From the large warehouse for embarkment in Bristol thoughts of cheap and cheerful came in to my head. On board there was a smell of diesel in the lower decks. Cabin was clean but as the ship is 55 years old could not expect much. Biggest problem was the trip hazards in the door ways, raised lips on every doorway and uneven floors, on the public toilets two raised edges caught a lot of people out. They had to call the helicopter out twice, and by the end of the cruise many were sporting arm and foot injury's due to falls. Dining was in two times, and various size tables from two to ten seats. Food was good and plenty of choice with just over the hour from start to finish. This allowed time to get to the theatre to watch the show at 8pm. The biggest problem I had was the lack of time in the ports. Would arrive at 8am and leave at 1.30 or arrive at 7am and leave 12.30. By the time you had breakfast it only gave a couple of hours to see the place. Cobh was a complete waste and was only to drop people off as arrive 6am and leave at 10.45. By the time you paid for 165 car park then tips and drink package you could of gone on a much better cruise line for the same cost. Would I go back on to this ship no but spoke to many that have been on a few times because of its size. Read Less

We had a suite which was very good. We ate in the walford which was very good. Breakfast not particularly good. The buffet was impossible to get a table. Dinner was very good. The entertainment was also very good. My only criticism of the cruise was that we were only told the date of the formal night the evening before we had a trip booked which meant we had 20 minutes to shower and change which was ridiculous. Passengers need to know the dress code for each day in advance before booking trips. Spoilt our experience. Drinks were reasonable. Staff were very friendly. The Spa was very good and reasonable. There were packages available but limited availability. Our excursion around dublin was very interesting and the guide was knowledgeable. The guiness factory trip was disappointing and over priced. Not for those who cant stand around or who dont like big loud crowd. Read Less

I choose this cruise mainly because of the destination and from the reviews thought the ship although old would be ok. First let me say i love cruising and have done 45-50 cruises with very few complaints but honestly this cruise ship and CMV have a lot to answer for. Our cabin 216 was small and we had 1 small porthole and had paid for an oceanview. The porthole was closed for 11 days of a 15 day cruise, whilst they do it for safety reasons there were times we were docked and still it was kept closed we had ask on several occasions to have it opened. We could have had an internal cabin for some $1000 less each.The smell of diesal and the crew smoking was there for the entire cruise. The ship was full to capacity 800 in a ship this size is just not on. Everything was full the buffett was a fight at every meal to find a seat and the quality was really bad even the 3 coffee machines were continually out of order. The dining room although a little better was way below standard. I paid for a VIP package please dont do it !! the wine list is a joke there are 2 white wines and 2 red wines from there signature drinks and 2 from the standard package to choose from i couldnt believe it. They some other wines by the bottle but they had to be paid for and you couldnt get them by the glass. With the other drinks if you wanted anything that wasnt on the drinks menu you couldnt have it !!! also the system they have is that you can only order from a waitor and cant get a drink from the bar. The entertainment was an insult except a young lady soprano who was great the biggest joke was when showtime came at night and old bloke with a banjo came out and started a singalong , i had to laugh !!! the showband seriously was that bad that the singers who did individual shows they didnt even play. I could go on. Excursions altho expensive were good and well organised. This company are treating the elderly british with contempt in my opinion . Go with this ship and company at your peril and as i said i have done nearly 50 cruises and cant believe all i wanted to do was get off . Read Less

