Anyone been on Variety Cruises Lately?

[RiverCruiseReporter]

All the reviews of Variety Cruises have been from 2009. Has anyone been on lately? I'm especially interested in the Pegasus after its refurbishment.

[Bagbabe53]

Trip Advisor has some recent posts on 2010 Variety Cruises; looks like they've ironed out most of their past problems. Didn't see anything on the Pegasus, however. I'm leaving on their Aegean cruise on 30 July and keeping my fingers crossed on the weather (August winds can be limiting for sails).

[Bagbabe53]

Re: Harmony G, Variety Cruises, Aegean Oeddessy itinerary

Could not find a slot on the boards for my cruise on the Harmony G with Variety Cruises, a small ship cruise line.

My review as follows:

After four days on lovely Santorini, we hopped back to Athens via Aegean Air and taxied to our ship, the Harmony G in the Marina Zeas in Santorini. We enjoyed our cruise tremendously. There were about 40 passengers total, plus the staff, and we met people from all over the world. Our bunch included an extended family from Texas (lots of fun), a group of Aussies, an elderly German couple, a honeymooning couple from Barcelona (we hung out with them a lot), a French family with two little girls, and a NY couple with their son, daughter in law, and grandkids. The guy in this latter group complained constantly. I found out later that he had not fully checked out this type of cruise; I am always baffled by people who don’t look into things when they’re spending thousands of dollars and weeks of precious vacation time.

 

Our cabins were well appointed and cleaned twice a day. We had Cabin 304, which was the most expensive level, with a queen bed and jacuzzi tub. It was nice but simple and kept spotless by the cleaning staff. We also took advantage of the laundry service for a few pieces of clothing. They do turndown service at dinner too. Our cruise included two meals a day, breakfast (a buffet) with either lunch or dinner depending on the plan for the day. Cuisine was consistently excellent, and much of it was Greek. The crew provided a daily one page newsletter which informed us of the upcoming island, any special activities, which meals would be on board, and optional excursions and suggestions for local activities. We saw every island on the itinerary, but not in the originally planned order due to the meltimes winds on the Aegean. We enjoyed several swim and snorkeling stops between the islands, and then enjoyed a BBQ lunch on the ship. The staff, mainly Ukrainian, really knocked themselves out to please us, and were consistently cheerful and helpful. Islands we visited included Mykonos, Patmos, Amorgos, Samos, Santorini, I was glad we had a mix of the more famous tourist islands and a couple of lovely places which were less well known to non Greeks. We also had a long stop in Kusadasi in Turkey to visit Ephesus and shop the grand bazaar.

 

We took two excursions. The Patmos excursion was good and detailed. Our guide was quite informative. We loved the monastery museum associated with the famous Apocalypse Cave. The Ephesus excursion in Turkey was also good while we were in Ephesus. The problem was that they tack on a trip to a rug factory at the end. I was disappointed we did not see Mary's House instead, as were some other folks, but I would not miss Ephesus for anything. You really find out how truly advanced the Romans were at the height of their civilization in ancient times, such as running water in homes. It also meant alot to me to walk the main street which had also borne Cleopatra and Mark Antony as well as Sts. Paul and John. Although the rug factory tour was pleasant, and the facility trains rug weavers, I would have rather seen Mary's House. The rug people did not pressure anyone if they did not want to buy a rug. We bought one and got an excellent deal.

 

A few notes about small boat cruises based on the Harmony G:

 

Costs for drinks depends on your consumption habits. If you usually have wine and beer with dinner and perhaps a mid afternoon cocktail, I would budget about $20-$25 per day for two people; that part of the trip is not cheap.Tipping depends on your satisfaction. They recommend $50- $80 per person for the cruise. We gave them $150 for the two of us. The boat was lovely and well kept, but does not have the amenities of a large cruise ship--- there are no spas, shops, casinos, etc. What it does have is more time on the islands without wasting lots of precious time waiting to board tenders, etc. to get onto an island like the big ships.

 

I had mixed feelings about the cruise coordinator who set up excursions. I don't think she was the regular person; she was knowledgeable, but not open to suggestions, and that was a problem for some of us. At the end of the cruise on the last night, we were docked in Piraeus, the port area of Athens and were going out for dinner that evening. There was no list of recommended restaurants open for dinner nearby, and the coordinator did not seem amenable to recommending any. This would not be a problem except that most of the port area places are either bars, coffee places, or only open for breakfast and lunch for the port workers. I am writing Variety Cruises about this situation. Perhaps they'll fix this by the time any of you cruise with them.

 

But if you're like most of us who were on the Harmony G you will likely love it.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.frommers.com/community/forum.cfm/europe/greece/trip-report-25-july-9-august-dc-dulles-greece#ixzz0wuhtwMxk