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Reviews 4.4.

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Amazing deal, great experience!

Amazing deal, nicely followed through with payments and information (including contacts in case of emergency) up until the return. Overall a great experience - a good changed when compared to a few years ago!

Date of experience : 06 April 2024

Potluck but always a winner

Useful information readily to hand, interesting destinations and reasonable prices. My last adventure to Barga in Italy turned out to be the best holiday I have ever had in Europe. Great place, great town, great staff and very reasonable. Tout est bien et Pas cher!

Date of experience : 05 April 2024

Easy to book

Easy to book. Follow up paperwork sent promptly. Good value offer in a super hotel.

Date of experience : 13 April 2024

Highly recommended the 10 day Nile cruise

A wonderful trip on the Nile, well planned visits, excellent tour guide and good food. Transit journeys were mostly reliable.

Date of experience : 04 April 2024

Ongoing issues with payment for a booking

I have paid on 13th April by direct bank transfer for my holiday because your link to pay by credit card was not working, today is 18th April and I am still waiting for the confirmation that my payment was received. It has not been processed and my profile still says that the there is an outstanding amount to be paid (which had already been paid). This was my first experience of booking holiday with you, and it is too stressful to repeat in the future. Your chat is not working - I have been waiting today from 1pm until 5pm for the advisor. My emails are not answered about this issue. Very disappointed.

Date of experience : 18 April 2024

A beautiful trip to Venice

I recently took my granddaughter to Venice booking everything through Voyage Prive. This was the 4th time I have used this company. The website and app are both easy to use. Everything is well planned and organised. Paperwork is clear. Contact numbers for emergencies are provided before you leave. I am about to use Voyage Prive for the 5th time, to go to Santorini, a clear indication of how we trust this company. Venice was as wonderful as anticipated the second time around.

Date of experience : 21 March 2024

Quality Service & Value Hols combined

No issues at all, everything was covered before we went away. Great service!

Date of experience : 14 April 2024

Comfortable room

Comfortable room - lovely staff & delicious breakfasts. Hotel is very well placed for visiting everywhere on foot.

Date of experience : 27 March 2024

Excellente prestation

Excellente prestation : transport, hôtel, transfert, excursion... un Service impeccable et irréprochable ! Bravo et merci.

Great hotel

Great hotel, beautifully designed, super service, great staff, super breakfests ang great room service. Very enjoyable stay

Date of experience : 26 March 2024

Very good holiday all round.

Date of experience : 15 April 2024

From booking to returning home the…

From booking to returning home the experience we had with Voyage Prive was second to none. This was our first time travelling with this company, but it will not be the last!

Date of experience : 22 March 2024

Everything went according to plan

Everything went according to plan. The booking process made it easy to match local departures with our chosen accommodation. The hotel was well beyond our expectations and the service was superb. We would definitely consider travelling with VP again.

STAY AWAY!!!!

STAY AWAY!!!! If I could give minus stars I would, complete shambles!!! First holiday we booked to Croatia we were not told that if we booked the late flight we would miss the ferry crossing. This meant we stayed in a rubbish hotel in the middle on no where the first night. We were not informed of anything! Second booking to Dominica republic (big holiday for both of our 30th birthdays) coat a couple grand and we have been put on flights that are taking us 24 hours to get there and another 24 hours to get back!!! (There are 8/9 hour flights available). We booked a 11day/10night holiday we are recieving a 9 nights and 9 days due to the incompetent flight booking. The help we have received has been appalling! To cancel we had to pay £2000!! DO NOT BOOK!!

Reply from Voyage Prive

Dear April, We apologize that you've had a negative experience on both of your recent trips to Croatia and the Dominican Republic, respectively. We are disappointed that they didn't live up to your expectations. Thank you for providing your booking ID - we will forward your comments to the customer service team, who will be in touch to try and find a solution. Thank you, Arthur.

Historic hotel in centre of Florence

Excellent value trip. Interesting old hotel with 600-year history, great location near main station (with efficient new tramway from airport), and so easy to walk around the historic centre of Florence. Friendly helpful staff, plenty of quiet places to sit and read, sweet little courtyard, didn’t use the outside spa/pool as it was February, but the water was warm! Breakfast was a little uninspired, very little hot food, but lots of pastries and breads (why is Florentine bread so tasteless? Maybe as it seems to be salt-free….) Opposite the world’s oldest pharmacy and 2 minutes from the exquisite church Santa Maria Novella. Lots of great trattorias and pizzerias nearby.

Date of experience : 12 February 2024

The must-sees of Panama !!! 👌🏼

We made a tour through Panama, booked with Voyage Privé and organized by Cacao Travel Agency and it was a super fantastic trip. We saw and stayed in Panama City, Boquete, Bocas del Toro, among others. We have always had different drivers, guides, especially Assyres, Byron, Carlos, and we would like to thank these people for their efforts and one person who really stood head and shoulders above his other colleagues, namely guide Sam Brittons for his knowledge and friendliness, was huge. Keep up the good work Sam!!! and of course not to forget the people of Cacao travel and Voyage Privé for this unforgettable journey.

Date of experience : 13 February 2024

Booking and information was fast and…

Booking and information was fast and informative. I like the reassurance of back-up if there are any problems. I have booked many holidays and city breaks with VP and always found the hotels to be of a very good standard and there is always a vast selection of flights on offer. Furthermore, I think VP is good value, offers a complete and full holiday experience with very good customer service.

Date of experience : 05 March 2024

Wrong flight time confirmed

Our experience with VP was a disaster. The travel confirmation email said our flight was at 17h20, when it should have said 16h20, so my family missed our flights when the gate closed an hour earlier than expected. Voyage Prive was defiant about this, as their systems showed the correct time (under ‘bookings’ on their website, and within PDF files). They admitted ‘the incorrect time in the first email could be due to a system error’ but would accept no liability or responsibility for this, blaming us for not detecting the error ourselves. To cover themselves, they even faked a follow-up email that showed the correct flight time. I challenged them to retract it, since I could prove it wasn’t genuine, but they made no attempt to do this. They did not help with alternative flights and did not respond to messages at the time, even on their ‘emergency’ WhatsApp number. I’m an experienced traveller, and have never known such shocking service from a travel agent. Do not trust them! *** Follow-up: Why the request to contact Customer Service again? From my review, you can tell we are already in close contact with an official complaint registered. You're just trying to look responsive when you are not.

Date of experience : 28 March 2024

Dear Ben, We're sorry you've had a negative experience; we understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Séjour au Pan Safari Africa Lodge (Parc…

Séjour au Pan Safari Africa Lodge (Parc Kruger - Afrique du sud) Prestations fideles à l'annonce. Tous les documents sont clairs. Séjour trés agréable et dépaysant.

Date of experience : 01 February 2024

Friendly and efficient service. A perfect itinerary.

The trip and service that I got exceeded my expectations. We had to make literally last minute amendments - change one of the travellers, changed accommodation and dietary requirements, visas and airplane tickets for the domestic flights. We got support throughout the ordeal by mail, phone and social networks even during the weekend and after dark:). That made the whole trip possible and I could tell the team both in the UK and Vietnam were both driven by the desire to make us feel good. The service was personalised and the itinerary well planned in a way that kept the level of excitement and anticipation high untill the last day. We always felt pampered and taken care of. The journey gave us a sense of understanding Vietnamese people that wouldn't have been possible if we had travelled on our own. The tour guides were very good - friendly, helpful and efficient. The drivers were excellent with clean and comfortable cars. The hotels chosen by the company were all very good - in good locations, design and food.

Date of experience : 07 March 2024

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Could you please let me know if anybody has recently traveled with this company and how they found it. Am planning a holiday with them in May.

