Embarkation Firstly if we ever take a cruise from Liverpool when we live near Portsmouth departing at start of school holidays, shoot us! The car drop off was easy, but we were early and it was going to get much busier, without a lot of space to operate in. Parking the car meant following a black minibus for about 1 mile along the main dock road, with lots of traffic lights. This was asking for trouble and sure enough being third in line, at the back meant I had to stop at lights when the others had made it through. Fortunately the driver was very observant and kind, so found somewhere to stop and wait. The trip back was uneventful and the service was excellent. My wife had waited for me in the large seating area (tent) and we had to wait to get on board until our luggage label was called (Red). As we were early, we had quite a wait, which was OK but a number of other passengers with Red labels, just walked into the queue for boarding and got away with it. We were told when we asked that we couldn't get on any earlier. We were in the tent waiting at 13:15. Red was called at 14:00. So for 45 minutes we watched the boarding procedure. Below are our observations: 1. Due to the boarding system, the room cards were handed out at a separate table. Which had up to 3 people searching through stacks of cards alphabetically as in all "M's" were in one stack but not in alphabetical order from then on as "Ma" should have been near the top but was half way down and missed first time through the stack. This was a slow process and meant the 10 people with paddles designed for linking credit cards and checking passports were constantly waiting for people. 2. Most other cruise lines integrate the card/passport checking with giving cabin cards. 3. After 15 minutes someone decided to move the table for handing out cards away from the health form table, which made absolutely no difference as they were still the bottleneck! Due to the very steep slope (and wet) leading down to the pontoon, where the ship was berthed, provision of a bus for people with walking difficulties was a great idea. Thank you. As there were 1,000 people maximum getting on board, it should have been a straightforward process. If they had to cope with 3,000 plus it would have been chaos. Clearly this was not a full time operation. Our hand luggage was not scanned when getting on the ship. We walked on with a full small suitcase and back pack. The luggage reached the cabin before we did, which was great. Maybe due to us arriving early, but that part of the process is definitely efficient. Dining The bistro for lunch has a reasonable selection, though the sugar free lemon mouse had absolutely no taste of lemon whatsoever. The layout is pretty good with space between tables. The pizzas lack a tomato base and have been there for ages. The Waldorf restaurant for dinner is very good and though the portions aren't large the food is served very quickly, the waiting staff are excellent and really work hard looking after the guests. Vegetarians get two choices for main meal which is good. Breakfast in the Waldorf is buffet and the food is alright, The orange juice is squash and it is a bit of a scrum at times. The food is what you'd expect from a buffet. If you want sit down go to the Kensington where it is better and more relaxed. The choice is excellent. Scrambled egg on toast was nice and freshly made but a tiny portion. They even do crispy bacon. Most of our breakfasts were taken here. We met the head of restaurant and chef with other guests with special dietary needs who explained they can deal with most requests, if they knew about them. The guests could get a menu for the next night and write what they wanted or changes and they would make them. They would even cook you something different if there was nothing you liked and the selection of gluten, lactose and not free products were excellent. Shows The shows are of reasonable standard, though not outstanding and the singers/dancers are OK. They do struggle with some songs and the dancers "whoop" at the end of songs which is disconcerting. The cruise director has the best singing voice and also knows how to get out a song, one of the younger singers is also good. The dancers are certainly energetic and put a lot of effort into it. If you sit upstairs down the sides of their show lounge, don't expect to be served a drink at all quickly, whereas downstairs multiple waiters are ready to serve you. On one occasion we waited 20 minutes trying to get attention from upstairs and ended up going to see one of the crew just to get a waiter to come and take my order. Then the drinks took a further 15 minutes to arrive and the show had started, so 35 minutes to get two simple drinks! An earlier attempt only took 10 minutes less! General Ship The ship is compact and bijou. Everything seems smaller and the ship itself is definitely narrower and has corridors down one side of public areas to make larger (e.g. Pub and Sinatras bar). There is no promenade, though you can get completely around the ship on deck 10 via a few doors and steps at the bow. There is also no running track, though the gym does look to be pretty good. The ship seems to roll in the slightest of swells, The North sea was about as flat as it could be 3 foot