Comments: RT Barcelona AOV Traveller May 6-13

[mlmdaisy]

I'll start by saying that this was a fabulous week.  The yacht is beautiful and our stateroom was comfortable and well appointed, even though we chose the lowest category.  There weren't many drawers or shelves, but hanging space and bathroom storage was ample.

 

We were drawn to the ports, mostly quite small and quaint, keeping us away from large cruise ships and their passengers.  That said, we traveled around a national holiday in France and European tourists were everywhere, and in large numbers.  That didn't detract much from the port experience.  The cultural immersion in Mallorca was wonderful.

 

I made the mistake, though, of expected meals similar to those on Oceania and the food somehow did not compare favorably, as beautifully presented as it was.  Some portions was miniscule (one small scallop as an appetizer?) and some dishes just missed the mark.  Service was spotty; it was consistently difficult to get coffee in the dining room during breakfast, even though there were plenty of crew members around.  Paula's Pantry, however, was a blessing.

 

We weren't expecting much onboard entertainment, but we were still disappointed by the scarcity.  The cruise director, Julie, is a wonderful singer.  It seemed odd to have a guest singer who performed in a similar style on the two nights she was featured.  That choice seemed redundant to me.  With only one guest performer, why not have something completely different?  Having an additional onboard pianist is basic, too.

 

I am certainly not comparing to the big ships.  We found a lot more to do and more variety in entertainment on Windstar and Oceania sailings.  The guest chefs were fun but only offered one interactive event, a pizza making class.  They were great, but little else encouraged passengers to interact.  There was no trivia (OK, I'm a geek).  I'd say that I was more surprised than disappointed at how little was happening onboard.

 

We often explore independently, but on this cruise we almost had no choice.  There were very few excursions to choose from and they booked up quickly.  I had received a message before sailing to not choose an excursion for Mallorca because of the included immersion, but that was scheduled for the evening.  We would have liked the train tour during the day, but it was filled to capacity.

 

As others have pointed out, the "free wifi" was problematic.  Ours ran out by the ed of the second day and we hardly used it.  I sent out maybe 6-8 messages but was told "something must have been running in the background".  My bad, I didn't turn off wifi when not in use.  I have gotten by with the most basic internet packages on other cruises and have never run out.   

 

I'd like to end positively, though.  I would definitely sail with Atlas again.  Overall, it really was a great experience.  Next time I will know what to expect.  We'll be back on Oceania and Windstar, too, probably sooner. 

[JanR]

Loved your review.  We were on the World Traveler and had Julie as our CD during our British Isles cruise last fall.  Your experience was similar to our own.  While the food was not bad, it was not at the level we anticipated.  As for entertainment, we found the entertainment--like much of our experience--to be similar to what we experienced on our Viking River cruise.  We did enjoy Julie and "Piano Paul" but we do not travel for the entertainment. 

 

Ironically, the food we had on the World Navigator during our Antarctica cruise was far superior--read:  Oceania-level--than our World Traveler cruise despite the UK cruise being an Epicurean voyage.  During our Antarctica cruise, our CD was the fleet's head CD who told us that they receive lower customer reviews for their Epicurean cruises than they do for their Antarctica cruises (we would be among those who fully agree).  His idea was that their is higher expectations for the Epicurean cruises.  We thing it may be that as you have a rotation of guest chefs, the kitchen staff is always having to adjust to a new cuisine/food style which keeps them out of their rhythm.  We could be wrong, though.

 

However, we are very jealous that you took an Atlas cruise in an area where you could set out by the pool and enjoy the pool grill.  The Fall weather going around the northern British Isles and down in Antarctica prevented us from doing so.  We so want to take Atlas where it is warm!

[mlmdaisy]

In that case, I definitely recommend a Mediterranean itinerary, and May worked out so well for that.  The fact that the pool water was 90F and the sun felt so hot did have us out on the deck for several days.  That said, we were told that the weather was cold and rainy just days before we sailed.  Given the crowds at some ports, I hate to imagine what July or August would be like.  Early to mid May may be an ideal time, lucky us!

