We have sailed Silversea before but chose this cruise for the itinerary and also to experience expedition cruising and find out the difference. Staff on board incl butler were great, cannot fault them , dining was also impressive , so was the quality and variety of the food and wines offered. The shore excursions were not too different from a standard cruise. Only one shore activity during the 14 day expedition cruise involved some expedition like feature when we had a wonderful afternoon going ashore on the zodiacs watching a variety of seabirds nesting on the Scottish Island of Lunga. There were a lot of shore landings cancelled due to stormy weather. Enrichment lectures were generally good, although some were repetitive due to the increased requirement of additional lectures after many cancelled shore landings. Expedition staff seemed to display a lack of interest at times. Our Vista Cabin had a sewage issue on day 2. We were moved to another cabin after that. It became obvious after talking to other guests that Silver Cloud has had ongoing sewage issues. We feel that it shows that the ship is 25 years old and has had a refit to comply with expedition ship/ice class regulations, mainly the strengthening of the hull. Apart from that there were a few serious problems visible like huge cracks in the cabin doors and also cracks in the fire doors of the ship. And the sewage issue. In our opinion this ship is past its use-by-date and should not sail Arctic or Antarctic regions . Read Less

We have enjoyed Silversea Expedition cruising in the past. The small number of passengers, terrific Expedition Team combined with luxury that Silversea excel at make for a wonderful cruise. We boarded via the clipper boat for Tower Pier next to the Tower of London. We were checked in efficiently and went straight to Terrazza for a buffet lunch. As the ship started to fill with other passengers, we went to our suite and the suitcases arrived soon after. The butler and room attendant combination suits us well. Available but not intrusive. The laundry service is very efficient and good. We enjoyed all our meals on board. We ate in the main dining room, La Terrazza and at the Hot Rocks on the pool deck. The crew are fantastic. Friendly and efficient. Unfortunately we missed many of our stops due to choppy seas being to unsafe for the zodiac landings. The Expedition Team laid on extra lectures and games such as ‘Name that tune’ to substitute. Moss Hills is an outstanding Social Director. After 10 days travelling up the west side of the UK, we sailed to Orkney and the Faroes and the final 4 days were spent circumnavigating Iceland. The disembarkation went smoothly apart from our non Silversea taxi going to the wrong port! Read Less

I chose this cruise for the worldwide destinations. However, the whole four month experience was life changing. The reception staff were great, especially Mimi. The ship was very clean. I liked the hot tub and the loungers were comfortable and there were plenty available. The entertainment team were very talented. Especially Alex Kemp, Joshua Marlow and Freya Brown, who jelled very well on and off stage. I especially liked being in the choir, meeting fellow singers and benefitting from choir leader, Josh Marlows fast knowledge and talent. It was great fun and I learnt new skills. Joining the quilting club was a good move. I made a quilt to hang on the wall and also, several memory cushions. I liked the choice of buffet meals or restaurant service. Waiters Ewhyan and Simon were attentive and prompt with serving. All activities were well subscribed to, including pilates, art classes, creative writing, choir, and dance classes. Shore excursions to India and China were memorable. The hotels used were top quality. I loved climbing the Great Wall of China and visiting the Taj Mahal. Miss Pam Read Less

We chose this cruise because it enabled us to fulfill our dream of travelling around the world which we never thought we would be able to afford. Embarkation wasn't easy but with so many people to process it was as good as it could be. We were thrilled to bits with our cabin which was bigger than expected had a picture window and a really big shower. Even when we had to change cabins due to a mysterious noise that was keeping us awake, we moved to one of the same standard.The ship itself was small enough to be 'cosy' but big enough to feel that you had space to move around and all public areas were comfortable and pleasant to be in. The food was excellent in the Waterfront restaurant and in the Plantation Bistro it was as good as you would expect in a self-service style area. The service given by the crew in all areas was very good, on the whole nothing was too much trouble. We didn't experience all the entertainments/activities but the ones we experienced were good and we heard good reports of many others. We went on quite a few shore excursions, some were excellent and others were not so but that is down to the excursion company used. For the one really bad one CMV negotiated a 50% refund for us. The organisation by the shore excursions team left a little to be desired but it's not a job I would like to do. We went to some wonderful ports but could have done with not docking in some places on a Sunday when everything was closed. Disembarkation ran smoothly and we were off the ship earlier than anticipated. I would have no hesitation in recommending CMV as a cruise company if only for the great value for money and we loved the Columbus. Read Less