waves max) yet Magellan rolled on occasions. We've been on much larger ships in over twice the swell and had less movement, maybe it is because it is an older ship? The corridors in the cabin areas is nice and wide, enabling two sets of people to pass easily. The staff are very polite and say good morning... when they see you. Even the receptionist we dealt with over the room was always friendly and polite. The waiters are very efficient and fast with service and always very polite. We were issued with bars of soap for the cabins, but on day 10, why? Ports & Excursions The excursions are good though getting on and off the ship can be fun. The gangway height can be very low and once due to the tide it was too low and they had to resort to tenders, which seemed to cause a stir. They should have known the tide levels. Another occasion, our first tender port, one of the boats had a problem which caused significant delays, why couldn't they just get another boat ready? The excursion deck has really unhelpful opening hours, half an hour in the morning (07:30 - 08:00 - when you are having breakfast & 18:00 - 20:00 when it is first sitting for dinner!). Reception can't help. I understand it is a small ship and crew and they have multiple jobs/roles, but on all other lines we've been on the opening times are much longer. Shetland is a wonderful island group, with plenty to see and do on the main island. Strongly recommend a local guide. Ours was brilliant (Grant). We didn't realise how big the islands were. Puffins and seals were amazing to see, St Ninians beach is our idea of heaven and we'll be back. Olden was great going to the Birksdal glacier, with the ride most of the way up (Troll car). The last bit we had to walk was hard, but we'll worth it. Geiranger going to Mount Dalsniba was brilliant and the views were breath-taking, we were lucky enough to have a clear day. Our guide was excellent too. Eagles road also provided an excellent viewpoint. The Flam railway was the tour we looked forward to most, but it was badly run, just a train (the scenery was good) and a stop for mediocre waffles, jam and cream. The disembarkation from the ship took absolutely ages (over an hour). It was not organised well at all, one boat needed servicing which didn't help. The train was late both ways, and there was very little to do at Vatnahalsen after eating waffles to take up the hour and twenty minutes we had at the top. Please do not expect too much from this tour. Eidfjord is pretty but unless on an excursion very little to do (our excursion was cancelled). We went on the road train which took up an hour, from then on there is little else. Stavanger has quite a few attractions, get in early as with 3 cruise ships in it was definitely busy. Been told the oil museum is interesting. Orkney is much more commercialised than Shetland, and though there are some excellent sites, there are some that are expensive (Scara Brae). It is a lovely place and the views would have been good without the most and rain. Following on from the tender debacles, I have a question for CMV: If you have 1,200 people wanting to get off a ship and the journey, from ship to shore and back takes 30 minutes (I timed it, 10 mins each way and 5 mins for on/off the boat). How long does it take with only 3 Tenders? Assuming 60 people per boat, that is 20 boats worth and 20 boats at 30 minutes each therefore 10 hours! Fortunately not all wanted to get off, but enough did so that as the boats started at 08:15 The people with ticket B (so second non excursion group), were on a boat leaving the ship at 09:20. That is ridiculous! The actual question is, assuming you arrive at the port to go back to the boat at 14:30, there is a long queue and you get on the fifth boat out. As it was raining, how wet are you when you finally get on a tender? Answer: VERY! Therefore, how happy are you with CMV that they only put 3 tender boats on? Answer: FURIOUS! Even MSC tendering in Santorini, from a similar distance out had at least 10 tenders in the water and though they had more people to get back, it only took 5 minutes to get on a boat. To say the whole tendering scenario on Magellan is a farce is an understatement. Apparently we were told they tender boats were restricted due to the pollution they spewed out (which was large amounts and very smelly diesel). Answer get better tender boats. Disembarkation As we are travelling from Liverpool to Portsmouth we want to get an early start back. The problem is that with both of us requiring a stick, with 2 large cases a small one and a ruck sack, there is no way we can use the express service. I.e. Get yourself off the boat. We also have to recover our car from parking about a mile and a half away. We went down to excursions, who have given us black luggage labels so we can get off at 09:10 and not 10:00, which is good. The actual disembarkation process was excellent and very quick. We were called at 08:50 20 mins early, we were met by a fan to take us up to the luggage area, because of having sticks and a steep ramp. Our luggage was easily identifiable and both pieces next to each other (which is a first). The transport to where the car was parked was quick and efficient so we were off home before 09:25. Conclusions There are a number of pros and cons with Cruise and Maritime, or this cruise on Magellan in particular: PROS • Food • Service • Embarkation and disembarkation (cases there each time) • Customer Services getting on and off ship • Destinations CONS • Cabins can be noisy • Cabins have thin walls • Tendering service Read Less

