Vantage Deluxe World Travel - WARNING

[Cobbie48]

Our May 12 trip was canceled at 4 pm today. I have no hope of a refund. Certainly will not go with them ever. Probably won’t be in business anyhow. Severely disappointed. 

[Rrehfe4969@aol.com]

6 minutes ago, Cobbie48 said:

Our May 12 trip was canceled at 4 pm today. I have no hope of a refund. Certainly will not go with them ever. Probably won’t be in business anyhow. Severely disappointed. 

I was just called and my May 12th cruise also cancelled one day before departure. They would not say anything other than vantage had cruise operational issues. I assume that means they have run out of money to operate most cruises and I had first class airline tickets that just vanished. They made me think they would redeposit $18,000 in my checking accounts. We shall see but not holding my breath. Will probably file complaint with my attorney general’s office here in Mississippi as that is what Massachusetts attorney general indicated we should do if not residing in state where vantage located. 

[MOssyLedge]

What ship were you on and what was your destination?   I also have booked my is  own business class R/T airfare on Virgin Atlantic-JFK to Copenhagen London to JFK. 

[Rrehfe4969@aol.com]

Douro river cruise with 3 nights in Madrid and 3 nights in Lisbon after cruise on serenity 

[Cobbie48]

American Airlines still shows us a ticketed but I’m sure they will be cancelled. I am devastated. . 

[Rrehfe4969@aol.com]

Yes delta is still showing our tickets. I told my wife we should show up at the airport and see if we could still fly first class to Madrid. She is squeamish but what the heck. I am packed and ready to go. Madrid looks like a great city to visit. Should have gone last year

richard

[Cobbie48]

Our May 12 trip was canceled at 4 pm today. I have no hope of a refund. Certainly will not go with them ever. Probably won’t be in business anyhow. Severely disappointed. 
 

I figure if tomorrow we can check in 24 hours before it should be a go. Then a DIY trip…

[Roadlamp]

I looked up the Douro Serenity online.  It is not owned by Vantage.  I wonder what that means in light of the cancellation.  Could it be that Vantage has been cancelled by the company that owns the boat or is there actually a problem with the boat?  I hope Vantage clarifies this.

[Rrehfe4969@aol.com]

No explanation and I spoke again with them today. One could surmise from all of the posts that they are running low on operational cash flow and could not pay for hotels on front and back end of trip much else the ship. I should have known better since the airline tickets (saw receipt on delta) alone were $16,000 and the entire trip only cost me $19,000. Too good to be true usually is.  Wish I had paid by cc rather than check. 

Richard. 

[Cobbie48]

50 minutes ago, Rrehfe4969@aol.com said:

No explanation and I spoke again with them today. One could surmise from all of the posts that they are running low on operational cash flow and could not pay for hotels on front and back end of trip much else the ship. I should have known better since the airline tickets (saw receipt on delta) alone were $16,000 and the entire trip only cost me $19,000. Too good to be true usually is.  Wish I had paid by cc rather than check. 

Richard. 

When pressed Vantage person said they cancelled their Portugal and Germany cruises for the season. 
 

crossing our fingers for a complete refund but not expecting it.

 

so disappointed. My cousin and I are driving to Savannah next week for 5 nights instead 😫😫

[Roadlamp]

3 minutes ago, Cobbie48 said:

When pressed Vantage person said they cancelled their Portugal and Germany cruises for the season. 
 

crossing our fingers for a complete refund but not expecting it.

 

so disappointed. My cousin and I are driving to Savannah next week for 5 nights instead 😫😫

The cruises in Germany and Portugal are river cruises.  Are the ocean going voyages still on?  Anyone out there on the Ocean Odyssey or Ocean Explorer following this?

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Roadlamp said:

I looked up the Douro Serenity online.  It is not owned by Vantage.  I wonder what that means in light of the cancellation.  Could it be that Vantage has been cancelled by the company that owns the boat or is there actually a problem with the boat?  I hope Vantage clarifies this.

All Douro river ships have until recently been owned by a Portuguese company and leased to the various cruise lines, so this doesn't mean anything.

[Flyinby]

Just an observation...Vantage must have (at least at one time) been nothing short of amazing.  With (so far) 14 pages of cancellations, lack of refunds, poor customer service, again and again, people are still booking with and excited about their (maybe) upcoming trips with Vantage.  They either have (had) something to offer that no other company could, or they have a lot of faithful-to-the-end followers willing to book and hope.  From the viewpoint of one who never used them, I'd be running away so fast that they wouldn't know I existed...planning for a trip, preparing, getting excited, then 'poof', never mind.  Just an observation, but it's a bit puzzling.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, Flyinby said:

Just an observation...Vantage must have (at least at one time) been nothing short of amazing.  With (so far) 14 pages of cancellations, lack of refunds, poor customer service, again and again, people are still booking with and excited about their (maybe) upcoming trips with Vantage.  They either have (had) something to offer that no other company could, or they have a lot of faithful-to-the-end followers willing to book and hope.  From the viewpoint of one who never used them, I'd be running away so fast that they wouldn't know I existed...planning for a trip, preparing, getting excited, then 'poof', never mind.  Just an observation, but it's a bit puzzling.

