Atlas Ocean Voyages

Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego)

Athens (Piraeus)

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Europe - All

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Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

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Europe - Western Mediterranean

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Average

World Navigator

Tortola

It was with excitement and anticipation that we embarked the World Navigator for a 9-night Aegean cruise. We have previously sailed with SeaDream, Seaborn and Ponant, and were fully aware that this is a new company that is working to find a niche in the market. We love smaller and more intimate ships and this is just Atlas offers. 

Ship is stellar, especially cabin and public areas. Very high quality and we loved the extra space of the Horizon Cabin. You notice that the ship is constructed as an explorer vessel for more rough weather and sea; a bit rougher along the edges, especially when entering outdoor areas including pool deck - but still remarkably high quality. The accessible bow "Waters Edge" is a great invention. Regarding the pool deck, this needs a bit more ambiance on a Mediterranean voyage and we wish they would utilize the out-door areas more for activities such as sail aways. There is great potential, and the staff is amazing. Al fresco Josper-grill dining at night was a real threat. 

The main restaurant is also beautiful with high quality appliances. Some evenings we missed a bit of flavor in the food – although do not get me wrong, everything was more than edible. Make it simple and bring on flavorful Mediterranean food. Make a stronger sense of place. 

This is not the ship you sail if you want show and party every night. However, our cruise director ran a tight and professional show and there was always something to do. We preferred to sit on the deck with a glass watching the sea pass by

Atlas is worth a try! Stellar ship and absolutely fantastic service. Sort out some details and it will be 100%

My wife and I have usually traveled around the world with bikes or just on our own and I always said I would never do a cruise.   When I saw that the Atlas World Navigator took fewer than 200 customers on a cruise, we decided to try it. I had wanted to go to Ephesus for a long time and decided to try the Atlas Greece/Turkey ten-day cruise.  The Atlas cruise definitely exceeded my expectations!

The ship was well appointed, the 170 or so passengers all seemed like friends over the great food and very well organized excursions.  Excursions were an additional cost, but every excursion we chose had excellent guides.  The evening at Ephesus (no additional cost) will be one of the high points of all my years of travel.  Only Atlas passengers were present at the Ephesus ancient Library with a great string quintet “on stage,” along with wine and appetizers, made for a very memorable evening.

Overall,  I would rate all of the food (buffets, morning noon and night) as excellent  (and I’m a foodie) and, sort of a surprise to me , the wine was very good as part of the regular meals and post meals!  The service was incredible, all the “staff” were so professional and more than helpful.   Once you had finally chosen the food you wanted from the very extensive buffet choices usually a staff member would offer to take it to what ever table you had chosen, inside or out on the deck.   I could go on and on, but let me summarize by saying that I found this Atlas Epicurean cruise to be wonderful and I can’t think of a single complaint about the trip, only praise for the way it was handled and for the ship and crew.

Wonderful Adventure on World Navigator 

Having experienced a yacht style cruise for the first time I felt compelled to post my impressions.

We have cruised on ships from 800 passengers to 2600(only 1x) and have spent almost 1 1/2  years in cruising since 1984.

Just returned from three cruises on Atlas Ocean Voyages, World Navigator. What a wonderful way to travel.

The intimate cruise experience understates our impressions of traveling on a ship/yacht with a capacity of no more than 198 passengers. The staff were wonderful. The designed ‘Epicurean Expeditions’ over our three cruise legs never disappointed. We enjoyed wonderful food on the ship and crafted excursions to continue our experience in the Greek Islands and Turkey.

We have been asked by friends, what was your highlight of the trip. Hard to pick one thing. The food, many excursions of Ancient Greek and Turkish sites were extraordinary. Zodiac rides on the ship ‘water toys’, coffee at  ‘Paula’s Pantry’, cocktails in the ‘Dome’ and special dinners at 7aft, were some of the special moments we will remember

Most of all we will remember Nuno the Hotel Manager, and Michael the cruise director and their wonderful staff for making our trip the beginning of our Atlas Experience.