171 replies to this topic

No, but I found some reviews:

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.voyage-prive.com

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i12290-k9789656-Voyage_prive-Bargain_Travel.html

My experience of them is a few years ago now and I found virtually everything cheaper just booking direct (which is why I unsubscribed).. What they omit to say is that their 'savings' are compared with rack rates/full price tickets which no one really pays nowadays. There might be a true bargain on their site somewhere but you'd need to be a bloodhound to find it.

This is the wrong forum to be asking these kinds of questions. The TA Holiday Travel forum is where you might find those with experience of such deals.

I've looked, but not recently, and never found a deal worth taking. Either I could better the prices by travelling independently, or found much better reviewed and higher standard hotels in the same destination at similar prices.

Just type Voyage Prive into the Search All forums for box on this forums homepage link below to find all existing forum topics on them:- https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ForumHome

Hi Carolyn,

I noticed that you inadvertently posted your question in the Air Travel Forum, so I have moved the topic on your behalf to the Holiday Travel Forum.

Best regards,

TripAdvisor Community Moderator

reservation 102953248VPFR

I booked a hotel with Voyage Privé this morning. I immediately saw that I had made a mistake with the dates. I tried to contact them straight away, but number was always saturated. When I eventually got through the lady advised me to cancel the booking and re-book the same hotel. The cancellation fee they are asking me is 170 euros!!!! Over 30% of the total!! This is disgusting. I am hoping Voyage Privé will make a commercial gesture and or change the date free of charge... Watch this space - I will let you know!!!

It is within their power to offer a gesture of goodwill, but they don't have to if you agreed to terms that included that charge and you were outside any period they allowed for cancellation or amendment without penalty.

Please do come back and let us know what their response was.

I have used them on a number of occasions and if you are selective you can get good hotel/holiday options. Sadly I have appalling customer service and follow up with my current booking to Thailand. The difference from previous bookings is that they were all online and required no further intervention or contact with the VP team. On this trip I needed to make some enquires with them around extra leg room seats and a change to passport name. It is still not resolved over 2 weeks after booking - and we fly in less than 3 weeks. You can NEVER get through on their phone lines - average wait of 15 minutes. No follow through on actions they say they are going to take. I am so frustrated and will never use them again. Extremely sub standard

Don't do it worst customer services ever, still waiting for refund for part of trip they did not deliver 2 months on.. they are cowboys

Don't do it the worst gusto.er services ever. Half my holiday was not even booked when i arrived

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Voyage Prive has a rating of 1 star from 2 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Voyage Prive ranks 325th among Travel Deals sites.

“The worst travel agency I've ever seen”

TERRIBLE! I won't book with Voyage Privé anymore! I booked a 4-star hotel on the Costa Brava. Their prices were expensive for Spain and the service at the hotel was cheap & non professional. Apparently they never been in this hotel before... Of course, when I called them for complaining, they cannot do anything for me. Very disappointed by the experience.

Reviews (2)

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A gripping account of Captain Cook’s final voyage

‘the wide wide sea,’ by hampton sides, recounts cook’s search for the northwest passage.

I’m grateful to the Santa Fe bookseller who put Hampton Sides’s “Blood and Thunder” into my hands some years ago. With Kit Carson’s death-defying exploits at its center, the book revolutionized my concept of America’s westward expansion. Sides’s latest effort, “ The Wide Wide Sea ,” is a gripping account of Captain James Cook’s final voyage.

Cook is a controversial historical figure, especially in light of increasing consciousness about the evils of colonialism. Yet he continues to evoke curiosity and attention. As recently as last month, Popular Mechanics published an article about the rediscovery of his curated shell collection.

Sides does not skirt the rapacious appetites of the British and other European monarchies. The magic of this book, however, is in the details of the explorer’s life at sea. Sides relies on Cook’s writings as well those of other sailors on the voyage. Based on the selected bibliography he includes, Sides’s research was voluminous.

Cook had made two world voyages by the time the book opens. He was a celebrity, having “risen from virtually nothing.” At sea, he’d bucked the Royal Navy’s tradition of violence and cruelty. He’d figured out how to avoid scurvy and brought home information of incomparable value, had mastered new nautical instruments and served as an expert scientist, anthropologist and navigator. His mapmaking skills were superlative.

After only six months at home, he took off again, in search of the elusive Northwest Passage . His third expedition consisted of 180 people in two wooden ships, the Resolution and the Discovery. They left England in July 1776.

In addition to Cook’s story, other narratives weave through the book. One particularly fascinating account is that of Mai, a native of Raiatea, a volcanic island 130 miles northwest of present-day Tahiti. When Mai was a boy, warriors from Bora Bora invaded Raiatea, murdered his father, seized his family’s land and enslaved much of the population, forcing his family to take refuge in Tahiti. In 1767, a teenage Mai witnessed the English navy’s firepower when Samuel Wallis, a British navigator, arrived in the HMS Dolphin and fought the Tahitians. Vowing to avenge his people against Bora Bora, Mai concluded that English guns were the way to go. When Cook sailed in seven years later on his second Pacific voyage, Mai requested passage, becoming the first Polynesian to set foot on English soil.

Mai’s story reads as metaphor for colonialism. He learned English and was wined and dined as a celebrity. Although horrified by London’s grinding poverty, unthinkable in his homeland, he wore the local dress and adopted the manners of a foppish English gentleman. He met King George, who provided Mai and Cook with a large assortment of farm animals and domesticated birds, to cement the king’s footprint around the globe. No surprise — the animals were hell to care for. Mai had been in search of heavy artillery from King George, but for the voyage was given only an “arsenal of muskets [and] broadswords,” as well as gifts that would have been unimaginable to the Polynesians — cut-glass bows, laced hats, crockery and telescopes. If not the cache Mai hoped for, it does reflect the English royalty’s strategy for winning friends.

It isn’t possible in this short space to describe Sides’s hair-raising accounts of the journey, an itinerary that led from England to present-day South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, Hawaii, north to Alaska and beyond, and back to Hawaii. Just repairing and re-provisioning the ship required herculean efforts. The physical threats included days-long ocean storms, fog so thick it wasn’t possible to see from stern to bow and cold temperatures against which no garment could protect.

By the time Cook reached Polynesia in October 1777, the rat infestation was so great that “the vermin had all but taken over the holds, gangways, and lower decks.” At Moorea, 12 miles from Tahiti, Cook created a “swinging bridge” from ropes to lure the rats on land. A few made it to the beaches, introducing Polynesia to the European black rats, which remain a “scourge” today.

Cook understood that his men were vectors for infection. An ascetic, he occasionally stopped his men from going ashore to prevent the spread of venereal disease. At times he restrained his crew from violence; at other times, his temper was uncontrollable. After a series of petty thefts from the ship by Tongo natives, Cook ordered brutal floggings and had a villager’s ears cut off. In punishment for one Moorea person stealing a goat, Cook had the village and its cropland torched, along with its canoes. Sides suggests that over the course of this final voyage, Cook may have been suffering declining mental faculties.

By August 1778, the two ships were in the Arctic Ocean sailing toward Siberia. Cook was careful, “zagging outward if the pincers of ice began to close in on his vessels.” When he finally concluded there was no Northwest Passage, he decided to salvage his “defeat,” by doing “reconnaissance work in Hawai’i.” A man onboard wrote, “Those who have been amongst ice, in the dread of being enclosed in it, and in so late a season, can be the best judge of the general joy this news gave.”

People tend to know Cook was killed by native people in Hawaii. The events leading up to his death are gruesome and upsetting, including “cannibalism” made more explicable in Sides’s measured account.

This book captures a time when Europeans were finding unfathomable new worlds. Armed with extensive research and terrific writing, Sides re-creates the newness of the experience, the vast differences in and among Indigenous cultures, and natural phenomena that were as terrifying as they were wondrous.

Martha Anne Toll’s prizewinning debut novel, “Three Muses,” was published in 2022. Her second novel, “Duet for One,” is forthcoming in early 2025.

