Disadvantage of Vantage

For some time my husband has been wanting to take a river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest. What sold us on this Vantage cruise was the pre-cruise tour to Poland, and the fact that friends had been with them and had no problems. Straight off I must say that the pre-cruise, the cruise itself and all Vantage people we met in Europe cannot be faulted. The problem lies with head office. From my reading I knew that Vantage sends pre-cruise information out on line, no problem with that. However, from past experience I know that you for a pre-cruise you definitely need luggage tags. These were meant to be sent with the pre-cruise info, they never came. Two emails later, still no luggage tags. Afternoon we are leaving, I am calling Vantage asking for them to send me a template so that at least I have something Vantage on my cases. By the way, they were required and the Vantage escort in Poland does not have them, as I was told by someone in Boston. All the people I spoke to in Boston were very pleasant and helpful, but not entirely clued in.

Even though we had done our own air, we had paid for transfers at both ends. Arriving in Poland, there was no-one there to meet us. We took a cab to the hotel and found we were not on the list for transfers. I emailed our TA who got in touch with Vantage. They would refund that transfer amount she is told. She made sure there was a record of our transfer at the end of the cruise, and told me to check on-board that such a record existed. I find it did exist, but when we got to the hotel in Bucharest, no such record was found. No problem getting on the shuttle though as I could prove we had paid! We have been back over a month, enough to have two credit card statements, but this past week our TA has had to chase up that refund! Records show there is a refund owing, but that info does not seem to have reached accounting.

The lack of communication between departments is astounding, and reflects poorly on Vantage. However, if you don't encounter administrative problems, the cruise itself is likely to be excellent.

That doesn't speak well on the image that the company wants to present, even if it is just a departmental fault. You are right that it is simply a communication problem that does not need a management genius. At least, actual cruise operation went smooth.

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Dealing with Vantage's Boston office for our recent cruise was nothing but on frustration after another. They have no concept of customer service there. As other companies are out there at a comparable price point, I don't see being a repeat cruiser. Yes, the shipboard experience was fine, it was no better than we experienced on another line.

No luggage tags on our trip on our Mekong trip....I think these tags help when the "luggage is outside the door" for hotel pickups. The RED Viking tags sure were noticed by porters. As for the name tags....our tour director gave us tacky plastic hand written name tags on arrival. Really ??? Vantage!!!

Had GREAT trip but with Vantage's diminished awards for loyalty we will look at other brands. The air arrangements were dreadful coming home...and Vantage air department was not truthful with me when I tried to customize our air...."not available/doable"....and there were 2 other couples on the trip who were given the arrangements that I had requested....with no charge!!!

I have done 8 trips with Vantage and what keeps me coming back is the people we meet at the airport and throughout the trip. I share your frustration! I have posted many times about the Vantage corporate office staff. I have found them to be rude, uninformed, very lax in returning calls and e-mails and too often totally incompetent.....BUT when I get off the plane in Europe or anywhere else the staff is helpful, knowledgeable and wonderful. I just wish Vantage paid a little more attention to CC posts.

same complaint here ! Poor service from Vantage's home office had me almost cancel the whole trip. It is good to know that the ship will be an improvement. I booked the cruise, paid my deposit, then could not get a receipt or an itinerary. They e-mailed nothing and was told "pull it off our website". The website was down for maintenance for over a week. They eventually switched my sail date :o All appears to be fine now so hopefully I'm all set for the Rhine River come March.

We found our luggage tags in the mail that was held while we were gone. We did not do the pre-cruise extension so there was no reason for the tags to arrive after our departure.

We found our luggage tags in the mail that was held while we were gone. We did not do the pre-cruise extension so there was no reason for the tags to arrive after our departure.

crazy huh ? :confused: I know Viking had great customer service so I hope that Vantage is learning something. the only reason I went with Vantage for this upcoming spring was the solo cabin. :(

crazy huh ? :confused: I know Viking had great customer service so I hope that Vantage is learning something. the only reason I went with Vantage for this upcoming spring was the solo cabin. :(

That can be a BIG plus....I'm beginning to think Vantage is branching out too much and in targeting it's marketing to a younger crowd is losing it's true blue fans.

That can be a BIG plus....I'm beginning to think Vantage is branching out too much and in targeting it's marketing to a younger crowd is losing it's true blue fans.

I don't think it has anything to do with targeting younger travelers. On our one, very recent Vantage River cruise, they delivered a good product. My problem with them is that they did not deliver what they advertised . . . It was a bait and switch. And dealing with Boston was always a hassle . . .

Perhaps it is branching out too much. Perhaps it is cash flow. Who really knows?

I don't think it has anything to do with targeting younger travelers. On our one, very recent Vantage River cruise, they delivered a good product. My problem with them is that they did not deliver what they advertised . . . It was a bait and switch. And dealing with Boston was always a hassle . . .