We did a 10 week cruise so we had a fairly extensive experience of life on board. The ship was built in 1963 for the Russian market and refitted in 1993. Issues: The hot three hot drinks machines, two inside and one outside, continually ran out of cups and shut themselves down with fault codes which appear to be due to over-use and they run out of hot water. There was a good choice of food for the buffet breakfast but the equipment in the Bistro failed to keep it warm, I would suggest a couple of microwaves for those who like their food hot. The main restaurant was slightly better. Omelettes, fried and poached eggs were always cooked fresh in both. The main cut fruit available was melon with a bit of pineapple, apple and occasional orange, but always a large proportion of melon. Whole fruit was always apples. There was the occasional banana, orange, pear or plum in the early days but scarcer as the cruise went on. There is a shortage of drinks waiters at peak times and the ship still uses plastic straws and stirrers. The show lounge (theatre) has very poor acoustics. There is an annoying rattle from the roof panels and despite complaints they seem unable or unwilling to fix it. The floor is not tiered and there are 7 pillars partially obstructing the view from just about every seat more than two rows back. The furniture definitely needs replacing, all the padded chairs were sagging in the seats and many were frayed or worn. Externally she was definitely showing her age with numerous areas of rust bubbles in the deck metalwork. There is no do-it-yourself laundry on board so everything is on an individual cost. With a handkerchief or item of underwear costing £1 with an incremental scale it wouldn’t take long to run up a huge bill, especially on a long trip. There were two Magic Bag days during our trip where you could cram a laundry bag with as much as you liked for £12, wash and dry only. The swimming pool was not heated and was filled with sea water when conditions permitted but this amounted to only a few days when in warm weather. There was an appeal early on for water saving if we went to sea for more than a couple of days yet remarkably the toilets used fresh water for flushing. I understand the hot tubs used fresh water and they were therefore mostly out of use, either with covers over or a notice saying ‘Closed For Maintenance.’ Following numerous complaints about the lack of information the Cruise Director placed an ‘Entertainment Suggestions’ box in reception for a few days but I am not aware of any changes resulting from this. The lack of information was typified by our visit to Carcass Island which required passengers to get a ticket for the tenders. The first two tenders departed and then the Captain said he was temporarily suspending the service due to safety issues and would review the situation in an hour. So we all waited in the designated place and two hours later when we had heard nothing we started to drift away. Nothing else was said except for a brief mention in the evening broadcast. For our journey from the Falklands up the west coast of Chile through the fjords, a map was delivered each evening to your cabin with waypoints marked and a time of arrival. We were supposed to enter Darwin Passage and Narrows at 10am. The ship actually arrived at 8am and by 10am we were leaving so a lot of people missed it. Not a word about the amended time or the reason they managed to get it so wrong with a simple overnight passage. On the way we passed several shipwrecks and memorials but despite having a pilot on board there was not a word of explanation so having seen some beautiful scenery we were non the wiser about any of it. A guide did join us for the Panama Canal but the first hour of her commentary was lost due to an intermittent microphone. The microphone in the Captains Club where the organised games and quizzes were held was intermittent for the whole trip. The ship only did one Sailaway Party from our last port of call. For the last few days they ran out of several things including tonic, marmite and till rolls. The Good Bits: The ship appears to have some very devoted passengers with one chap we spoke to had done over 30 cruises on the ship and several others were well into double figures. The entertainment team were very good with many different routines and costumes. A gin and tonic was £4.55 so comparable to UK and with two of us a round of drinks could come to £10 so it didn’t take long to rack up a hefty bar bill. The company we booked with ’Imagine Cruising’ did an all inclusive package for £300 a couple so within about ten days we were already in credit and as the cruise lasted seventy days we were very happy with the deal. We also got £800 cabin credit which we used to pay for the organised port trips which were very good and lasted either half a day or a full day with lunch. As anyone who has cruised will know trips around the town will usually be architecture, town history, museums and churches and cathedrals so it is better to do the national parks and out of town trips. The ship laid on free shuttle buses to town centres when they were not immediately outside the port which was a bonus we hadn’t expected. The ship was kept immaculately clean inside with the crew continually cleaning walls, ceilings, stairs and washing carpets at night. Embarkation was very slow but disembarkation was excellent, done by deck number. The food on board was excellent and you could purchase special meals, eg a full Indian experience meal, surf and turf etc and we thought these were excellent value for money. The food was of a very good standard and this was maintained for the whole 71 days. The waiters and hotel staff were brilliant and we couldn’t fault them. Any requests were dealt with very efficiently. There were a whole range of activities including craft, acting, choir, ukulele, chairobics, creative writing, bridge, ballroom dancing, etc. General: The cabins were mainly two single beds with one 4 draw chest with slide out writing table plus a five foot wardrobe. We got an unrequested upgrade to cabin 625 and ended up with 4 chests of drawers, an absolute bonus on a long trip but with a restricted view. Next door had the same layout but with a good view. There are no balconies on the ship. The electric supply was a 220V socket with 2 round pins. There was also a 110V three flat pin socket and a dual volt shaver socket in the bathroom. The shower was good and on a flexi hose. There is a 2’ 6” (75cm) drying line across the shower for small items. Suitcases can be stowed under the beds or in the wardrobe. There was a temperature control on the wall. We had a kettle, two cups and packets of tea, coffee, etc. A lot of cabins do not have this. Overall, the ship is showing her age with few of the refinements of modern cruise liners. She is a graceful old lady and possibly the oldest still cruising. If you don’t mind a lack of facilities and want to get into some of the smaller ports then this could be the ship for you but CMV could do so much to improve passenger pleasure at virtually no cost with simple innovations like providing more cups and cutlery, senior staff mixing with the passengers and providing tourist information commentary at special locations. Read Less