The Wide Wide Sea

Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook

By Hampton Sides

Doubleday. 432 pp. $35

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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Could you please let me know if anybody has recently traveled with this company and how they found it. Am planning a holiday with them in May.

171 replies to this topic

No, but I found some reviews:

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.voyage-prive.com

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i12290-k9789656-Voyage_prive-Bargain_Travel.html

My experience of them is a few years ago now and I found virtually everything cheaper just booking direct (which is why I unsubscribed).. What they omit to say is that their 'savings' are compared with rack rates/full price tickets which no one really pays nowadays. There might be a true bargain on their site somewhere but you'd need to be a bloodhound to find it.

This is the wrong forum to be asking these kinds of questions. The TA Holiday Travel forum is where you might find those with experience of such deals.

I've looked, but not recently, and never found a deal worth taking. Either I could better the prices by travelling independently, or found much better reviewed and higher standard hotels in the same destination at similar prices.

Just type Voyage Prive into the Search All forums for box on this forums homepage link below to find all existing forum topics on them:- https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ForumHome

Hi Carolyn,

I noticed that you inadvertently posted your question in the Air Travel Forum, so I have moved the topic on your behalf to the Holiday Travel Forum.

Best regards,

TripAdvisor Community Moderator

reservation 102953248VPFR

I booked a hotel with Voyage Privé this morning. I immediately saw that I had made a mistake with the dates. I tried to contact them straight away, but number was always saturated. When I eventually got through the lady advised me to cancel the booking and re-book the same hotel. The cancellation fee they are asking me is 170 euros!!!! Over 30% of the total!! This is disgusting. I am hoping Voyage Privé will make a commercial gesture and or change the date free of charge... Watch this space - I will let you know!!!

It is within their power to offer a gesture of goodwill, but they don't have to if you agreed to terms that included that charge and you were outside any period they allowed for cancellation or amendment without penalty.

Please do come back and let us know what their response was.

I have used them on a number of occasions and if you are selective you can get good hotel/holiday options. Sadly I have appalling customer service and follow up with my current booking to Thailand. The difference from previous bookings is that they were all online and required no further intervention or contact with the VP team. On this trip I needed to make some enquires with them around extra leg room seats and a change to passport name. It is still not resolved over 2 weeks after booking - and we fly in less than 3 weeks. You can NEVER get through on their phone lines - average wait of 15 minutes. No follow through on actions they say they are going to take. I am so frustrated and will never use them again. Extremely sub standard

Don't do it worst customer services ever, still waiting for refund for part of trip they did not deliver 2 months on.. they are cowboys

Don't do it the worst gusto.er services ever. Half my holiday was not even booked when i arrived

• Audley Travel (audleytravel.com) Travel Agents - RIP OFF?! 02:27
• Deposit issues 22:39
• Flight disruption 22:02
• Wrong rating yesterday
• Voyage Privé yesterday
• Scam Tui email? yesterday
• 17 year old booked as an adult, Help!! 17 April 2024
• Jordan / exoticca travel 16 April 2024
• Kenwood Travel Beware! 16 April 2024
• First Holiday 15 April 2024
• Exoticca 15 April 2024
• Winter 2025 holidays 15 April 2024
• Where to holiday?? 13 April 2024
• Cottages.com run by Awaze Ltd Don't make a mistake 13 April 2024
• What have you learned to make travel easier?

What Happened When Captain Cook Went Crazy

In “The Wide Wide Sea,” Hampton Sides offers a fuller picture of the British explorer’s final voyage to the Pacific islands.

The English explorer James Cook, circa 1765. Credit... Stock Montage/Getty Images

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By Doug Bock Clark

Doug Bock Clark is the author of “The Last Whalers: Three Years in the Far Pacific with a Courageous Tribe and a Vanishing Way of Life.”

• Published April 9, 2024 Updated April 12, 2024
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THE WIDE WIDE SEA: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, by Hampton Sides

In January 1779, when the British explorer James Cook sailed into a volcanic bay known by Hawaiians as “the Pathway of the Gods,” he beheld thousands of people seemingly waiting for him on shore. Once he came on land, people prostrated themselves and chanted “Lono,” the name of a Hawaiian deity. Cook was bewildered.

It was as though the European mariner “had stepped into an ancient script for a cosmic pageant he knew nothing about,” Hampton Sides writes in “The Wide Wide Sea,” his propulsive and vivid history of Cook’s third and final voyage across the globe .

As Sides describes the encounter, Cook happened to arrive during a festival honoring Lono, sailing around the island in the same clockwise fashion favored by the god, possibly causing him to be mistaken as the divinity.

Sides, the author of several books on war and exploration, makes a symbolic pageant of his own of Cook’s last voyage, finding in it “a morally complicated tale that has left a lot for modern sensibilities to unravel and critique,” including the “historical seeds” of debates about “Eurocentrism,” “toxic masculinity” and “cultural appropriation.”

Cook’s two earlier global expeditions focused on scientific goals — first to observe the transit of Venus from the Pacific Ocean and then to make sure there was no extra continent in the middle of it. His final voyage, however, was inextricably bound up in colonialism: During the explorer’s second expedition, a young Polynesian man named Mai had persuaded the captain of one of Cook’s ships to bring him to London in the hope of acquiring guns to kill his Pacific islander enemies.

A few years later, George III commissioned Cook to return Mai to Polynesia on the way to searching for an Arctic passage to connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Mai brought along a menagerie of plants and livestock given to him by the king, who hoped that Mai would convert his native islands into simulacra of the English countryside.

“The Wide Wide Sea” is not so much a story of “first contact” as one of Cook reckoning with the fallout of what he and others had wrought in expanding the map of Europe’s power. Retracing parts of his previous voyages while chauffeuring Mai, Cook is forced to confront the fact that his influence on groups he helped “discover” has not been universally positive. Sexually transmitted diseases introduced by his sailors on earlier expeditions have spread. Some Indigenous groups that once welcomed him have become hard bargainers, seeming primarily interested in the Europeans for their iron and trinkets.

Sides writes that Cook “saw himself as an explorer-scientist,” who “tried to follow an ethic of impartial observation born of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution” and whose “descriptions of Indigenous peoples were tolerant and often quite sympathetic” by “the standards of his time.”

In Hawaii, he had been circling the island in a vain attempt to keep his crew from disembarking, finding lovers and spreading more gonorrhea. And despite the fact that he was ferrying Mai and his guns back to the Pacific, Cook also thought it generally better to avoid “political squabbles” among the civilizations he encountered.

But Cook’s actions on this final journey raised questions about his adherence to impartial observation. He responded to the theft of a single goat by sending his mariners on a multiday rampage to burn whole villages to force its return. His men worried that their captain’s “judgment — and his legendary equanimity — had begun to falter,” Sides writes. As the voyage progressed, Cook became startlingly free with the disciplinary whip on his crew.

“The Wide Wide Sea” presents Cook’s moral collapse as an enigma. Sides cites other historians’ arguments that lingering physical ailments — one suggests he picked up a parasite from some bad fish — might have darkened Cook’s mood. But his journals and ship logs, which dedicate hundreds of thousands of words to oceanic data, offer little to resolve the mystery. “In all those pages we rarely get a glimpse of Cook’s emotional world,” Sides notes, describing the explorer as “a technician, a cyborg, a navigational machine.”

The gaps in Cook’s interior journey stand out because of the incredible job Sides does in bringing to life Cook’s physical journey. New Zealand, Tahiti, Kamchatka, Hawaii and London come alive with you-are-there descriptions of gales, crushing ice packs and gun smoke, the set pieces of exploration and endurance that made these tales so hypnotizing when they first appeared. The earliest major account of Cook’s first Pacific expedition was one of the most popular publications of the 18th century.