 

Perhaps it is branching out too much. Perhaps it is cash flow. Who really knows?

Interesting.....it seems the catalogs I've been getting are stressing more on "active adventures" and less on relaxing river cruises....also they're prices are no longer what I consider reasonable....and it's not what I can't pay, it's what I won't pay!!! Right now I'm getting much more bang for my bucks on ocean cruises.

Was that the one where they promised a small group and you wound up with a big group broken down into smaller groups? Of course you never got a straight answer from Boston, did you? :D

Interesting.....it seems the catalogs I've been getting are stressing more on "active adventures" and less on relaxing river cruises....also they're prices are no longer what I consider reasonable....and it's not what I can't pay, it's what I won't pay!!! Right now I'm getting much more bang for my bucks on ocean cruises.

 

Was that the one where they promised a small group and you wound up with a big group broken down into smaller groups? Of course you never got a straight answer from Boston, did you? :D

No, the bait was a special culinary themed cruise with onshore meals and food and wine tastings that morphed into their regular Rhone itinerary.

No, the bait was a special culinary themed cruise with onshore meals and food and wine tastings that morphed into their regular Rhone itinerary.

I would have been pissed and felt cheated if that happened to me.

I would have been pissed and felt cheated if that happened to me.

Ditto what dollover said.....that's really wrong on so many levels.

Dollover I notice you took Celebrity to Alaska....were you pleased? We've already done Alaska (land and cruise) with HAL and the ship was dreadful to the extent that when we got off (and had recovered from food poisoning) I vowed NEVER to do a big ship again. But thankfully a friend insisted I try Celebrity and I've been sailing with them ever since. We're looking to redo Alaska and would like to sail from Vancouver or Seattle. Sorry to hijack the thread...if you want to contact me directly I'm at chydro564@yahoo.com.

We recently returned from a Bonn to Budapest River Cruise. I agree with previous comments that Boston is out of touch with what happens in Europe on river cruises. The staff in Europe is excellent! There is a Budapest Operations office that can probably answer your questions about the river cruises with more accuracy. I think Boston focuses more on the marketing/booking aspect. We planned to meet up with a friend who lives in Nuremburg, Boston couldn't supply docking information or daily itinerary specifics and referred me to the River Voyager Cruise Staff. We waited till we sailed, got all the info we needed, emailed and confirmed with our friend, and the Concierge very kindly made sure we connected in Nuremburg, knew where to return and were on the shuttle back to ship on time after a wonderful visit!

Previously we did Russia and a Culinary cruise thru Southern France. We did trip extensions in Paris and this time in Budapest and had awesome city hosts and local guides at both times.

I am 61, hubby 62. We are active adults and had no issues keeping up with pace of trip. I think many people book river cruises without proper research and understanding of what MODERATELY ACTIVE level of activity is. You need to be able to walk at a steady pace on uneven surfaces....the towns and cities in Europe are quite old and many of the streets are cobblestones, on the best of days you need a sure step, add in some mist or rain and it becomes a slippery surface. Many of the churches and palaces have tile floors, again you need to be careful! If you walk with a cane, walker or need a wheelchair, you will not be able to keep up. There is a 'gentle walker' group, but it is only a slower pace with a shorter itinerary, you will miss a lot!

I don't think of myself as an expertise, but will gladly answer questions if I can.

We are already thinking about our next 'bucket list' trip with Vantage.

We recently returned from a Bonn to Budapest River Cruise. I agree with previous comments that Boston is out of touch with what happens in Europe on river cruises. The staff in Europe is excellent! There is a Budapest Operations office that can probably answer your questions about the river cruises with more accuracy. I think Boston focuses more on the marketing/booking aspect. We planned to meet up with a friend who lives in Nuremburg, Boston couldn't supply docking information or daily itinerary specifics and referred me to the River Voyager Cruise Staff. We waited till we sailed, got all the info we needed, emailed and confirmed with our friend, and the Concierge very kindly made sure we connected in Nuremburg, knew where to return and were on the shuttle back to ship on time after a wonderful visit!

 

Previously we did Russia and a Culinary cruise thru Southern France. We did trip extensions in Paris and this time in Budapest and had awesome city hosts and local guides at both times.

 

I am 61, hubby 62. We are active adults and had no issues keeping up with pace of trip. I think many people book river cruises without proper research and understanding of what MODERATELY ACTIVE level of activity is. You need to be able to walk at a steady pace on uneven surfaces....the towns and cities in Europe are quite old and many of the streets are cobblestones, on the best of days you need a sure step, add in some mist or rain and it becomes a slippery surface. Many of the churches and palaces have tile floors, again you need to be careful! If you walk with a cane, walker or need a wheelchair, you will not be able to keep up. There is a 'gentle walker' group, but it is only a slower pace with a shorter itinerary, you will miss a lot!