Four of us boarded the Marco Polo at Bristol. Embarkation was smooth and swift and we waited briefly to be shown to our cabin. Once in our cabin we unpacked and took stock of our home for 70 days. It was clean and comfortable and we were fortunate to have two windows. Our dining experiences were good with the choice of eating in three different places. We had a good selection on the menu and all diets were catered for. The entertainment was excellent but the guest comedians were generally poor. The resident lecturers were superb, catering for all interests and excellent speakers. We mainly did our own excursions but would recommend the gauche estancia day trip. We organised our own trip in the Falklands with Patrick Watts and this was one of the highlights for us. We were late arriving and his team gave us a magnificent trip to Absolute Point. The ports we visited were generally quite well organised but Calleo was quite scary. We enjoyed the whole experience and would recommend this trip as a taster for another visit. Read Less

Cabin We were given a tiny, windowless cabin on the lowest deck known as Carabic. The smell of diesel is so overpowering it leaves a taste in your mouth as you leave the tiny lift. We paid for an inner cabin and the offer suggested a free upgrade that never happened; despite this the cabin was serviceable and kept spotlessly clean by Lillia our Cabin Stewart. The two twin beds were smaller than a regular single but were rewarded with fresh crisp linen daily along with the white as wave towels. The cabin was serviceable and a little larger than I expected. The draw space and hanging space was well utilised for storing the plethora of formal wear needed on the cruise. 3 single wardrobes housed rails, the safe and a set of small draws along with a tie rack. The top space held the life jackets and could be used for storing larger items. The storage of suitcases was difficult but we squeezed them under the beds, this would be impossible with the hard shell cases but our smaller softer cases compressed to fit. The bathroom optimised the available space and provided a shower with a detachable head; the pressure was good and left us feeling refreshed. The toiletries supplied were limited and of a poor quality. The descenders in the showers were tricky to use when slippery and wet but we had brought our own and recommend travellers do the same. The standard of cleaning in the cabin is outstanding and I have never had a better standard anywhere in the world. Twice each day the room is cleaned and turned back at night, clothes folded for you, bins emptied, dressing area organised. It feels like Mary Poppins has visited each time you return. Captain’s Club This comfortable area is rarely unoccupied, in the day it’s bright clean interior attracts people hoping to relax and have a drink and at night it is a waiting area for people preparing for the show lounge cabaret. A delightful pianist and violinist play at various times on most evenings but they could not be enjoyed because they became inaudible within the busy room full of chattering guests. A beautiful resource that is sadly under appreciated and lost amongst the people. Sadly this area is understaffed and many guests treat the overworked staff appallingly. I have witnessed so many occasions where guests have berated, abused and directly verbally attacked the young staff. The waiting time for drinks is over 30 minutes or more and there does seem to be a favouring of those guests without a drinks package over those who have the package. This highlights another anomaly in the pricing of the drinks package. If I ordered a quadruple whisky this would be included in the package BUT a latte coffee would not. This seems rather unfair and does not encourage sensible drinking. My main issue with this area is the lack of tables for two persons. Most of the tables are laid out as 4s and so it negates any privacy or time for couples to enjoy together. Most of the time the lounge is quite full and so people sit with you and want to chat. A lovely thing to happen on a friendly ship but there are times when I would have appreciated some time alone with my husband. This layout was further hindered by the many Zimmer frames, walking trollies and walking sticks that created an ever changing obstacle course for people to negotiate. Scott’s Bar This is a lively little venue however after 10 all entertainment moves to this bar and sadly the area is far too small for the number of visitors using it. It was almost impossible to see both the show at 9 in the show lounge and then get a seat upstairs. Sadly we missed out because if this. The bar staff in this area are good and much quicker than in other areas of the ship. Many of the soft furnishings in this area are broken and are uncomfortable but this is only if you are fast enough to get a seat. Marco’s Bistro Terrible! This restaurant is appalling and I am afraid it has deteriorated during the cruise. The food is luke warm at best and stagnant and congealed most of the time. The choice is poor with mostly chopped meat dishes and diced over cooked soggy vegetables. The sweet section at lunch and dinner