We are very experienced cruisers and in comparison to other companies CMV put in a less than third rate performance even taking into account the lower price. It’s billed as buy one get one free but it was only 30-40% cheaper than other companies on like for like (I.e price divided by nights) but there was at least a 60% difference in quality to those companies! Starting with food which cruises are most noted for. Well the food was disgusting and we had to have meetings with the management to get things slightly improved. Most night the meats were tough often the carving Steward struggled and he had sharp knives! It was either bland or salty. Fish was better but often half cooked and all food was pretty cold and non descript. The food on 3 ˋSpecial Occasions‘ was good. In 121 days there was no world cruise lunch or sector specials like the baked Alaska which was 1 night only. In the Bistro the food was invariably dried up and cold. Sidney and the team tried to put on lots of nice showpiece lunches like round the world food stations around the pool but the taste was still missing. Funny enough you can pay extra to go to a venue called the taste but other passengers told me there was no taste there either. The ship bless her is old and the refit is lacking, it could have been done so much better, you would be walking down a corridor and all of a sudden you’d drop an inch as there was no underlay for example. She’s a stable ship and relatively quiet in the rougher seas. Some of the food tables rocked and stuffed with food and dirty tissues to stop the rock!. There was rust everywhere especially in window frames and on the balconies ( more than usual as all ships have some rust) but usually painted over and the cloth seats in the Bistro and in some bars were filthy and not appealing. The cabin was a great size but poorly decorated and our window was not cleaned once in 4 months. The wallpaper was coming off and the carpets filthy but there is plenty of storage space. If you have an outside cabin you get a kettle and tea making facilities but inside cabins are not allowed this ˋluxuryˋ! The daily activities are very similar to the ones we play with the residents in a local care home!! Every day at 9.30 Tony pops on the tannoy to tell you what a lovely day you’ll be having aboard the beautiful Columbus while the beautiful Columbus crawls along chucking out black smoke! One quiz with 6 contestants in a team has a prize of 1 Cocktail to share between all 6!! The first cruise Director John Even put in the daily Programme come and try win one of our´life changing‘ prizes! You could even win a torch or a yo-yo! The entertainment team tried hard. They were running quizzes and games and the shows in all places they had to rehearse late into the night. Plus cover excursions. The majority of staff dealing with passengers had no idea or professionalism and the favourite line at reception was we must check with London! Then I’d contact London and I’d be told it was up to reception. The English entertainment was mundane and repetitive but at least we had some there was nothing for the large number of German, Dutch and other non English speaking nationals who were mostly picked up in Amsterdam and did the entire trip. They never even got a map or port guide in their language and the first 50 days there was a Nazi war film nearly every day! That created a few arguments and there was enough of those without provocation. Many ports were useless unless you had a tour booked. Many were container ports and you had a 2-3k walk just to get to the dock gates! The company had no care for passengers unless as mentioned they were on tour if not it was tough. Many who could only walk a couple of kilometres could not get off as they had no energy to get passed the gates to sight see! Maps and guides were poor and nearly everything that was printed was in minuscule print! Great considering the age of passengers on board! We had fellow world cruisers getting off on route from Sydney on as they ´could not‘ stand it anymore!! So all in all it was far from enjoyable and whilst new passengers and staunch CMV fans were relatively happy a multitude of us were far from impressed and will never travel with CMV again! A two week cruise would probably be stomached but I’d urge you to read as many reviews as possible before booking longer and I know for a fact negative reviews are being removed from cmv Facebook page. Their passing shot was we were given a commemorative coin that said Columbus grand world cruise 2018 as our gift. the card wallet opens up and the itinerary is revealed, lovely yes, no! it’s this years coin and next years itinerary!! When many queried with reception how such a mistake could be made we were all told it was not an error but a marketing ploy to highlight next years cruise! The general staff are lovely and so helpful and went above and beyond to try to minimise upset. If not for them CMV would have Had a lot more issues onboard. I,wish you well Read Less