But Sides isn’t just interested in retelling an adventure tale. He also wants to present it from a 21st-century point of view. “The Wide Wide Sea” fits neatly into a growing genre that includes David Grann’s “ The Wager ” and Candice Millard’s “ River of the Gods ,” in which famous expeditions, once told as swashbuckling stories of adventure, are recast within the tragic history of colonialism . Sides weaves in oral histories to show how Hawaiians and other Indigenous groups perceived Cook, and strives to bring to life ancient Polynesian cultures just as much as imperial England.

And yet, such modern retellings also force us to ask how different they really are from their predecessors, especially if much of their appeal lies in exactly the same derring-do that enthralled prior audiences. Parts of “The Wide Wide Sea” inevitably echo the storytelling of previous yarns, even if Sides self-consciously critiques them. Just as Cook, in retracing his earlier voyages, became enmeshed in the dubious consequences of his previous expeditions, so, too, does this newest retracing of his story becomes tangled in the historical ironies it seeks to transcend.

In the end, Mai got his guns home and shot his enemies, and the Hawaiians eventually realized that Cook was not a god. After straining their resources to outfit his ships, Cook tried to kidnap the king of Hawaii to force the return of a stolen boat. A confrontation ensued and the explorer was clubbed and stabbed to death, perhaps with a dagger made of a swordfish bill.

The British massacred many Hawaiians with firearms, put heads on poles and burned homes. Once accounts of these exploits reached England, they were multiplied by printing presses and spread across their world-spanning empire. The Hawaiians committed their losses to memory. And though the newest version of Cook’s story includes theirs, it’s still Cook’s story that we are retelling with each new age.

THE WIDE WIDE SEA : Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, | By Hampton Sides | Doubleday | 408 pp. | $35

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Voyage Prive   Reviews

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Reviews 4.4.

47,394 total

Most recent

Great trip to Jordan

Great trip to Jordan, staff at Voyage Prive easy to get hold of and the organisation from booking, to the trip were fantastic. The company in Jordan which organised the trip were lovely always checking everything was OK, hotels amazing and all people in the tourist industry we came across were very welcoming and helpful. I will definitely use this company again. Thank you to the staff in both Paris and Jordan.

Date of experience : 23 November 2023

Reply from Voyage Prive

Bonjour, Merci pour votre retour et de l'intérêt que vous portez à Voyage Privé. La Jordanie est magnifique ! N'hésitez pas à nous contacter pour un prochain voyage ! Alessia de Voyage Privé,

Our trip to Venice

Our trip to Venice was great, the Hotel was perfectly situated and as described, the staff were very attentive and Voyage Prive answered all the questions I had,

Date of experience : 15 November 2023

Bonjour Richard, Merci pour votre retour et de l'intérêt que vous portez à Voyage Privé. Venise est un très bon choix. N'hésitez pas à nous contacter pour un prochain voyage ! Alessia de Voyage Privé,

BED BUGS EMERGENCY!

BED BUGS EMERGENCY! The company disappeared after my complaint of getting bed bugs from the 4-star hotel I stayed at in Portugal. Not only the fare they gave was more expensive than the hotel itself, the hotel won't now be responsible for the bed bugs directly but I must complain to the agency that is UNRESPONSIVE for over a week. Not only my body and sleep are destroyed, I now have been quoted 450EUR+VAT plus 1 night way from my home to clean it. Not to speak about the chemicals they will use...

Date of experience : 26 October 2023

Bonjour, Nous regrettons profondément que votre expérience avec Voyage Privé ne soit pas à la hauteur de vos attentes. Pour toute réclamation, nous vous invitons à contacter notre service client en fournissant votre numéro de réservation à 10 chiffres se terminant par VPFR. Notre équipe dédiée traitera votre demande dans les plus brefs délais. Vous pouvez soumettre votre réclamation en suivant ce lien : https://aide.voyage-prive.com/hc/fr/sections/4419148519185-Formuler-une-r%C3%A9clamation Nous sommes désolés pour les désagréments que cela a pu causer et sommes là pour vous assister. Alessia de Voyage Privé

Beware if you have problems!

Have had several successful holidays with Voyage Prive in the past when there were no issues. My last holiday to Ischia resulted in writing 2 complaints. One regarding the Hotel, more of a warning to others and one regarding a missed included Excursion for Organic Granita tasting. The excursion never transpired and Voyage Prive offered and paid £5 compensation total for my Wife and I which I advised was insulting and unacceptable. No response. I've unsubscribed. Editing 28/11/23 following reply below:- VP were given ample opportunity to review and sort this. Instead only generic responses were sent. I tried to contact them following their response below and the telephone number directed me to the Chatbot and I was advised by the Chatbot to complete yet another form. They can talk to me on my mobile number as long as the call shows up as Voyage Prive.

Date of experience : 12 October 2023

Dear Derek, We're sorry to hear you’ve had this experience on your recent holiday, and that we haven’t resolved the issue to your satisfaction. If you would like to speak with someone about this further, please contact customer services with your booking ID. Thank you, Arthur.

Quality of the destination

It was a normal day where I always go around looking for places at the voyage prive website where I saw a beautiful location in Marbella and I decided to take a chance. Best decision ever! We arrived and the hotel was top notch, beautiful location, beautiful food, everything was just 100/100.

Date of experience : 20 November 2023

Terrific holiday in Madeira

Terrific holiday in Madeira, in very comfortable and conveniently located hotel. Voyage Prive organised everything (flights, transfers, pre-trip info etc) brilliantly. We have now had 4-5 trips with them and are delighted as always with the levels of service and the good value their holidays provide.

Date of experience : 06 November 2023

Terrible customer service

Terrible customer service, terrible communication, promise the world and never deliver, simple task is to communicate with the customer, was told by an advisor you get more flexibility if you book direct with British Airways and hotel direct! What a joke!

Dear Dave & Louise, We're sorry to hear that you've had a negative experience; we understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly - please contact our customer services team if you require any further assistance. Thank you, Arthur.

Booking "Waiting for validation" for 4 days and counting

Payment of £300 taken by Voyage-prive however, my booking has still not been confirmed 4 days after! With Black Friday sales now on, I now don't know if I should be looking to secure deals elsewhere or wait for Voyage-prive to confirm if they will honour the booking! Considering that I am first time customer this is not best impression! 23/11 1p.m. Hello Arthur, I have already contacted your customer service 2 days ago with my booking 100406345VPUK. Issue still not resolved.

Date of experience : 18 November 2023

Dear Rowland, We're sorry you've had a negative experience regarding your first booking with us. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Avoid voyage Privé!!

I have booked through voyage Privé for a premium flight, the flight upgraded costed me an extra £1000 which they have happily taken from my bank but only booked me for an extra legroom seat. I phoned multiple times to get assistance on this to get this rectified but they keep emailing me back with an automated reply saying that an extra legroom is considered premium when an extra legroom seat won’t cost near to an extra £1000. Absolutely scam, they won’t give me a refund as they won’t even acknowledge the fact that they have made a mistake even if I have sent them proof of my conversation with the airline company itself confirming that the price I paid for was for the premium seat and not the extra legroom

Dear Sir/Madam, We're sorry you've had a negative experience; we understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Excellent service.

Date of experience : 17 November 2023

Bonjour, Merci pour votre retour et de l'intérêt que vous portez à Voyage Privé. N'hésitez pas à nous contacter pour un prochain voyage ! Alessia de Voyage Privé,

Very well executed organised Thailand…

Very well executed organised Thailand trip. Good hotels, locations and excursions by CEL tours on behalf of VP. Great value for money and already looking for similar in another part of the world for next year.