are poor with small portions of poorly presented sweets that include many cold puddings and whips. The majority of food has a soft blended texture ideal if chewing is best avoided! The cutlery includes only soup spoons rather than desert or tea spoons, so one must stir tea, eat cake and cereal with a soup spoon. Usually there is a shortage of cutlery throughout the restaurant at all 3 meals. My biggest annoyance was having to collect food in relays as people would take your seat between courses. Lone diners would find it impossible to eat all courses in the same seat. Main Restaurant This area is stunning and despite the tatty table cloths, with more pulls than a grandmother’s stocking, it is warm and welcoming. The staff try hard but the lack of organisation makes this a doomed enterprise. We were sat on a table of six and we were so close to other tables that the waiters played limbo to get about carrying the trays. The menus allowed for a choice but really what you received was like Russian roulette. I ordered ice cream and got sorbet, ordered pasta and got pork! This seemed to happen every night to at least one person in the table. The delay between courses was ridiculous with a 90 minute wait on Christmas Day between starter and main. This improved to 50 minutes on Boxing Day. We eventually complained and the time between courses reduced but the game of roulette continued. Midnight snacks Pathetic! These are carried around on a tray and given out in tiny portions on serviettes. I was blessed with grease down my ball gown as the waiter spilt them all down me on Christmas Eve! Not the wonderful plan I had for my dress which is now ruined. Deck Bar Swimming pool! More of a puddle than a pool. I heard it called a splash pool, a great name as it just splashes icy water over people sat at tables around it. The slippery deck is then a risk to the shuffling older people who hope to sit by it. No one used it as it is covered with a net, a complete waste of deck space and a blooming pain in the neck! The bar out here is well stocked and enticing but the wait time for a drink is so long you contemplate jumping overboard! The waiting staff meander about, avoiding eye contact and rarely engage with people. I have found this the worst area to get a drink and have often given in and had a self service coffee rather than nothing. Entertainment The entertainment team includes some excellent singers with talent way beyond this ship. Callum, Anneka and Savannah brighten every room when they enter and their talent shines through. The others are not quite as talented but what they lack in ability they make up for in enthusiasm. Mitch makes everyone smile and excelled at Elvis and some swing but he struggles with more challenging songs. Not all of the songs the entertainers sing suit their voices and even the best of them murder some songs. The Wuthering Heights needs to be pulled ASAP! Daytimes are dull. Little if any entertainment goes on and much is not hosted. The entertainment seems to be aimed at the older generation with Knit and Natter and Bridge. We attended the Creative Writing and although we enjoyed the sharing of creative works the gentleman who ran the session was poor. He talked. A lot! He then got everyone to write and share. The feedback was peer feedback with little input from him. There was no development of people’s skill, no feedback or development of ideas. The next session repeated exactly the first in format and activities. The room was too small and the delivery needs to be improved. The tutor led session was didactic and lacked any imagination. Ironic given it was a creative writing class. The exception to the poor daytime activities was the Morecombe and Wise Comedy lecture that was excellent. It was well planned, entertaining and engaging, giving rise to much laughter and good spirits. The presenter was knowledgeable and very talented. Excursions The excursions are very expensive however they are well organised and have a high standard of tour guide. We did 3 different excursions and booked a fourth that was unfortunately cancelled. The first tour of Gibraltar was on a minibus and took us to the Rock, the Caves and the museum. The guide was excellent and entertained and informed us. He was relaxed and the tour took longer than expected but it was worth every second of my time. The second tour took us around a very foggy and rainy Funchal. To be honest the tour should have been cancelled due to the weather. The views were totally covered by a thick blanket of fog making visibility about 3 meters maximum. The guide tried her best but coffee and cake at a golf club and a walk to a wine tasting cost us £48 each. Very disappointing! The 3rd trip around a freezing cold Lisbon was a march, following a bossy school mistress who barked at us and constantly repeated herself. When people asked for rendezvous times she wouldn’t give them insisting we stayed with her. The visit to the monastery allowed no time to contemplate the beautiful place or enter into prayer. It was a fast walk through and a sit on a pew whilst she talked and talked constantly repeating herself. Disappointing. Read Less

