Variety Cruises

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Copenhagen

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Europe - All

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Greece

Europe - Western Mediterranean

Europe - British Isles & Western

Baltic Sea

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Cuba

Poor

Average

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Very Good

Excellent

Variety Voyager

Harmony V

Panorama

Callisto

Harmony G

Galileo

St. John's (Newfoundland)

Buyers beware. Confusing, misleading, or blatantly untrue statements when promoting a product...

They advertise as Deluxe Travel.  Not even close. There is really no way of knowing anything about the ship until you get there.  

- This one is pretty bad ... Temperature in the room can not be controlled - it is ether cold or hot.  Temperature control in the room does not work.  Really were never comfortable.

- Room was tiny.

- Door to the bathroom did not close. 

- Shower tray over-floods  and did not drain properly and water was on the floor.

- No TV at all.

- Internet service sporadic and only in some places of the ship.

- The closet door was not working properly fell on my wife once.

Islands in the Baltic Sea  - Bornholm and Gotland are not particularly interesting - should have spent more time in Riga, Tallinn, and Helsinki.

Crew was trying to do their best to serve the guests.  The cruise director was actually pretty good.

Vantage should try and contract with another ship.

Tanya and Sergei

Deceptive advertizing - Great Northern Discovery on Variety Voyagers

We paid for a cruise on Vantage, a line we have had good experiences on previously.  Instead of the Vantage ship we expected, we were greeted with the Variety Voyager on arrival in Poole, our departure point.  The ship appeared to be older and was in need of some repairs, some of which were obvious to passengers.  

The reservation agent offered a cabin on the port side so we would have a good view of the landscape as we cruised.  We later learned learned that international shipping law requires vessels to sail 15 miles from the coastline.  

Within a couple days of sailing, some passengers reported they had brown water in their sinks, toilets and showers.  As time on the ship continued, the condition reached most, if not all the cabins.  This condition was never fixed in spite of the ship being docked in Ferrol for 3 full days after only 2 days at sea.  

Passengers were bused to and from destinations that were not included in the itinerary, destinations we specifically wanted to see.  Instead we spent about 7 of the 13 days on the bus with nights spent in some very nice hotels.  We did get to see some of the scheduled  sights but the tour directors had to scramble to find activities for the passengers since we were not in the designated ports of call.  Because the bus time was so lengthy we were deprived of the pleasure of  the company of fellow passengers stuck in our bus seats.  We often arrived at a hotel very close to dinner time (in one case dinner at 8:30) so by the time we finished our meal, it was very close to bedtime.  Once again, no time to mingle.

While the food on the ship was generally good, breakfast left a great deal to be desired.  Lunches were buffet style and offered several options that were acceptable.

Entertainment was a disappointment.  One song group came in but were  busy pedaling (selling) their CDs to the passengers.  We found that offensive.  The other two nights with entertainment were somewhat enjoyable..

Most land tours were well done but again, with the exception of two days, there was no time to explore on our own.

The cabin was comfortable but had limited storage space but had much wasted space with what passed for a desk area.

Staff was courteous and willing to help when called on.  As time went on, tour directors, having had to struggle to find substitute venues, became a bit short with passenger inquiries.  Somehow this was almost acceptable as they had to scramble for alternates due to the bus ride.

Yes, there were weather conditions out to sea but not for 5-6 days off and on.  We were told the ship would be sailing in an effort to keep up with the bus but that did not seem to happen.

Apparently this was a repositioning cruise which are somewhat less expensive but we were never advised of this.

All in all, the cruise was largely a bus ride.  Had we wanted a bus tour, probably at about half the price, we would have bought that.  Again, had there been any indication much of it would be a bus tour, we never would have signed on.  We expect some sort of remuneration by Vantage, the cruise company with which we  contracted.

Misled, not the Vantage cruise we paid up for

We choose this cruise, Vantage Cruise Line's "The Hidden Gems of the British Isles and Ireland" ,because it went to the islands north of Scotland- the Isle of Skye, the Outer Hebrides, and the Orkney Islands- to see sites like the prehistoric Callanish Stones and 3,000 year old Skara Brae. We started the cruise in Poole, England, visited Tresco on the Isles of Scilly and two ports in Wales, and then got to Dublin- where the ship stayed for the remainder of the trip. As a matter of fact, it is still there 3 weeks later, detained by the Port Authority for having 'unsafe life boats and a crew untrained in safety proceedures', according to numerous reports available for viewing by googling 'Problems with Variety Voyager Cruise Ship'!  After our day in Dublin, this became a bus trip of Ireland. They carted us around in whatever buses they could find on short notice- old ones with broken seats and seatbelts and no legroom at all. After a couple of days we moved to a hotel in Belfast where we continued our bus tour. Any sites we visited left a lot to be desired and we were never given enough time to see an entire exhibit because we had to leave to get to some little town for shopping time! Vantage says they provided us with comparable tours- really? Do you really think a bus trip to Kilkenny is equivalent to seeing Skara Brae or the Callanish stones??? This is not what any of us paid for! Now Vantage travel says that they are not responsible because it was a third party ship!

