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voyages to antiquity 2017


librarian
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  • 2 weeks later...

When I called to reserve, I was told many were excited about the iceland trip. this could be very classic if done correct. around Great Britain will be castles. Hadrian wall and Roman baths. I am rather happy that a ship which is small, offers great lectures, shore excursions, excellent food and hospitality is branching out from the ancient world and Athens and the Mediterranean. It still will offer very important ports which are historic. I could not find another place to go in the summer based on what they currently were doing for the past season or 2. Thanks Voyages of Antiquity for remaining exciting . Life is short and every trip counts.

Edited by librarian
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I understand their rationale; especially with some of the best Mediterranean areas being "iffy" at the moment. (When they first launched, ports in Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, southern Turkey, Egypt -- all were available. Sadly, no longer true.)

 

Still, I'd rather they look into some different shore excursions from the same ports in the Mediterranean -- why not offer a visit to Eleusis or Brauron from Athens, for example. Or Aquileia from Venice. And I think there are probably still a few potential new ports -- Brindisi, in Italy to see the end of the Appian Way and traces of the important Roman port there, as one possibility.

 

(Edited to add: When I said Classical, above, I meant in the sense of pertaining to the ancient Greek/Roman world.)

Edited by cruisemom42
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I know this is totally off the topic you two are talking about but we are doing a second cruise in June with this line and it seems you are both repeat passengers. Can you clarify whether one bag of laundry is free or all laundry for the cruise are free? One place says "free laundry" and another one bag. We normally take a clothes rack and a line with us but don't know whether to this time or not.

Our other cruise with VTA was to different destinations, for them, and would have been great if better organized. They seemed to be out of their depth. It was a great itinerary but they didn't deliver what was promised. This is why we are going on one, with a very interesting itinerary again, but in the areas they do most. So we have our fingers crossed!

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I too noticed the one bag limit. We were unlimited the last time and we took advantage of it as did everyone else. They might have been totally overwhelmed. Where was your last sailing which they did not do well. I really wanted the South Africa one last Christmas but could not do as surgery was due then. I never heard it that went well.

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I know this is totally off the topic you two are talking about but we are doing a second cruise in June with this line and it seems you are both repeat passengers. Can you clarify whether one bag of laundry is free or all laundry for the cruise are free? One place says "free laundry" and another one bag. We normally take a clothes rack and a line with us but don't know whether to this time or not.

Our other cruise with VTA was to different destinations, for them, and would have been great if better organized. They seemed to be out of their depth. It was a great itinerary but they didn't deliver what was promised. This is why we are going on one, with a very interesting itinerary again, but in the areas they do most. So we have our fingers crossed!

 

Regarding the laundry: Honestly I cannot recall. I only used it once on my last cruise, for a few things.

 

Were you on the first season of the Far East cruises, by chance? I heard they had some significant issues on those.

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Thanks for the replies. I guess we will just have to see how much laundry we get free when on board. We are doing two cruises back to back so should at least get two bags.

The cruise we were on before was the December 2104/January 2015 from Kenya to Singapore. We didn't think we would ever sail on Aegean Odyssey again but the itinerary appealed very much and so we are giving her another chance.

Jean

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Hi Parapara, just interested in your comment that you " didnt think you would ever sail again on Aegean Odyssey"

Can i ask you why?

We are going on this ship for the 2nd time in October this year.

Our last trip with this line was in July 2011 and we found it to be very enjoyable.

Since 2011 we have been a few more cruises with other lines, but our trip on th Aegean Odyssey is still the best for us.

We liked the organisation, the shore excursions, the other cruisers, the size of the ship and the itinerary.

Sure the ship isn't the most luxurious but that suits us as we are just regular people who like history more than casinos.

Anyway just interested in your comment.

Cheers

Daz

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Hi Daz,

I wrote a review after our last cruise. if you read that it gives the picture. There have been some more positive reviews lately so as I said we have our fingers crossed. We like small, destination type ships too and have travelled on Minerva twice and loved both cruises. We have been twice on Discovery and the first cruise was good the second the opposite. ( It was shortly after that Discovery was no longer part of the Voyages to Discovery fleet and the ship was very run down when we sailed on her from Sydney to India).

Jean

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Hi Parapara

 

We also were on the January 2015 Colombo to Singapore portion of your cruise and also were disappointed for many of the same reasons you noted in your review.

 

However, like you, we decided to give them a second chance based on an itinerary we liked and completed an Aqaba, Jordan to Athens cruise with them earlier this month. Our impression was that things have improved - discoloured water on only a few occasions and much better organized shore excursions. We also enjoyed the entertainment this time around (an excellent operatic trio and a new, very talented singer/pianist Cruise Director), but I guess this will depend who they have onboard for your trip.

 

The free laundry is only for one bag -specially marked as an "Odyssey Club" bag. But we managed to also fill the regular bag (we spent 10 days in Egypt and Jordan on our own before the cruise!) and they did not charge us. They also provided free Wifi which, surprisingly, worked reasonably well.

 

There was some grumbling about the fact that a "Mr. Bridge" group of about 120 had exclusive access to the "Observation Lounge" throughout the trip. They also took over part of the dining room every night so they could eat together and be back up to the Lounge for bridge by 8:15. But for us their presence was no big deal.

