How does Vantage compare with Grand Circle?

We have taken a Grand Circle river cruise and loved it and are thinking of a Vantage one. Are they very similar? Does Vantage also only have twin beds?

We have taken a Grand Circle river cruise and loved it and are thinking of a Vantage one. Are they very similar? Does Vantage also only have twin beds?

Vantage is great. We have done two tours/river cruises with Vantage, Russia and China.

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

We have never done a GC cruise, but I highly recommend Vantage.

We are booked on the Portugal, Douro River, May 2016

Vantage has an onboard cruise director and then uses local guides for all tours.

We have taken a Grand Circle river cruise and loved it and are thinking of a Vantage one. Are they very similar? Does Vantage also only have twin beds?

Haven't done GCT but have done 6 Vantages and have 2 booked for 2015. Vantage will configure the beds as either twins or double, your choice. As for everything else I think they are probably very similar since the companies are owned by two brothers in Boston. My latest trip with Vantage was under their new policy of one TM on board with a concierge and local guides for all the shore excursions. I actually preferred the local guides because they generally live in the area they're showing and all of them spoke excellent English. That being said, I don't think one TM is enough for 120+ people and the concierge on our trip was useless. But, if you've enjoyed GCT, I can't think of a single reason why you would not be happy with Vantage.

We're interested in the Vantage Tulip Time cruise.

Having taken 16 GCT/OAT trips, we obviously really enjoy them, but, as far as the river cruises are concerned, the Vantage ships seem to be a bit more upscale, as are their travelers, as far as clothing is concerned, but GCT has stuck with the Program Director per each group of about 40, a busload, and also hires local guides when not in the home city of the PD. The PD also goes along on these tours, but the local guide generally leads it. When in the PDs home city,they will frequently have a sweeper, often a PD in training, to assist. This reduces the group size to 20 per leader, sometimes splitting the tour based on interests/ability and sometimes just handling stragglers. We have encountered on many trips and find the itineraries similar, frequently being at the same shows/restaurants/hotels. Without doing a detailed analysis, I can't compare price performance, but when you are satisfied why change.

Why change? I guess I'm one of those always on the lookout for something better. Or at least something different.:) I like to try new things.

And then too, different lines may have different itineraries.

We're interested in the Vantage Tulip Time cruise.

This is one of the 6 we did and it was fantastic!!! We also did the pre-trip to Brussels. Make sure you go when the tulips are in bloom and take the side trip (it was an optional when we went) to Aalsmeer, the flower market it will blow your mind!!!

I'm heading to Denver for Thanksgiving with my son....has it warmed up yet....says the lady from the State that has had 6' of snow fall in 3 days.:D

Fit was 50 and sunny today and the next few days , but mid 30's and snow on Thursday.

Fit was 50 and sunny today and the next few days , but mid 30's and snow on Thursday.

Shoot, we're going to freeze our butts off at Pikes Peak!! Hope it warms up by Sunday, we're going to see the Chihuly at Botannical Gardens Friday during the day and Sunday at night. Guess my down vest won't be quite enough. I'll need mittens and a hat too.

Have done both, GCT in Russia & Vantage on the Duoro. Vantage for us was a nightmare to deal with, we had 12 travelers and 2 did not have room assignments but was told by Vantage not to worry. At the boat they had no clue about the 2 travelers and our guide had to give up his cabin for them. We felt that after Boston got our money we where on are own. The trip was great once on the boat but the headache with c/s in Boston was horrific. When the brochures come in the mail they go directly in the trash. Never again. YMMV

Have done both, GCT in Russia & Vantage on the Duoro. Vantage for us was a nightmare to deal with, we had 12 travelers and 2 did not have room assignments but was told by Vantage not to worry. At the boat they had no clue about the 2 travelers and our guide had to give up his cabin for them. We felt that after Boston got our money we where on are own. The trip was great once on the boat but the headache with c/s in Boston was horrific. When the brochures come in the mail they go directly in the trash. Never again. YMMV

Prior to our trip to China, Vantage called us and indicated the tour was overbooked. They offered us $1000 to move our trip up a month. We did that and it worked out great.

I suspect that Vantage does overbook to some degree. Still, we love the trips we have been on with Vantage and have the Douro river booked for May 2016. We have cabin assignments.

Does Gate 1 have river cruises and if so, how do they compare?

Does Gate 1 have river cruises and if so, how do they compare?

Gate 1 is a no frills, budget line. Cost for their tours are almost always a fair amount lower, but many of the excursions are extra and accommodations are generally more spartan.

We have never done a Gate 1 tour, but talked to those that did. Compared to cars, Gate 1 is a sub compact, while Vantage and GC are Sedans.

Gate 1 is a no frills, budget line. Cost for their tours are almost always a fair amount lower, but many of the excursions are extra and accommodations are generally more spartan.

 

We have never done a Gate 1 tour, but talked to those that did. Compared to cars, Gate 1 is a sub compact, while Vantage and GC are Sedans.

I agree, however that being said, friend of mine did river cruise with Gate 1 and loved it.

I've never had a problem with Vantage to be honest, but I will admit their c/s needs an over-haul. The only complaint I have and have ever had with them is their poor performance in returning telephone calls and e-mails. But for me, the good far outweighs the bad and what I'm really paying for is the trip itself, and all of them have been excellent. This does not excuse

what happened to rvMike by a long shot. That is totally inexcusable. IMHO.

Does Gate 1 have river cruises and if so, how do they compare?

I got an e-mail from a lady who used Gate 1 for a Russian River cruise. I had corresponded with her about the cruise I took on Vantage. She was extremely unhappy with Gate 1.