Chose this because of the attractive itinerary, plus the convenience of sailing from UK port with no flights involved. As seasoned cruisers for many years ( principally with Thomson / Marella and NCL) we tried CMV for the first time this year. I will start with the positives:- There is a good staff to passenger ratio, and we found the service was good across all departments. The cabin (6131) was spacious and clean, and well serviced by our cabin steward on a daily basis. The food was of an acceptable quality, and well presented, and served hot. The itinerary was good, with adequate time ashore in each venue. The DISembarcation at Liverpool was very speedy, and we were on the train home in little more than an hour after disembarcation commenced. Now for the negative points. We attended the cruise terminal at Exactly the time given by CMV, Only to find that RED label had already been boarded 1/2 hour earlier, which resulted in some delay to us boarding. The boarding process struck us as being very poorly organised. The dining allocation in the Kensington restaurant, (we opted for the smaller table) was bench seats either side of the table ( 3 people each side) which was very cramped and uncomfortable. We both made the observation that this seating would be more appropriate in a Wetherspoons Pub! On the 2 venues that required tender service the wait was unacceptably long ( 3hrs. in the Scilly Isles, and one and a 1/2 hrs at Guernsey ) This obviously had a detrimental effect on our time ashore. There is considerable room for improvement here. The evening entertainment in the main show lounge was very poor by cruise ship standards. The last evening on board was a "formal" night where passengers dressed for the occasion for the advertised "Gala Dinner" This was quite a damp squib---- The only thing "Gala" about it was the baked alaska dessert. This is not what we are used to on other cruise lines in the same price bracket. To sum up, if you are looking for a no frills cruise from a uk port with no flying involved, then go for it, but there are better deals out there with other companies. Read Less

We booked this cruise as it seemed an ideal way to visit Iceland and the Faroe Islands, something a bit different. Another bonus for us was embarkation in Dublin - no flights! We were onto the ship in 5 minutes. It was very quick indeed. Cases were at our cabin before we were, so top marks to the porters. The ship was, as we knew, an older model, but very good in most aspects except the size of our cabin which was limited in circulation space. I'm no spring chicken, and we knew the CMV demographic, but the age group on this ship was quite the oldest we've ever seen. There could only have been about 10 people under 60 and you had to feel sorry for them!! The buffet was therefore a pretty slow process, as you were constantly holding back behind less agile passengers. We thought Fred Olsen had the market cornered in respect of the nursing home market, but this was a real eye opener. Food was excellent, and our drinks package was more than adequate. Entertainment was not great however. The one show I did venture in to see could only be described as up to the standard of our local amateur dramatic society. Singing and dancing were not up to much. Others of our party did go to further shows, and were appalled at the comedian, but felt the 'crooner' was good and there was a classic night which went down reasonably well too. Music in the bars was decidedly average, but after a few pints didn't seem to matter too much. Reykjavik: We were picked up at the dockside by a local tour company for the standard Golden Circle tour. Geysers, Craters, Waterfalls, Tectonic plates, 8 hours in total, but half the price of the CMV tour, which covered less. Isafjordur: 5 of our party took a walk around the town itself, but I hired a bike and went around the coast for 20 miles, pretty spectacular views, really enjoyed it. Clear blue skies for the afternoon. Akureyri: Went whale watching with a local company, again, cheaper than the cruise ship excursion. Spent an hour watching one particular whale in waters which had hardly a ripple. Took a walk around the town in the afternoon. Again, sun in the afternoon. Klaksvik: Not very much to see here. Just a stopping off point for excursions but we hadn't booked anything here. Dull and wet. Thorshavn: Bigger town, more to see, hired a bike again and climbed out of the town and rode along the coast. Faroes are very bleak and the weather was dull and misty which disappointed some, but is only to be expected. Liverpool was our last port and it was great to visit again after many many years. Lots to see, even if you never left the dockside area. All in all, the number of sea days (5) felt like just too much. Now I know you can't move Iceland any closer, but 2 days in a row on the Magellan was too much. I bring a kindle for reading purposes, but didn't use it at all, so the time must have passed rightly, but the 11 day trip did feel a bit too long for us all, and that was down to the days at sea. All in all, we got what we expected I suppose. We've seen Iceland now, but wouldn't be rushing back. Unlike Norway, for example, which we've returned to with Fred, and would love to go again. Scenery more spectacular and easier to get to! Would use CMV again without a doubt, if the itinerary was appealing. Read Less