 

I don't think of myself as an expertise, but will gladly answer questions if I can.

 

We are already thinking about our next 'bucket list' trip with Vantage.

Hi Sanibel...we did 8 wonderful trips with Vantage, including Russia, Ukraine, Egypt and Jordan and had wonderful experiences as you did and Budapest is one of my top three favorite cities!! I only disagree with you on one thing you posted. I am one of the people who has to use the "gentle walker" group and we did not miss a lot!! For the most part we did the same walking tour with few modifications but at a slower pace. We saw the same things as the "fast walkers" and the only place we had less time than they did was at the end of the walking tour when you have free time. I would say on average we lost about 15 minutes of free time. Since I'm not a shopper, and can always find a nosh, I didn't care. One advantage I will point out to being in the slow walkers group is that you have more time to take photos because you can take your shot and still catch up to the group (photography is my passion). My trips are all listed below...if I can answer any questions about them, I'd be happy to. :D

How does on contact the Budapest operations center? When we had problems with Vantage arranged air, all we had was an answering service; no mention of a more local office that might actually be working at 9 o'clock European time. As my first trip with Vantage was problematic, they don't get a second chance.

How does on contact the Budapest operations center? When we had problems with Vantage arranged air, all we had was an answering service; no mention of a more local office that might actually be working at 9 o'clock European time. As my first trip with Vantage was problematic, they don't get a second chance.

I don't know....I know they have European offices but I never saw a telephone or e-mail address to contact them. Perhaps Sanibel will answer with who and how she got in touch with them.

That can be a BIG plus....I'm beginning to think Vantage is branching out too much and in targeting it's marketing to a younger crowd is losing it's true blue fans.

I guess I shall see :) March will be here soon enough. Reading this thread I get the Boston office is the problem. As the Cap'm in "Cool Hand Luke" said....what we have here is failure to communicate.

Right now everything is fine...so far ;)

We have traveled 13 times with Vantage and have NEVER had a problem with the office in Boston " We usually have a 'personal travel consultant ' number and extension to deal with specific trips. The only trip we had changed was our last one to Portugal when they offered us a good deal to change to an earlier date.

I'm surprised to read about all the recent problems. We have found that the quality of materials (luggage tags, name tags, written paperwork and "freebies") have gone down considerably but we have always been pleased with our journeys.

I guess I shall see :) March will be here soon enough. Reading this thread I get the Boston office is the problem. As the Cap'm in "Cool Hand Luke" said....what we have here is failure to communicate.

Right now everything is fine...so far ;)

I love Cool Hand Luke.

Another famous saying from the movie by Strother Martin was that Luke needed "to get his mind right."

We have done three great cruises/trips on Vantage, but it seems they need to get their mind right.

We considered Vantage for an Asian itinerary earlier this year but after talking to their Boston office regarding booking, we decided against traveling with them. Their customer service was nearly non-existent, questions asked were met with curt responses, rude responses - basically it was 'take it or leave it' so we left it. Due to our several contacts with them via phone we are not interested in traveling with them anywhere, anytime.

We considered Vantage for an Asian itinerary earlier this year but after talking to their Boston office regarding booking, we decided against traveling with them. Their customer service was nearly non-existent, questions asked were met with curt responses, rude responses - basically it was 'take it or leave it' so we left it. Due to our several contacts with them via phone we are not interested in traveling with them anywhere, anytime.

Wow....now THIS is a message I'd love for Vantage to see!!! Who are you giving your business to? ;)

We gave our business to Avalon, we thoroughly enjoyed our nearly 3 week trip with them, excellent accommodations, guides and customer service.

We gave our business to Avalon, we thoroughly enjoyed our nearly 3 week trip with them, excellent accommodations, guides and customer service.

You know, it's really a shame. We chose Vantage for our first river cruise because the brochure came at just the right time and it was for a trip we always talked about "Castles on the Rhine"...we had lived in London and had spent time in France, Greece, Italy and were ready to do something different. We had such a wonderful time that we just never considered using anyone else and did 7 more trips with them....each and every one of them outstanding regarding the ship, food, hotels, excursions and guides.....we did notice at first that e-mail wasn't answered so we only contacted them by phone and would drink coffee and read the paper while waiting to actually speak to a live person in Boston. The problem is only with corporate....we booked Vantage Air and never had a problem....of course it helps that we travel out of JFK so everything is non-stop, at least to Frankfort, and we were able to choose our airline....but over the years it just got more and more annoying to deal with the office people and now with the prices sky-rocketing

and physical limitations beginning to creep up on us, we've turned to ocean cruising with Celebrity, where everyone I have dealt with has been courteous, helpful and treated me as a valued customer not an annoying interruption. I'm glad you found another company because river cruising is amazing!! :D