Great selection of high quality…

Great selection of high quality holidays at very good prices

Date of experience : 09 November 2023

I will NEVER use this company or…

I will NEVER use this company or recommend to others. I had to cancel my holiday last minute due to death of my mother. Company were not able to assit. Previous company was unable to amend the booking. I lost nearly £4,000 on my booking. Company was unable to help over the phone. They always said they will send a reply and it most mostly a negative response 1-2 days later. Best to use reputable companies like booking.com going forward. Very poor customer service!!! Avoid this company at all costs.

Date of experience : 19 November 2023

Dear Kirula, First of all, we're sorry to hear the sad news about your mother's passing. In relation to the negative experience you encountered when trying to amend your booking, could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Happy to recommend

Have booked holidays with Voyage Prive several times over the past few years and have had consistently good experiences. Booking online is easy, customer service is excellent, hotels are as described and good value for money. Happy to recommend.

Date of experience : 16 November 2023

Hotel Corinthia Prague

Everything went to plan. Hotel was excellent and right near the metro which we used to travel into the city. 20th floor room with fabulous views. Big room. Breakfast must have been the best selection I have been served on land. We ate in two hotel restaurants and we couldn't fault either. Prices were good too. The only gripe was that we travelled with two airlines. The outward journey we were allowed 20kgs in our hold luggage but on the return only 15kgs. We managed but could have been difficult if we had wanted to bring home souvenirs.

Unresponsive to luggage problems

We love your brand and trust your choice of hotels, we have had some wonderful stays with you. However on our last trip there was a problem with the luggage (indeed there was a problem the time before that you eventually managed to sort out the day before we left), but this time your agent was extremely unhelpful and left me to try and sort the issue out myself. We ended up getting completely confused and suffered at €120 fine at Catania airport.

Date of experience : 07 November 2023

Dear Nicholas, First of all, we very much value our loyal members and we truly apologise that you've had an experience that didn't live up to your expectations. We value your feedback, as it helps us identify areas where we can improve our services and processes. We'd love to hear about how we can do a better job next time. Thank you, Arthur.

Good customer service and communication

Our recent trip to aria hotel was….

Our recent trip to Aria Hotel was fabulous and having researched the hotel since I am amazed at the bargain price we got by booking through Voyage Privé

They offer quality products and are…

They offer quality products and are quick to react although the experience at the hotel in Córdoba we booked through them was poor . Also when I filled the review of this hotel sent by Voyage Prive, when pressing sent a message came up, something went wrong, try again later. Do Voyage prive only accept good reviews?

Date of experience : 14 November 2023

THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT CUSTOMERS AND DO NOT VET THEIR PARTNERS

We had issues with Voyage Prive ahead of our holiday which I previously provided a review for as they changed our itinerary and also took over 2 months to respond to our questions. Ahead of our holiday VP provided details of where to find our transfer agent 'upon arrival our representative will be waiting for you with a sign and the voyage prive logo at the meeting point before passport control where he will help you reach your transfer'. On arrival there was no one there to help us reach our transfer and we could not find anyone. We asked the airport staff where to find our transfer and they directed us outside where the transfer offices are and the shutters were down and no one was there to pick us up. The airport staff tried to help us by contacting the emergency numbers that vp had provided but some of the numbers were not working even though they were stated to be available 24/7 - this was at around midnight. I also sent vp a message on the whatsapp emergency line but no response was received until the following day as it was out of hours. The following day we had to get up early for our transfer to a nile cruise which vp advertised as a 5*cruise and also confirmed that we would be staying in a upper cabin. On arrival, we had not been given an upper cabin, we checked with the staff at reception and the reception staff advised that all cabins are the same and that they are all standard cabins regardless of what floor it was on - we found this to be true as we later got a chance to see the top floor rooms. The cruise was also advertised as a 5* cruise but appears to be a 3* maximum. It's a very old ship with signs of heavy wear and tear everywhere. We didn't even feel comfortable leaving our valuables in the safe as some of the buttons and dials had fallen out and looked in disrepair. During the cruise the food also made unwell we had symptoms of food poisoning and the Egyptologist/tour guide Ahmed provided us with some streptoquin. On the day before check out of the cruise, we were advised that we had to check out at 9am and that breakfast would be from 6-7am and that our transfer would be there at 11:30am. We asked Ahmed whether an earlier transfer could be organised as its my husbands 30th Birthday and we did not want to spend it waiting without food as the cruise policy if you buy food or drink elsewhere you can only consume it in your rooms but they refused. The transfer was also late the following and we spent 10 hours without food. On arrival to the hotel in Hurghada Gravity Sahl Hasheesh, we faced more issues. We had booked and paid for a Superior Sea View room but were not given one. In previous correspondence vp had confirmed that we would be getting the superior sea view room. We showed the reception staff the email confirmation from vp and they stated that they had no dealings with vp and that their partners had booked a garden view room. We asked the reception to put this in writing so that we could claim our money back and they refused to do so, at that point we started to record the conversation due to the numerous issues faced. All in all we had terrible service from VP from the moment we booked the holiday. we had disputes about the itinerary changing from what was initially paid for and advertised months before the actual holiday. Email correspondence from VP in regards to our holiday would at times take months to get a response and after serveral phone calls from us. Itinerary, transfers and certain details of the trip were not confirmed by them even though we had been chasing it up for months and they told us they where waiting on their partners to respond. There was no clarity no organisation, their partners were continuously asking us questions about details of our booking during the holiday which we had already provided to vp and quite frankly by then they should have known months ahead of schedule. No one took accountability or responsibility for these errors, we were continuously being tossed back and forth between VP and their partners during our holiday which soured our entire experience. We were stressed, upset and embarassed at reception to the point of crying. I dont think VP properly vetted their 'partners'(hvezda) otherwise if they knew the calibre of people they were sending unwitting tourists to... I'm certain they would not do it. We felt unsafe at times, cheated and lied to by them they made our time in egypt a nightmare and we will most certainly never visit or book anything with them again. We paid £2777 for this holiday and it was a waste of money. We provided VP with proof of everything that happened, pictures, videos, recordings etc and they offered us compensation of below 10% of what we paid which is unfair and an insults to customers. AVOID AT ALL COST - ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS TAKE YOUR MONEY

Date of experience : 01 October 2023

Dear Nay, We're sorry to hear you’ve had this experience, and that we haven’t resolved the issue to your satisfaction. If you would like to speak with someone about this further, please contact customer services with your booking ID. Thank you, Arthur.

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Voyage Prive   Reviews

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Reviews 4.4.

47,394 total

Most relevant

Amazing deal, great experience!

Amazing deal, nicely followed through with payments and information (including contacts in case of emergency) up until the return. Overall a great experience - a good changed when compared to a few years ago!

Date of experience : 06 April 2024

Potluck but always a winner

Useful information readily to hand, interesting destinations and reasonable prices. My last adventure to Barga in Italy turned out to be the best holiday I have ever had in Europe. Great place, great town, great staff and very reasonable. Tout est bien et Pas cher!

Date of experience : 05 April 2024

Easy to book

Easy to book. Follow up paperwork sent promptly. Good value offer in a super hotel.

Date of experience : 13 April 2024

Highly recommended the 10 day Nile cruise

A wonderful trip on the Nile, well planned visits, excellent tour guide and good food. Transit journeys were mostly reliable.

Date of experience : 04 April 2024

Ongoing issues with payment for a booking

I have paid on 13th April by direct bank transfer for my holiday because your link to pay by credit card was not working, today is 18th April and I am still waiting for the confirmation that my payment was received. It has not been processed and my profile still says that the there is an outstanding amount to be paid (which had already been paid). This was my first experience of booking holiday with you, and it is too stressful to repeat in the future. Your chat is not working - I have been waiting today from 1pm until 5pm for the advisor. My emails are not answered about this issue. Very disappointed.

