Just returned from a great cruise to St Petersburg on CMV's Magellan and thought I'd write a note to allay the fears of others who may have been concerned about some of the early reviews. To cut to the chase, CMV offer very good value but you don't get all the frills that I suspect you'd expect from more expensive cruise lines with newer megaships and all mod cons. You're going to be upset if you want a champagne lifestyle for beer prices, but if you want to travel comfortably on a pleasant ship with an excellent crew then read on.

As we live in SE London, the coach transfer from Victoria made sense, and was reasonable value at £25 return. Embarkation was straightforward and cases soon arrived at our outside cabin on deck 6 - clean, quiet, surprisingly spacious with plenty of storage space, very comfortable beds and a great powerful shower. Take extra hangers though, if you're packing clothes for more than a week or so.

The ship itself is a nice size - large enough to be able to find some space to oneself if you want to escape, but small enough to feel like a ship rather than floating apartment complex. There's plenty of deck space but the sheltered spots are taken quickly; the pools are small (think dip rather than lengths). Read more