 

That's so interesting about the food!  However, I can't say that the menu items seemed to coordinate with what the guest chefs offered.  I watched them struggle to keep track of newly seated diners to bring them samples.  It didn't look to me that there was any coordination there.  I tried not to be too negative in my first post, but we were frequently brought the wrong foods and drinks; it was almost funny at times.

 

We like the entertainment more for an excuse to be out in the pubic spaces to meet other passengers.  Other than the one wine tasting event and pizza making, there was nothing scheduled to encourage interaction. 

 

It did seem odd that Atlas goes out of their way to bring on guest entertainment but chose something so similar to Julie and Paul.  An easy way out, of course, is to have a crew talent show.  These have been so memorable on Windstar.

 

Again, I'm trying not to be negative.  We were just so surprised by the strange lapses that we encountered. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, mlmdaisy said:

It did seem odd that Atlas goes out of their way to bring on guest entertainment but chose something so similar to Julie and Paul.  An easy way out, of course, is to have a crew talent show.  These have been so memorable on Windstar.

Interesting you should mention this, since Windstar recently announced that they are buying 2 ships from Atlas' parent company (sister-ships to the Atlas fleet).

[mlmdaisy]

Yes, I saw something about that.  I may be missing something; how does that relate to my comments?

[Host Jazzbeau]

27 minutes ago, mlmdaisy said:

Yes, I saw something about that.  I may be missing something; how does that relate to my comments?

Because the new Windstar ships may combine what you like about the design of the Atlas ships with what you already like about Windstar.  Win-Win.

[mlmdaisy]

I like Windstar for the sailing vessels.  Conversely, if Atlas yachts had sails I would like them better, but that wouldn't work very well for Antarctica.  😉

[skiingj]

I was on this cruise as well.  We did Antarctica last year on Navigator. We had similar feelings to your write-up.  The food/service issues have the attention at the highest levels at Atlas and Mystic.

[mlmdaisy]

We did see Jorge in the dining room watching and taking notes.  With all these comments about internet maybe that will be addressed, too. 

 

What about the entertainment?  Was there a naturalist aboard for the Antarctica cruise?  Was the auditorium used for more?

[skiingj]

Antarctica cruises have about 30 less occupancies for guests.  These cabins are used for an expedition crew.  They operate the zodiacs and each had a different background giving presentations throughout the cruise.  Every day they normally had two presentations in the auditorium.  One of these was devoted to what we saw during the day and the plan for the next day.  The expedition crew was excellent.  We did get lucky with the weather and were able to make all landings and zodiac cruises.  Ever the campers go to spend a night on land.  Entertainment was limited to a piano player and the CD.

[mlmdaisy]

Knowing this, I wonder why there isn't an equivalent on other itineraries.  All it would take is a historian to do presentations a few times.  To me, this IS entertainment.  Even Celebrity has podium speakers.  The guest chefs are fun, but not really a way to connect to the ports.

 

As nice as our epicurean sailing was, I'm feeling like Atlas is really designed for Antarctica and the other itineraries are just fillers for the remaining months.  It wouldn't take much to bring them up to a similar level of immersion; it's so much easier logistically.

[donaldsc]

On 5/19/2024 at 3:10 PM, mlmdaisy said:

I like Windstar for the sailing vessels.  Conversely, if Atlas yachts had sails I would like them better, but that wouldn't work very well for Antarctica.  😉

 

If you like sailing vessels check out Star Clipper cruises.  https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/.  They are much more pure sailboat cruises than Windstar.

 

DON

[mlmdaisy]

Thanks, I've looked at their itineraries many times.  Probably someday.  In the meantime I'm checking out Oceania for the southern Caribbean.  We're fussy about ports and have very specific date ranges for Decembers.

 

Perhaps the biggest take-home message from this Atlas voyage was how lovely it is to visit ports without the big ships there.