Small boat luxury cruises are they worth the cost? Part 1 – APT

Luxury cruising

We read the glowing reviews – luxurious cabins, sometimes butlers and all-inclusive packages but these are rarely independent, usually with a tag that the reviewer travelled as a guest of the company.

This is an independent, retrospective review of six different voyages and three companies. We were full-fee paying passengers, though for the sake of transparency, all trips were paid by a family member.

How I ended up on the high seas

My father is an intrepid traveller, though as he gets older favours all-inclusive tours. His latest trip was at the grand age of 92. My sister and I have accompanied him in recent years, when he ran out of other travel companions. What we thought would be a single trip has turned into an annual holiday, many of them cruises.

I’m a free-range and independent traveller by preference. I love comfort but can’t afford  and generally wouldn’t seek luxury tours, as I find the barest, curated glimpses of wonderful places frustrating at best. But holidaying with others will always involve compromise. For us ‘younger’ ones we asked for no long bus trips. and if a cruise it needed to be in the smallest vessels possible (70 is ideal but we been on a few with 200- 300 passengers). Absolutely no big cruise liners!

 

The APT cruises

 

River cruising

2012 Budapest to Amsterdam

European river cruising is what this Australian company built its reputation on. The tour director was excellent and even pulled an all-nighter when unexpected traffic delays on the river meant an unscheduled stop and some massive reorganisation. He also personally accompanied me to a dentist in a small German town when my crown needed to be reattached. (As an aside, it was astoundingly cheap to have an emergency appointment with a dentist, the tour director was rather shocked when I told him how much it costs me in Australia!)

New to group touring, I found the headsets and ‘follow-the-guide’ holding up a paddle slightly embarrassing and annoying. Fortunately walking tours were broken up into fast, medium and slow groups which kept groups small and appropriately paced. Often there were multiple choices of free tours each day (sometimes making it difficult to choose). While there were some stand out local guides (our Nuremburg historian was exceptional), on a number of occasions my sister and I quickly departed the group with the aid of a local map and wandered on our own.

 

 

Shipboard life was comfortable but the décor a bit like staying at an elderly aunt’s house, both formal and bland. On our cruise all dinners were served in the formal dining room at a set time, they tried to seat all passengers at the same time before service commenced (this may have changed since). Meals were multi-coursed and generous, dietary requirements were catered for (though if you were vegan it would have become very boring). The breakfasts were a stand out. All breads and pastries were cooked onboard from scratch, no frozen, we were told.

Fellow passengers were almost exclusively Australian, mostly over 65 (I was one of the youngest, still being in my 40s) and on the whole very conservative politically. However, there was a demographic of passengers for whom this was the grown up version of a Contiki tour, with a lot of free grog and food plus comfortable rooms and not much to have to think about.

 

 

Best bits

Christian our tour director – for both the dentist run and impromptu night time tour of his home town, when we were unexpected stranded on the river.

Floriade in the Netherlands. This river cruise coincided with this amazing botanical festival held just once a decade. Due to a hold up on the river, we actually ended up with a longer bus journey but paradoxically a longer visit to the site at our own leisure.

Not so great bits

I’d been warned by a friend who had been on a previous river cruise that things can get a bit cliquey – you know like high school when groups of kids don’t want others to eat lunch with them. Dinner time could be rather interesting if the maitre d haplessly seated you at the ‘wrong’ table!

For me it was largely not having anything in common with 95+% of my fellow passengers  that made me feel like a fish out of water.

 

 

Sea cruising

2014: Lisbon to Valetta MS Island Sky

Our first small ship sea cruise. The Island Sky is an expedition vessel with a capacity of about 100 passengers. Both the ship and décor were a bit faded, and looked in need of a refurbishment.

Unlike the river boat, on this cruise there was no espresso machine to help yourself to at any hour, just urn coffee. Espressos, like alcoholic drinks outside of meals, had to be purchased on this cruise.

The weather was superb and we quickly began taking breakfast, lunch and dinner al fresco on the rear deck, which was more relaxed that the dining room but serving the same food. Friendly crew, mostly from the Philippines, and an energetic tour director from the UK, who was currently living in Rome. She gave up some of her day off to lead an impromptu local’s tour of her home town, for those who’d previously seen the main tour highlight of the Italian capital.

The itinerary was followed without a hitch, all round a smooth voyage in all senses of the word.

 

 

Best bits

The Al Hambra was wonderful and somehow managed to avoid some of the crowds, we had an unhurried tour and plenty of time to explore on our own.

Also in Spain, Cartagena was an unexpected delight. The upside of touring was that we scored a tour of the Roman amphitheatre on a day that it’s usually closed to the public. It felt very special having a major tourist attraction to ourselves.

Not so good bits

The usual frustration of not having enough time to free range in some places. Would have preferred to skip Menorca for an extra day in Rome or Sicily.

 

 

2016: Venice to Istanbul Athens MS Island Sky

With one successful Island Sky cruise behind us, we had high expectations for our Adriatic Odyssey. But even before we boarded the ship there were some major issues that the company did not deal well with, including a free night’s predeparture accommodation due to membership status and political events in Turkey. While the company was not responsible for the latter, it was many weeks after DFAT issued warnings about travel to Istanbul and only days before departure that the destination was pulled. This was particularly upsetting because we chose this cruise to spend over a week in Turkey after disembarking.

