 2 cruise lines. Not including last minute booking, does the price vary much (much is a $400-500 difference in pricing)?

3) I've read that on rivers, when 'parked' your room is very snug to the other boats that are docked so it doesn't make a lot of sense to pay the extra money for a balcony. So what type of room would you suggest?

 

Thanks so very much in advance!

 

Janet

 

I booked my first trip with Vantage and just returned from my 6th! I don't think you can go wrong with either company, and they are owned by brothers who originally owned one company together. Reasons I like Vantage: most of the shore excursions are included and quite frankly when I booked my first trip with Vantage I liked it so much I see no reason to change. One thing I would suggest and it makes no difference which company you use: if you're going to Holland to see the tulips, IMHO you are going a little too early. I did this trip in late April to early May. The tulips were in full bloom and it was amazing. When you land/take off from Schipol, be sure to look out the window you can see the tulip fields in all their colors and it's amazing.:D

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I booked my first trip with Vantage and just returned from my 6th! I don't think you can go wrong with either company, and they are owned by brothers who originally owned one company together. Reasons I like Vantage: most of the shore excursions are included and quite frankly when I booked my first trip with Vantage I liked it so much I see no reason to change. One thing I would suggest and it makes no difference which company you use: if you're going to Holland to see the tulips, IMHO you are going a little too early. I did this trip in late April to early May. The tulips were in full bloom and it was amazing. When you land/take off from Schipol, be sure to look out the window you can see the tulip fields in all their colors and it's amazing.:D

Missed your last two questions: I know Vantage doesn't use travel agents or on line discount services, I'm not sure about GCT but I would be inclined to think they don't either since you couldn't find either of them listed with discount sites. I always get the A-1 class, which has a french balcony. Most (not all) river cruises do not have full balconies because the locks are too narrow. Once you go below suite level, the cabins are pretty much the same size, but I like the french balcony because I love opening the door and leaning out. (You probably already know that a french balcony is a sliding door with bars on it. You cannot sit on it!) As for "rafting" it is a common practice in river cruising and cannot be avoided or controlled. Some times you'll be alone, sometimes you'll be dockside with 1 or more boats on the other side and sometimes you'll be in the middle with boats on both sides. Since you can't sit on the balcony, to me, it doesn't matter. I've met some really interesting people while rafted together by opening my drapes and sitting in front of the sliding door....but the bottom line is you're on shore most of the day and cruising at night, so to me, it doesn't make any difference.

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DH & I were on GCT's Holland and Belgium in Springtime cruise in March 2013. This was their first cruise of the season (for that tour) and on the River Concerto. (We did have a last minute special, so I can't help you with price drops). We have now taken 4 tours with GCT and definitely recommend them.

 

Someone suggested doing this tour a little later in the season; this does have some merit. Since we were early, not all of the tulip fields were in bloom, but the other flowers (daffodils, etc.) were beautiful. If you do go early, make sure you check the weather forecasts for the cities you'll visit right before you leave. Add clothes as needed! We learned that cold weather & snow were predicted, so we added hats, gloves, fleeces, hiking boots; we were fine- but those with lightweight jackets, sneakers and sandals - without gloves and hats- were uncomfortable walking around in the snow (or skipped outdoor activities).

 

Re cabins: depending on the ship, the balconies are one step better than a French balcony. On the Concerto and Harmony, the balcony is very narrow (less than 3 feet deep) but you can sit down out there (two chairs and a very small table). The downside is that the space for the balcony is taken from the cabin- mostly in the bathroom area. The shower, in particular, is much more compact than in the other cabins. We never felt that it was worth any extra money to book a balcony (even on ocean ships). However, on our last cruise, we had noise issues with our cabin (Harmony) and were moved to a balcony. It was nice to go out there as we were sailing along. But on your cruise, I think most of the actual sailing is at night. As for "what other cabin?" - I suggest one with a picture window (as opposed to the bottom deck with the aquarium style!) but also, avoid cabins near the stairwells, especially if you go to bed early. People do tend to congregate there and talk! Also, the row of balcony cabins on the Concerto and Harmony starts right outside the dining room; people can be noisy as they line up for breakfast! On the Harmony, avoid cabins in the high 200's (217, 218, 219)- very noisy from the DJ in the lounge.

 

Re optional excursions: Vantage might include more (or different) excursions. Look over the list of included and optional ones for each line. If you would definitely take the excursion, add it to the cost comparison. For our GCT tour, we added the Delta Works and found it fascinating.

 

I recommend GCT, but I've also read great reviews about Vantage. Do a cost comparison and an itinerary comparison- whichever you choose will probably be wonderful.

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We have done Vantage Russia and China, which are two of the best trips we have ever taken.

Vantage beats Viking all the time on price.

 

Don't know much about GC, but it is likely similar to Vantage.

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Excellent info from everyone above.

We did the Holland/Belgium cruise on Vantage in March and it's true, not all of the flowers are blooming then, but the price was excellent and we loved it. In addition to the ports, there's lots of activity on the river with boats coming and going all the time. We had a large picture window on the middle deck with pull-down bunks which were very comfortable.

 

I hope they still offer a tour of the Aalsmeer Flower Auction in Amsterdam.

We had to get up early, but it's worth it. Starts at 7am. The earlier you get there, the more you see. In an hour or so, most of the flowers are gone. You look down on a football size area where they are moving the flowers around on little carts for the auction and shipping. If you go to Amsterdam a couple days early, you could do this tour on your own if the ship doesn't do it. Don't miss it....

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Excellent info from everyone above.

We did the Holland/Belgium cruise on Vantage in March and it's true, not all of the flowers are blooming then, but the price was excellent and we loved it. In addition to the ports, there's lots of activity on the river with boats coming and going all the time. We had a large picture window on the middle deck with pull-down bunks which were very comfortable.

 

I hope they still offer a tour of the Aalsmeer Flower Auction in Amsterdam.

We had to get up early, but it's worth it. Starts at 7am. The earlier you get there, the more you see. In an hour or so, most of the flowers are gone. You look down on a football size area where they are moving the flowers around on little carts for the auction and shipping. If you go to Amsterdam a couple days early, you could do this tour on your own if the ship doesn't do it. Don't miss it....

 

100% agree.....Aalsmeer Flower Auction is not to be missed!!! Neither is Delft but be prepared to buy something that will be quite pricey!!

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Those are the same two I did with Vantage. Number three us coming up,soon, the Grand European, from the Rhine to the Black Sea. With the optional trips on both ends, I am traveling from September 7 to October 10. On this trip, I am a solo traveler.

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The responses you're getting are typical for those received when someone asks for a comparison of cruise lines. People who've cruised with each line all respond that they loved their line. This should tell you that you can't go too far wrong with either. It would be great though, if there were people who had done both lines and could compare.

 

You may want to do some research with regard to the details of the itineraries and things like whether tours are optional or included. For instance, with GCT it looks like you don't see Bruges unless you take the optional early 3-night precruise option, whereas with Vantage Bruges is part of the itinerary.

 

Other differences may or may not be important. For instance GCT has free soft drinks, beer, and wine at lunch AND dinner, whereas Vantage serves them free at dinner only.

 

A more important consideration may be the date you cruise. You probably want to try and hit Keukenhof sometime in the last half of April.

 

FuelScience

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