Date of experience : 18 April 2024

A beautiful trip to Venice

I recently took my granddaughter to Venice booking everything through Voyage Prive. This was the 4th time I have used this company. The website and app are both easy to use. Everything is well planned and organised. Paperwork is clear. Contact numbers for emergencies are provided before you leave. I am about to use Voyage Prive for the 5th time, to go to Santorini, a clear indication of how we trust this company. Venice was as wonderful as anticipated the second time around.

Date of experience : 21 March 2024

Quality Service & Value Hols combined

No issues at all, everything was covered before we went away. Great service!

Date of experience : 14 April 2024

Comfortable room

Comfortable room - lovely staff & delicious breakfasts. Hotel is very well placed for visiting everywhere on foot.

Date of experience : 27 March 2024

Excellente prestation

Excellente prestation : transport, hôtel, transfert, excursion... un Service impeccable et irréprochable ! Bravo et merci.

Great hotel

Great hotel, beautifully designed, super service, great staff, super breakfests ang great room service. Very enjoyable stay

Date of experience : 26 March 2024

Very good holiday all round.

Date of experience : 15 April 2024

From booking to returning home the…

From booking to returning home the experience we had with Voyage Prive was second to none. This was our first time travelling with this company, but it will not be the last!

Date of experience : 22 March 2024

Everything went according to plan

Everything went according to plan. The booking process made it easy to match local departures with our chosen accommodation. The hotel was well beyond our expectations and the service was superb. We would definitely consider travelling with VP again.

STAY AWAY!!!!

STAY AWAY!!!! If I could give minus stars I would, complete shambles!!! First holiday we booked to Croatia we were not told that if we booked the late flight we would miss the ferry crossing. This meant we stayed in a rubbish hotel in the middle on no where the first night. We were not informed of anything! Second booking to Dominica republic (big holiday for both of our 30th birthdays) coat a couple grand and we have been put on flights that are taking us 24 hours to get there and another 24 hours to get back!!! (There are 8/9 hour flights available). We booked a 11day/10night holiday we are recieving a 9 nights and 9 days due to the incompetent flight booking. The help we have received has been appalling! To cancel we had to pay £2000!! DO NOT BOOK!!

Reply from Voyage Prive

Dear April, We apologize that you've had a negative experience on both of your recent trips to Croatia and the Dominican Republic, respectively. We are disappointed that they didn't live up to your expectations. Thank you for providing your booking ID - we will forward your comments to the customer service team, who will be in touch to try and find a solution. Thank you, Arthur.

Historic hotel in centre of Florence

Excellent value trip. Interesting old hotel with 600-year history, great location near main station (with efficient new tramway from airport), and so easy to walk around the historic centre of Florence. Friendly helpful staff, plenty of quiet places to sit and read, sweet little courtyard, didn’t use the outside spa/pool as it was February, but the water was warm! Breakfast was a little uninspired, very little hot food, but lots of pastries and breads (why is Florentine bread so tasteless? Maybe as it seems to be salt-free….) Opposite the world’s oldest pharmacy and 2 minutes from the exquisite church Santa Maria Novella. Lots of great trattorias and pizzerias nearby.

Date of experience : 12 February 2024

The must-sees of Panama !!! 👌🏼

We made a tour through Panama, booked with Voyage Privé and organized by Cacao Travel Agency and it was a super fantastic trip. We saw and stayed in Panama City, Boquete, Bocas del Toro, among others. We have always had different drivers, guides, especially Assyres, Byron, Carlos, and we would like to thank these people for their efforts and one person who really stood head and shoulders above his other colleagues, namely guide Sam Brittons for his knowledge and friendliness, was huge. Keep up the good work Sam!!! and of course not to forget the people of Cacao travel and Voyage Privé for this unforgettable journey.

Date of experience : 13 February 2024

Booking and information was fast and…

Booking and information was fast and informative. I like the reassurance of back-up if there are any problems. I have booked many holidays and city breaks with VP and always found the hotels to be of a very good standard and there is always a vast selection of flights on offer. Furthermore, I think VP is good value, offers a complete and full holiday experience with very good customer service.

Date of experience : 05 March 2024

Wrong flight time confirmed

Our experience with VP was a disaster. The travel confirmation email said our flight was at 17h20, when it should have said 16h20, so my family missed our flights when the gate closed an hour earlier than expected. Voyage Prive was defiant about this, as their systems showed the correct time (under ‘bookings’ on their website, and within PDF files). They admitted ‘the incorrect time in the first email could be due to a system error’ but would accept no liability or responsibility for this, blaming us for not detecting the error ourselves. To cover themselves, they even faked a follow-up email that showed the correct flight time. I challenged them to retract it, since I could prove it wasn’t genuine, but they made no attempt to do this. They did not help with alternative flights and did not respond to messages at the time, even on their ‘emergency’ WhatsApp number. I’m an experienced traveller, and have never known such shocking service from a travel agent. Do not trust them! *** Follow-up: Why the request to contact Customer Service again? From my review, you can tell we are already in close contact with an official complaint registered. You're just trying to look responsive when you are not.

Date of experience : 28 March 2024

Dear Ben, We're sorry you've had a negative experience; we understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Séjour au Pan Safari Africa Lodge (Parc…

Séjour au Pan Safari Africa Lodge (Parc Kruger - Afrique du sud) Prestations fideles à l'annonce. Tous les documents sont clairs. Séjour trés agréable et dépaysant.

Date of experience : 01 February 2024

Friendly and efficient service. A perfect itinerary.

The trip and service that I got exceeded my expectations. We had to make literally last minute amendments - change one of the travellers, changed accommodation and dietary requirements, visas and airplane tickets for the domestic flights. We got support throughout the ordeal by mail, phone and social networks even during the weekend and after dark:). That made the whole trip possible and I could tell the team both in the UK and Vietnam were both driven by the desire to make us feel good. The service was personalised and the itinerary well planned in a way that kept the level of excitement and anticipation high untill the last day. We always felt pampered and taken care of. The journey gave us a sense of understanding Vietnamese people that wouldn't have been possible if we had travelled on our own. The tour guides were very good - friendly, helpful and efficient. The drivers were excellent with clean and comfortable cars. The hotels chosen by the company were all very good - in good locations, design and food.

Date of experience : 07 March 2024

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Planned Release Date: May 2024

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• Graphics: GeForce GTX 660 (2048 MB) or Radeon R9 285 (2048 MB) - Integrated GPUs may work but are not supported.
• DirectX: Version 11
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Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage

The first model of the USS Enterprise is displayed at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, shake hands over the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at the Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, view the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

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DALLAS (AP) — The first model of the USS Enterprise — used in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series — has boldly gone back home, returning to creator Gene Roddenberry’s son decades after it went missing.

The model’s disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject of lore, so it caused a stir when it popped up on eBay last fall. The sellers quickly took it down, and then contacted Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to authenticate it. Last weekend, the auction house facilitated the model’s return.

Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said he’s thrilled to have the model that had graced the desk of his father, who died in 1991 at age 70.

“This is not going home to adorn my shelves,” Roddenberry said. “This is going to get restored and we’re working on ways to get it out so the public can see it and my hope is that it will land in a museum somewhere.”

AP AUDIO: Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage.

AP correspondent Margie Szaroleta reports on the return of the original model of the USS Enterprise from the TV show “Star Trek.”

Heritage’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said the auction house was contacted by people who said they’d discovered it a storage unit, and when it was brought into their Beverly Hills office, he and a colleague “instantly knew that it was the real thing.”

They reached out to Roddenberry, who said he appreciates that everyone involved agreed returning the model was the right thing to do. He wouldn’t go into details on the agreement reached but said “I felt it important to reward that and show appreciation for that.”

Maddalena said the model vanished in the 1970s after Gene Roddenberry loaned it to makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979.

“No one knew what happened to it,” Rod Roddenberry said.