     As for the Variety Voyage itself,  the ship was not what we expected- absolutely nothing like the pictures in the catalog or on the internet. 

    The food was terrible- always over cooked and over salted. Meals were very plain and choices were minimal- meat or fish, potatoes, and a semi-cooked vegetable. Breakfast was the same everyday. There was always a tray of croissants and pastries baked until they were dark brown, dry, and crunchy. It was the same with all the breads, rolls, and bagels.  You would think they would get the hint something wasn't right when nobody ate any of them. 

     The high point of this cruise was probably moving into the hotels- the rooms and food was definitely better!

Beware of Vantage Travel- you don't know what you're getting!

The ship was exclusively chartered by Vantage World Travel for a cruise around the British Isles. After an overnight in the beautiful Hotel Principal in Edinburgh, we were driven by motorcoach to Inverness, where we embarked on the Voyager. We had a total of 61 passengers, and about 30 crew.

This was our tenth trip with Vantage.

The ship is well-decorated; we had cabin 330, the largest category except for the owner's suite. 

There are five decks including the sun deck. There is no lift/elevator, so there are lots of stairs, and they are steep. The dining room was on the same deck with our cabin, and the lounge was one deck below that, so most of our stair-climbing was between those two decks. The next deck down contains a small spa and library and a rear deck from which, in warmer weather ports, one can swim.

The wi-fi is available for a charge, and unlike other ships I've been on, it is very slow and is suitable only for email. The food on board is fair-to-good. Dinner rolls were always stale, coffee was always weak, and main courses at dinner were always drowned in sauces. The breakfast and lunch buffets were good, never great. Dinners were not well-thought-out. One night we had lamb shanks, the next night osso bucco (veal shank!) Desserts were only fair.

The ship is small, and in rough seas it can really be rough. We had two nights when it was difficult to get into bed because of the ship's movement.

Now the good news: The crew was sensational. Most of the executives were Greek, and the servers from Mauritius or Ukraine. The excursions were excellent. And James, our Vantage program manger, was fantastic. He knew every passenger by name, and took care of all of us.

We stopped in the Isle of Skye, Orkney. Oban, Belfast, Dublin, two places in Wales, Stonehenge, and finally overnight in London.

There was regional entertainment on board, and all of it was worthwhile.

Overall a very good cruise.

72-passenger Mega Yacht delivers on service; otherwise, not so much!

Saint John (New Brunswick)

Our first time on a ship with only about 70 passengers, but we were still very satisfied with the excellent food, terrific personalized service from the crew and staff, the quality of the ship, the intriguing ports of call, and the well-organized tours.  And we even had several nights of local entertainment.  I highly recommend this ship and cruise.  You will feel more movement on a smaller ship, but we actually like that, reminding us that we were on the ocean.

The breakfasts were served buffet-style, with a wide variety of choices.  The dinners were waiter-served, with menu choices.  Many of the lunches were in the local pubs, with the ship either paying directly for the group or giving you money to make your own pub choice.

You will see lots of local color and historical sites in England, Wales, N. Ireland, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.  All beautiful areas.  

We also very much enjoyed the Irish Whiskey and Scotch Whiskey distillery tours (and tasting).

Vantage Travel did an excellent job of arranging and leading the whole tour experience.

Great food and a beautiful ship

We chose this ship after very good experiences on Vantage Travel Cruises.  The ship was represented as launched in 2012 with Marble bathrooms, minibars, individual thermostats, five star dining and the like. We chose it for its Baltic Destinations.  

From the start, the ship failed to meet pur experience tations. The cabin was in its original 1992 state, it’s actual launch date, all steel floors and walls in the bath with no marble in sight.  No minibar, the individual thermostats did not work, leaving us overheated as a de ision was made to address those who were cold at our expense.

The dining room and hotel staff were engaging young people with whom we enjoyed a gtpreat relationship.  The daily tours were solid and led by competent guides,

The food, billed as five star, was mediocre, heavy on lamb and eggplant. It was generally served both overlooked and I e cold. Leftovers from prior meals came to be featured components of meals and, despite the high cost of the trip, an all too often occurrence on this cruise.

