When is a 14 day cruise only a 7 day cruise?

[Ozjohnno]

Guideline Reminder: do not mention Travel Agents (even by their initials).

 

Agreed BUT that was the point of the OP's originally discussion. The advertisement said a 14 day cruise when it was not. Then posters accused the OP of exaggerating and possibly lying. By putting in the initials it was an attempt to get the thread back on topic. To accuse the OP and then demand a link I agree is against board guidelines which I was trying to point out.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I didn't read the original post as necessarily referring to a TA ad. It seems that the points OP raised come from the cruise lines' own descriptions of the cruises, so I assumed he was referring to cruise line puffery in the first post as he clearly was in the post about AMA.

[nana541]

Ok now I'm irritated, was this entire rant from the OP about advertising from a TA and not a cruise line at all.

Unbelievable!!

 

 

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Edited July 19, 2014 by nana541

[Mark_T]

Ok now I'm irritated, was this entire rant from the OP about advertising from a TA and not a cruise line at all.

Unbelievable!!

 

No need to feel irritated, there are plenty of cruise line examples as well.

 

Viking for example has 11 day cruises where only 6 full days are spend on the ship. Many other like this as well from other lines.

 

These would be better described as 'tours', it is hardly a 'cruise' when almost half the time is spent before and after the cruise component.

 

I think this annoys me simply because I view the ship as being a vital part of the experience, hotels just don't cut it for me as an enjoyable way to spend a vacation.

[joanne2]

I am looking at a Viking brochure. "Cities of Light Paris to Prague 12 Days/10 guided tours/4 countries." In the first line of description "8 day cruise". Is this somehow misleading? They include Paris and Prague hotel stays but this is clearly indicated. And it is an 8 day cruise. Unless someone would book a cruise after only reading the first few words of the description, I don't see the big problem.

[nana541]

I am looking at a Viking brochure. "Cities of Light Paris to Prague 12 Days/10 guided tours/4 countries." In the first line of description "8 day cruise". Is this somehow misleading? They include Paris and Prague hotel stays but this is clearly indicated. And it is an 8 day cruise. Unless someone would book a cruise after only reading the first few words of the description, I don't see the big problem.

 

 

I agree that if you read the discription of the tours you will know exactly what you are getting. Itinerary is very clear....

 

 

 

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[donaldsc]

What is the big deal. Just read the detailed itinerary description and you can easily figure out exactly how many days you are on the ship. How hard can that be.

 

Now do not get me started on Alaska CruiseTours where Princess says that you have 2 days in Denali when you arrive on the train at maybe 1:00 PM on day 1 and leave on the train at maybe 12:00 noon on day 2. Or how about almost every cruise which includes a flight where you leave at 10:00 PM on day one, fly over night, and arrive at the embarkation port at 4:00 PM on day 2.

 

However, again, if you do not do due diligence, you deserve what you get and do not complain.

 

DON

Edited July 19, 2014 by donaldsc

[Mark_T]

I am looking at a Viking brochure. "Cities of Light Paris to Prague 12 Days/10 guided tours/4 countries." In the first line of description "8 day cruise". Is this somehow misleading? They include Paris and Prague hotel stays but this is clearly indicated. And it is an 8 day cruise. Unless someone would book a cruise after only reading the first few words of the description, I don't see the big problem.

 

The problem is that there is no way to search any of the river cruise websites based on the length of the actual cruise.

 

Sure, I can go read every single itinerary but that does get tedious after a while.

 

As I said earlier, this is one of the differences between ocean cruises and river cruises and it is not one I enjoy having to deal with.

 

There are a few river cruises where the entire trip is actually on the ship, they are just very hard to find without what I at least feel is unnecessary effort.

 

If you are looking for a tour that includes a variable potion on a ship then all is good, if you are actually just looking for a cruise on a ship only then it is almost impossible to find through a search, you have to read the details for each and every offering ...

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Look into Vantage .

[nana541]

Order the brochures it's so much easier and also focus in on the itineraries you are actually interested in.

 

Amsterdam to Budapest (and reverse) is a 14 or more itinerary. Most of the companies do it. I booked mine thru Avalon and unless I book extra pre or post cruise there is no hoteling involved!

 

 

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