On a 122 night cruise you would expect to have fun, fun fun! No stress, no grief. Smooth sailing! NO! WRONG! First of all, the INTERNET that cost me 50 British pounds barely worked, most of the time cannot connect. A simple task of checking e-mails was a constant struggle. When it crashed nobody informed us, they just waited everybody to complain. A replacement was given that had the same problem. Columbus should have gotten a better & knowledgeable IT or programmer. Next is ORGANIZATION, seemed people at all level did not know what they were doing! The first two captains of the ship were Ok, introduced themselves to us right away but it took the third one (Illas, I think is the name-go figure why I can't remember his name), two days before we left the ship he showed up to meet us I know other guests met him by paying to have dinner with him!(UNBELIEVABLE!)What did he think of us, third class citizens? He should realize we spent a big whopping $17,000 on this stinking ship! The restaurant manager only spoke, and had concerns toward the Germans. WASHING & DRYING, had to add water in order to really wash the clothes, the dryer did not even had the ability to dry the clothes. One load cost 5 pounds, and if you want to dry your clothes you have to buy tokens for the dryer costing 3 pounds! Don't let me started on the FOOD, how to describe it: AWFUL, HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE! always tasted like Indian food, some might like Indian food but not everybody. All the meat (steak, pork or chicken) were either hard, tough (can't even cut with a knife), salty, or bland! The fish was most of the time half cooked , salty and not fresh at all. Bacon was hard. mexican food Carnitas was cooked with cummin and curry they did not have sour cream. Desserts too sweet.WHY CAN'T COLUMBUS GET A BETTER CHEF? SHORE EXCURSION people disorganized, escorts did their own thing left guess get lost. My cousin and I were given a run around when we requested for a priority disembarkation since we had to catch our flight that same day. Edie(Shore excursion Mgr) was reluctant granting our request.It should be standard practice to let people flying the same day to be let go first! You ask me what I think of my Columbus experience? GO FIGURE. Read Less

I can't believe the moaning about this cruise by earlier contributors. What were they expecting? 5* service and amenities at 3* prices? Get a life! I have to say that almost everyone I met on board - and I met a great number over 4 months - all agreed how wonderful the cruise had been and, from some, that they were already looking forward to their next one with CMV. The cabin (I had a solo on Deck 10) was more than adequate with 2 single beds, two chairs (one a comfy armchair, the other a desk type), a long desk, plentiful drawers, hanging space, a fridge, a safe and a small, but perfectly good, bathroom with shower. The cabin steward was polite and helpful at all times. I ate in both the restaurant and the buffet. There was always at least 7 dishes on offer for both lunch and dinner as well as cold food. They catered for vegetarians and vegans too. OK, the puddings could have been a bit more imaginative but the staff in both places could not be faulted. It is totally unreasonable to bring up their wages as one other reviewer did. Those I spoke to were very happy with their wage level, given that it was almost 3 times what they would earn in similar positions in their own countries. They couldn't have been more welcoming and attentive if they had earned 10 times as much. Nobody forces you to go on the ship's shore excursions and you know the prices in advance of the cruise. If you think they are too expensive then don't go but book your own privately. I went on 20 of Columbus's trips and enjoyed them all. The entertainment was,admittedly, variable in quality; the permanent ship's singers and dancers were excellent; the visiting artistes less so. The 45 minute lectures which took place during sea days were invariably interesting and the speakers well received. I paid £39 for 1 GB of internet and I never understood how people had difficulty with it; my android phone picked it up without too much difficulty 99% of the time. All in all I was more than happy with my experience and would certainly repeat the exercise providing the prices stayed at a reasonable level. Some contributors seem ready to complain about any little thing. Did they bring these "complaints" to ship;s staff at the time? As for cleanliness throughout? I found it spotless! Read Less

