New Atlas Ocean Voyages info

[saddledowndani]

1 hour ago, amunhbuu said:

Thanks for the update.  Disappointing, but not surprising.

 

I hope you are enjoying the cruise nonetheless!

We are still in Athens after our cruise. I will review when we get home and I can type everything out. But our overall experience was a good one. We did not get the cruise we expected based on their advertisement in many ways. Some issues were due to Covid. Some issues due to Atlas being so new. But once we let go of the expectations we were missing and started enjoying the benefits of our situation we had a wonderful time and will cruise with Atlas again when Covid is in the past and Atlas has more experience. Hoping they make it to that point as running at about 35% capacity can’t be cheap! Also hoping that their amazing staff is compensated well and will stay on. They are the ones that made our experience a positive one!

[keokukjoe]

On 8/21/2021 at 4:04 PM, saddledowndani said:

We are still in Athens after our cruise. I will review when we get home and I can type everything out. But our overall experience was a good one. We did not get the cruise we expected based on their advertisement in many ways. Some issues were due to Covid. Some issues due to Atlas being so new. But once we let go of the expectations we were missing and started enjoying the benefits of our situation we had a wonderful time and will cruise with Atlas again when Covid is in the past and Atlas has more experience. Hoping they make it to that point as running at about 35% capacity can’t be cheap! Also hoping that their amazing staff is compensated well and will stay on. They are the ones that made our experience a positive one!

Looking forward to your review. Have a safe trip home. One little question: is there a retractable clothes line in the shower? It's interesting that Atlas is willing to only launder underwear. I always  hand wash my own and never trust those garments to a cruise laundry! Thanks. 

[amunhbuu]

3 hours ago, keokukjoe said:

Looking forward to your review. Have a safe trip home. One little question: is there a retractable clothes line in the shower? It's interesting that Atlas is willing to only launder underwear. I always  hand wash my own and never trust those garments to a cruise laundry! Thanks. 

 

I suspect we will be packing lots of laundry detergent for the TA!  😉

 

 

[MMG3]

3 hours ago, keokukjoe said:. One little question: is there a retractable clothes line in the shower?

@keokukjoe No, there is NOT a retractable clothes line in the shower. 

[keokukjoe]

2 hours ago, MMG3 said:

@keokukjoe No, there is NOT a retractable clothes line in the shower. 

Thank you. Any comments about your experience on the World Navigator? 

[keokukjoe]

2 hours ago, amunhbuu said:

 

I suspect we will be packing lots of laundry detergent for the TA!  😉

 

 

Guess we'll have to string our own clothesline between the metal room dividers in the cabin, ha!

[Cybele 727]

We will be on the Sept 6 cruise. I appreciate the heads up and will pack a couple lengths of cord for laundry. But then there is no iron. I really don’t want to look like I slept in my clothes .  I don’t want to carry an iron from the US 😳 atlas need to take one of those smaller porthole rooms and put in a couple machines and two ironing boards. Seriously, we will all be traveling for weeks , what were they thinking ??

[Host Jazzbeau]

I get the feeling that Atlas, like Ritz Carlton and Scenic Eclipse (with its submarine and helicopters) is for people who don’t ask how much laundry costs. [That leaves me out, BTW…]

[gnome12]

26 minutes ago, Zeborah said:

We will be on the Sept 6 cruise. I appreciate the heads up and will pack a couple lengths of cord for laundry. But then there is no iron. I really don’t want to look like I slept in my clothes .  I don’t want to carry an iron from the US 😳 atlas need to take one of those smaller porthole rooms and put in a couple machines and two ironing boards. Seriously, we will all be traveling for weeks , what were they thinking ??

Those porthole rooms for 2022 become the single suites that might hope to occupy on a future trip. Sorry, I don't want to give them up.

[saddledowndani]

On 7/20/2021 at 11:23 AM, jwsfun said:

As of this moment - "My Atlas" appears to be back up and operating.  a few of my entries from prior did not save so if you previously filled out you may want to double check.

FYI - not sure what the My Atlas entries were for. Our fridge had just sodas in it. There was a form on the desk in our room that asked what bottle we would like in our room. It arrived on day 3 or 4 and we never opened it. 

