Aegean Odyssey - What's the Status?

[Windsailer]

Does anyone know if the AO is going to ready to go for the cruises in September? Other than the engine has anything else been done to the ship? And on a related note - is Road Scholars going to make any changes to the ship (cabins, food, dining options) before it takes over the ship in 2020?

 

[gnome12]

On 8/11/2019 at 10:56 AM, Windsailer said:

Does anyone know if the AO is going to ready to go for the cruises in September? Other than the engine has anything else been done to the ship? And on a related note - is Road Scholars going to make any changes to the ship (cabins, food, dining options) before it takes over the ship in 2020?

 

Not talking from any specific knowledge, but here are my guesses:

RS will not make any changes to the cabins; they are only leasing the ship

RS will likely make changes to food, because I think they need to come in at a lower price point when they have to market the whole ship than they did when they were only one group on board. If you look at their tours, they are mostly shorter than VtoA cruises. (It looks like there are choices for lunch, if at sea, and dinner, of the Terrace Cafe or the Marco Polo Restaurant.)

[SuSuTrav]

Road Scholar will not include the two night hotel stays in departure and arrival cities at beginning and end of cruises. No perks for Odysseys Club members either. 

[cheese please]

We (4 of us) were to sail on their last cruise of the season. We cancelled because if there was a problem well we would be screwed. Also with only 6 weeks of cruising to staff and get food on board for I did not trust them to be able to do it at their AoT standards. We loved this cruise line and will miss it. So long old friend.

[DaveinCharlotte]

Voyages to Antiquity web site still shows Sept 4 cruise on schedule, although that doesn't necessarily mean much.  But MarineTraffic shows the Aegean Odyssey has finally left its repair location and is currently moored near Athens -- that's a good sign.  For the first September cruise, the ship has to be near Rome by September 7th, and that should certainly be doable.  

[Ontariotrekker]

I will miss the ship and was in fact on the cruise that went up the west coast of Africa this year. 

 

Since there are no perks, things are paid for in US$ and no airline gateway listed for Canada, I'm afraid it's a farewell for me for this company too.

 

Shar

[cheese please]

It is arriving at  Civitavecchia today May 5th. Good bye old friend.

[cruisemom42]

Sad day indeed. Does anyone know whether the lease to Road Scholar means the end of the road for VTA, or is there a chance they will carry on again down the road?

 

I enjoyed so many wonderful cruises onboard Aegean Odyssey. I don't rule out a trip on her through RS, but I am not sure it will be the same experience...

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Sad day indeed. Does anyone know whether the lease to Road Scholar means the end of the road for VTA, or is there a chance they will carry on again down the road?

 

I enjoyed so many wonderful cruises onboard Aegean Odyssey. I don't rule out a trip on her through RS, but I am not sure it will be the same experience...

I'm hoping they will continue but 3 years is a long time.

 

There is absolutely nothing on the VTA website about this. It just shows the cruises to October, and nothing else. There is nothing in the blog about the lease, nor is there anything in the news section.

Edited September 6, 2019 by gnome12

[Ontariotrekker]

Cynthia - Staff said that VtA is still in business as a travel agent so could perhaps assist with travel arrangements.   That information came from Allison who quite frankly is not the best source. My concern is there will be a lot of lay offs etc. at their various locations.

 

I guess we could wait to see after the last of this year's cruise to see if they post anything.

 

Shar

[cruisemom42]

On 9/8/2019 at 12:49 PM, Ontariotrekker said:

Cynthia - Staff said that VtA is still in business as a travel agent so could perhaps assist with travel arrangements.   That information came from Allison who quite frankly is not the best source. My concern is there will be a lot of lay offs etc. at their various locations.

 

I guess we could wait to see after the last of this year's cruise to see if they post anything.

 

Shar

 

Thanks Shar -- I will keep checking in from time to time. Meantime I am planning a HAL cruise next April around Japan and a BTB on one of the (somewhat) smaller Celebrity ships in the Eastern Med in Nov 2020. After that, we'll see....

[Ontariotrekker]

VtA responded to my inquiry about their blog and said that they will try to keep the website up to date.

 

BTW - I'll be dong a HAL cruise from Sydney to Vancouver next April.

 

Shar

[Windsailer]

Any recent Aegean Odyssey cruisers out there who can let us know the current condition of the ship? Would much appreciate it! 