We always wanted to see more of the world but work and family made it difficult so when retired Magellan gave us the opportunity. Cabin steward brilliant. Food ok but too spicy for us. Waldorf restaurant good. Entertaining really good shows. Should have been informed US dollars were accepted everywhere instead of us getting out various currencies. Shore excursions were well managed but people disembarking on booked excursions should have taken priority over independent passengers because it became very crowded at certain ports. Overall we had a wonderful experience. The countries we visited were an experience we will never forget. Some ports of call were too short more time needed to take in the sights. On board the staff were attentive and polite throughout. I was taken ill on one tour and received excellent care by the ship courier who came on the trip with us. Medical staff excellent. Could not fault level of care given. Birthday while on board was recognised by cabin staff and gave card &a towel decoration. Read Less

We have cruised on P+O, Celebrity,Royal Caribbean, and Viking, and this cruise was by far the best value for money. The food was consistently excellent, the staff ( apart from a small number of Eastern Europeans, who needed some customer service training) were wonderful, the entertainment team (with the exception of the comedians who were generally poor) worked really hard and delivered some excellent productions, and the ship although a mature lady, was spotlessly clean and cared for. There were some issues with leaking AC pipes, but in external temperatures of mid to high 30s not totally unexpected. There were some passengers who unfortunately suffered from "delusions of grandeur" they expected 5 star cruising despite paying very competitive prices, their moaning and rudeness was legendary,and if it hadn't been so annoying,would have been a source of entertainment. The meeting of 200 passengers actually took place impromptuly, at the instigation of a small number of passengers, at the end of a lecture, therefore the majority of people attended by default. The food was excellent with both executive chefs. Read Less

After completing 2 world cruises with a different cruise line, decided to have a change to experience a different ship to celebrate 2 upcoming events - it was the worst thing we could have done. Severe respiratory illness throughout the ship lasting months, many many passengers affected. Ship freezing cold in all areas, passengers sat with blankets and towels around shoulders, badly leaking decks, causing ingress to Captains club, casino area, near library, Jade Wellness, many parts of the theatre wet and areas unusable with mould in places and parts taped off, Raffles Bistro leakage over all food counters - part of ceiling removed in an attempt to resolve the problem, drips down neck whilst eating, damp furniture, carpets and smells. Dirty and stained carpets, Incorrect fuel used causing severe fumes in all areas which lasted a week. Health and Safety issues, door closers broken, doors propped open with dirty towels. On top of the above, extremely poor entertainment team, wearing differing hats for most events throughout the ship. I dont think a egg and spoon race, tug of war and a kangaroo hop suitable on this type of cruise! Major ports of calls with no shuttles, affecting elderly passengers and creating unnecessary costs. This cruise was advertised as a Grand Maiden Voyage World Cruise - there was certainly nothing grand about it! Read Less