[saddledowndani]

5 hours ago, Zeborah said:

We will be on the Sept 6 cruise. I appreciate the heads up and will pack a couple lengths of cord for laundry. But then there is no iron. I really don’t want to look like I slept in my clothes .  I don’t want to carry an iron from the US 😳 atlas need to take one of those smaller porthole rooms and put in a couple machines and two ironing boards. Seriously, we will all be traveling for weeks , what were they thinking ??

You can check out an iron and board at reception I believe. We never did it but our materials said that was an option. 

[saddledowndani]

We never got the backpacks. I wonder if those are only for pre- and post- cruise excursions?

[goghd]

9 hours ago, saddledowndani said:

We never got the backpacks. I wonder if those are only for pre- and post- cruise excursions?

I did a pre cruise excursion and no backpack for me.  Just got off the ship this past Friday.  While I enjoyed the cruise and staff - the rack rate is way too much.  They have to get the price down

  They can cut out the bottle service in the room as I went to the bars for my drinks because no mixers and also no ice.

I doing a cruise in Sep that goes to various ports in the eastern med area and will compare the two after I come back in Oct.

 

Problem for Atlas - They promised too much and fell short.  Most of the employees on the ship just defended what happened and said senior management must address the issue - not them.  It is a PR issue that Atlas must get ahead off

 

[keokukjoe]

16 hours ago, saddledowndani said:

You can check out an iron and board at reception I believe. We never did it but our materials said that was an option. 

Zeborah: Please let us know if you can request an ironing board/iron for use in your cabin. That would be helpful. We will also pack wrinkle release spray. Steaming in the shower might help as well.  Not as good as freshly ironed but at least we won't look like wrinkled Shar Pei puppies! I'm also changing my packing plans to leave out linen and other easily creased fabrics and will pack as much wrinkle resistant clothing as possible. Please let us all know about your experience on the ship. Thanks!

[Romarama]

Anyone booked presently on World Navigator, Lisbon-Barbados 4 October needs to see this. According to current Barbados Travel Protocols, anyone arriving in Barbados who has been in Portugal in the previous 21 days is required to quarantine in their hotel for 7 days, no exceptions. This applies to both fully vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. As the ship is departing Lisbon, all on board would be required to quarantine. We brought this to the attention of both Atlas and our travel agent 10 days ago and no one has responded with anything other than surprise and puzzlement. For Atlas not to be aware of travel restrictions in place in countries where their one and only ship is heading in approximately 5 weeks raises a big red flag. And to not be proactively managing the situation at this point is irresponsible and negligent. Having attempted unsuccessfully to get answers through direct contact with both Atlas and our agent, I am hoping that discussion within the CC community will elicit some response.

[vicd1969]

Interesting that Barbados singled out Portugal while some other European countries have a higher or essentially the same number of new cases / 1 Million population count, like the UK and Greece. Guess Atlas is waiting until the last minute to make changes, hoping Portugal will be removed from the list based on other EU countries' comparable stats.

 

Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table

Edited August 25, 2021 by vicd1969
Added data source

[Romarama]

Barbados singles out Portugal because of Portugal’s close relationship with Brazil, and Brazil’s COVID numbers are dreadful.

[keokukjoe]

10 hours ago, Romarama said:

Barbados singles out Portugal because of Portugal’s close relationship with Brazil, and Brazil’s COVID numbers are dreadful.

It's actually more political than that. The infection rate in the USA are more dreadful than in Brazil and now the EU is strongly considering again banning USA citizens from entering the the member states. 

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/eu-discussing-today-the-reintroduction-of-travel-ban-on-americans-as-us-infection-rates-surge/

[jwsfun]

Documents just arrived and they are stunning.   Athens here we come. ( unless the US gets closed out of the EU, which is a thing right now).  I’ll be keeping you all informed along the way when we sail on 9/18. I’ll be looking for those unexpected surprises, that will delight and wow. I’m letting go of the Laundry/ Wifi stuff but wish we could get an update on the progress of wifi and an ETA on the “wiring” issue being fixed. I need this vacation and I’m pulling for you Atlas.  Please come through with an amazing product worthy of these price points. 

