Variety Cruises/Zeus Cruises/Diogenis V

[CJinSF]

I'm considering a 7-day Greek Island cruise on the small ship Diogenis V, which is operated by Variety Cruises, also known as Zeus Cruises. Does anyone have experience with this line? Their other ships are Zeus II, Viking Star, Harmony G, Panorama, Pantheon, Galileo and Pegasus.

[valmouche]

We too are considering this cruise line. Either the Diogenis V, Pegasus or the Pantheon in Greece. If anyone out there is familiar, there are now two of us that would like to hear your opinnion. Not going until spring of 2008 so there is time yet for us. Thanks in advance.

[World Traveler]

Our family of 4 went on the Panorama in August 2005. Absolutely loved it. Guests were about 1/2 American, 1/2 European. Great camaraderie, very relaxing. Beautiful ship. Rooms are small, clean and functional.

[badgirl#1inaz]

I had a great time on the DiogenisV the first week of September. The ship is not quite as "new" as it looks in the photos but it was very nice. The staff was friendly and spoke English. There is an excellent Activities Mate on board that is very knowledgeable and spoke four languages. We were the only Americans onboard...but it was one of the best vacations I have had in years. :) :) :) :D

[AGeorgia]

WinSF and Valmouche,

I am also checking some information on Diogenis V, Pegasus, or Pantheon. Our plans are September 2008.

Have any of you guys found anything alse besides those posts?

I have not. Any new info will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

AGeorgia.

[keltic]

In the case of the Spanish market we are only offered the Harmony G, which appears to be a kind-of-sort-ot-posh-easycruises. I love the idea of not seeing flocks of passengers, and small intimate ambience, since I am travelling alone. I also need a peacefull enviroment.

 

I don´t know if I would get bored. Is there any activity. Of course not in the tiny ship, but onshore. Anyone could help me?

[CJinSF]

We did end up taking this cruise in May 2007, but not aboard the Diogenis V, as it turns out. At the last minute, Variety Cruises substituted a different ship, the H & B II. They told us that the Diogenis V was delayed in drydock undergoing some renovations. Perhaps that was true, or perhaps they moved us to a smaller ship because the cruise didn't fill. There were only 18 passengers on board.

 

We actually had a wonderful time. Our tour guide Dietmar was excellent, and the food on the ship was plentiful, fresh and well-prepared. We enjoyed every destination we stopped at, and were happy with the itinerary. The shore excursions they organized were all superb. The H & B II is a little run down, but seemed completely seaworthy. We were never concerned about our safety. The captain and his crew seemed quite competent, and completed several docking procedures that were a tight squeeze without even a bump. But the H & B II is somewhat less than luxurious.

 

When they told us about the vessel change, we read some negative comments online about its sister ship, the H & B I. We didn't experience any of those problems. The plumbing worked adequately, we had enough hot water, and no sewage smells (all problems that were reported for the H & B I.) But our double bunk was very small, one of our portholes wouldn't close, the air conditioning was not great, and the toilet tank refilled VERY slowly. These were all minor problems and didn't trouble us much. But someone expecting a luxury yacht would have been disappointed by these issues and the threadbare furnishings in the lounge and on deck.

 

The serving staff was also young and untrained. We got everything we asked for, and have no complaints about being ignored. But we kept having to ask for simple things like sugar for the coffee and having our cabin floor swept. Again, not a problem, but also not what we've experienced on other cruises.

 

A couple of things to be aware of that we suspect may be true on your cruise also -- all shore excursions and your bar tab will need to be paid with Euros in cash. Credit cards and U.S. dollars were not accepted on the ship. There are plenty of ATM's on the islands, so you don't need to bring a pile of cash, however. Also, the itinerary originally advertised wasn't followed at all. We did eventually get to all but one of the islands on the original list, and went to two islands that hadn't been mentioned at all previously. They were unable to tell us more than 24 hours in advance where we were going next, for reasons they never adequately explained. We were able to visit all the important destinations we had wanted, so again, it wasn't a problem, just unexpected.

 

Also, on the last day, we were supposed to visit Cape Sounion and then spend the night on the ship docked in Piraeus. But that morning they claimed there was some engine trouble, and we visited Cape Sounion by bus and spent the night in a hotel in Piraeus. We suspect that the truth was they needed the ship for another charter, especially because we saw our ship pull into port later that same day with a crowd of people on deck. (They told us later the people we saw were Coast Guard, but we were skeptical of this explanation.)