Chose because buy1 get 1 free. Ship was comfortable with nice lounges excellent crew, waiters lovely, housemaid lovely, captain joined in with everyone. But boy oh boy do not stay on deck 7. We were in cabin 7138 inside. Cruise was 16 nights and we never slept once in that time. Noise was horrendous from restaurant deck 8 above us, they worked all night dragging furniture, trolleys and Lord nos what else, complained to reception and was offered ear plugs. Ha Ha. In bad seas the ship sounded like she was going to crack up, cables inside the walls were crashing around all night, further down the deck people said it sounded like nails being hammered into the walls. We will never ever travel with this company or on this ship again. Have done many cruises and have never experienced this before. To be positive about something, shore excursions were fantastic, we saw some truly beautiful places. Dining was lovely, entertainment was good, lecturers we're informative Read Less

Everything about this cruise was fabulous from the start to the finish the crew couldn't do enough for you and made you feel special they all, always had a smile for you and nothing was too much trouble, the food was amazing and entertainment was first class. Every single person on this cruise give it 100% our cabin 237 was perfect for us and our cabin steward Yougesh always kept our cabin spotless made sure we had everything we needed. Pritish our waiter was very attentive as was our wine waitress Alla Ivanova, the entertainment crew were first class every show was brilliant thank you Mitch, Josh, Callum, Anna and Chrissie not forgetting the dancers who were all fabulous, next are the bar crew who certainly looked after us very well, a very special mention to Ramesh, Klayton and Nataly from the Colombus bar who gave us many happy hours and lots of laughs in the evenings, also Sanja Lato in the showroom. The excursions and scenery on this trip plus the above made it a holiday to remember forever. A big thank you to the Marco Polo crew and we look forward to travelling with you again. Read Less

We chose this 7 night cruise for the ports visited, convenience (no fly) and price. Having read mixed reviews we weren't sure what to expect. This was our first cruise with Cruise and Maritime: the model suits us and we would return. We enjoy cruises as a relaxed, comfortable way to travel to some beautiful and interesting destinations. We appreciated the smaller ship with a relaxed homely feel. CMV seem to know their clientele and cater well for them - mainly older and British on this cruise, many being repeat cruisers with CMV. Despite being a small ship, facilities were adequate, including 3 hot tubs, a sauna and gym, none of which were busy. It may not have the glitz and luxury of newer and bigger ships / lines, (no fruit in cabin, chocolates on pillows, or quirky folded towels etc) and the main restaurant was a bit cramped. But for us this was more than compensated for by the quiet, relaxed, intimate ambience (about 800 passengers). We particularly appreciated: - the most efficient embarkation and disembarkation we have ever experienced (car to cabin in under 20 minutes, with luggage following a few minutes later) - tea and coffee included and served at the table at the end of dinner (some lines no longer do that). Tea (wide choice) and coffee freely available on deck 8 most waking hours. - free shuttles at ports (although we mostly walked) - beautiful medieval ports and a lovely cruise along the Seine - not accesssible on larger ships. - personal and prompt responses from staff to queries or concerns. e.g. staff remembered our preferences despite our changing dinner sitting (as per our request). - announcements clear and in English. Just enough but not too much. - enrichment programme. I attended 4 gardening lectures which were interesting and useful. There were also art, craft and line dancing classes available, all well attended. - classical music duo playing every evening. - entertainment team did well, including the ships own band. Again not glitzy but enjoyable. - fellow cruisers seemed kind and considerate, interesting and not noisy (adults only on this cruise)! - evening activities in the bars were self-contained and the rest of the ship remained quiet - no casino / gambling machines - easy to promenade right round the ship. - good written summary port information for each stop, and no hard sell re excursions. - well attended Sunday service taken by an officer. - the small ship was quick and easy to get around. - repeated sightings of dolphins as we cruised! All in all an unfussy, relaxed cruise on a small older ship, with personal service from helpful staff, visiting beautiful places. The Cruise and Maritime style suits us and we would certainly return if the price, timing and destinations matched our requirements. Read Less

