EXPERTS TO SERVE YOU, SHIP TO SHORE
During your cruise you’ll be well taken care of, including with daily briefings about upcoming ports conducted by your Cruise Director. Your Cruise Director is also the point person for coordinating social and cultural activities on the ship, and the person who will ensure that your experience is the best it can be. Lectures on your journey will be conducted by handpicked, knowledgeable experts. To lead your included shore excursions, we’ve selected the best regional guides. If your program includes a land stay (or if you’ve chosen an optional extension), you’ll also enjoy the service of a Program Manager to steward your journey to its very end.
CRUISE DIRECTORS MAKE YOUR TRIP "SMOOTH SAILING"
Your Vantage trip will be led by a seasoned Cruise Director who will ensure your comfort and satisfaction. Think of him or her as your onboard “host” — the person to turn to with questions about your itinerary, updates on the day’s activities, reservations for optional tours, and so much more.
Sinisa Diklic
Originally from Croatia, Sinisa has lived in many places over the years, including the U.K., Turkey, Greece, and Spain. He received his guide license from Zagreb, and since then has worked as a guide in Greece, Austria, Hungary, Albania, Slovenia. . . his list goes on and on! Besides showing a destination around, all Sinisa wants is to help travelers learn about the everyday life of the people who live in the country they are visiting, which sometimes, he says, “can be very different from their own.” Sinisa loves to share his knowledge with his guests — and see the happy faces at the end of the tour!
FROM START TO FINISH, PROGRAM MANAGERS ARE THERE
To ensure your fullest satisfaction, you’ll also enjoy the services of a dedicated Program Manager to coordinate shore activities, organize entertainment programs, and oversee operations, including embarkation and disembarkation. When you’re traveling on a pre- or post-trip extension, your Program Manager will also join you to make sure your experience is top-notch from start to finish.
Vilim Bugarin
If Vilim invites you on one of his trademark “local adventures tours” during your vacation, you are in for a treat. “I like to take my guests off the beaten path, to interact with locals, visit local markets and learn how to bargain, play a little bocce or cards or dice, and try the regional food and drinks — maybe we’ll even help harvest some of the grapes or olives or tomatoes ourselves!” Vilim was born in Croatia but graduated high school in Kansas, and also lived in New York and Italy. He speaks five languages and has led tours all over the world, from Malta to the Maldives, Slovakia to Santo Domingo. Nowadays, on the job or off, you can find Vilim in the place he loves best, “somewhere on the Adriatic Sea, sailing on my boat or diving and exploring the most beautiful coastline in the world.”
NEW! ENHANCED COMPLIMENTARY WORLDWIDE CONCIERGE SERVICE
Before your cruise, our worldwide Concierge is here to assist. If you have a special request or personal interest you’d like to pursue during your journey, let our worldwide Concierge work for you — and best of all, it’s complimentary for all travelers. If your cruise is still months away but you’d like to plan a party, track down a bit of your family’s heritage in one of your destinations, secure restaurant reservations, and beyond, we’ll get to planning early. Or, if you’re onboard and want to visit the spa, make hotel reservations, organize a pub crawl for family and friends, your onboard Destination Manager can make your travel dreams come true.
To request Concierge service prior to your journey, simply log in to MyPortfolio, submit a pre-trip request to Concierge@vantagetravel.com, or call 1-888-982-6824 and you'll have your answer from our Concierge within two business days.
Maya Pashpurova
Maya was born in Shuman, Bulgaria and currently lives in Sofia, Bulgaria. She was first inspired to become a tour guide when she worked as a receptionist for a cruise line and noticed how much her colleague, who was a concierge, enjoyed her job. She sees tour guiding as a dynamic, diversified job that never has a dull moment. She has traveled to most European countries as well as the United States, the Caribbean, and the United Arab Emirates. In her free time she enjoys watching movies, drawing and painting, and going for long hikes.
REGIONAL EXPERTS IN EACH PORT
No one knows a destination better than an insider, so in addition to your Cruise Director, you’ll enjoy the services of experienced, English-speaking regional experts who will deliver scintillating lectures onboard and who will be waiting to lead you ashore during your included activities. Their deep command of regional history will certainly enrich your viewing of important attractions. But these “insiders” go a step beyond, sharing insights on behind-the-scenes aspects of local culture that ordinary tours overlook. How do families in this area get by? What are some of the local legends? What do the decorations on a particular house mean? Your regional experts are eager to bring it all alive for you.
