Tried Odysseys Unlimited
My wife, Dorothy, and I were trying to decide which tour company to take for a tour of the Chilean fjords and Patagonia.
Our initial thought was to go on the Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) tour “Chilean Fjords & Patagonian Wilderness”; we were 6-time travelers with OAT and 4-time travelers with their sister company, Grand Circle Travel (GCT). However, we also were interested in the “Patagonian Frontiers” tour offered by Odysseys Unlimited. We had learned of Odysseys through the ITN readers’ discussion on tipping and the tipping policies of different tour companies (July, August, October & November ’07 issues).
Although we had become less tolerant of the constant tipping on OAT tours, we loved their small-group travel. But the other reason we were looking at Odysseys is we had noticed on OAT tours deterioration in value received for the price paid.
On our last two trips with OAT, in 2007 after a 2-year hiatus, the number of included meals had been cut and in some cases the quality of hotels had slipped. More annoying was that most excursions were now optional tours at prices we felt were way out of line with value received. Fortunately, the quality of their tour leaders had remained high.
The attraction of the OAT “Chilean Fjords & Patagonian Wilderness” tour was that all destinations were within Chile, whereas Odysseys’ tour went through Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, Argentina. We had been to both countries before, Chile in 1977 on a work assignment for a month and Argentina in 1999 when we took a cruise to Antarctica. We weren’t keen on going through Argentina.
On the other hand, Odysseys’ tour picked up a ship in Ushuaia and went to Cape Horn, while OAT’s tour picked up the ship in Puerto Montt, Chile.
For the time of year we wanted to go, OAT’s tour cost $4,595 each and Odysseys’ cost $5,595, excluding trip insurance, which we always decline. Cabin upgrades were about the same cost.
At this stage, we had not quantified the add-ons for airline taxes and departure fees. Both tours were for 15 days. Was Odysseys’ trip worth a price 20% higher?
In the Odysseys catalog, Dorothy noticed in the lower left corner of the last page that described the tour a mention of a post-trip extension to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) for four nights and 3½ days for $345 including airfare. This was a destination we had always wanted to visit. Sold! We ended up paying a total of $15,060 for both of us.
The tour was for 19 nights and 18 days; however, due to long flights and our staying over one night before catching our flight back to Honolulu, our total trip was 22 days and 21 nights, Feb. 5-26, 2008.
Neither Buenos Aires nor Ushuaia have changed much in appearance since 1999. B.A. was cleaner and more vibrant and is still the Paris of South America.
The M/V Via Australis and crew were excellent. Our group of 23 boarded with no problem. We were even given an upgraded cabin because our booked cabin did not have a double bed as we had requested.
We were able to land on Cape Horn. We were told that ships are able to land passengers on Cape Horn only about 20% of the time because of unpredictable weather. We believe it, as after three hours the wind and waves were picking up and we had to hurry back.
The rest of the cruise met expectations, except the shipboard meals were little better than adequate. All the hotels were first rate and in excellent locations. We crossed paths with a couple of OAT tours, and their members were staying at hotels of a lower class than ours.
A highlight of the land portion was the Torres del Paine National Park. Spectacular! And our hotel had a front-row seat.
The trip normally ends in Santiago, Chile, which has lost all the old-world charm that we remembered from 1977. Eleven of us went on to Rapa Nui.
Rapa Nui gets only about 40,000 visitors during its 4-month tourist season, so the supporting infrastructure is somewhat lacking. Our hotel, the Iorana, was in a fantastic location on the bluffs, with great ocean views, but it needed maintenance work.
The island offers great sights and experiences. The few problems we had could be traced to the local tour operator with which Odysseys had contracted.
The worst situation occurred during lunch at the moai statue quarry. It had started to rain, and all 12 of us were forced to eat in our van, balancing paper plates on our knees and using plastic cutlery. The five or so other tour groups ate under cover; one even had tablecloths, china, silverware, cloth napkins and wine. We doubt Odysseys will use the same local operator again. Fortunately, our tour leader smoothed many of the rough spots.
The extension was advertised as four days and three nights. Due to flight schedule changes to and from Rapa Nui after we booked the tour, we actually stayed four nights and had 3½ days, arriving at 9 p.m. on the 20th and leaving at 2 p.m. on the 24th. There was no change in the cost of the extension, and Odysseys reimbursed us the $100 each we had to pay to change our connecting flight reservations.
We cannot say enough about our wonderful Odysseys tour leader, Robin Steegstra. She is one of the top three tour leaders we have experienced, and we have taken 27 escorted tours in the last 17 years.
Robin was skilled at modifying and fine-tuning the itinerary to maximize our comfort, minimize transportation disruptions and expand our travel experiences. Always cheerful, attentive and cracking jokes, she was a jewel.
We made the right choice. We had a fabulous trip, thanks to ITN and some diligent research. We hope our experiences will provide some insights that others can use.
PHIL MORRIS
Honolulu, HI
ITN sent a copy of the above letter to Overseas Adventure Travel and received the following reply.
We appreciate the chance to respond to Mr. Morris regarding OAT. While we were disappointed to learn that he didn’t choose our “Chilean Fjords & Patagonian Wilderness” adventure this year, we very much appreciate his having traveled with us so frequently in the past.
We regret that Mr. Morris disagrees with our tipping policy, but experience has taught us that people perform at a higher level when there is an incentive. We know that our Trip Leaders work hard and are proud that 90% of our travelers rated them as excellent last year.
As for meals, many travelers have told us that they prefer having some meals on their own versus having all meals included and taken as a group. While we’ve made some changes to some of our trips, most meals are still included.
As we celebrate our 30th year, we hope that Mr. and Mrs. Morris might choose to travel with us in the future. We appreciate their business.
PRISCILLA O’REILLY, Director, Public Relations, Overseas Adventure Travel, 347 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210