The 3-foot (0.91-meter) model of the USS Enterprise was used in the show’s original pilot episode as well as the opening credits of the resulting TV series, and was the prototype for the 11-foot (3-meter) version featured in the series’ episodes. The larger model is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The original “Star Trek” television series, which aired in the late 1960s, kicked off an ever-expanding multiverse of cultural phenomena, with TV and movie spinoffs and conventions where a fanbase of zealous and devoted Trekkies can’t get enough of memorabilia.

This USS Enterprise model would easily sell for more than $1 million at auction, but really “it’s priceless,” Maddalena said.

“It could sell for any amount and I wouldn’t be surprised because of what it is,” he said. “It is truly a cultural icon.”

Roddenberry, who was just a young boy when the model went missing, said he has spotty memories of it, “almost a deja vu.” He said it wasn’t something he’d thought much about until people began contacting him after it appeared on eBay.

“I don’t think I really, fully comprehended at first that this was the first Enterprise ever created,” he said.

He said he has no idea if there was something nefarious behind the disappearance all those decades ago or if it was just mistakenly lost, but it would be interesting to find out more about what happened.

“This piece is incredibly important and it has its own story and this would be a great piece of the story,” Roddenberry said.

Thankfully, he said, the discovery has cleared up one rumor: That it was destroyed because as a young boy, he’d thrown it into a pool.

“Finally I’m vindicated after all these years,” he said with a laugh.

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Voyage Prive   Reviews

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Reviews 4.4.

47,394 total

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Excellent tour

Excellent tour - interesting places with a wonderful guide!

Date of experience : March 28, 2024

THERE SOMEONE operating under voyagepriveagency.com who claims to be a travel assistance PARTI TIME job and has scammed a fortune out of me.. they have some vacation journeys to finish and they keep on asking for recharge in crypto.. these ppl take hard earned money from innocent ppl. First they give little small recharges so you can take some commission and then you get stuck into it as your money iS stuck and they refuse to return back until you pay them more.. THEY NEED TO ROT IN HELL.. they have taken insane amount of money in a form of investment return..There's a whole telegram group operating a whole big gang of criminals.. THEY WILL SUCK ALL YOUR MONEY OUT THESE PPL NEED TO GO TO JAIL FOR CRYTO FRAUD . I NEED JUSTICE AND MY MONEY BACK. I have lost 23000 USD IN THIS SCAM

Date of experience : December 24, 2023

Reply from Voyage Prive

Dear Sir/Madam, We're sorry to hear about this negative experience that you've encountered. I can assure you that we do not operate under these conditions and avoid contacting such pages/links as they are most likely to be scams. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team so we can investigate further? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

A lot of choices to travel anywhere and…

A lot of choices to travel anywhere and good prices. Very explained too

Date of experience : February 26, 2024

UNCLE DIED AND THE FUNERAL CLASHED WITH TRAVEL DATE - THEY WOULDN'T CHANGE THE DATES

My uncle died and the funeral date despite my family's best efforts has been booked for the dates I had planned to take my Mum and daughter away for a well-deserved break. I booked the holiday on the 24th of February, within 7 hours of booking I contacted them to see if I could cancel as my Mum had been suffering with ill health over the last year having had a pacemaker fitted and had just received an appointment for whilst we were away. They said it couldn't be cancelled - there is NO COOLING OFF PERIOD. We managed to move the hospital appointment. However 4 days later my uncle (my Mum's brother died). We have been waiting for the coroner's report to be able to book the funeral and due to the backlog at the coroners only got the death certificate this week to make the funeral arrangements. The only date available to have the funeral is whilst we are travelling. I asked voyage prive if we could move the dates so that we could be back in time for the funeral or even postpone the trip and have been given a BIG FAT COMPUTER SAYS NO. I called the airline who said they could move the flight and I have called the hotel who said they could accommodate a change if the agents contact them. Voyage Prive REFUSE to make an exception on this occasion and responds like decent human beings and have stuck by their policy of no changes. I am a single mother who was trying to treat her Mum and we are now losing £2800 because they refuse to move or refund the holiday given the circumstances. the confirmation email I received said that we could change or modify the reseravtion up to 14 days beofre travel. THIS IS CLEARLY A LIE! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. My mum is devastated and now not only has to deal with the loss of her brother but also the guilt of me losing £2800 to this company.

Date of experience : March 21, 2024

Dear Rebecca, First of all, we are truly sorry to hear of your uncle's passing. We apologise that you've had an experience that didn't live up to your expectations, and thank you for providing your booking ID. We will forward your comments to the customer service team, who will be in touch to try and find a solution. Thank you, Arthur.

Unfulfilled itinerary

Unfulfilled itinerary Aspects were missed from a recent holiday - mud mask treatments for 2 and one meal for 2 with this company. Upon my return I raised a formal complaint and asked for a refund - I was offered an insulting amount of £16 - I would definitely not recommend this company!

Date of experience : September 27, 2023

Dear Sir/Madam, We're sorry to hear you’ve had this experience on your recent holiday, and that we haven’t resolved the issue to your satisfaction. If you would like to speak with someone about this further, please contact customer services with your booking ID. Thank you, Arthur.

I am having the worst experience with…

I am having the worst experience with the customer service of this team. The deal I booked was missold as half board when it should have been just breakfast and when reaching out to me to to confirm this change, I have been outright refused a right to a full refund, despite the deal not being able to be honored. I have been offered 8euro per person for dinner which will absolutely not be enough to compensate for this change. According to the websites terms and conditions, any booking amendment that has an impact on the overall price/value of the booking should be entitled to a full refund, yet I am still being told no. I will need to raise a complaint with my credit card company as talking to customer services is not working.

Date of experience : February 02, 2024

Dear Zara, We're sorry to hear you’ve had this experience, and that we haven’t resolved the issue to your satisfaction. Thank you for providing your booking ID. We will forward your comments to the customer service team, who will be in touch to try and find a solution. Thank you, Joanne

Was only interested in taking the cash…

Was only interested in taking the cash - Zero service afterwards. The details of our tour was to include baggage - the tickets they booked with the airline didnt include this as they clearly made a mistake - they had ZERO interest in sorting the error - until on the day before departure they miraculously managed to change the tickets - despite telling me it couldn't be done.... they then didn't bother amending the tickets on the flight home so we had exactly the same hassle and disruption at the airport on the day of departure. I wouldn't use them as travel agents ever again.

Date of experience : January 26, 2024

Dear Brian, We're sorry you've had a negative experience; we understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Joanne, You ask for a booking reference. If you read my review, it is clear that the information requested was prior to, not post, booking.

Date of experience : February 14, 2024

Dear Sir / Madam, Our apologies for the misunderstanding. We're sorry to hear that the information regarding the board type on our website was not clear & concise. If you would like to speak with someone about this further, please contact customer services. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Joanne

company swamps you with emails in spite of 'unsubscribing'

I you do not want to be swamped by a barrage of unwanted emails for the rest of your life: DO NOT EVER GET IN CONTACT WITH THIS COMPANY. They sit on your email address forever . their unsubscribe function does not work.

Date of experience : February 22, 2024

Dear Chris, As for unsubscribing from the newsletter, please scroll down to the bottom of the next email you receive from us, click on 'subscriptions', and then unsubscribe. You may have to do this for the next couple of emails before the changes to your subscription are all saved. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Joanne

FLEX cancellation - BEWARE!

