Viking vs Vantage

[Islandgirl4242]

Being a newbie river cruiser I am trying to decide on which line to cruise the Irrawaddy/Myanmar in 2015. Vantage has a new boat scheduled for 2014 and is making essentially the same cruise as one I've looked at with Viking. The pricing looks higher with Viking, but after factoring in the discount and OBC received by booking through ----- the pricing is very close. It's a little difficult to compare the inclusive of each line as Vantage isn't as clear about those on their website as Viking is. We will be booking our own airfare and the arrival and departure transfers are not a deal breaker for us. The hotels w/Viking seem to have better locations for sightseeing...we've been to Bangkok and are aware of locations and ease of getting around. But I guess that like everyone I want to make sure we have a great cruise and get the most bang for our buck. I don't want this to be our first and last river cruise.;) Your opinions and ideas are appreciated. Thanks!! ~~Judy

Edited March 17, 2014 by Host Jazzbeau
Mentioned Travel Agent by name

[Tom47]

Being a newbie river cruiser I am trying to decide on which line to cruise the Irrawaddy/Myanmar in 2015. Vantage has a new boat scheduled for 2014 and is making essentially the same cruise as one I've looked at with Viking. The pricing looks higher with Viking, but after factoring in the discount and OBC received by booking through Costco the pricing is very close. It's a little difficult to compare the inclusive of each line as Vantage isn't as clear about those on their website as Viking is. We will be booking our own airfare and the arrival and departure transfers are not a deal breaker for us. The hotels w/Viking seem to have better locations for sightseeing...we've been to Bangkok and are aware of locations and ease of getting around. But I guess that like everyone I want to make sure we have a great cruise and get the most bang for our buck. I don't want this to be our first and last river cruise.;) Your opinions and ideas are appreciated. Thanks!! ~~Judy

Hi

We have been on 4 Vantage cruises and have 1 more booked(China). We have not been on Irrawaddy river trip. We prefer Vantage to Viking and can give you a Vantage referral# if you want.

Tom:)

[npphotog]

We've done 6 tours with Vantage - 4 river and 2 land. Last Sept we did there Best of Africa trip and it was FANTASTIC. We would recommend Vantage.

[4774Papa]

We have done two tours with Vantage (Russia and China). They were great. Both tours included river cruises. For both Vantage offered more days for less money.

 

Also, on our flight from Southern China to Hong Kong, the flight attendants were handing out the immigration forms for Hong Kong. There were Viking people on the airplane with us. They were asking questions about how to fill out the forms. We already had our forms filled out, because our Program Manager with Vantage had assisted us all in completing the form ahead of time.

 

Vantage had PMs that go way out of their way to make your trip the best. Ours would bet our boarding passes for our internal flights within China and would add our frequent flyer numbers so we could get miles from Delta.

 

I am sure Viking does a great cruise, but if you pick Vantage, you won't be disappointed. The also offer discounts for early booking and paying in advance.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Vantage does not us TA, You have to call them direct ..

[Islandgirl4242]

Interesting, my first verbal contact...I called to talk with the rep at Vantage about their Myanmar cruises for 2015. They offer this cruise in 2014 through December, but are stopping it the end of Oct. in 2015. The rep told me that before November is the better time to schedule this cruise in 2015 and that they aren't scheduling this itinerary later than October to assure the best weather for travel. This seems strange in that November is one of the better times in this region of the world for fewer mosquitoes, cooler temps and not much rain...I did not even mention this to the rep.;) I'm wondering if they just have a 1 year lease on their new boat that is supposed to be ready Sept. 2014 for this itinerary...does anyone know? I had questions about cruise rates, but they went unanswered because once the rep realized that I wanted to travel in November he abruptly ended the call. Not feeling all warm and fuzzy about a possible booking with Vantage! ~~Judy

[pbnjrockette]

Interesting, my first verbal contact...I called to talk with the rep at Vantage about their Myanmar cruises for 2015. They offer this cruise in 2014 through December, but are stopping it the end of Oct. in 2015. The rep told me that before November is the better time to schedule this cruise in 2015 and that they aren't scheduling this itinerary later than October to assure the best weather for travel. This seems strange in that November is one of the better times in this region of the world for fewer mosquitoes, cooler temps and not much rain...I did not even mention this to the rep.;) I'm wondering if they just have a 1 year lease on their new boat that is supposed to be ready Sept. 2014 for this itinerary...does anyone know? I had questions about cruise rates, but they went unanswered because once the rep realized that I wanted to travel in November he abruptly ended the call. Not feeling all warm and fuzzy about a possible booking with Vantage! ~~Judy

 

Very strange that the rep ended the call… I would call back and speak to someone else. I've done that on one occasion when I was not happy with the response I got. Have usually found Vantage phone TA's to be very helpful!

