Today Aurora Expeditions’ Vantage Explorations turns one year old. In honor of this milestone, the cruise line is announcing new routes, a new ship, and a $3,000 booking bonus.
Here’s what’s next for Vantage Explorations and Aurora Expeditions.
How Vantage Explorations came to be
For those unfamiliar with how Vantage Explorations came to be, let me give a brief overview.
In June 2023, after months of speculation about what was going on, the Boston-based Vantage Deluxe World Travel (VDWT) suddenly canceled all its trips, fired its employees, and announced bankruptcy.
On the day of the filing, VDWT owed nearly 10,000 of its bewildered customers $108 million. The beleaguered tour operator also owed vendors, contractors and secured creditors $70 million.
From the start, it was clear that refunds would not be possible for the consumer victims of this bankruptcy.
However, there was a small ray of hope on the horizon for the VDWT customers.
Two companies competed to buy VDWT’s customer list. That list included over three million loyal people who had used the company during its 40-year history. The presumed winning bidder, United Travel, proposed to give each of the bankruptcy victims a one-time credit equal to just 20 percent of what they were owed by VDWT.
But when the bidding was over, the Australian-based Aurora Expeditions emerged as the winner. This was the best possible outcome for the customers.
Aurora Expeditions’ bid included terms that were considerably better for the VDWT victims:
- Each customer would receive a future travel credit equal to 100 percent of what VDWT owed them at the time of the bankruptcy.
- Customers can use travel credits to pay for up to 50 percent of an ocean cruise but just 20 percent of a river cruise ( (The river cruises are operated by a third party: VIVA Cruises).
- Customers can continue to spend their credits on additional trips at the same rate until they are all gone or until the credits expire.
- These credits have a generous five-year shelf life (Expiration date: Nov. 30, 2028).
- They can be shared with friends and family, but can’t be sold.
You can read the full details of the purchase of the assets of Vantage Travel by Aurora Expeditions here.
One year ago today, Aurora Expeditions launched the U.S.-based Vantage Explorations to facilitate the use of those travel credits. During the past 12 months, the companies have been working diligently to gather feedback from the victims of this bankruptcy.
The details of today’s announcement are in response to that data. Aurora hopes to make spending those credits more appealing to the understandably shell-shocked victims.
Two questions repeatedly asked by travel credit holders
Surprisingly, even though we are 14 months past the bankruptcy announcement, I continue to receive emails and calls from confused former VDWT customers. The two most common questions I receive (and the to-the-point answers) are:
Question: How can I exchange my credits for a cash refund from Aurora Expeditions?
Answer: You can’t. Aurora Expeditions extended travel credits that have no cash value other than what they were intended for. Travelers holding these credits can redeem them with Vantage Explorations and take a trip with Aurora Expeditions.
Note: Vantage Explorations doesn’t directly operate any tours. All trips are with Aurora Expeditions.
Question: Isn’t Vantage Explorations the same company as before?
Answer: No, there is absolutely no affiliation between Vantage Explorations and the former company called Vantage Deluxe World Travel.
What travelers can expect from Vantage Explorations and Aurora Expeditions in 2024 and beyond
Now we can talk about the good news.
In honor of this birthday celebration, Vantage Explorations and Aurora Expeditions are making several important announcements.
1. A new ocean ship with solo cabins is on the way: The Douglas Mawson
A significant number of the 10,000 people with Vantage Explorations credits are solo travelers. This posed a problem since the current two ocean ships operated by Aurora Expeditions do not have solo cabins.
However, the brand new ship that’s on the way does.
The Douglas Mawson, named after the famed Australian explorer, has just 86 cabins (6 of those cabins designed specifically for solo travelers). This luxury cruise ship, with a heated outdoor pool, jacuzzis, and more, will take its passengers around the world in style.