 

All in all, we enjoyed this cruise very much and a bit better than our first cruise with them last year. We are seriously thinking about another, longer trip in summer 2017. I have no hesitation in recommending them, provided one remembers that it is an older ship and that "small ship cruising" does not necessarily mean "premium cruising", as some of their advertising implies.

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Thank you Robocat for your reply. It is reassuring that you found your second cruise better and that you would book again. Suddenly realized yesterday ( May1) that we leave next month. It was so long ago we booked you always think it is ages away. About 7 weeks before we leave- arrive in London on 23rd June.

We did a cruise with Swan Hellenic that covered places you went to and it was marvelous. We started in Aqaba in Jordon. Shore excursions are included with them too and they couldn't have been better.

Thanks again,

Jean

Edited by Parapara
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We too had a huge group last summer of Mr. Bridge. Most never seemed to leave the ship on the shore excursions and some were really infirm. They were on the first portion of the back to back cruise. After they left I was relieved as they seemed to take over the place. Hopefully, there won't be as many on my next cruise. The free laundry and WI fi are a nice perk.

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Several new sailings are offered on 2017 including British Isles and Iceland. Several look good to us. curious what the winter ones are or are they taking a break.

 

I was recently corresponding with someone I met on V2A a few years ago. She is planning on one of the British Isles cruises. She indicated that the ship would be renovated before that time, so that may explain why their are no winter cruises being offered.

 

Librarian: I was on the cruise with you last year that went up the river to Seville. I am getting on there again next month for a cruise that will end in London. I hope they leave early enough so that I can see the bird life along the river.

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Yes, the birds up to Seville are fantastic. Glad you are going again. Phil and I were interested in the British Isles Tours. Have booked the one from London to Edinburgh. This one because it has an overnight in Liverpool. My grandmother was born in that region. I have the church name she was baptized in and the street address where she lived until leaving for the US in 1897. We are planning on going several days early in London to visit spots we missed before and doing the countryside. So we are booking our own air. Might spend a bit of time in Scotland also. This probably will be my last hurrah there as I have been many times and time is getting shorter in life and still much to see. Hope you have a great sailing. Many Odyssey members are doing the Iceland trip but have been there and the sailing was very rough. I do not want to do that again.

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I was dismayed to read the latest review with pictures of the water. This was exactly what it was like when we were on her 18 months ago. We were told (what seems to be the 'story" given to enquiring passengers) that it was the water taken on in Zanzibar and it would be changed at the next port. Who are they trying to kid! The water was particularly bad for the first 10 days of our cruise ( long after the "next port") and I think this was because the ship had been in dry dock for a month before we boarded in Zanzibar. Nothing to do with the water taken on board but everything to do with the holding tanks and pipes I would guess. We were hesitant about booking again, with the water being one of our concerns, but newer reviews seemed to suggest the water was better. Oh well, too late, we have booked and leave in about 5 weeks. Will report our findings!

Jean

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Everyone - just booked a back to back cruise - June 26 - July 23, 2017 and am looking forward to the ports which are all new to me.

 

I've been on the AO many times now and, while she is definitely showing her age, I still prefer her to the over stuffed, really glitzy ships on some of the other lines.

 

Shar

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  • 1 month later...

I will write a review when I get time but can say the water was not discoloured this time- one positive! If you read recent reviews you will see we had a fire on board in the engine room about two hours from sailing! This changed the first leg of the cruise totally. As regards laundry- yes it is supposed to be one bag per cruise for Odyssey members. Obviously recently changed and they hadn't updated their website. I had printed this and took it with me and when I showed them it there was free laundry the rest of the way. A lot of Australians on board complained too because the advertising in Australia said there would be free laundry which the ship wasn't aware of.

As I write the ship is being chartered by Turks for a month. Then the ship returns to schedule until end of November ( I think) and then goes in to dry dock for 6 months. I hope they sort their problems. The concept is good but they haven't delivered both times we have been aboard. A shame.

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Cruisemom,

 

Has VTA ever done a cruise focused on the impact of the Arab world is the European Mediterranean coastal cities, along with the important sea battles - Lepento and the Siege of Malta etc, as well as the Ottoman Empire incursions into the Balkans.

 

Not quite "classical" but of interest as we try to understand the history of the "clash of civilizations" in this same area.

 

Thanks

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Cruisemom,

 

Has VTA ever done a cruise focused on the impact of the Arab world is the European Mediterranean coastal cities, along with the important sea battles - Lepento and the Siege of Malta etc, as well as the Ottoman Empire incursions into the Balkans.

 

Not quite "classical" but of interest as we try to understand the history of the "clash of civilizations" in this same area.

 

Thanks

 

I'm not aware of any quite like what you describe, but Voyages to Antiquity does offer some themed cruises that are not strictly "Classical" (e.g., they have a very good itinerary focusing on the Crusaders, for example).

 

Because I'm so heavily focused on ancient civilizations I tend to sort of skim over ones that are not of interest to me. :o Maybe someone else will remember one. Up until this year I had kept all the old catalogs from VTA dating back to their first season but I did some de-cluttering this year and got rid of them.

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