Read this before considering Viking

[CPT Trips]

Check out Vantage, we have done three great cruises with them. They always seem to beat Viking on price.

 

My first Vantage trip hasn't sailed yet. They have made date, itinerary, and activity changes that make the trip less than promised when I booked while offering barely acceptable compensation. I won't book with them again until after our cruise and I have the opportunity to see what they actually deliver.

[4774Papa]

My first Vantage trip hasn't sailed yet. They have made date, itinerary, and activity changes that make the trip less than promised when I booked while offering barely acceptable compensation. I won't book with them again until after our cruise and I have the opportunity to see what they actually deliver.

 

What cruise did you book?

[CPT Trips]

Culinary French Waterways: Best of Burgundy, Beaujolais & Provance

First a date change, then an itinerary change (which gave us a clue that they weren't going to deliver what they promised), then they officially pulled the special "culinary" features. Guess it serves me right for booking and paying far in advance. :rolleyes:

[4774Papa]

Culinary French Waterways: Best of Burgundy, Beaujolais & Provance

First a date change, then an itinerary change (which gave us a clue that they weren't going to deliver what they promised), then they officially pulled the special "culinary" features. Guess it serves me right for booking and paying far in advance. :rolleyes:

 

Sorry about your problem with Vantage. They have been great on the three cruises that we took.

 

I suggest that you write them a nice but firm letter outlining your disagreement with the changes and ask for a refund for the special culinary item that they pulled from your trip.

[xmaser]

With Vantage - 'Caveat Emptor'

[4774Papa]

With Vantage - 'Caveat Emptor'

 

That is true with any travel company. We have had no problems with them and will likely cruise with them in the future.

 

We meet a lot of loyal Vantage people on our cruises.

 

Some good companies like Viking, Emerald and others have looked really bad regarding turning river cruises into bus tours instead of cancelling when river flooding didn't allow boats to pass under bridges in central Europe.

[dabear]

That is true with any travel company. We have had no problems with them and will likely cruise with them in the future.

 

We meet a lot of loyal Vantage people on our cruises.

 

Some good companies like Viking, Emerald and others have looked really bad regarding turning river cruises into bus tours instead of cancelling when river flooding didn't allow boats to pass under bridges in central Europe.

 

Some older ships including Viking have deeper drafts that cause them to have more cancellations to cruising due to shallow water than others. Emerald has a smaller draft & does not have as many of these issues.

[4774Papa]

Some older ships including Viking have deeper drafts that cause them to have more cancellations to cruising due to shallow water than others. Emerald has a smaller draft & does not have as many of these issues.

 

Both companies got black eyes for NOT cancelling a couple of years ago when central Europe was flooded.

[CPT Trips]

Sorry about your problem with Vantage. They have been great on the three cruises that we took.

 

I suggest that you write them a nice but firm letter outlining your disagreement with the changes and ask for a refund for the special culinary item that they pulled from your trip.

 

That's how we got our minuscule refund.

[xmaser]

We can always count on the Vantage devotees. After my last experience, I don't have confidence in Vantage. Skipping ports because of overcrowding will never be good value for my money. :mad: Met several others on the trip who also became former regular customers.

 

Waiting for the heaps of Vantage praise to begin.

[Shmoo here]

We can always count on the Vantage devotees. After my last experience, I don't have confidence in Vantage. Skipping ports because of overcrowding will never be good value for my money. :mad: Met several others on the trip who also became former regular customers.

 

Waiting for the heaps of Vantage praise to begin.

 

Don't know that I'm a Vantage "devotee", I can only relate my (one) experience with them. We had a fairly major change on our cruise - the ship we were supposed to be on (River Voyager) wasn't going to be ready in time, so we were switched to the River Navigator (one of the older ships). For the change we were upgraded in our room, no extra cost. We had no other changes, that I can recall, and while the room on the Navigator was smaller than the room on the Voyager would have been, we had a great cruise. Including just squeezing by a low water spot in the river.

 

We visited all the ports we were supposed to, and had all the tours that were described as being included.

 

The concierge host was absolutely phenomenal, as was the tour director on the added pre-cruise package, and we would take Vantage again. Well, we are - to China next.

[Balloon Man]

We are about to take our first river cruise. So I check-out CC on the matter. Somebody had problems with Viking - at least that's how the thread started. It now seems the villain is Vantage. Who is Vantage? I'm confused. Again.

[Hydrokitty]

We are about to take our first river cruise. So I check-out CC on the matter. Somebody had problems with Viking - at least that's how the thread started. It now seems the villain is Vantage. Who is Vantage? I'm confused. Again.