We were a group of six friends on the Scottish Isles 8 night cruise from Newcastle finishing somewhat bizarrely in Liverpool. Embarkation was extremely fast and painless. We are gold members and have priority boarding but everyone was boarded quickly. As soon as the car pulled up our luggage was taken and we never saw it again until it was in our cabin. We have been on 4or 5 CMV cruises and enjoyed them all but predominantly on some of the fleets older ships. Whilst the Magellan is not new it is in good condition very quiet and stable. We were upgraded to a superior inner room so didn’t have to row on this trip(we always choose the voyager guarantee and have never failed to get a decent cabin. The food was very good even if the portions weren’t huge but after 5courses I had had enough. We all had a drinks and tip package which I thought was exceptional value. The house wines were ok and all the usual branded spirits available though it seemed odd to me that some coffees were chargeable. We tended to use the main dining room for dinner/ lunch and the bistro for breakfast. We tried the main restaurant for breakfast but the service was too slow for us. The entertainment does seem a bit like a lot of singing and dancing but in different costumes each night but it was light and reasonably proficient We had a comedian for two nights who was OK. He clearly had been doing cruise ships for some time and his material showed this. We weren’t onboard much during the day so didn’t take advantage of the other activities onboard. We won the quiz on the first night but quit while we were ahead. First port was Dundee where we saw a quite a large exchange of passengers. Weather was good so we strolled ashore visited the Discovery and the new V&A (great outside but much wasted space inside) but an enjoyable hour and a half. We also visited Broughty Ferry Castle which was worth a visit. Next stop was Shetland where the weather was a bit wet but we still managed a significant Lerwick town trail walk which now includes Jimmy Peres’s House from the Shetland TV series. Next stop was the Faroes where we had a 35 minute shuttle bus ride to Torshaven which was interesting in itself. We enjoyed another walk around the town looking at some of the older properties with their distinctive grass roofs. An enjoyable day out. Orkney was our next stop in cloudy weather. We have been to Orkney a couple of times so dint see the need to visit scara brae which we would have if it had been our first visit. We were fortunate to witness what seemed the wedding of the year at the cathedral. We also witnessed the “ blackening” of another engaged couple which seemed to involve sitting in the back of an open truck which friends covered in molasses, gunge etc roaring around the town making a lot of noise. The poor groom to be was cling filmed to a stone cross in the churchyard but was freed before the wedding party arrived. A beautiful day and we arrived in sunny Skye to be tendered ashore to meet up with our prearranged tour bus. This was a private tour (sky mini bus tours)for the six of us (£42 each ) and it was really excellent. The beautiful weather helped as did the two knowledgeable locals who did the driving and guiding. We stopped at all the usual sights some of which were quite busy it being a Sunday and having excellent weather. We had a lovely lunch in an old hunting lodge called Flodigarry House which also had Flora McDonald's house in the grounds. The bus dropped off at the docks for our tender. - an excellent all day trip. Next stop Belfast in mixed weather. Here we enjoyed the hop on hop off bus (we negotiated £50 for six old fogies!). We did the full tour then got off at the Titanic exhibition which was excellent. That took a couple of hours but I really enjoyed it as it was a lot to do with the history of Belfast rather than just the sinking and subsequent recovery of the ship. It even included a mini Disney like shipyard ride. On the bus watch out for low hanging branches as my pal had his glasses and heating aid knocked off!!! Then on to Liverpool. Disembarkation was not so smooth due to not using the Ships tannoy to tell you what was happening ( it could be that as we were docked the ship was not allowed to so not to disturb the locals) it meant passengers were constantly querying why they couldn't leave the ship, pa better presence with better communication would have sorted it. There were some anxious passengers needing to catch a train/coach who were left in the dark. A very enjoyable cruise with excellent food and service - pity about the weather!!! Read Less