Large Ships, Small Ships…Atlas is now our ship!

34 Days at Sea

Here's the Good, The Bad and the ugly:

The ship is stunning.  she's intimate, well designed , sails like it's on rails and has a very thoughtful layout.  the cabins are really gorgeous with wall coverings that shimmer and back lit walls with residential furniture that makes you feel like you are in a high end hotel, not a ship.  my hope is that all this wears well.  being just on the 6th voyage- it still has that "new ship smell"  the public spaces too were just so well designed ( some not as functional as they could be - more on that later).  the bathroom in the cabin has without a doubt, the best shower at sea ( that should be an award on it's own). I actually looked forward to showering twice a day. It's like a car wash with side jets an an overhead rain head with water pressure that many folks will envy. The bathroom overall isn't huge but well laid out with supple towels of the highest caliber. The atlas brochure promised a bottle of bubbly waiting for us. No one seemed to get that, nor did we receive the pillow menu or "private stationary",  as mentioned on the atlas site ( not a big deal but..) terry cloth robe and slippers, robe yes ...slippers, nope . Music channels were promised ( there were none on our cruise), nice is the fact that you can tether your phone to the tv and play music off your phone, which was nice.  there were a handful of movies and several select tv stations including bbc news and sky news as well as hgtv and perhaps 10 others. Hoping for my friends doing the transatlantic, they can up the number of selections for those long days at sea. 

The food: here's where things went a bit upside down.  breakfast and lunch are buffets and while they were pretty good, it got a bit repetitive and the selection at lunch seemed very limited.  i know it's hard to have tons of choice with only 140 folks on board (the count on our sailing) but some innovation and quality was needed in the buffets.  in the morning there is an omelette/eggs benedict station, but the problem was that by the time the omelette was delivered to you had already eaten all the accompanying items from the buffet to go with it..  would be nice to be able to do table orders for a full breakfast served hot at all at once. Don't miss the house made doughnuts - my goodness they are good.  the poolside eatery is  "7 aft" and this was a bust in terms of both quality and selection.  thought it was odd that the only desserts offered there during lunch were a bowl of whole apples or pears.  when we asked the waiter simply said "the chef didn't send anything up" the burgers were not great (dry) and must be cooked somewhere else and brought up.   the selection of salads and other items was good but much more limited than even the dining room (which is called "porto").  in the evening, 7 aft turned into a bar-b-que spot of steaks and such.  no one seemed to be rushing to go back.  it really didn't seem to have much ambiance. On the atlas site it talks about a portuguese restaurant and in fact we saw it on the onboard display monitors, but it was never offered our entire cruise. Also they consider "paula's pantry " a restaurant..it's really like a starbucks with a few cold salads/sandwich options but mostly cookies, coffee, tea and pastries.  room service is breakfast only,  but if you want something when the restaurant is closed supposedly someone can get you something from paula's pantry.  

Dinner started out promising but as the cruise wore on we found some dishes tasteless while others over saled ( the soy on the okra salad made it hard to even put in your mouth.  it felt very much the caliber of a mid level river company.  not a luxury player.  the white wines/rose offered were decent, nothing that wowed or was local.  the red's were downright horrible and some nights we were told there were no this or that.  we brought wine from ashore and no one ever mentioned a corkage fee, which was nice. 

Public rooms: not sure if it was just covid related but the gym only allowed two people in at the same time and you had to make a reservation. Further there were no yoga classes or pilates classes at all ( not even out on deck even though the weather the entire cruise was gorgeous.  all public restrooms were closed ( which is a pain if you are in the pool).  bar service was a bit comical as they only offer one type of spirit per category that's included and that seemed to change sometimes by the day and sometimes by the hour.  one night,  the only vodka available was absolute citron ( lemon flavored vodka) and a friend of mine didn't ask what the nights vodka was,  so they made a dirty martini for him with that vodka.  he almost lost it when he tasted it.  