This was a unique cruise. The staff, cruise director and destinations great, the food and physical plant seriously lacking.  I truly loved destinations including Rige, Talinn, St. Petersburg and Stockholm.  Unfortunately, the aging physical plant and mediocre food made the cost of this trip excessive.

After eight Vantage trips in just over four years, we are beginning the process of looking elsewhere.  Not a bad cruise, just much less than was promised for the price.

Marketing Assistant

An over hyped old ship

We travelled with a group that filled the ship. 

The crew was terrific - every single one - with the most chatty captain we've ever had. Food was very good.

The room was fine but the walls were a bit thin. The neighbour's TV sound came through loud and clear.

When the sea is rough you really feel it...it's a small ship. We anchored more than I thought we would. No lectures. 

A real problem is the sound in the dining room when it's full. It becomes uncomfortably loud.

One problem is that our expectations were perhaps higher than they should have been. If the itinerary suits you remember that you're on a small ship with limitations that come with a smaller ship. The shore excursions were very good to excellent. The itinerary was very jam packed  and sometimes we just needed a rest. But that was our choice too.

Great Staff

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo

I wanted to return to Sicily.  I have enjoyed cruising in the last several years.  I had a wonderful experience on a yacht style ship earlier nether year and wanted to see how Variety Voyage stacked up.  Also, the trip was sponsored by Smithsonian which usually uses class accommodations.  This time they missed the boat.

The officers on the ship were friendly and accommodating.  The rest of the staff was invisible.  The room was serviced but that was it.  There was no service offered.  One particularly annoying thing was that drinks were not included except at meal times.  Even soft drinks were charged extra.  For a ship with this price that seems unheard of (compared to Crystal, Seabourne, Regent, in hat price range).

The room I was in, a category B, was okay for one person.  I was traveling by myself and there was barely sufficient storage space in room proper and bathroom.  If my husband had been traveling with me, w would have had a problem.  The bed was okay but very, very hard.

The food was okay but that's the best I can say for it.  Some meals were quite bad.  Breakfast buffet was identical every day and adequate before t boring after seven days.  The couple times we had lunch on the boat was pretty good with a good selection on the buffet.

In sum, I would say that Variety Voyage is certainly not worth the price.  I expect better service and food for the cost, not to mention a more comfortable room.  There were no amenities usually found even on a yacht style ship; no hot tub, no entertainment, outside bar not available.  I heard there was a small gym but I never saw it.  I would not recommend this ship at all.

Not worth the price

Saint-Tropez

We choose this cruise as there was an interesting itinerary and good guest speakers on subjects that appealed. Things started to go wrong as soon as we got on board when the wardrobe door fell off and the problem was treated with indifference by the person that attended to sort it out. The cabin was noisy and the beds very uncomfortable. Cabin towels were clearly very old and worn. The shampoo was obviously of poor quality. The food was terrible for a cruise of this expense with the meat virtually inedible. The salads every day came with the same processed meat. The sweets were unappetising and sickly sweet. The best feature was the bread and soup! There was no choice of wine and it was of poor quality. No maps were provided for the ports we visited as is usual with other cruise ships and boats.

Altogether, this was a very bad experience. The ship is clearly run on the cheap giving a visual impression of opulence.

An awful experience

San Diego

We travelled on this ship in Oct from Istanbul to Athens. Embarkation was a disaster with no one to meet us, no information about Port process and how to get on the ship and a walk of 500 metres with our luggage. The boat is not the disappointing part- it is well laid out and the meals are above average. The cabins are fine though not all facilities were operating (safe) and some doors were difficult to close/open. I agree with previous commentators- virtually alcohol free cocktails/appalling wine upon arrival as a welcome aboard drink was an insult.  

The trip was disappointing because some of the advertised destinations were not reached due to weather and mooring difficulties- not the operators fault-but some people chose the cruise specifically for those ports/sights. It seemed too rushed with the organised tours very expensive and sometimes not seeing the best attributes of the sites visited anyway. A number of passengers complained about being pestered by hawkers/taken to carpet sellers enroute to the tours.  

In short I don't think they catered for the background of their clientele. This trip was expensive -over $1500(AUD) per day plus excursion costs. The passengers are largely successful professionals who are prepared to spend, expect value and don't like being shortchanged. The ship sails at night whereas other small ships stay in port at night (this is better)  Part of the reason I am harsh here is I don't think this was the trip for us. This is trip for those that are not very active, want to be organised for most of the day. We didn't get to swim enough and some of the moorings in the day were adjacent to industrial wasteland so either go on an organised tour,spend the day in your cabin or somehow manage to get to the closest town. The advantage of a small boat was lost sometimes

Disappointing for the Cost

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