Food was awful. Tasteless, and much like eating in a school cafeteria. Even the sitdown restaurant had the same food. Cabin was great, but we hardly slept. Don't know why as the beds were OK. Very old ship, and it's showing it's age, although the staff do keep it clean. Staff fantastic, but wouldn't go on this line ever again. Embarkation was a breeze, and getting off the ship at the end went quicker than we expected. Very organized. Did not participate in entertainment so can't comment on that. Shore excursions were a mixed bag, some good, some not worth the money. In future think we'd do our own thing going ashore. On questioning the staff, it appears that some of the ports must bid to have a cruise ship dock!!!!! Belfast was a disappointment. Titanic experience was not worth the money, and the city sights, were quite depressing. Sad. Read Less

Frail elderly people, think my wife was the youngest on board apart from the staff. I am 68 & my wife is 60 but we are both very fit & healthy.Think most of the customers were well over 75+.Emergency helicopter at sea, rough seas & elderly people do not mix. Food brilliant 5* well presented, cooked beautiful & most of all HOT!. Staff 10/10 could not fault them at all, staff as good as any of the 8 cruises we have been on. Ship far too small for us, well out dated, needs a complete revamp or sinking. Cabins are in need of gutting & bringing up to date.Beds too small, no dressing table for the ladies, shower jell & shampoo rubbish.Shows average, theatre not terraced correctly made it difficult to see the shows. No casino. Sun beds & chairs very uncomfortable. Would not go with Cruise & Maritime again much prefer larger more modern ships with lots more to do. Read Less

My husband booked a snorkelling tour through Cruise and Maritime with Starwind cruises St Georges of Grenada .He and others were told to be on board by 45 minutes , he set his Omega accurate dive watch . At 40 minutes when he was 2 yards from the rear of the boat , they started the engines and left . He managed to hold his mask on and not drown in the turbulence . This was 3/4 off a mile off shore with rocks and no buildings . There was 1 other boat with divers he swam 1/2 a mile to it praying that it would not leave , and hoping he would not drown with exhaustion . The rescuer recalled the Starwind , the Captain of which said it dont matter man , and was intent on handing out the rum . The escort from Cruise and Maritime did not identify , help or even ask if medical help was necessary . The tour manager Susan of the Marco polo , was obstructive , lied and failed to help in any manner . Cruise and Maritime have apologised and offered 400 pounds for the distress caused by this potentially fatal incident and are reviewing if they may use this company ie Starwind Cruises again . All of the above is documented and we have statements of other passengers and witnesses to the fact that Starwind cruises did not carry out a head count . I have witnesses to the fact that the Cruise and Maritime staff lied , I had asked immigration officers to help us report the incident as no one was aboard the Marco Polo except the navigational officer , the officers arranged a meeting with the Shore Agent for CMV , at 8.30 pm Susan claimed she had a phone call that he was not attending , at this point he stepped forward and identified himself . Cruise and Maritime are now failing to address the issue at all , that the Tours promoted should be safe and that the escorts have a role to play in head counts etc . The ship is old , faded holes and ragged carpets , poor food , food and drink obviously bought at the ends of their sell by dates so became unavailable during the second half of the cruise . Meat was disgusting . Read Less

wanted away for Christmas and New Year My wife Myself her Sister and Friend aged between 60 and 73 having been on larger ships before we were a little unsure of the Marco Polo But right from the start at least you knew your way around Boarding not bad from arriving at quay to our rooms about 40 minutes which we thought normal nice touch mulled wine handed round while we waited Cabin small but functional with good shower , Cabin Steward excellent nothing was a problem ,Every thing was spotless (but too many full length mirrors ,will have to diet) plenty of variety at mealtime with the waiter and wine waiter at our table good fun and always smiling Shows were good and there were a variety of talks lectures and quizzes every day there also were art and craft classes everyday . this suited us as my wife and sister liked the lectures their friend loved all the arts and crafts and I had my quizzes So we always had something to talk about when we met we did not go on many excursions as we had been to most of the places before but the ship anchored off Maderia to bring in the New Year and the firework display was fantastic only downside was that we had to wait for a couple of hours to disembark but fore by that i would recommend the Marco Polo if you want a small pleasant ship without great shopping Malls or Climbing Frames that is easy to get around and give good value for money Read Less