The dome lounge is where the entertainment happens and they need a backdrop and a follow spot.  a simple curtain rod with a drape in front of the bar and a follow spot would dress up the show so much.  gino the pianist on our sailing was fantastic.  great guy, great voice, incredible pianist. 

The included shore execs were your basic bus tour.  we spent hundreds on two non included shore excursions that i felt were more immersive.  atlas can up it's game a lot here. The overview bus tours are not that appealing and perhaps because they have been out of work for a while, the guides seemed rusty. 

We loved the Italian riviera and the physical beauty wowed us a lot more than the cruise experience did, unfortunately.  we love the size and physical aspects of the ship the crew was exceptional but never strayed from policy, including the front desk staff. Wifi seemed to be an issue and as a gesture because so many people on our sailing were on back to back voyages everyone got a free bag of laundry the second to last night which was a kind gesture.  i feel like many of the things that were off are totally fixable.  ii intentionally waited until about 6 cruises were under their belt before sailing...wished i'd waited a tad longer.

Not quite ready for prime time

I went on the World Navigator from Athens to Portugal last summer.   The ship had the unfortunate timing to begin their first year during a pandemic.  I thought the ship was beautiful and the crew were outstanding in their willingness to provide great service; and with some seasoning and productive feedback that they will provide exquisite service.  In the two weeks I was on the ship, I saw subtle but impressive improvements in service.

One very nice thing about Atlas is that they have a number of complementary excursions with at least one in each port and quite often two.  The pricing for optional ones were usually quite reasonable unless you wanted ones which you would expect to cost more. e.g. dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant.  And yes, we did spend a lot of time on buses but most of the places that I wanted to go could only be reached by bus or van.  One thing that I loved were the ear pieces provided by Atlas.  They were small and could be used on either your left or right ear and had a flat earpiece which if you have hearing aides you appreciate.  Everyone received a lanyard which attached to the earpiece as you were never in any danger of losing it.  I felt that all the guides on excursions which I went on were great with one exception (Italy) where the guide was so worried about the group not keeping together (Italian Covid restrictions) that we were not able to really enjoy our time off the bus.

I got a room with a juliette window (the window retracts about half way down) rather than with a veranda/balconey and I wasn't sure if I would like it but I loved it as my room was larger than those with balconies and there was a large aft deck right outside my door if I wanted to go outside. My room steward kept my room spotless and was very eager to make sure that I had everything that I needed/wanted, even providing ice for my gin and tonics (you receive a complimentary bottle of liquor (your choice from a menu) when I came back for excursions and a variety of soft drinks/mixers (from a menu) which were stored in our rooms small refrigerator.  Each room had a water bottle and at least one water stations (there may be more but I only used the one) where you could easily fill your bottle.  

I love a room service breakfast and mine was exactly what I wanted.  The young man who brought it was very conscientious in making sure that I got what I had ordered and it always arrived within 5 minutes of when I said I wanted it.   The dinners in the main dining room were with one exception ranged from very good to excellent(the one exception was a Chinese menu) and I thought the meat was some of the best I have had. I was traveling as a single (my friends who suggested I go with them had to cancel due to an illness) and that can be challenging if you are shy.  I felt that the manger of the dining room went out of his way to always make me feel welcome (including learning my name) and the staff took great care of me.

I felt that many times Atlas went out of their way to make this enjoyable cruise.  One day when we had some extra time in a small port we were taken out in zodiacs to explore the bay rather than just sitting on the ship.  They added a stop in Positano Italy which was not on the original itinerary.  Everyday we had one or two speakers who were informed and interesting.  In the evening there was music in the upstairs lounge area.