 

But again, we were actually not unhappy with the substitution. We still got to both of the planned destinations for the day, were served a delicious lunch at a fish taverna which they paid for, and the hotel they put us in was lovely.

 

So... I would say you can have a great time with this company IF you are willing to be totally flexible about where you are going and when, and don't need to be pampered by plush surroundings or prompt service. But if you are expecting luxury or a firm itinerary, you may be really disappointed.

 

We decided on the first day that we would just treat the whole experience as an adventure and throw away our expectations of how it would be. When we did that, everything was just great.

[felix.fdez]

In summer 2008, we decided to travel with Variety Cruises in the cruise H&B 1, in the circuit called “Cycladic Pearls”. The experience was awful. It was supposed the motorsailer for 40 passengers would be in Marine Zea in Athens to start the cruise. No. When we arrive to Marine Zea, we found there was no ship at all. An employee from Variety cruises give us a ticket to take a big ferry from Pireaus to go to Syros, where the H&B1 was anchored (in the port). We arrive Syros late in the afternoon, with some other people, and they took us to the motorsailer H&B I.

We were in Syros FOUR nights, seeing a car parking from our Class A cabin small windows. In those days, the ship didn’t move from the port. We pay for buses to go to the beaches.

The guide was Italian, and he didn’t speak Greek at all, and the English also was not perfect. The worst problem it was he has little idea about the islands.

Finally, the fifth day, the ship manages to depart and we go to Paros, another island. During the sailing, a horrible smelt fill up the cabins. When we arrive to the island, again, we payed for the buses and everything to arrive to beaches. Forget about going in the H&B 1 to the beaches. The Greek Nigh (a dinner with a cost of 30 euros), was not really good. It seemed to me we went to a captain’s friend hotel, very far away from the town.

Forget Santorini, Delos, Sounion, Kea, Ios. We saw nothing of these places.

Sixth Day: They promise us we depart to Kea. Another trick. They took us to Hydra, the last place you could imagine to go from a Cycladic island cruise. Again in Hydra, we pay for going to a near beach, not very good. The captain says it was very difficult to move the ship in this port. Also, the “excellent” guide says he never was in the island. A new experience every day.

Seventh day: They tricked us again They promised to go Sounion Cape. NO. We finish in Aegina, an island near Athens.

All these days the weather was perfect, so, today, the only explanation for me is they want to save fuel and money, of course.

The ships seems somewhat unstable to sail those waters.

The food was terrible. The last day the give to us al the remnants from previous days. Wonderful. Our class A cabin was small, but you need to see the Class B and Class C. Yo need to be contortionist or something similar to enter in those cabins. I am not going to talk about the shower, but all you can imagine is little.

We arrive to Athens at 4 pm. We spent the night in Athens. The breakfast was a 7 a.m. I suppose the need to clean somewhat the vessel to capture another ignorant people.

So, the cruise was a complete fraud.:(

[mandrew]

i went on a variety cruise in mid june this year and it was spectacular. yes, they switched the ships but i loved it anyway! the rooms were plenty big, amenities were great, and the staff was kind and informative.

i would dread being on one of those enormous carnival cruises with thousands of other tourists. the other passengers on the boat were all interesting and fun.

oh, and the food was delicious!

[yvontas]

Official response by Variety Cruises in regards to the 2008 Cycladic Pearls operation on the Motorsailer H & B

 

Zeus Cruises, the economy brand of Variety Cruises operated the Cycladic Pearls program on the motorsailer H & B , a vessel which ZEUS CRUISES did not own , neither did operate.

 

It was a serious error from our part as , neither the vessel , nor the services available were of the standard to be found on ZEUS vessels. We did recognize our mistake by extending large cash refunds to guests complaining about the 2008 operation and by not repeating this program in 2009.

 

In 2009 , we operate our Cycladic Islands cruise on the Harmony Cruise vessel M/S Galileo with a tremendous success and to the satisfaction of ALL our guests who booked this program in 2009.

 

Yiannis Vontas

Senior Partner – V.P . Development

Variety Cruises – Zeus Cruises