I have been similarly puzzled for years.  I never saw anything here to make me want to try Vantage, even before this latest episode.  But as you note they have many loyal customers – which follows my observation that most people love their first river cruise and then stay with that company instead of considering that there may be better choices.  [And that applies to me too, since I was loyal to AMA until I recently tried Scenic.]

[goatee350]

4 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I have been similarly puzzled for years.  I never saw anything here to make me want to try Vantage, even before this latest episode.  But as you note they have many loyal customers – which follows my observation that most people love their first river cruise and then stay with that company instead of considering that there may be better choices.  [And that applies to me too, since I was loyal to AMA until I recently tried Scenic.]

I’ve travelled with Vantage about 17 times since 2008. There land trips are fantastic & there river cruises are great also. On the river cruises I have gotten to know crew & cruise directors,conceirge & a hotel manager & is always good to catch up with them again. The cruises/land trips are GREAT/FANTASTIC but the customer service at times has been really bad. I think us loyal customers either just put up with the bad service or haven’t experienced it yet. I’ve seen where people have had several trips/cruises then have a major problem then they are finished with Vantage. There would be a lot of people over time who through bad experience decline to travel with Vantage again.

[Roadlamp]

I have been on Viking, Avalon, Oceania, Royal Caribbean and Princess.  I have found that my experiences with Vantage were very different than the other lines.  Vantage offered experiences that allowed passengers to interact with locals in a meaningful way.  I continue to hope that may cruise this summer will be a go.  I, for one, had money invested since pre-COVID, so bowing out and losing the money was not an attractive option.  

[goatee350]

3 minutes ago, Roadlamp said:

I have been on Viking, Avalon, Oceania, Royal Caribbean and Princess.  I have found that my experiences with Vantage were very different than the other lines.  Vantage offered experiences that allowed passengers to interact with locals in a meaningful way.  I continue to hope that may cruise this summer will be a go.  I, for one, had money invested since pre-COVID, so bowing out and losing the money was not an attractive option.  

I agree with the interaction with locals being meaningful. It is a strong point with Vantage. I have a Christmas markets cruise in Nov & the cancelled Tulips cruise from last month re booked for April next year. Here’s hoping all our cruises run ok 👍 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I guess I've been reacting to the continuing stories of poor customers service over the years.  There are lots of river cruise lines that offer great cruises plus great customer service.

[Rrehfe4969@aol.com]

I agree as I have been in 4 Viking river cruises and they have all been wonderful and the best was Egypt last month. 
richard

[goatee350]

4 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I guess I've been reacting to the continuing stories of poor customers service over the years.  There are lots of river cruise lines that offer great cruises plus great customer service.

I continue to travel with Vantage because I like their product,they do have a lot of promotions like free air. Though I’m sure there are other river cruise lines that have much better customer service.

[MOssyLedge]

As I may have said before, this is my first, and undoubtedly my very very last trip with Vantage. What attracted me to them was the size of the new boats (small) as well as the technological and ecological systems that are employed. I actually spent a lot of time online looking at the designer of the ship and the reasons why they did things. Having a design in Norway was a real plus for me. Another thing was the reviews that I saw online going back to 2020 or 2021. Obviously as many people above have said, they were a fabulous cruise and land-based tour company. Businesses go under for many reasons and we'll never know what has occurred to get Vantages to this point.

 

Of course, Henry Lewis is the owner and his lack of honesty and integrity, maybe greed as well, could be the reasons that they are here. 

 

We paid our deposit with a credit card and were told that we could pay the balance with a CC as well. When it was time to pay, Vantage would only take a bank draft directly from our bank.   At that point, in 2021, I would bet that they knew they were in trouble and we couldn't claw back our money from a direct bank withdrawal.   They were smart, but have taught me a lesson.   If I can't pay by CC, I don't need your product or service. 

They also had good lawyers to make sure that all trips were just postponed, not cancelled so that their bogus trip insurance wouldn't pay us anything. Once again they  were thinking (planning) ahead. 

 

As bad as we might be affected, if our Ocean Odyssey doesn't sail, I feel worse for those folks that said that they had paid for 2 or 3 or more trips this season with Vantage. I don't want to take out my anger on the crew, but as I recall, all tips are included and for me to pony up any more money, the service and itinerary will have to be exceptional. 

I've only been on two other ocean cruises - one each with Windstar (before they enlarged their ships) and the other on Star Clipper ship-a real 4 masted sailboat. Both were exceptional for the itineraries and the service and the friends that we made onboard.

 

If whatever happens on the Ocean Odyssey is half as good as these trips were, I'd be elated, considering what I now expect. 

 

Sorry for the rant, but.....

