Voyages to Antiquity will close at the end of October, it has been revealed.

The news follows the line announcing it would charter its only ship, Aegean Odyssey, to Road Scholar from April 2020 for a three-year period. Voyages to Antiquity was also forced to cancel 10 cruises on Aegean Odyssey due to engine problems earlier this year.

The final four cruises of the 2019 season will go ahead, with staff available to answer any questions or concerns.

In a letter to partners, Voyages to Antiquity MD Jos Dewing said: “Since the announcement [of chartering the ship] was made, the executive management at Voyages to Antiquity has been looking at various alternative options to continue the company and serve our loyal clients.

“However, this process was severely impacted by the unforeseeable engine failure that occurred in April this year, forcing the company to cancel most of our remaining 2019 summer cruises.

“While we are pleased to advise that the ship has now been fully repaired and that the final four cruises of the 2019 season will go ahead as scheduled, this serious issue has had an impact on the future plans for Voyages to Antiquity and repairing the ship has been the absolute priority for management and the focus of the company during this difficult period.

“It is therefore with regret that we have taken the difficult decision to close Voyages to Antiquity at the end of October 2019, at which point our office in Oxford will also close. It is very much business as normal until this point and we have staff answering calls and supporting those passengers still travelling with us in 2019.

“We would like to thank you for your support and partnership over what has been a very successful decade for Voyages to Antiquity.”

In a tweet Dewing praised the line’s agent partners and explained that “VTA was a strong and secure business” but that an “engine situation on a single ship is a big problem”.

After 31 October agents are advised to contact the VTA office in the US on 001 877 398 1460 / 001 855 222 6632 or email [email protected].