 

Vantage Deluxe Travel is a river cruise company that does not deal with travel agents. You visit their web site and deal with them directly either on line or by phone. I like handling my own arrangements because I had a very bad experience with a travel agent and am a control freak. I have taken 8 trips with Vantage and have always been happy with the accommodations, tour guides, food and arrangements. I am NOT satisfied with their corporate offices, which hardly ever return e-mail or phone call messages in a reasonable time, but once I step off the plane Vantage has always delivered. I chose them because all shore excursions are included with a few optional excursions that cost extra and usually involve a charter coach, admission to someplace special and often lunch in a restaurant.

 

No matter what company you choose, there will always be people who are dissatisfied....as well as people who are satisfied. Apparently with some nothing is enough to make them happy unless the company loses all their satisfied customers and goes out of business. You have to look into what each company offers and where that fits into your needs. Make a list of the things that are really important to you and then find a company that provides as many of them as possible at a price you're comfortable with.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[garycarla]

We are about to take our first river cruise. So I check-out CC on the matter. Somebody had problems with Viking - at least that's how the thread started. It now seems the villain is Vantage. Who is Vantage? I'm confused. Again.

 

Pretty sure if you spend about 20 minutes researching cruise lines online, you will come to the following conclusions:

 

Your room will have water damage.

 

The cruise director will be a jerk.

 

Every cruise line is run by liars.

 

Your air will be on a former UPS cargo plane with 4 connections added.

 

The food will be a few steps below your local gas station.

 

Most of the passengers will be wearing cutoffs and wife beater t-shirts.

 

BUT - in the end, you will also find people on just about every cruise line that have just booked ANOTHER trip. Maybe a 3rd or 5th, etc.

[Hydrokitty]

pretty sure if you spend about 20 minutes researching cruise lines online, you will come to the following conclusions:

 

Your room will have water damage.

 

The cruise director will be a jerk.

 

Every cruise line is run by liars.

 

Your air will be on a former ups cargo plane with 4 connections added.

 

The food will be a few steps below your local gas station.

 

Most of the passengers will be wearing cutoffs and wife beater t-shirts.

 

But - in the end, you will also find people on just about every cruise line that have just booked another trip. Maybe a 3rd or 5th, etc.

 

 

lol :d:d

[Shmoo here]

Pretty sure if you spend about 20 minutes researching cruise lines online, you will come to the following conclusions:

 

Your room will have water damage.

 

The cruise director will be a jerk.

 

Every cruise line is run by liars.

 

Your air will be on a former UPS cargo plane with 4 connections added.

 

The food will be a few steps below your local gas station.

 

Most of the passengers will be wearing cutoffs and wife beater t-shirts.

 

BUT - in the end, you will also find people on just about every cruise line that have just booked ANOTHER trip. Maybe a 3rd or 5th, etc.

 

Great summary. ;)

[fnewman]

Fortunately, we have never experienced any of the above, regardless of the cruise line brand. Thanks goodness!

[LHC Kirby]

i've concluded that many posters on cc, if given a gold bar, would complain about the weight.

forums

 

now thats funny!!!!!!!!!!

[Hydrokitty]

I've concluded that many posters on CC, if given a gold bar, would complain about the weight.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Not all the time, but some days it does seem that way, doesn't it?

[Host Jazzbeau]

I've concluded that many posters on CC, if given a gold bar, would complain about the weight.

 

And others, if the bar was made of lead but stamped with the name of their favorite cruise line, would explain to the poster why lead is better for them than gold :)

[Mark_T]

And others, if the bar was made of lead but stamped with the name of their favorite cruise line, would explain to the poster why lead is better for them than gold :)

 

... and others who had never even seen the gold bar would assure you it was really lead...

 

We could do this all day :)

Edited September 22, 2016 by Mark_T

[G.M.T.]

Lets forget about the gold bar and lead bar and just retire to the Bar. First round is on CC.

[Hydrokitty]

Lets forget about the gold bar and lead bar and just retire to the Bar. First round is on CC.

 

I like your way of thinking.....make mine a white zin please. :D

[1stimecruiser]

We wouldn't trade our experience on the Viking Rinda, Paris to Normandy Beach, for anything. We enjoyed it so much I even took the time to write a review. I/We, personally, recommend Viking and that is why we opted for their ocean cruise coming up soon in January.

 

One thing that stands out for us with Viking is the package deal including air fare and transfers. The customer care provided with our departure flights was levels above anything we've experienced in all of our 20+ ocean cruises.