Douglas Mawson offers four types of cabins with no solo supplements:
- Aurora Stateroom Superior Single
- Deck 3 (2 Portholes): 314, 316, 318
- Deck 7: (French Balcony) 709
- Aurora Stateroom Single
- Deck 3: 322, 324
- Double Occupancy Cabins Balcony A (Note: These can only be booked by solo travelers without a single supplement for sailings starting from April 2026)
- Deck 4: 407, 409, 410 and 412.
The Douglas Mawson is expected to join the Aurora fleet on December 1, 2025.
Its sister ships, the Sylvia Earle and the Greg Mortimer, will begin dedicating ten cabins per sailing to solo travelers for global sailings starting in April 2026.
As neither vessel has any accommodations designed for just one passenger, Aurora is earmarking the following ten cabins for solo travelers.
- Balcony C cabins 611 and 614,
- Balcony B cabins 606 and 603
- Balcony A cabins 407,409, 410, 412, 607 and 610.
2. New itineraries for Vantage Explorations customers traveling with Aurora
The average age of the victims of the VDWT bankruptcy is considerably older than the target customer of a typical expedition cruise line. That has been one of the primary complaints I’ve received over the past year from travelers hoping to spend their credits on a non-expedition adventure.
The new itineraries announced today aim to address that issue. Travelers who wish for a bit less physical action can choose trips in the Discovery and Explorations categories.
It’s worth noting that even on an expedition adventure with Aurora, there are always varying levels of activity. On my recent cruise aboard the Greg Mortimer on Aurora’s Jewels of the Arctic, the expedition team offered two to three styles of excursions each day. On Greenland and Svalbard, our leaders arranged strenuous hikes (five to seven miles over rough terrain) for some, shorter and less strenuous walks for others, and passive sight-seeing excursions in a zodiac for the rest.
So if a journey appeals to you, make sure to ask questions about the activities that will be offered during the cruise before rejecting an expedition outright.
3. Happy Birthday, Vantage Explorations! Here’s a present for the customers
Finally, Aurora Expeditions is offering its customers a gift in honor of Vantage Explorations’ birthday.
Starting today, travelers who book a new ocean cruise with Vantage Explorations will receive a $3,000 bonus in credits.
Here’s how the promotion will work:
- As per the sale agreement, each Vantage Explorations customer can pay for up to 50 percent of their cruise using their cruise credits. That part will not change.
- This promotion is only valid on trips booked between September 5 and December 5, 2024.
- The $3,000 bonus credits will be part of your 50 percent travel credits payment.
- You can use credits to pay the deposit on your cruise.
- The promotion does not apply to river cruises as these are operated through a separate company (VIVA Cruises)
This part is a bit confusing so I’ll share this example.
Let’s say you book a solo cabin and the total cost of the cruise portion of your trip comes to $12,000. You’ll be eligible to pay for up to $6,000 of that cruise with travel credits. During this promotion, Vantage Explorations will issue you a bonus of $3,000 in travel credits. You’ll only need to spend $3,000 of your own travel credits to pay for half of your cruise. Ultimately, your cruise will cost you $6,000 in cash and $3,000 of your own credits for the $12,000 cruise.
It’s important to note that this $3,000 bonus applies to everyone. So even if you only have $500 in cruise credits, you’ll still get the bonus if you choose to book at this time with Vantage Explorations.
This offer is only good until December 5, 2024. After that, the bonus credits will no longer be available.
The bottom line
If you’ve been on the fence deciding whether or not to give Vantage Explorations a try, now may be the time to work out the numbers and see if it makes sense. With the new itineraries to the Mediterranean, the Arctic, Borneo, Tasmania and more, there seems to be something for everyone.
Of course, only you can decide if you should take the plunge and spend your credits. But make sure not to be swayed by misinformation or hype, which is, unfortunately, often carelessly spread on social media and elsewhere. Consider all the facts, and if you need clarification on any points, you can ask in our Facebook group or email me directly. I’m always happy to answer your questions. (Michelle Couch-Friedman, Consumer Rescue)