On the positive side the ship had some improvements since our previous cruise, there was now free WIFI, espresso and bar drinks. Bring on the cocktails!

 

I loved returning to Venice, and my first trip to the Adriatic. The pace was relaxing and once again we loved our meals al fresco.

However, just as things went wrong before we’d even boarded, the end of the tour was equally as problematic. We could not dock in Mykonos and missed exploring the island and a planned swim. The waters around the island are notoriously unpredictable but friends who’ve been on similar cruises with other carriers just reroute to another island. This did not happen.

The biggest upset was for the many Australians who’d selected this cruise as it included a pilgrimage to Gallipoli. This was not the drawcard for me but for the majority of the passengers this was the key to the whole trip. After many hours of hovering offshore, and amendments being made to the foreshortened itinerary, by early afternoon the excursion was cancelled. Along with the change to disembarkation port, this resulted in 35 hours at sea. Not fun on a ship with limited entertainment, except the bar, which many very upset passengers took to drown their sorrows.

 

 

Best bits

Swimming in the Adriatic in Korcula.

Ephesus: Turkey was devoid of tourists that summer due to the political unrest. Despite Istanbul being cancelled we did still visit the famous ruins at Ephesus. There was 90% less tourists according to the local guide, so we got a less crowded exploration of the site.

 

 

Not so good bits

Until I reread my feedback to the company I’d forgotten the cruise lecturer, who was disorganised and a really bad presenter. Why do they even bother if they can’t find someone entertaining?

The sour atmosphere on the day of the failed Gallipoli expedition, meant ending on a bad note with a boatful of grumpy or downright angry passengers. The Cruise Director was missing in action from that morning onwards. I’d never been on an APT tour when the person responsible for guiding the passenger experience did not make a point of saying goodbye.

 

Across all the APT cruises – was luxury small ship cruising worth it?

 

Regardless of the type of vessel or destination a few things were common to all the cruises.

• The hospitality and hotel staff were fantastic, and it was always service with a smile.
• Our rooms were spotless, comfortable and quite spacious (even in the least expensive suites), though our twin beds were always incredibly narrow and very close together.
• Food was generous, with multiple courses and the wine flowed freely.
• ‘Entertainment’, including guest lecturers on the ship and local musicians on the river cruise, were unmemorable at best and dreadful at worst.
• Airport transfers are included when going directly to or from the ship, or choosing an add on pre or post tour hotel option. However, there was often a long wait for the transport, which is not what you need after flying across the world
• The clientele APT attracts are Australians somewhere between my comparative youth and our father’s octogenarian years. While we met some interesting and enjoyable fellow travellers, many had very different world views to my own. I kept my mine to myself but it’d have been more enjoyable if some had done likewise. I began to dread dinner times for fear of having to labour my way through a couple of hours of polite conversation.

Value for money?

These are high budget holidays. That said, once you’re on board you don’t need to put your hand in your pocket again, except for additional drinks on the first two cruises (most luxury small ships cruises now have a free bar).

There were a lot of excursions to choose from (especially on the river cruise), at no additional cost. All meals and most drinks included.  Once you factor the all-inclusive aspect, plus 10 -14 days with no accommodation, food, entry fees, tips (gratuities to crew and guides is part of the package with APT and most Australian companies) or transport costs, they’re not as expensive as they seem. Plus there are often some good deals including airfares, if you keep your eyes open. 

Your cruise mates

As you’ll see in the following parts of this cruising series, the demographics tend to vary. Not all luxury small ship companies attract the same types of people. 

The APT clientele is almost exclusively Australian and New Zealanders, predominantly over 65 yo, retirees. I’m sure not all Queensland farmers of a certain age are climate change deniers, but it did seem to be a theme on ALL our APT land and ship tours.

Post script: parting company with APT

Our family had many trips with APT (my father at least 8 and my sister and I five each). That’s a lot of loyalty, let alone money. On some previous tours there had been some unexpected twists. It’s the nature of travel that the unexpected can and often will, happen. Our earlier ‘twists’  had been handled professionally. For example, other than the tireless efforts of Christian on the river cruise when traffic was halted unexpectedly for more than 24 hours throwing the entire itinerary off kilter, our South American guide skilfully got us safely out a potentially deadly riot (it makes a good story in retrospect), so we’d seen how well the company can respond when things don’t go according to plan.

It’s how the unexpected is dealt with, that turns it into a great anecdote or creates memories of a less favourable kind. The Gallipoli debacle was handled so badly that it ruined the final days aboard.

But overall, it was the poor response to our detailed complaint to head office about many aspects of this final APT experience (I’ve only shared the tip of the iceberg, there were a LOT more issues) that nailed our decision to cease touring with this company. A little more empathy, generosity and a speedier response may have led to a different conclusion.

Read my reviews of small boat cruises:

Part 2: Aranui 5 Tahiti cruise
Part 3: Silversea across the Indian Ocean
Part 4: Silversea Europe gourmet cruise