All Things Vantage

I was a little disappointed with my experience with the Hotel Manager on the River Navigator this July. This was my 11th cruise with Vantage and as a President Club Member one of the benefits is a cabin upgrade if one is available. On this particular cruise there were 3 vacant cabins. I ask the Hotel Manager if I could upgrade to one of the vacant cabins. He stated he would have to contact Vantage main office for approval and he would get back to me. After the third day and not hearing anything from him, I asked him what the status of my request was. He replied "If there was good news I would have contacted you". He gave no reason why I couldn't upgrade. What good is it being a President Club member if they don't honor the benefits. I feel that that he acted in a totally non-professional way. The staff constantly stresses that everything is "excellent on board"

Sooooo did you address this IN Writing with Vantage as soon as you got home?

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I've encountered this kind of corporate indifference/disconnect several times on Vantage. It's why I will no longer travel with them - no matter how many daily mailings they send.

I was a little disappointed with my experience with the Hotel Manager on the River Navigator this July. This was my 11th cruise with Vantage and as a President Club Member one of the benefits is a cabin upgrade if one is available. On this particular cruise there were 3 vacant cabins. I ask the Hotel Manager if I could upgrade to one of the vacant cabins. He stated he would have to contact Vantage main office for approval and he would get back to me. After the third day and not hearing anything from him, I asked him what the status of my request was. He replied "If there was good news I would have contacted you". He gave no reason why I couldn't upgrade. What good is it being a President Club member if they don't honor the benefits. I feel that that he acted in a totally non-professional way. The staff constantly stresses that everything is "excellent on board"

I'd suggest that you email Al Dore the Vantage Cust Service Manager. (Adore@vantagetravel.com) I'm sure he'd like to know and may compensate you.

I sent an email to Al Dore at Vantage and also wrote it up in the trip evaluation. Haven't heard anything back from them yet. Won't hold my breath.

This is the reply I received from Vantage. No where on their website outlining the President's Club benefits does it mention all the restrictions. It doesn't make since that the Hotel Manager has to email HQ for approval. By the time they receive approval it may be the 3rd day into the trip. People are already unpacked and settled in their room. Upgrades should be offered at time of embarkation. Hq is aware of who qualifies for the upgrade prior to departure.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Mominee,

Thank you for your email to Vantage Deluxe World Travel.We hope you enjoyed your last journey aboard the ms River Voyager.I am sorry that you were not pleased with the Hotel Manager on the ship.A copy of your email has been forwarded to our regional director to address with him.

With regards to complimentary upgrades, this is not up to the hotel manager.Any complimentary upgrades are assigned by the Vantage operations team.Upgrades are first offered for a discount prior to being given up as complimentary.If at all available, the operations team then assigns complimentary upgrades at their discretion factoring in highest president club status per cabin category, business class passengers, VIP passengers, total paid on the trip etc.I am sorry that the complimentary upgrade was not available to you at the time.

Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback.Your comments are important to us, in our ongoing efforts to improve our quality and service levels.We certainly do appreciate your loyalty to Vantage and hope you have great memories of seeing the world with us.We hope to welcome you back

Kind regards,

Bethlehem Abebe

Customer Care Correspondent

This is the reply I received from Vantage. No where on their website outlining the President's Club benefits does it mention all the restrictions. It doesn't make since that the Hotel Manager has to email HQ for approval. By the time they receive approval it may be the 3rd day into the trip. People are already unpacked and settled in their room. Upgrades should be offered at time of embarkation. Hq is aware of who qualifies for the upgrade prior to departure.

 

 

Thanks for sharing. the reply. I'm on the fence here. I do see (now) that their policy is to offer upgrades only after the head office is contacted. Of course it also says "when available". It looks like the other benefits of the "PC" include the AIR service (worth $100 per person) and a % discount on shore excursions. Nothing to rave about, of course, but there is no charge for it. I would think that in future - if you are using Vantage that you contaxct them a week before to see if there are upgrades available. If they say "no" and there are empty upgrade cabins when you get there, I would send immediate email to Vantage Customer care from the ship. . But that's just what I would do. Unfortunately we are not in a financial position to take Vantage Cruises more than once every few years. We took our first one this year. As I've said before here - we were satisfied with the cruise except for the food (which was all frozen and none "local"). We will probably sail with them again but not for a while.

Sgt. I would be upset as well. All the web site says is:

"Complimentary room and cabin upgrade (when available)"

When you qualify for the President's Club do you get a more comprehensive document with all the fine print? For me if you are ready to set sail, and a cabin hasn't been sold, that cabin is "available." It's surprising that the CD or hotel manager doesn't have the authority to go ahead and upgrade you. One would think that he/she could call Vantage operations in Budapest (I think that's where they're located) and get it cleared immediately.

Sorry you didn't get your upgrade.

I've encountered this kind of corporate indifference/disconnect several times on Vantage. It's why I will no longer travel with them - no matter how many daily mailings they send.

Similar experience for me. I won't go so far as to say I'll never travel with them, but it's not likely.

Interesting that on our one Vantage trip a honeymoon couple were upgraded from a suite to the owners suite. They found out immediately upon boarding.

Just curious,

The latest Vantage catalogue shows many new small ships sailing many different itineraries, along the ocean coas,t that are included along with river cruises. It seems that only Venture and Voyager are shown in the deck plans and there is no mention anywhere of Discovery 2. How did I miss this? What has become of it? Are there fewer river cruises in Europe because of the saturation of so many ship there?

Just curious,

 

The latest Vantage catalogue shows many new small ships sailing many different itineraries, along the ocean coas,t that are included along with river cruises. It seems that only Venture and Voyager are shown in the deck plans and there is no mention anywhere of Discovery 2. How did I miss this? What has become of it? Are there fewer river cruises in Europe because of the saturation of so many ship there?