This was a 120-night, Round the World Cruise. The cruise line (Cruise and Maritime Voyages) and the ship (Magellan) managed to turn what should have been the trip of a lifetime into the cruise from hell. The food was very disappointing, to say the least. It tasted like institutional food. It would have been adequate (maybe even good) for food served in a prison. It would have been below standard if served in a nursing home. However, this was a cruise ship! This was our 11th cruise in three years, with 7 different cruise lines. So, we have some comparisons. The food is usually a major highlight of a cruise, something that deserves rave reviews. We barely ate enough to sustain us. The food was that bad. As a matter of fact, we even lost weight on this cruise, because the food was not worth eating. The food was just one of our disappointments. However, the major disappointment was that we docked far away from our destination cities. In Sydney, we docked in White Bay, two expensive ferry rides away from the center of Sydney. It took us 2 3/4 hours to get to Watson's Bay, where we hoped to spend a lovely day. Because it took so long to get there, all we had time to do was eat lunch and start our long journey back to the ship. If we had docked at Circular Quay, it would have only taken 1/2 hour each way. So, this not only cost us extra money, but it also robbed us of some precious time. We docked in many container ports, instead of cruise ship ports. We had never experienced this before. It was quite often an hour or longer drive to get to where we should have docked. Here is a perfect example. In Colombo, Sri Lanka, we were scheduled to dock at the Queen Elizabeth pier, a beautiful port with just a 15 minute walk into the city center. Perfect! Unfortunately, just a few days ahead of this port, we were told that we would be docking at the East Container Terminal. This terminal (being designed for container ships) had no facilities whatsoever. It was 4 km to the city center. They provided no shuttle bus and said we would have to take taxis. At the same time, they told us that the taxi drivers were not always scrupulous or reliable. We needed to negotiate a price ahead of time and hope that they stuck to what we agreed to pay. In other words they dropped us off in the middle of nowhere to fend for ourselves (with untrustworthy and unreliable transportation). These are just two examples. It happened time after time. Just to be clear, there are major differences between container ports and cruise ship ports. Just because a ship will fit in either place, does not mean that they are interchangeable. Container or industrial ports do not have ANY facilities. There are no ATM machines or Money Exchange counters. That means that passengers have no way of acquiring local currency. As a matter of fact, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we had extra time on our ship organized shore excursion (mostly because the Hindu Temple we were supposed to visit was closed). So, we made an unexpected shopping stop at Pettah Bazaar. This delighted most of us, until we discovered that we couldn't buy anything because we had no local currency! Additionally, there are no Tourist Information booths at container ports. So, no information and no local maps. If you are going into town independently, you will have to pay the taxi driver in something other than their local currency and hope that they drop you off some place of interest to you. It's very difficult to plan your day without a decent local map. So, to summarize, container ports provide no local currency, no local tourist information or maps, and quite often no reliable way to get into town. On the ship, we summarized this as a lack of money, maps and mobility. Their Shore Excursions were hit or miss. Some of them were quite good, but just as many were very uninformative and very disappointing, certainly not worth the money. However, at some locations, because we were docked so far away from our destination city, you had to book an excursion or stay onboard the ship. The options for going ashore on your own were too risky or incredibly inconvenient. During this four-month cruise, we had more than 70 sea days. The activities aboard the ship were the same day after day. Very little thought or imagination went into creating the daily activities. Guest lecturers did appear now and again. A few of them were good, but not the majority. And, the topics didn't necessarily have anything to do with our cruise. We went Round the World. Surely there are lecturers out there who could have presented talks about our destinations on this cruise. One lecturer even presented erroneous information about passage through the Panama Canal. There were many people onboard (us included) who had been through the canal several times before. We all knew that she was presenting incorrect facts, which was all the buzz after her lecture. The air conditioning in our cabins was inadequate for the type of heat that we encountered. As a matter of fact, during the first weeks of the cruise, we lost air conditioning completely twice for 2 1/2 days each time. The first time was the compressor that serviced our cabin. So, a few dozen of us were without A/C for a couple of days. More importantly, we were without it for two miserable nights. The second time it went out (a week later), the entire ship was without A/C (again for two nights). Many people slept on the pool lounge chairs on the upper decks, because the rooms were stifling. Fortunately, this did not happen again. However, the A/C in our cabins we're not quite up to the task at hand. It was always a bit too warm for comfort in our cabin. Customer service was almost nonexistent. The bar staff and wait staff were excellent, even though it was obvious that they were not appreciated by management. However, reception and the shore excursion desk were not very helpful. They lacked the necessary information and authority to do their job properly. If you brought a concern to their attention, they were defensive instead of proactive. Their method of resolving a concern was to do nothing and hope it would resolve itself. During the last month of the cruise, a large meeting was held by the passengers to discuss how unhappy we were with many aspects of the cruise. It was very well attended and conducted in a very civilized manner. Management refused to attend this meeting, even though they were well aware of it and were invited to meet with us. Since they were not there to hear our concerns, a list of our major issues was compiled and a representative met with management the next day. However, we received no response to our concerns and the fact that several hundred passengers expressed dissatisfaction with many aspects of the cruise was totally ignored. That is no way to treat paying guests. During the entire cruise, we felt like we were an inconvenience. Everything was done on their schedule for the convenience of the staff, no matter how inconvenient it was for the passengers. We were just in their way. As a matter of fact, our room steward walked in on us nine times, while the Do Not Disturb sign was on our door. If she needed entry into our cabin for any reason (to change the shower curtain, to check the expiration date on the light on the life jackets or on the package of peanuts, etc.), she just came into the cabin (regardless of the Do Not Disturb sign). This shows a lack of proper training, which was a common theme on this cruise. In summary, taking this cruise was one of the worst mistakes that we have made in many years. Save yourself some major disappointment and avoid Cruise and Maritime Voyages. Read Less