[cruisemom42]

For anyone still interested in the possible future of Voyages to Antiquity, I recently saw this posted on their home page:

 

"Since we announced the charter of the Aegean Odyssey we have been working hard to find a new cruise line to offer you and we are sorry for the wait, but we believe it to have been worthwhile as we are now delighted to present a selection of cruises on board the classic small ships of our friends at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.

We are currently reviewing voyages for departures in 2021 and will update details of these when the current travel situation improves. For current voyages please use the button below. Please note this will take you to VTA’s cruise calendar on the official website of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. This website will remain open whilst you peruse our partner voyages."

 

Fred. Olsen recently acquired two of Holland America Lines smaller vessels and perhaps plans to update their own offerings. From the look of the two potential VTA "cruises" about Fred ships, it appears that they may leverage their older ships for programs such as these.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens in future as cruising (hopefully) powers up again. I have to admit that I have missed the small ship and lecture experience offered by VTA.

 

[LandC]

We were due to sail on  a Black Sea cruise with VtoA when they cancelled due to engine trouble.  We have rebooked a similar itinerary with Noble Caledonia.  The company lease small ships (100 pax), and have lecturers and a CD on board.  We haven't been on board yet, but our friends have recommended and we value their opinion.

 

We have also sailed with Fred several times - good food and a lovely crew.  The quality of their lecturers has varied, but over the last couple of years they have started to employ Arts Society accredited lecturers on some of their cruises, in an attempt to attract clients from the now defunct Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and VtoA lines.  They should be able to advise which cruises via email.

 

Fred's oldest 2 ships, Black Watch and Boudicca, have been replaced by HAL's Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and will join their other 2 ships Braemar and Balmoral.  Braemar is small enough to transit the Corinth Canal, and those cruises are hugely popular.   One thing we don't like about Fred's cruises is the set dining times.  Dinner is at 6.15 or 8.30 pm, but the acquisition of HAL's ships may allow them to offer open dining. (There is also a self service restaurant which is open dining).

 

We also love the small ship experience, and can't wait to get back on board, hopefully in the not too distant future.

 

 

[CalmSea]

Interesting news. We sailed with Fred Olsen once, on the Braemar.  The cabin are bigger, and you can make tea in the cabin. But, the Braemar seemed more crowded, there  were line-ups for everything.  For us, we loved the VOA package: interesting lecturers and included excursions. If VOA's arrangement with Fred Olsen has similar packaging, we will be interested.

[Host Jazzbeau]

How does Fred Olsen [and how did VOA] compare to Noble-Caledonia?

[LandC]

Fred’s smallest ship, the Braemar,  carries nearly 3 times as many passengers as the Aegean Odyssey did.  We last sailed on her in the Caribbean, flying to/from Barbados, and we had 2 very good lecturers on that cruise. It’s still a relatively small ship, with less than 1,000 passengers.  If VtoA offer cruises on her,  they may have their own bespoke shore tours, which will cut down the queues for disembarkation, coaches etc.  It’s a case of wait and see.

 

Noble Caledonia’s ships carry around 100 passengers, so possibly a closer fit to

the VtoA experience.  As stated in my post above, I have a cruise booked but haven’t yet been on board.  Perhaps someone reading this thread is able to offer their first hand experience. 

 I have signed up for the email newsletter from NC, which is delivered to my inbox every weekend, and I find it very informative.

 

[cruisemom42]

On 8/25/2020 at 6:50 AM, LandC said:

Fred’s smallest ship, the Braemar,  carries nearly 3 times as many passengers as the Aegean Odyssey did.  We last sailed on her in the Caribbean, flying to/from Barbados, and we had 2 very good lecturers on that cruise. It’s still a relatively small ship, with less than 1,000 passengers.  If VtoA offer cruises on her,  they may have their own bespoke shore tours, which will cut down the queues for disembarkation, coaches etc.  It’s a case of wait and see.

 

Yes, certainly we'll have to wait and see how things go. Already the wording from Voyages to Antiquity has changed to reflect that they will not offer any 2020 cruises but are looking at 2021 offerings. I believe one of the bits of info (possibly on the Fred. Olsen website) did mention that the VTA passengers would have some exclusive tours. 

 

However, I did not realize that even the Braemar is 3 times larger than the Aegean Odyssey...

 

[CalmSea]

There is some info on Fred Olsen's web page:

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/vta