Assessment of Black Sea cruise

ITN was mailed a copy of the following letter, sent by a subscriber to Value World Tours.

I would like to pass on our comments re a Black Sea cruise-tour my wife, Marie, and I took on the MS Taras Shevchenko, May 20-June 3, 2009 (including a two-day post-cruise stay in Istanbul), with Value World Tours.

We had opted for a suite on board and were glad we did. The accommodations were very comfortable, with two sofas, TV, fridge, tub, full-size shower, etc.

The suites all were on the upper deck where the smaller, 62-seat Odessa restaurant is located, so we were surprised to find that we had been assigned to the 170-seat Kiev restaurant on the deck below; it was very crowded and noisy. It would seem that individuals booking the higher-price suites should be assigned to the obviously better restaurant on the same deck.

The meals were passable, although everything was usually overcooked, in our opinion, particularly the beef on the two evenings it was served.

It was particularly disappointing that only a four-course meal was offered at lunch, with no option for sandwiches available, as I believe many Americans don’t eat such a heavy or full meal then.

The wait help was very good, but the cooks were not, we felt.

We have traveled in many countries where it was advised not to drink the water and had water provided by the hotel, train or cruise ship at no charge, so it was surprising that not only was no drinking water provided but the charge for a half-liter bottle was perhaps 10 times the cost of buying the same bottle (retail) from the dockside vendors along the way.

Several of the included excursions were city tours of interest; however, one was an hour-long boat trip to Fishermen’s Island to visit a local home where a “picnic lunch” was to be provided. The meal turned out to be a small glass of vodka and what appeared to be a small cookie for each of us on a picnic table. Many did not bother to go in, and I felt that that trip was a waste of time.

The schedule provided indicated a stop in Tulcea, Romania, and an optional tour to Moldova. We were surprised and disappointed when advised that no such stop was planned and instead we stopped at Constant¸a.

It was an interesting trip, but I felt the food and itinerary could be improved.

MERLE D. CROW

Honolulu, HI

Mr. Crow told ITN, regarding the cost, “We arrived in Kiev several days early and traveled in Turkey afterward, but our cruise-only cost for two was $6,836 plus port charges of $432, a document delivery charge of $20 and a surcharge of $189 for using a Visa card, for a total of $7,477.” ITN sent another copy of Mr. Crow’s letter to Value World Tours (17220 Newhope St., Ste. 203, Fountain Valley, CA 92708) and received the following reply.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to Mr. Crow’s letter. Mr. and Mrs. Crow were participants on our “Four Country Black Sea Cruise,” with embarkation on May 20, 2009, in Kiev, Ukraine.

First of all, Value World Tours has a wide range of river cruise products around the world. Some of the river ships are charters, primarily for the North American travel market; for these cruises, the programs are geared toward the needs and wishes of the specific travel group. We also sell some river cruises that are chartered by other companies and resold through various travel companies throughout the world.

For this Ukraine cruise, the ship is chartered by a Russian partner and sold through various American and European travel companies. Because of the varied peoples on board, there is a tendency to try to accommodate the wishes of the majority of the people on the ship. Perhaps the majority on the Crows’ cruise were European so had different needs than an American traveler.

As we state in the “Tips on Travel” given to all of our travelers, our international “guests” are expected to be flexible and not expect things as you might have them at home or on other, larger, oceangoing vessels. By local standards, the ship is considered first class.

Let me address Mr. Crow’s comments individually.

Regarding seating at the restaurants, I am not sure why Mr. and Mrs. Crow should be surprised at being seated in one of the restaurants over the other. Never were they told that they would be seated in any specific restaurant.

The ship divides the restaurants per their own needs, so it may be so that one large group is able to sit together or people speaking a particular language are seated in one restaurant, etc. They have their own system. By the way, the restaurants serve the same food, and the only difference is that one is larger in seat capacity than the other.

Regarding meal quality, I believe that Mr. Crow’s comments on the food were closer to being accurate. Most of our clients’ comments are along the line that the food was “okay” but not anything great. The fact that the Crows were “particularly” disappointed that lunch was a four-course meal without the option for just sandwiches reflects the international makeup of the cruise passengers.

The meals were described in the “Tips on Travel,” so they should have expected what was served. We try to stress that you go on this cruise for the itinerary and the sights along the journey and not for a gourmet dining experience.

Regarding water, both coffee and tea are served free of charge at meals. Water, if asked for, comes in a bottle for a charge. This is unusual for most American cruise passengers but not for Eastern Europe ships. We make our passengers aware that they will have to pay for bottled water in our “Tips on Travel,” so it should not have been a surprise. Yes, they have the option to buy it onshore, and there is no problem in bringing it back on board the ship.

On the itinerary, the port of Tulcea was removed and Constanta was added by the shipping company. This was due to complaints and operational problems in docking in a small town like Tulcea, and they felt that more time should be given in Nessebar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a very picturesque town.

Again, it should not have been a surprise to Mr. and Mrs. Crow. I looked in our files for this departure and it appears that they did receive the updated itinerary with their final documents.

Overall, from Mr. Crow’s comments, we see there were points that he felt should be corrected or changed, but he did find it an interesting trip. We do appreciate his comments and we do read all passengers’ comments, as we do try to improve our cruise products.

JIM PIERCE, Value World Tours