Actually chose this cruise due to an engine failure on one we booked. Interesting ports around the Uk where few other ships go. Though this is an old ship from Carnival, it was well maintained and clean. Had an inside cabin on deck seven, and was larger than those on Crystal! Food was surprisingly good, especially the dinners in the restaurants. Restaurants were also open for breakfast and lunch and were expertly staffed. Great place to go if one wants to beat the crowds at the main buffet. Drinks were well priced, and did not include a tip. One could actually get a pint of larger (German) for 3 pounds 60 pence! Tours were also top notch. Payment for these were from 40-70 pounds. Only problem I had was with the crew members that were not involved with the passengers (stewards-wait staff, etc) Many could not understand English-tough to communicate with. Read Less

I chose this cruise as it gave us five full days in Iceland among other ports of call. Iceland was fantastic, as were Shetland and Faroe Islands. Nothing happening in Invergordon, so best to take a tour from there. I knew the CMV Magellan was an older ship, only rated 3.5, so I didn't have high expectations. However, although the ship looks rather dated, the cabins were clean and functional and the meals at the restaurants were good - only average at the buffet. Where the cruise really fell down was the lack of organisation and planning for the activities. Most activities were a non-event, but listed every day in the program as an "unhosted" timed activity, e.g. Knit & Natter, Library, table tennis. Other activities were scheduled inappropriately, eg "Chance to Dance" - on twice nightly (not live music though) - both scheduled while passengers were either at the Show or at dinner! One night there was a display of the Chef's food presentation skills at 10.15 pm, when 2nd sitting guests were just leaving dinner. Why would they want more food and why would 1st sitting guests want a second dinner? There was also a dress up "School Disco" scheduled for 10.30 pm at night. The average age of the passengers was about 80!! The activities themselves were described by one fellow passenger as more attuned to occupational therapy activities in a Nursing Home. I couldn't agree more. They were insulting and very uninspiring. The restaurants were quite good, but staff couldn't organise seating. Many tables of eight only had two or four people on them, despite wanting a full table. It wasn't good enough to book seating six months prior. The nightly Entertainment Shows were mediocre. Although many individual staff were quite friendly, the majority of staff and entertainers seemed unhappy in their jobs. Also, I would not recommend booking a "Guaranteed Ocean View" cabin. We were allocated one right in the bow of the ship, with a porthole! We ended up having to pay about 900GBP to upgrade to a mid ship cabin with a proper window. I can only recommend you not to book this cruise line. Another passenger said he'd travelled on CMV's Vasco de Gama and it was even worse than the Magellan. Steer clear and choose another ship that knows how to provide passengers with a good holiday. Read Less

This was our first, but hopefully not our only, cruise so we have nothing to compare against. As first-timers I will say one thing firstly: the instructions given each day were a great help and all the things I worry about (not knowing where to go or what to do) turned out to be nothing to worry about at all. Your hands are well and truly held to ensure you know where you need to be and when. Embarkation was very quick (20 minutes from drop-off outside Newcastle Passenger Terminal to being in our cabin). The cabin was 4119 and was more than adequate for our needs. The ship has a slightly dated feel to it but is clean and bright. Large bars and public areas meant even at the busiest times it didn't feel cramped. We stuck to the Bistro (buffet) and the "Speciality Restaurants" as we're not formal-wear people. The food was flawlessly good. The "Speciality Restaurants" are really "pop-up restaurants" requiring reservations within part of the Bistro's area. The service and food there was absolutely wonderful. The arrival into ports was handled well and it was far easier to walk on/off than I'd expected. We had one anchor port on the itinerary (Lerwick) but they managed to dock in the end so can't speak to how good/bad the tender process is. The main issue was due to our fellow passengers (of a certain age and thus of a certain speed!) which did mean we took to walking out rather than wait for shuttle buses which would take forever to board or get off. We went on two excursions (Jewels of the North in Akureyi and Loch Ness in Invergordon) both of which were well-organised though suffered from similar "speed" issues as the getting on and off the ship did! We went to a few shows, activities and lectures. The shows were extremely well done and the show area is spacious with comfortable seating (lots of leg room which is very important to me!). The activities (quizzes, "gameshows") were amusing enough though we avoided the Knit and Natter due to concerns we might get too over-excited ;) (In all seriousness there was plenty to do for all personalities!). The lectures... weren't so good. One of the speaker's lectures were so full of errors I was able to spot them and I wasn't an expert on their subjects. The other had blurry photos and film which seemed pointless given the lack of quality. Service was great in parts (the restaurants), okay in others (we had a few mix-ups