[amunhbuu]

25 minutes ago, jwsfun said:

Documents just arrived and they are stunning.   Athens here we come. ( unless the US gets closed out of the EU, which is a thing right now).  I’ll be keeping you all informed along the way when we sail on 9/18. I’ll be looking for those unexpected surprises, that will delight and wow. I’m letting go of the Laundry/ Wifi stuff but wish we could get an update on the progress of wifi and an ETA on the “wiring” issue being fixed. I need this vacation and I’m pulling for you Atlas.  Please come through with an amazing product worthy of these price points. 

Best of luck and we look forward to hearing of your adventures!

[keokukjoe]

2 hours ago, jwsfun said:

Documents just arrived and they are stunning.   Athens here we come. ( unless the US gets closed out of the EU, which is a thing right now).  I’ll be keeping you all informed along the way when we sail on 9/18. I’ll be looking for those unexpected surprises, that will delight and wow. I’m letting go of the Laundry/ Wifi stuff but wish we could get an update on the progress of wifi and an ETA on the “wiring” issue being fixed. I need this vacation and I’m pulling for you Atlas.  Please come through with an amazing product worthy of these price points. 

Have a wonderful voyage! Formal EU announcement is due out on Monday or Tuesday but as long as you are vaccinated, you'll be fine. Looking forward to your posts/reviews. 

[chooms]

On 8/28/2021 at 10:07 AM, keokukjoe said:

Have a wonderful voyage! Formal EU announcement is due out on Monday or Tuesday but as long as you are vaccinated, you'll be fine. Looking forward to your posts/reviews. 

 

Just read that the EU is putting the U.S. back on the banned list, so it probably will affect some upcoming cruises.. at least for the U.S. residents...

 

Also, have found out from a contact at Atlas that as of the Oct. 4 sailing all passengers must be vaccinated and provide proof....which is a big plus for many of us...also, adjustments have been made on the Laundry and WiFi  issues...but these adjustments will not be promoted and passengers will be informed when they board....

For those on Antarctica cruises, Atlas has already made arrangements for an alternate port of departure, in case Argentina remains closed to U.S. visitors and no allowances are made....Looks like Atlas is being proactive in addressing problems and getting them ironed out....

[mringenoldus]

45 minutes ago, chooms said:

 

Just read that the EU is putting the U.S. back on the banned list, so it probably will affect some upcoming cruises.. at least for the U.S. residents...

 

Also, have found out from a contact at Atlas that as of the Oct. 4 sailing all passengers must be vaccinated and provide proof....which is a big plus for many of us...also, adjustments have been made on the Laundry and WiFi  issues...but these adjustments will not be promoted and passengers will be informed when they board....

For those on Antarctica cruises, Atlas has already made arrangements for an alternate port of departure, in case Argentina remains closed to U.S. visitors and no allowances are made....Looks like Atlas is being proactive in addressing problems and getting them ironed out....

After all the laundry issues "getting them ironed out" made me laugh! 

The EU is anticipated to make a formal announcement today regarding US non-essential travel restrictions, however, it is up to each country-state to determine if they will adopt the proposed restrictions. It will be very interesting to see how this develops. Part of the reason for reverting to earlier bans is due to our high levels of COVID - the other reason is political frustration with our continued refusal to allow EU travelers. Also of interest, is Austria and Croatia's decision to consider a vaccine card 270 days past the second dose date as expired (or in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 270 past the 22nd day after the shot) And we all thought keeping track of passport expiration dates was challenging!

 

The last official word on laundry I received from Atlas was one bag of laundry for an 8 night cruise and one every four days after that. For example: A 12-night Antarctic cruise would have two complimentary bags. If Atlas wants to step into the actual luxury market I feel it needs to up its game. I have not received any word regarding the alternate departure port. As all cruise lines typically include Buenas Aires and Ushuaia, the use of an alternate departure port will be a very interesting logistical change. 

[chooms]

The alternate departure ports are available only if needed and will be used if Argentina does not allow the chartered flights with U.S. passengers to land and boarding the ship...this info is not going to provided unless the need arises....

[keokukjoe]

Is that one bag per person or per cabin? Is it just wash and fold or wash and press? I'm getting conflicting info directly from Atlas. Hope it's not just undergarments as was offered to a previous poster!

Also any update on the  "standard" Wi-Fi which was supposed to be included vs. the very limited allotment that was allowed on the early cruises?

Thanks!