Cruise and Maritime. MV Magellan, round the world maiden cruise, 120 nights. Sailed from Tilbury UK. I joined the Magellan, on the 5th of January 2017. I have previoulsy sailed with Holland America, and Voyages of Discovery. I Picked this one as it was my 65th year. I made many friends, I particulary enjoyed the Restarant Open seating dining at breakfast and lunchtime. In the evening a seating plan was in use. The Bistro deck also had a Buffet style arrangement. Guest Relation's put on events for single travellers which was good for me, also other social events were staged, e.g. Quiz,Dance, and Bridge sessions to name a few. A range of guest lecturers kept us entertained on a range of subjects appertaing to our cruise itinery. a Full range of excursions as you would expect, reasonably priced in my oppionion. I enjoyed the trip so much iam going on CMV MV Columbus in january. This time around I aim to undertake more ship board life. Standards were genearlly good, if you are a top of the range traveller, this style would not be for you.However it was exceptional value for your pound. Read Less

A ship not fit for travel especially on such a long cruise. I have disembarked early in Malta. After a disasterous first month it did not really get any better. It became a ferry for bargain hunters to fill cabins. From the Magellan cough ,llness to broken AC systems that left guests sleeping on open decks, and water poring throughdecks it was the Companys treatment of passaners that made it worse.. What should have been a trip of a lifetime had become quite the opposite. I was not alone. Over 200 passengers met and voiced their complaints on board. Entetainment and the cruise director are a shadow of what to expect on even a three star ship. Just the cabin was of passable quality. Oters ad floods and fumes and moved many times. The food was of a good quality until the chef left for another vessel. The poor layout of decks means there are no comfy seating areas or places to dine alfresco. The Eros bar area is poor and totaly unaceptable in this day and age. Managemnet on board is non existant when problems arise, like water in rooms, to fumes in the AC sysyem.... problems were endless. A gastro illness was last straw for me. Read Less

We choose this cruise because of the 38 countries we would visit. I was disappointed by the age of the ship. It was noisy in the cabins, little sound insulation. We could hear neighbours conversations clearly, televisions and the flushing of toilets. When the ship slowed down to dock it was unbearable, the noise woke you up approx. 1 - 2 hours prior docking and than the side thrusters started. If you where at the front then you had the terrible noise of the anchor too. There were numerous leaks of water in communal areas and cabins. The air conditioning never seemed to be regulated .I was freezing in The Sinatra, Tavernas and Show lounge. We moved 4 times. The banging and creaking of fitments in the cabins was unacceptable, and we were unable to sleep. In cabin 6023 we also had the smoke coming from the crew bar. CMV ship management tried to convince me this was not harmful as the air was filtered. Only by us being assertive did they offer to move us again. The outbreak of the chest infections was badly managed by the ship. The ships doctor/team was charging extortionate charges for treatment. The charges went into the £1000-00 of pounds. I have a nursing background and was alarmed by the lack of professional practise. My husband was sea sick and charged £90-00 for a 5 minute consultation with the doctor. The cruise company did not seem to remember that the cruise was 120 days. the entertainment/ activities were repetitive. The cruise director was unaware that we were having themed nights. The entertainments staff were always clock watching, they disappeared, after each performance. They had little interaction with the passengers. It could have been better, it was down to the organisation which the management didn't seem to get there heads around. The container ports of call were not acceptable we were on a cruise!!!! Lack of foreign currency on board. My concern is that CMV have not responded as yet to our compliants, even though we have been home for one week!Im sure that attitude has been we will forget once home. The furniture is dirty. Read Less