happen around our welcome package which were eventually sorted and refunds arranged without us asking so all was well) and bad, for the most part, in bars. Even if just 6 tables were in use out of the 40 or so available in a bar, you'd be lucky to get successfully served once every 60 minutes. Needless to say this meant we never woke up with a hangover! I'd hold special praise for our room steward and her colleagues on our deck. They were not just always polite when we passed them in the corridor but remembered us and engaged us in personal greetings. Our room was kept immaculately throughout our trip. Overall the positives far outweighed the negatives and we had a really enjoyable two weeks. We'll certainly be cruising again and CMV will at least get consideration when we come to planning our next trip. Read Less

We have recently returned from a 13 night Icelandic cruise from Newcastle on the Magellan and all I can say is wow. This was our 10th cruise and definitely one of the best. I’ve sailed with CMV before, together with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. The CMV ships can’t complete with the others when it comes to high tech modern features, but neither does they try to. What you get instead is great service, good quality food and drinks and the ability to travel from local ports, which is a major plus point for those of us who don’t live close to Southampton. The itinerary for this cruise was first rate and we enjoyed all of the ports of call, and Iceland itself is magnificent. We were blessed with great weather for the entire duration. I’ve heard the seas around Iceland can get a bit rough, even in summer, but we didn’t have any issues. There was one night when travelling around the north that the seas got up a bit, but the Magellan handled it perfectly and we barely felt a thing. The ship is a little old fashioned in its décor but that’s a minor issue. It’s kept spotlessly clean by a hard-working team. The ship was full for this cruise but there was rarely a problem getting served or finding a seat. I think the most we waited was five or six minutes and this was at peak time. The staff are very attentive and we would usually have our order taken in a couple of minutes. We chose the VIP drinks package which was great value compared to other cruise lines. This included all premium drinks, gratuities, bottled water for the cabin and an invitation to a private cocktail party. It also gave a 50% discount on speciality dining. We ate in Fusion, the Indian themed restaurant twice (stunning food), and also did Chef’s Table, a sumptuous 10 course dinner with wine pairings. Highly recommended. There is also a speciality steak night but I’m not a steak lover so we didn’t try this one. We ate each night in the Waldorf restaurant and the food was excellent. Always hot and good quality with plenty to choose from. I’ve heard complaints that the food could be luke warm but this was never the case in my experience, perhaps these complaints relate to buffet. We only used the buffet a couple of times for lunch as I’m not a fan of self service, but it seemed pretty good to me. As good as any buffet ever gets. The entertainment team were also very good. Some of the shows weren’t my cup of tea so I gave them a miss, but the ones I did see (Broadway, Queen) were very enjoyable. The late night cabaret in the Captains Club was always worth a look too. We’re a couple in our mid-forties and were definitely among the youngest people on the cruise, but I quite enjoyed this. We met some lovely people and had a great time. Things tended to wind down quickly after midnight, but because of the heavy itinerary we weren’t looking for late nights anyway. We did one excursion through CMV – Loch Ness, which was excellent, and booked another independently. In Iceland we took the 8 hour Golden Circle trip with a local tour company for a third of the price of the one on the ship, so I’d recommend doing a bit of research before you go. As it was our first time in Iceland we just went ashore at the other ports and explored on our own. Everything was within walking distance of the ship. Having done a few Royal Caribbean cruises in the last three years, I’d got a bit jaded with their massive ships which are increasingly marketed to families and young kids. They tend to be very noisy and poorly behaved. CMV with it’s adult only policy was exactly what I was looking for this time. I loved this cruise on Magellan and can’t wait to experience her sister ship Columbus in September. Read Less

