Windsailer Posted August 11, 2019 #1 Share Posted August 11, 2019 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted August 27, 2019 #2 Share Posted August 27, 2019 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.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuSuTrav Posted August 27, 2019 #3 Share Posted August 27, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheese please Posted August 27, 2019 #4 Share Posted August 27, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted August 30, 2019 #5 Share Posted August 30, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ontariotrekker Posted September 2, 2019 #6 Share Posted September 2, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheese please Posted September 5, 2019 #7 Share Posted September 5, 2019 It is arriving at Civitavecchia today May 5th. Good bye old friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted September 6, 2019 #8 Share Posted September 6, 2019 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted September 6, 2019 #9 Share Posted September 6, 2019 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ontariotrekker Posted September 8, 2019 #10 Share Posted September 8, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted September 11, 2019 #11 Share Posted September 11, 2019 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.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ontariotrekker Posted September 11, 2019 #12 Share Posted September 11, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windsailer Posted October 14, 2019 Author #13 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Any recent Aegean Odyssey cruisers out there who can let us know the current condition of the ship? Would much appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted August 23, 2020 #14 Share Posted August 23, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandC Posted August 24, 2020 #15 Share Posted August 24, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmSea Posted August 25, 2020 #16 Share Posted August 25, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted August 25, 2020 #17 Share Posted August 25, 2020 How does Fred Olsen [and how did VOA] compare to Noble-Caledonia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandC Posted August 25, 2020 #18 Share Posted August 25, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted August 30, 2020 #19 Share Posted August 30, 2020 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmSea Posted September 4, 2020 #20 Share Posted September 4, 2020 There is some info on Fred Olsen's web page: https://www.fredolsencruises.com/vta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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