Dont expect Mega Liner inside, its clean and mostly comfortable in most areas, but Hans Bar could do with new more comfortable cushions on lounge chairs, there is no Casino on this ship only Deck Games pool and bars, there is a indoor pool for if you are in cold weather. it has a small entertainment lounge that requires two sittings to see the show. There is no laundry but there is a Ironing room if you can wash you clothes in your Cabin Sink or Shower. It has a payed Laundry if you can afford it.This is the second half would Cruise we have done on this Ship, this time Westward Bound. Food was much better this time thanks to a Indian Head Chef, it was a very good selection of dishes on offer, but one small point was, Two many stew type dishes but his pork Belly was to die for, i give him a 3 star.I am sorry to say the entertainment was below average, they had three very good girl singers and three guys with with very soft voices all except two of the girls were frequently drowned out by a over enthusiastic Clarinet playing band leader who always had a microphone up the end of ever instrument he played, he did not need this in a small lounge,The Assistant Cruise Director would have been better as Director as he was only seen introducing the acts apart from small appearance in Sail A ways. he never tried to find out what peoples thoughts were about anything going on board, I.E. Dancers or entertainment. The main problem we had was in Hans Bar Deck was the German minority of people who smoked, there is a smoking area to the left of the bar having ashtrays on the tables, they insisted,( some of them but not all,) picking up the ashtrays and sitting in the middle of the Deck, We had to on several occasions get the Management to move them, they had great Bar staff and Hotel Staff, Just a pity about Entertainment, not like Last Cruise East Bound witch had Great Entertainment. We were in a suite, it was very good but bed was very hard, very good Cabin Staff. Will not be back on this ship as it is based in Perth Read Less

We lowered our expectations of this cruise compared to the likes of HAL and RCI but in many aspects we felt it was even better. Boarding was easy at Tilbury after taking the train from London then the free connecting bus. On board we were escorted to our cabin where our luggage was already there. Most outside cabins have twin beds, unfortunately due to fitted furniture these cannot be made up into a double and one of them is also a sofa by day so less comfy. We viewed the inside suites and they were fabulous, about twice the size. Plenty of wardrobe space in the cabin and a decent sized bathroom with shower. Bathrobes were provided which was a nice touch. Dining was great, a non standard menu meant we were able to dine on different produce from the ports of call. A lovely tropical buffet out of Mexico and suckling baby pigs after Nuka Hiva. On a Gluten free diet the chefs went out of their way to be helpful and even cooked a couple of cakes to my own recipe. Many special functions were held out on deck which was lovely. On board most amenities are on deck 5 making it very easy to get around the ship. The showroom lacked a tiered system and views were often obstructed if you sat at the side. However the show team were fabulous and soon got to know people by name. A few had strong accents which made it difficult to understand during things like quizzes. Cruise Director Toby could, in our opinion and many others, have improved things by adjusting the times of certain activities. On long cruise people are less keen to be up late at night partying and having a disco that started at 11pm mean most people did not attend. Morning exercise classes were good, well attended but sporadic. There were some very interesting guest lecturers on board and being a long cruise there was plenty of chance to get to know them personally. The 4 lots of 7 days at sea were difficult for many people with some getting cabin fever but we really enjoyed that time. Ports of call were all good and the passage through the Panama Canal with guest lecturer was a highlight. With less than 500 passengers on board this was more like one big happy family than a cruise where you never see the same people twice. There were a few instance of people claiming "their seats" that causes a little friction but it was well dealt with. Highly recommended and excellent value. Read Less