Vantage Travel

[El Lagarto]

We are new to river cruising. A friend recommended Vantage travel, but there is not much information available about them. Please share any experiences you have had with Vantage. Thanks!

[ural guy]

We've sailed once with them (Budapest-Bucharest, 2016) and are booked for Basel-Amsterdam in November. We've also sailed Viking once.

 

Very similar to Viking. What I liked: longer cruise on both Vantage routes, 14 nights, all on the boat. The lower Danube tour has changed a bit since we took it, but I still think it is longer than other lines. Most Basel-Ams are 7 only nights, again 14 nights for Vantage, all on the boat.

 

Bigger standard cabins on newer boats, @ 170 sq ft. Not as big of a price jump to move up to a French Balcony room.

 

Sign up for their mailers. You'll get swamped, but check the single page ones on colored paper. Those seem to have specials for included extensions, air, price reduction...

 

Beer/wine isn't included with lunch on Vantage, only dinner; on Viking both are included.

 

Friendly crew on both. Tours pretty similar.

 

Happy with both, prefer Vantage.

[cole]

We traveled with Vantage on the Elbe and have a Douro cruise booked with them on October. Have traveled with Gate 1, Avalon and Uniworld. No problems with Vantage. The only negative I can say is when you want to make a payment on your account, unlike other companies, you cannot do it on line. You have to call them direct (they do not use travel agents either) and speak with a customer service person. You get the sales talk every time, encouraging you to pay in full, use an e-check rather than a credit card, what other travels are you interested in, are you interested in any additional pre or post trips, etc. No beer or wine at lunch (unless you pay). Other than that - I would encourage you to check itineraries, size of cabins on the different ships and of course, price.

Cole

[Tedferg]

Is Vantage less expensive than Viking ? I had the impression that they were.

[Karen_Travels]

When I've checked prices it looked like the Vantage base price was a bit cheaper than Viking but their other costs would have added up to more than Viking. Just the cost to add a few excursions with Vantage put the price higher than Viking and Viking includes excursions in almost of all of the ports they visit. Other items (like beer with lunch and dinner) would be another factor to consider. Perhaps there Vantage offers sale pricing that could make up that difference? We've just gotten burned on other cruise lines by signing up with a "bargain" base rate only to discover much later than their costs for excursions were extremely high.

[ural guy]

Just the cost to add a few excursions with Vantage put the price higher than Viking and Viking includes excursions in almost of all of the ports they visit.

 

Vantage also includes an excursion in every port.

[xmaser]

Had bad experiences with Vantage on several trips (itinerary deletions without alternates, elevator malfunctions, unable to meet advance request for dietary needs, etc., etc.). You should think long and hard before booking.

[xmaser]

Both Viking and AMAwaterways provide very good experiences. AMA service and food this Spring was amazingly good.

[Shebely]

Last year we did the Douro river cruise with Vantage including a precruise trip to Madrid. We are seasoned river cruisers and this was our 7th river cruise. We felt isolated because there were so many groups and they stayed by themselves. If we went into the lounge and asked to sit down, they would say the seats were reserved. In the dining room, they chose tables at the start of the cruise and every meal that is where the were. We did find a few other couples to socialize with, but not many. We booked with Vantage because our preferred company, Avalon, does not do Douro cruises. This really turned me off to considering another Vantage trip.

[cruiser02]

Last year we did the Douro river cruise with Vantage including a precruise trip to Madrid. We are seasoned river cruisers and this was our 7th river cruise. We felt isolated because there were so many groups and they stayed by themselves. If we went into the lounge and asked to sit down, they would say the seats were reserved. In the dining room, they chose tables at the start of the cruise and every meal that is where the were. We did find a few other couples to socialize with, but not many. We booked with Vantage because our preferred company, Avalon, does not do Douro cruises. This really turned me off to considering another Vantage trip.[/qu

Can't judge an entire line just because of the passengers on 1