There were things which because of Covid made life a little bit more challenging.  Public restrooms were closed (so you always needed to use the one in your cabin) and there were no exercise classes - the small gym was open but on a limited basis.  There was a small track on the top of ship with adequate room for walkers and joggers/runners plus 4 stationary workout machines.  They had a problem with the Wi-Fi but the staff went out their way to help people get connected and no one (that I know of) was charged for exceeding their minutes.  Atlas is aware of the problem and I am sure will fix it.

Because of Covid, we needed to be tested every time we went to a new country and the results were always provide in a timely manner, yet we were never charged for those tests on the ship.

I have already signed up for another cruise with Atlas with the expectation that the areas which needed improvement have been addressed and I will have another very enjoyable cruise.

Great ship and crew, working on becoming exceptional

Atlas Cruise Greece to Portugal

1.	Flights and boarding the ship: Atlas bought the very cheapest  airline tickets they could. (Many cruise lines at this price point fly you business class) We were told we could not even select seats until 24 hrs before the flight. For the flight from DFW to JFK, we were stuck at the back of the bus, but at least in seats with aisle access. For the long haul between JFK and Athens we were stuck with seats in the middle of the four seat section without aisle access for 9.5 hours. We arrived in Athens around 9 AM and were picked up as promised. We arrived at the dock at approx. 10 AM and had to sit out in the heat on metal benches, not even in the terminal, where it was at least air conditioned. We did have shade at least. We had to wait until the medical staff from the ship appeared, (around 12:30) to administer covid tests. It was suggested that we go an explore while we waited, but we were very tired after an uncomfortable airplane flight and 18 hours of travel. After having covid tests administered, we we allowed into the terminal, but still had to stay in place until about 2:00 PM. For people who had been traveling for almost 18 hours this was almost unbearable then to have to wait another 4 to 5 hours to board. Before entering the terminal we were only offered a bottle of warm water. In the terminal a bottle of cold water was offered. Obviously they needed to have a way of taking care of their passengers who are boarding and very tired from long flights.

Debarkation went smoothly, and we were delivered to our hotel in Lisbon as promised. However, when we asked the ship’s front desk if transportation was going to be provided from the hotel to the airport for our flight home, instead of checking for us they told me to check with Atlas myself. Since my experience with Atlas was overall negative, I checked with my travel agent instead and let her deal with Atlas. The return trip started off with our being at the very back of the plane against the bulkhead where there was very little room and the seats would not recline at all which was extremely uncomfortable to my wife who has 2 bars and twenty screws in her back. The trip from Heathrow to DFW was better because the plane was ⅔ empty.

2.	Boarding: When we were allowed to board the ship it went very smoothly. People were very efficient in getting us to our cabin.

3.	Cabin and amenities: The cabin was nicely appointed, but not that much better than one finds with Norwegian, Celebrity, Holland, etc. The line drawings of the size were deceptive. Our cabin, with a balcony, had two chairs and a small table. You had to be careful where you placed the chairs or you could not exit the cabin to the balcony. The Bathroom was well appointed including a shower with a hand held head, a rain shower, and 3 nozzles on the back wall. Too bad you could not enjoy them, since obviously the proportional valve that maintains even temperatures of water, no matter if there are changes in water pressure, was either malfunctioning or not installed when built. We reported it twice, but it was never repaired so we spent the time in the shower dodging either very painfully hot water to very cool water. It was not pleasant. There was not a grab bar in the shower for nights when the boat was pitching so it felt very unsafe. The Atlas booklet provided to us indicated “complimentary overnight shoe shine service is available on board”, “no” and laundry every day free of charge, also a “no.” The “ultimate cozy experience” (Atlas description) of robe and slippers was void of slippers.  Also when we signed up for the cruise, internet was supposed to be unlimited, then reduced to 650 Mbps and once aboard we were informed it was reduced to 500 Mbps. Storage space was much less than we have encountered on other ships. The safe in the cabin was very nice. It was the largest we have ever had on a cruise ship.