[M&T]

I would love to hear more from Vantage cruisers about what they like so much, more details. We have friends who love Vantage and think it offers more cultural and hands on experiences. I thought this might help people trying to decide. Thanks.

[4774Papa]

I would love to hear more from Vantage cruisers about what they like so much, more details. We have friends who love Vantage and think it offers more cultural and hands on experiences. I thought this might help people trying to decide. Thanks.

Here are the reviews from our Vantage trips

 

Russia, Kiev and Baltics

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1478384

China

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1718320

[rljan]

I would love to hear more from Vantage cruisers about what they like so much, more details. We have friends who love Vantage and think it offers more cultural and hands on experiences. I thought this might help people trying to decide. Thanks.

 

We took the French Waterways cruise on Vantage last November. The ship was beautiful, the food was wonderful and the service was great. I can't comment on Viking except to say that we priced the comparable cruise on Viking and it was $4k more than Vantage (total).

[deec]

we are considering a cruise on the Irrawaddy River in 2015....thinking we wanted viking since we are doing Grand European this fall...however I am not happy with the LONG bus trip on Day5 from Yangon to Pyay.

 

Grand Circle seems to fly with no long bus trips....not sure about Vantage. I will be interested to see how/what your final decision will be.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We did the Grand European with Vantage, They did a great job not one problem {27 } days I am booked for 2015 on a 21 day in France

[42kiwis]

I can totally recommend Pandaw in Myanmar.

[pacmom]

We just returned from GCT's Irriwaddy--it was fantastic. There were 22 of us on board and 30 crew. Viking shadowed us and we met many of them in the airport post trip. There were at least 55 of them. They spent a day or two more than us on the river, but think we had the better trip. Have sailed with Viking before and never with GCT, so am not being a "cheerleader" here. Like Vantage, GCT does not utilize TA's and they only cater to Americans. There is a post below titles To pacmom that has a lot about our trip. Happy to try to answer any questions. Pat

[Islandgirl4242]

We just returned from GCT's Irriwaddy--it was fantastic. There were 22 of us on board and 30 crew. Viking shadowed us and we met many of them in the airport post trip. There were at least 55 of them. They spent a day or two more than us on the river, but think we had the better trip. Have sailed with Viking before and never with GCT, so am not being a "cheerleader" here. Like Vantage, GCT does not utilize TA's and they only cater to Americans. There is a post below titles To pacmom that has a lot about our trip. Happy to try to answer any questions. Pat

 

Pat, I enjoyed reading your review in the other post. Did your cruise include a long bus ride to Yangdon or Mandalay? Was water depths on the river any problem? You mentioned being unhappy with the hotel in Bangkok and that you liked the Chatrium in Myanmar. We love the Chatrium in Bangkok as it's right on the river and has a boat transfer to the closest transportation center...I wonder why GCT doesn't use the Chatrium in Bangkok? At this point I'm doing so much research and reading so many differing opinions about river cruise lines that my head is spinning.:eek: I'm happy that I have a few months to make a final decision before I need to book for later in 2015. ~~Judy

[willift]

sorry

Edited June 29, 2014 by willift
wrong thread

[willift]

Hi

We have been on 4 Vantage cruises and have 1 more booked(China). We have not been on Irrawaddy river trip. We prefer Vantage to Viking and can give you a Vantage referral# if you want.

Tom:)

 

Looking at Vantage Paris to Normandy in 2015. Any information?

 

I will use a referral if it helps either of us

 

PJF

[Tom47]

Looking at Vantage Paris to Normandy in 2015. Any information?

 

I will use a referral if it helps either of us

 

PJF

My Vantage# is 1438084, name, Thomas Keating. We have not been on any French trips

Tom:)

[willift]

Thanks, if we use Vantage I'll use your referral #.

Right now we're debating Vantage v. Viking.

PJF

[Talisker92]

We have been on a number of Vantage trips, and have been very happy with them.

In 2013 we did the Russian River cruise.

In 2012 we did he French Waterways cruise

In 2010 we did the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise.

In 2009 we did a South America land trip

All the trip stories and pictures are on our website.

We would recommend Vantage.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

sorry

 

 

We are doing the 21 day in Aug.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited July 1, 2014 by we're sailing away....

[molymoo]

Obviously there are quite a few loyal Vantage cruisers represented. I will speak up for Viking which we have enjoyed on several cruise/tours over the last few years. We have always enjoyed Viking; their service has been exemplary and we had a wonderful time every trip.

 

Frankly I am sure whichever line you choose you will have a great trip. There are differences but they are likely to be in small things (food, bikes on board, hotels, etc) that when all is said and done are relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things. R

 

River cruising is a wonderful experience and most of the "big name" companies do a great job of taking care of their customers. :)

[willift]

Thanks for all the input.

Ended up going with Viking, had a large credit voucher that made Viking less expensive on a per day basis.

 

I will use that referral in the future.

 

PJF