That's interesting. The web site still shows the River Discovery II, along with the River Voyager, River Splendor, River Venture, Frederic Chopin, and Douro Serenity. I didn’t see the Discovery II listed for any 2018 trips. I checked marinetraffic.com, and yesterday it was headed east on the Main near Wertheim. Also, Vantage has already stopped doing the Rhone/Saone route in southern France.

We're on the Douro Serenity next spring, and I've noticed that Vantage is not leasing it for the entire year. There are several dates where the ship is being leased by other companies.

My review of the Great Lakes Cruise we took in July has been posted for those interested in that kind of cruise. Vantage leases the ship, Victory I, from the Victory Cruise Lines in order to offer this cruise to their customers. Here is the link:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=1215

We leave for our Vantage Burma & the Irrawaddy River Cruise in less than 22 days. We still are not 100% sure we will be picked up at the airport and have a room at the designated hotel. Have been on the phone with customer reps numerous times to get things straightened out, but each time I hear they are working on it and someone will get back to me. Vantage sent me a pre-trip survey and unfortunately they didn't get favorable marks from me for my ongoing issue. Here's the issue: Vantage Flight Dept. originally booked us on a flight arriving after our tour started. Once I realized the error back in June I contacted them. After several days and multiple conversations they changed our flight to a day earlier and reassured us at the time that they would cover the cost of the additional nights stay and have the local rep pick us up at the airport since the mistake was theirs. Vantage decided to keep to the same airline and flight schedule and just rebook a day earlier. We got our final documents a few days ago, and guess what, none of this is reflected. Yes, they have our flights correct (arriving one day early), but the hotel start date is wrong, and there is no info on the airport to hotel transfer. I realize the final docs may not be personalized (probably computer generated) but when I call about my personal details they still do not have anything confirmed. Very disappointing. I've read once we arrive the Vantage local staff are wonderful, but it's getting there that is the problem :(. I plan to keep calling them until I know for sure about our arrival details.

We are looking at doing the Vantage Safari 16 day Kenya and Tanzania. It looks wonderful, but very expensive. Has anyone done this?

Twototravel: try sending email to al fire -the vp - at adore@vantagetravel.com. see if that works and PLEASE report back. I feel for you. We'd do another vantage but prices are too high for us. Hence ocean cruises.

Good luck

Twototravel: try sending email to al fire -the vp - at adore@vantagetravel.com. see if that works and PLEASE report back. I feel for you. We'd do another vantage but prices are too high for us. Hence ocean cruises.

Good luck

Thanks for the email. I will definitely send him a note about my experience. I called Vantage again a few hours ago. I finally received in writing that our hotel and transfer would be there. Glad to have that, but doesn't make up for all the stress. Our trip was pretty pricey, so all these troubles were surprising.

We are looking at doing the Vantage Safari 16 day Kenya and Tanzania. It looks wonderful, but very expensive. Has anyone done this?

Hey neighbor, we live right next to you on Jekyll Island. We did Tanzania with Good Earth Tours and I would highly recommend them. They can customize your safari from parks to accommodations. We got a private tour and so glad we did, and the price was not that much more. Good luck in your research.

Hey neighbor, we live right next to you on Jekyll Island. We did Tanzania with Good Earth Tours and I would highly recommend them. They can customize your safari from parks to accommodations. We got a private tour and so glad we did, and the price was not that much more. Good luck in your research.

I took a look at Good Earth Tours and they looked good. I have four that I am looking at and comparing. They all have different numbers of days. How long was your safari? The ones I am looking at range from 9-14 days. Of course, the longer the safari, the more expensive.

I took a look at Good Earth Tours and they looked good. I have four that I am looking at and comparing. They all have different numbers of days. How long was your safari? The ones I am looking at range from 9-14 days. Of course, the longer the safari, the more expensive.

It was 9 days. We just did Tanzania. We stayed overnight in Arusha and then headed out. We loved the tented camps the best, but did stay at two Serena hotels as well. In hindsite, we wish we would have added a hike to Kilimanjaro. One of the routes is fairly easy.

Here's a link to our photos:

https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/50150609840

Twototravel: try sending email to al fire -the vp - at adore@vantagetravel.com. see if that works and PLEASE report back. I feel for you. We'd do another vantage but prices are too high for us. Hence ocean cruises.

Good luck

The email address is no longer valid. My email came back as undeliverable.

The email address is no longer valid. My email came back as undeliverable.

I did the "Heart of Africa" tour with Vantage in 2014. It appears that only the name has changed between then and now -- at first glance, the itinerary appears to be the same. This was indeed a trip of a lifetime and we did see all of the Big 5. We went in mid-May; had great weather and were able to see the beginning of the Great Migration. The program manager, drivers, and accommodations were all first rate. If it's animals and safari that you are after, this is your trip! I can also highly recommend "Best of Africa" if you are seeking a combination tour with safari, history, and culture. Happy to answer any questions....

Then call them and ask if Al is still there and if not who is his replacement.

I did get 2 out of 3 corporate officer emails to work off the Vantage Corporate website. Turns out Henry Lewis is at Vantage, and several other Lewis family members run Grand Circle. I wonder if there is friendly family competition between their companies????

I did get 2 out of 3 corporate officer emails to work off the Vantage Corporate website. Turns out Henry Lewis is at Vantage, and several other Lewis family members run Grand Circle. I wonder if there is friendly family competition between their companies????

It is a little scary to have booked so far in advance( 2019), but Iceland has been on our "bucket list" for a couple of years and have recently booked the cruise with Vantage that circles the island with a couple of days in Reykjavik. Anyone else brave enough to join us?

Cole