4.	Food: The brochures bragged about six places to eat and the great quality of the meals, but they included room service as one of those places to eat. The other ones they mentioned were “Porto” which in reality was really the only real option of a place to eat. There was an outdoor venue on deck 7 which really was not a specialty restaurant, but had a subset of what was offered in the main dining room. The others were just grab and go places with prepackaged tasteless sandwiches or pastries and cookies. The good part for me was that the cookies had such an off taste that after one I was not really tempted again. They need better recipes. (At Holland America, theirs are exponentially better,) Breakfast at Porto was a limited buffet when compared to larger boats with other lines, and had very limited selection of food. I Tried the omelet one time, but they had such a limited list of ingredients I never returned. Food at breakfast was fine, but no better than foreign hotels breakfast bars, not the quality that I had been led to believe would be on this cruise. The lunch was also a buffet, service was not offered. The food quality at lunch was from average to downright awful. Most of the meats were obviously leftovers from the previous evenings menu, sliced into smaller servings, with some type of sauce poured over them and reheated to the point that they were dry and stringy. If you have ever eaten poorly prepared meat that seems to grow in your mouth the more you chew it, you have a perfect example of the offerings at lunch. We eat leftovers all the time at home, but they are done correctly and are fine the second time, especially if you know how to prepare them. Dinner was the only sit down waiter served meal. The quality was variable, from quite good to down right awful. (Example: apple strudel that usually has a very flakey crust had to be sawed into bite size portions with a serrated steak knife that the waiter offered my wife when he saw her struggling to cut it)

5.	Entertainment: Lectures were variable, but mostly very good and informative. Tried to go to listen to the musical entertainment one time, but left when the Db level was hitting over 100Db which can cause severe hearing damage. There was supposedly an “open bridge” policy on the ship. In reality the bridge was opened by reservation once a week and “by reservation only” was for a very short period of time. 

6.	Excursions: They always offered one or two complimentary excursions per port. Complimentary excursions were fairly good to very good, but much of the time was spent onboard buses without much opportunity for picture taking unless you do not mind bus window reflections in your photos. Sometimes excursions were cancelled or changed without warning. The worse one was an excursion we were really looking forward to, to visit historical Herculaneum, a sister city to Pompeii. We were told the the site was closed which was not true. I checked it out on the internet, and it was open. In fact you could enter it with a combination ticket with Pompeii. I would have much rather they told me the truth, probably being that they messed up the bookings and were not able to procure it at the last minute. The boats passing through the Corinth canal was advertised as part of the itinerary, but the canal was closed for maintenance. Atlas would have known about this months in advance, but did not inform us until we were aboard. 

7.	Staff: Overall the staff were excellent. They were friendly, helpful and well trained. The only exception was mentioned above. Service in the restaurant, and cabin service, were above reproach.

8.	One safety issue needs to be addressed by Atlas, the gangplank has serious design flaws. It has rounded steps that are very hard to navigate. More than one passenger slipped on it because of its design, and either had cuts or bruises on their shins. I am usually extremely sure footed but had to hold on to the railing on either side of it and still slipped and bruised and cut my shin. The head of entertainment on the ship stated that numerous people have commented negatively about the gangplank, but he believed that Atlas was going to have to have a lawsuit filed against them before they do anything about it. 

9.	On the second week of our cruise, a lady joined the cruise who owned her own travel agency. As I visited with her, she told me she booked the cruise at her own expense to ascertain if she would be able to recommend the cruise to her clients. She mentioned that she had spent countless hours on the phone with Atlas discussing issues she found to be deficient on a cruise of this price point. She told me that she had talked to a number of passengers on the ship and none of them planned to ever rebook with Atlas. At Málaga, two representatives from Atlas Corporate boarded the ship for the rest of the cruise to attempt to rectify all the deficiencies on board. Because of all of the negative survey results and the above mentioned travel agent, they knew that there were serious issues aboard that needed to be addressed. We, at this time, cannot recommend this cruise line.

Atlas has a long way to go

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