[goatee350]

4 minutes ago, MOssyLedge said:

As I may have said before, this is my first, and undoubtedly my very very last trip with Vantage. What attracted me to them was the size of the new boats (small) as well as the technological and ecological systems that are employed. I actually spent a lot of time online looking at the designer of the ship and the reasons why they did things. Having a design in Norway was a real plus for me. Another thing was the reviews that I saw online going back to 2020 or 2021. Obviously as many people above have said, they were a fabulous cruise and land-based tour company. Businesses go under for many reasons and we'll never know what has occurred to get Vantages to this point.

 

Of course, Henry Lewis is the owner and his lack of honesty and integrity, maybe greed as well, could be the reasons that they are here. 

 

We paid our deposit with a credit card and were told that we could pay the balance with a CC as well. When it was time to pay, Vantage would only take a bank draft directly from our bank.   At that point, in 2021, I would bet that they knew they were in trouble and we couldn't claw back our money from a direct bank withdrawal.   They were smart, but have taught me a lesson.   If I can't pay by CC, I don't need your product or service. 

They also had good lawyers to make sure that all trips were just postponed, not cancelled so that their bogus trip insurance wouldn't pay us anything. Once again they  were thinking (planning) ahead. 

 

As bad as we might be affected, if our Ocean Odyssey doesn't sail, I feel worse for those folks that said that they had paid for 2 or 3 or more trips this season with Vantage. I don't want to take out my anger on the crew, but as I recall, all tips are included and for me to pony up any more money, the service and itinerary will have to be exceptional. 

I've only been on two other ocean cruises - one each with Windstar (before they enlarged their ships) and the other on Star Clipper ship-a real 4 masted sailboat. Both were exceptional for the itineraries and the service and the friends that we made onboard.

 

If whatever happens on the Ocean Odyssey is half as good as these trips were, I'd be elated, considering what I now expect. 

 

Sorry for the rant, but.....

 I sailed on Ocean Odyssey late last year & tipping wasn’t included. I think was $20 per person per day? I’ve sailed on Star Clipper’s ship Royal Clipper & the experience & food was superior to what I had on Ocean Odyssey. I got a last minute deal with Vantage for a Caribbean Brazil cruise that was cancelled & rescheduled to later last year. For what I was paying which was half the normal price was about right & I did get free air from LA. If paying non discounted pricing I think the ocean ships are way overpriced for what you are getting. For that pricing I would expect a 6 star cruise & I could get if I went elsewhere.

[MOssyLedge]

Goatee350'

It's so long ago that I booked my trip at full fare, that i've forgotten what is included and what is not.  I'll have to look it up. I certainly will tip those that deserve it and not those that don't.  i will figure out a way to not give Vantage a CC with more than $100 credit available. I trust Vantage- not at all and wouldn't mind if things went horribly wrong for them after my trip is over. I know- not fair to others. 

 

I truly hate being taken advantage of and as a vengeful person, I will figure it out. 

[sfm629]

I just got home from my Ocean Odyssey Pearls of Greece and the Dalmatian Coast trip yesterday. The gratuities were $20 per person per day, added to your shipboard account. Although many passengers tipped extra in cash to individuals who provided excellent service.
Drinks were only included at dinner, this was for wine, beer and soda. We did have 1 night of a 2 hour open bar to make up for 2 of 3 bus groups missing an included excursion on a 30 min scenic cruise of a river in Croatia as well as all of us missing the included lunch with locals excursion, that I mentioned in a previous post.

Based on my experience, which I know I was lucky to get at all, if Vantage is still in business by the end of the year, I will be surprised. I would never book with them again. I’m sorry for the people getting canceled at the last minute. I can only hope that Vantage will make it right.

If anyone has any Ocean Odyssey specific questions, I can try my best to answer them.

[MOssyLedge]

sfm629,

 

I just spent some time on the Vantage website looking for where they may say that gratuities are $20pp/per day, but  I could find nothing.  I'm sure that it must be hidden somewhere in one fo their fine print docs.  Interestingly, I got a advert from Atlas Ocean Voyages that all gratuities are included in their fares.   It is a Portuguese owned company with 196 passenger ships (I believe). 

 

Anyway, I do have a number of questions that you may be able to answer if your time permits. Some questions that I would like to ask you:

 

1.     How were the temperature controls- whether it be heating or cooling?   We’re going in the middle of July, so I’d really like to know if the air-conditioning system worked. 

2.     How good were the housekeeping services?  Things like cleaning the room daily, making the bed and cleaning the bathroom. 

3.     How comfortable did you find the bed and pillows? How hard were the pillows? Did they have a pillow menu like many 5* boats? 

4.     How informative and accurate were the port talks that are supposed to occur daily? 

5.     Was the Odyssey able to dock alongside piers or how often, if ever, did you have to take a zodiac or other smaller boat to shore? 

6.     What was the quality of the group tours in town? 

7.     What was the quality of the guides and their overall knowledge and personality? 

8.     Now that you’ve completed your cruise, how would you rate the overall food selection and preparation- especially compared to your past experiences.

 

For curiosity, how many passengers were actually onboard? 

 

Thanks for all your help and input.