Take screen shots at each stage as you go. Unfortunately, for personal reasons, I had to cancel my accommodation only booking a month in advance but was confident all would be OK as I had Flex which allowed a cancellation up to 48 hours prior to departure. So I cancelled it online, via the VP portal using the big red “CANCEL MY BOOKING” button, as instructed. However, the response did not offer me the Flex option at all, but only to cancel, with refund less a cancellation fee of £375! When later, I queried this with VP, I was advised that I did not have full Flex, but only for date changes. Yet my booking confirmation documents clearly stated both Flex options (changes and cancellation) were available to me. I needed to cancel so I had proceeded and received a system response which told me there was an error and the refund could not be processed as it needed to be “regularised.” Later I received another response which told me my cancellation had been accepted and a refund of £867 would be refunded to my bank account used to make the reservation. It was not. Because I had used a VP voucher from a previous booking, they would only refund the cash payment and the rest was issued on another voucher – and still minus the £375 fee. So, as I pointed out, a mixture of Flex rules (issue a voucher) and Standard T&C’s was being applied here (cancellation charge of 25%). My issue is that I have sent proof that, at some point, Full Flex had been removed from my booking post confirmation to me! I should have been offered the Flex option and received a voucher for the booking total of over £1200 less £65 admin charge. As it stands I am £375 out of pocket. The lesser Flex is still shown on the (now cancelled) booking today, so the system clearly would not have offered me the flex option at cancellation, yet they tell me that they are satisfied that it was offered when I cancelled and that I “chose” to have a refund which incurs the cancellation charge. Furthermore, beware of “Special Conditions” – which are not published anywhere, (and I have asked for them repeatedly and been ignored), but you will only find out about them when you fall foul of them. Little get-out clauses that will be brought into play whenever they choose. Mine applied to the voucher apparently – despite the cancellation being done under standard T&C’s and my being informed that a refund amount of £867 was being paid into my bank account, the voucher part was non-refundable. When I questioned this, I was told it was a “gift” voucher as such it was non-refundable, but these are purchasable vouchers valid for 1 year, whereas mine was a refund voucher valid for 2 years, so cannot be the same. After a previous booking debacle earlier in the year with hold baggage not being included and that costing us over £550 at the respective airports, I would AVOID THIS COMPANY like the Plague. Do yourself a favour avoid the stress and go elsewhere. - Re the VP response, I have had around 20 email exchanges with them and each time they have refused to accept there was any issue with my cancellation. Pointless in trying again.

Date of experience : April 02, 2024

Dear Linda, We're sorry you've had a negative experience when trying to cancel your recent holiday. We understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

It would be zero stars if I could

It would be zero stars if I could It’s easy for everyone when it goes ok but when it doesn’t you discover who’s really good and who isn’t, this lot were appallingly bad for me. I contracted severe food poisoning from a hotel on Fuerterventura, the management lied and tried to suggest I arrived with it, naturally I didn’t, I got it during my one and only meal I had there eating seafood. My partner tells me the location was awful, I wasn’t able to leave the room so wouldn’t know, she met lots of unhappy people there. We contacted VP while there and they did nothing to help at all, they choose to believe a lying Hotel rather than their ex customer. I have repeatedly asked for copies of all food handling and hygiene procedures from everyone but nothing materialises I will never use VP again, I spent over 1000 euros in medical treatment, travel and other costs, VP offered me a £40 voucher with them, how insulting is that! Lots of better companies out there that appreciate the business, use them not this lot.

Date of experience : February 07, 2024

Dear Paul, We're sorry you've had a negative experience; we understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Wonderful holiday at a great price

Wonderful holiday at a great price. Voyage Prive once again delivers a fantastically relaxing holiday with great quality food, drinks & accommodation.

Date of experience : January 01, 2024

Shocking Customer Service

Shocking Customer Service Booked flights and accommodation to lanzarote, web site wouldnt take payment so rang and booked with Spyridon .5th Jan. Wrong booking references given on written confirmation therefore unable to select seats with Easy Jet as promised ,important as wife nervous flyer. Considered cancelling over the weekend as not able to contact anyone and realised that the accomodation price was more expensive than booking direct with hotel. Wrote a long E mail to Spyridon stating considering cancellation. Mon8th no response, rang and spoke to Nick who gave correct booking ref and advised me I would lose 75% if I cancelled Not confident with this company, luggage booked on ouyward trip charged but not on Easy Jet booking, rang again 8th spoke to Hiba requested a refund of charge taken for luggage ,she needed to speak to a manager but didnt think he would be able to call me back !! All I need is some to take ownership of this booking and call me. If you ring them you get a different person , there are too many other issues I have to outline here. Please get someone to call. Ref 100409553VPUK

Date of experience : January 05, 2024

Dear Alan, We apologise for the situation that you were placed in following your recent booking with us. Thank you for providing your booking ID, we will forward your comments to the customer service team, who will be in touch to try and find a solution. Thank you, Arthur.

Booked through Voyage Privé to arrive…

Booked through Voyage Privé to arrive at the hotel through trains and taxis - to be told there was no booking made by voyage privé. They offered me a hotel which was £160 cheaper than the hotel I had paid for or a refund. All while I was having a busy day of meetings being distracted by all of this incompetence. There was a hotel across the road from the original hotel which as it was slightly higher in price but the only like for like option available at short notice. However VP were unwilling to book/resolve for us. Now we have had to pay for more taxis to another location an inflated rate for a room in London tonight at short notice. And yet again more taxis to pay for tomorrow to get us to the location we were supposed to (and paid to) stay. Do not use this company - they could not care less about their customers.

Date of experience : December 06, 2023

Dear Daisy, We're sorry you've had a negative experience; we understand that sometimes things go wrong. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

belle destination

belle destination tous les engagements respectes

Date of experience : April 03, 2024

Book holiday on 2nd January

Book holiday on 2nd January, First on phone I ask if checked baggage include in package and Spyrodon tell me yes, and it is not. Second they put my surname wrong. Give them a call and they tell me they will sort this out in couple of days, nothing been done, no response from email. This service is awful and unacceptable. I ask them if manager can give me a call and they tell me sorry madam this impossible. Do not book with Voyage Prive if you don't want to lose your money. Ref: 100409263VPUK

Date of experience : January 08, 2024

Dear Irina, We apologise that you've had an experience that didn't live up to your expectations, and thank you for providing your booking ID. We will forward your comments to the customer service team, who will be in touch to try and find a solution. Thank you, Joanne

Top company

Good company to buy holidays.Top choices.

If things go wrong... No support

In the process of booking an amazing holiday to Costa Rica online, I added luggage which didn't show up on the booking. I immediately tried to sort this out following Voyage Prive guidelines which was to contact the airlines direct even though I had booked a package holiday. I was unable to resolve issue with airline as a number of airlines are involved in the booking. I then contacted customer service at Voyage Privé, who said they would escalate to their flight team and email me. I waited over a week with no communication. I contacted them again to receive apologies and be told they would take "personal responsibility" for getting back to me by a given date. No email received. I contacted them again and was told, check the bag in when you get to the airport but they couldn't advise on costs. I'm left now worrying about escalating costs and will have no option but to pay to get a bag on the plane. It's completely taken any excitement away from what should be a holiday of a life time. I asked about whether to cancel and re book and was told my cancellation fee would be £3500!! I asked to make a complaint which was an online form and logged it. It shows as being resolved without anyone communicating with me or responding to it! So I have nowhere to go with this but to alert other people here, that if things go wrong you will get absolutely no support whatsoever. Never again will I use this company, and that's before I go on a two week holiday with hand luggage!!

Date of experience : March 02, 2024

Dear Alison, We're sorry you've had a negative experience while trying to modify your recent booking to Costa Rica. Our team is committed to resolving issues promptly and in due course before you set-off on your holiday. Could you please share your booking ID number with our customer service team? Simply follow these steps: 1. Click on the 'contact us' section at the bottom of your Voyage Privé member page. 2. Click on the 'my member account', and then the 'contact us' button on the bottom left. 3. Click on 'how can I contact your customer service', and select your preferred option. I hope this information helps and we can resolve any issues soon. Thank you, Arthur.

Happy, I'll use them again.

Date of experience : April 05, 2024

Recommend booking with voyage prive

Easy to book, really good package, good value.

Date of experience : March 08, 2024