Santana Adventures

Signed up for 2025 Bordeaux to Amsterdam trip with Santana, but had concerns from reviews. They confirmed my reservation but would not respond to questions, just as other reviewers have stated. Also, majority of images presented as incentive for the tour are typically very far (75 miles plus) away from where the ship would dock. No explanations. Very little information/specifics given (even what additional costs would be!) and, based upon other reviewers, it didn't look like I'd hear from them until a couple of weeks before ship sails. This was not acceptable so I cancelled before the 14 day review period expired.

This trip was terrible. The owner, Bill was completely unaware of how much the guests complained about him and the trip. The entire experience was disorganized at every turn. Anything he said, we learned to believe the opposite. The riding was on busy roads and we didn't have much in the way of a Japanese experience. Don't expect snacks or support during the rides. There will be none. Hope and pray you don't get hurt- you are on your own! If it is cold and pouring rain- too bad, a support shuttle is never coming. Thumbs down

A Santana cruise sounds good, but actually turned out to be an experience I regret completely. Bill, the owner/operator, is extremely disorganized, rude and dishonest. Planning the trip was tense because he won't reveal the names of the hotels at the beginning or the end of the trip (so that he can book it and get a commission). This makes planning to get into town early or stay later at the end nearly impossible. His communications are full of irrelevant statements and patronizing (telling you how to use basic technology, for example). He's also quite misogynic so if you're a single female rider I suggest avoiding this company. Everything is geared to the males in the group (free jersey for the men; women make due because it's too expensive to offer jerseys that fit both sexes).
If you choose to go, get the very very best trip insurance and be aware. Better yet, just pick a different company.

Bill did not explain all the costs of his "all inclusive trip". Had to arrange separate transportation to get back to our car. Agreed upon a partial refund to cover his expenses and 8 months later, No word, No money. What a crook

You have to understand that these are full ship charters and everyone on the ship is a biker and they are all doing whatever rides they choose, there are no group rides, so if you are looking for a great cruise to an amazing part of the world and you are happy to bike on your own or with small group you might meet on the ship, then you might love it. There are a couple of bike mechanics and sometimes there are tours of various points of interest but the more self-sufficient you are, the more you'll love this.

We've been on Santana cruise in Japan, Croatia, Baltics, and two others with three more booked. When reading other reviews see what the people are complaining about and decide for yourself.

Santana may have started out as a well meaning company but has turned into a profit maximizing service minimizing operator. Very well marketed cruise ship itinieries look and sound amazing BUT are actually minimally supported bike rides on routes that are unscouted and frequently unappealing. The minimal staff avoids participants at all costs, and when necessary to engage, respond with sarcasm and vague answers. No support during the ride, and if you have an accident you are on.your.own. Have been on two rides with them. Some other review sites are blanketed with positive reviews, read them carefully, they are vague and general. While the boats/ships may be great, Santana staff and ride planning is terrible. Find another outfitter and have a great trip.

Once you subscribe to Santana Adventures, you are automatically LOCKED IN to receive tons and tons and tons of email advertisements from that company. Unfortunately, I was (and maybe still am) a victim of this company whose robots constantly bombard you with advertisements for cycling/cruise trips domestically and internationally.

I have written to that company many, many times to STOP sending me all those advertisements, but guess what? They still come flowing into my computer; of course, I delete them immediately. They are like horrid wasps constantly trying to "sting" you into buying their overpriced products.

By the way, you will notice that no prices are attached to those advertisements. Nope! And I finally was able to determine the price for a particular trip, the cost was astronomical--completely off the charts. For example, an 8-day trip costs $5,000 per PERSON(!), but there is no mention about whether or not there is a single supplement. In brief, if you want to get ripped off big time from this company, go ahead. Be my guest.

Nevertheless, those advertisements will keep coming, no matter what you do. You're STUCK! Therefore, NEVER subscribe! Lesson learned--the HARD way!

We were so exited to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary on a bike trip in Japan. We have been doing backroads trips annually for about 15 years and decided to give Santana Adventures a try since our friend Ray was going on this trip. Santana is owned and run by a guy named Bill. We quickly learned that Bill is way past his prime and really does not invest in or care about the biking experience of his guests. There were literally 7 support staff for 300 riders. A support van might show up. In two hours if you had an issue with your bike or got hurt. It was fascinating that riders who had been on a bunch of these trips kept telling us to embrace the chaos. I don't want to spend a lot of money traveling to a foreign country to be in a totally unsafe environment and embrace the chaos. There are other great companies out there that actually do a fantastic job with bike trips. They have leaders ride with you each day. They provide snacks and lunch at local places for immersion into the culture. They have vans supporting you and following you in case you don't want to continue riding or there is an issue. They limit the number of riders to a reasonable number. Santana Adventures did none of those things. So, if you love chaos, danger, no support, and to have things constantly changing on a vacation, Santana Adventures is for you. Otherwise, stay away as there are much better options. On a positive note the ship was great and the Windstar crew was fantastic. We also met some very nice people as well.

We purchased a trip that was postponed 3 times (against our "vote" to postpone) and when we could not attend the 3rd set of dates received no compensation whatsoever from Bill McCready / Santana.

On November 30,2018 I responded to an e-mail solicitation for a bicycle / cruise tour of Tahiti scheduled for August 3,2020 toi August 10,2020. The dat coincided with our 45th wedding anniversary, I submitted a deposit of $3,000 US with two subsequent payments on account of $4,267 US each on July 3,2019 and March 4,2020 respectively.
On May 6,2020, the owner of Santana, Bill McCready sent an email headed "Tahiti 2020 Update" indicating "as of this date, your Tahiti Cycling Cruise is scheduled to embark on August 3,2020".
On May 23,2020 McCready sent an email proposing that the cruise be rescheduled to May 22,2021 which stated "if enough of you surprise us by responding with the word "Reject", Santana and Windstar will make sure that all who have previuosly paid in full will receive a full refund within 90 days".
I rejected the offer, since it was not possible for us to travel at that time. I had a telephone conversation with McCready on May 30,2020 at which time McCready informed me that a majority of registrants had accepted the revised date, my fees could not be refunded because the funds were being held in trust as per California law, and my only recourse was to resell our tour, which Santana would do for a $1,000 fee. I instructed McCready to re-sell since I could not accept the unilateral change to our contract.
Subsequently, French Polynesia was locked down until September 2021 and the cruise was yet again re-scheduled for November 4 - 11,2021, again a date that was impossible for us to travel.
Santana did not re-sell our cruise.
The upshot?
1. Our funds were being held, by McCready's own admission, In Trust.
2. McCready and Santana owed a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of its clients in the handling of the Trust Funds.
3. McCready/Santana freely admitted that they had an opportunity to effect a refund to those unable to accept unilateral changes to the contract in the email dated May 23,2020.
4. McCready/Santana chose to ignore their fiduciary responsibility and instead acted to enrich themselves to the detriment of thosse unable to accept the unilateral changes to the contract.