The ship is lovely and our cabin 4060 was spacious, comfortable and quiet. We had 3 wardrobes - full hanging, half hanging and shelves with safe. Bathroom compact but shower larger than the one on the Marco Polo. The restaurant (Waldorf) was a bit strange to reach from our cabin. You had to go up to deck 9 walk past Captain's Bar, Sinatra's Bar and Tavener's Bar then down to deck 8. The 5 course evening meal had a good choice each night and there was always something I liked to eat. We had a Chocoholic Night one night and Magnifique buffet near the end of the cruise. Both brilliant. We did ship's tours in every port except St.Petersburg (Alla Tour detailed below) and Helsinki - rest day. Dundee and St.Andrews was a wet day. Aarhus and Edeltoft was good and a lovely village to walk round. Warnemunde and Schwerin Castle was good.Tallin was in a small mini bus so saw Upper and Lower Tallin as well as a tour of the area. Stockholm has a lot of road and building work going on so cranes everywhere. This was the only guide who was a bit hard to hear and understand as we think she was Spanish. Our final tour of Copenhagen and Dragar was very good. And Dragar was a lovely old village on the coast. Our visit to St. Petersburg was with Alla Tours and we did the Must See tour. There was 8 in our party and lunch both days was included. First day was 3 courses and second day was 4. Both delicious. Our guide was Katya - a local who was also an English teacher so understanding her was no problem. We were in all the places straight away and in Catherine's Palace the small groups go in through the servant's entrance and tour each room from the right hand side whereas the public and large groups tour on the left and were very crowded. Would highly recommend an independent tour company. When we left the queue apparently was over 40 mins wait in the rain. We visited Church of Spilled Blood, St. Isaac's, The Hermitage (wow), Catherine's Palace, Peterhof Gardens. Also went to the subway and a boat trip. Everything so enjoyable and lovely being in such a small group. Highly recommend anyone to do rather than the large ship tours.St.Petersburg is definitely a MUST SEE and would to have done and seen more. Read Less

Having read previous reviews we were worried about going on our first cruise. Please make your own mind up. We live 20 minutes away so embarkation was efficient and quick. No waiting around in airports for hours. Our room was bigger than we expected with plenty wardrobe space, tea and coffee making facilities and as part of our VIP package complimentary wine and several bottles of water. Sepnash our cabin steward was always friendly and cheerful even though he worked extremely hard cleaning our room at least twice a day. We tended to have breakfast in the waldorf restaurant which was always fresh with plenty choice. You didn't even have to make your own toast as there was always someone to do it for you. Lunchtime we tended to eat from the grill bar which was basically chips, burgers and salad. However there were plenty of others places to eat with plenty of variety. Evenings we ate in Kensington restaurant with themed nights including Greek and italian. Daytime entertainment was basic but a quiz at least once a day but for what we paid we couldn't grumble. We went to A few shows which we enjoyed and there was always entertainment on in the other bars including a pianist and duo. We loved Norway with bergen being our favourite destination especially the funicular railway. The views from the top were spectacular. We did the hop on hop off bus but this was a waste of money as we could walk everywhere as bergen is so compact. We booked 2 trips to Glamis castle and Flam railway which were both good. While we were in Flam we visited the micro brewery which we really enjoyed and if you like beer tasting this is well worth a try. Read Less

We wanted to visit the Baltics and chose this cruise because of the departure from Scotland having previously travelled on this ship to Iceland in 2017 also from Scotland . Embarkation quick and efficient cabin ready and waiting luggage at our door shortly after we got to cabin Cabin Steward Aung Soe quiet courteous and good at his job . Unpacked then time for Lifeboat drill which is mandatory Lovely views of the Tay from the deck things explained well staff very helpful with life jackets making sure no trip hazards from straps . Kensington 2 nd sitting our allocated dining which we went to every night with the exception of our first night and also one evening when we were going to an evening excursion in St Petersburg . Waiters Denys and Thia were excellent at looking after the 6 people at our table ?The ladies at the table 4 of us Recieved red roses one night and hand made origami flowers on one other evening .The company at table all lovely and we had a good time . Shows in Show lounge all good some I preferred .One evening the artist from Hamptons did a show in the main showroom and it was Fantastic Gerswin,s Rhapsody in blue one of the notable pieces but both artist gave great performances .Show Team good fun and Orchestra Great .Cruise Director Changed at Copenhagen to the same one we had on Iceland Cruise .We welcomed this as Toby is a great performer and joins in with the Show team . We discovered Hernan the Guitarist in Taveners Bar and most evenings caught a good bit of his performances Hernan a solo performer with great guitar skills and his music choices suited our taste . We caught snatches of game shows and cabaret in Captains club Particularly enjoyed Stephanie solo cabaret where she had chosen great old songs which suited her voice In Magellen Show lounge we enjoyed the From Russia with love show in particular. Food overal is very good .Bacon tends to be a bit hard at breakfast other than that I had no complaints .Always something on the menu choice I could have . Craft classes I managed to get to 2 which I really enjoyed Art classes my husband and I both Attended and found Nina,s classes very helpful .We attended Dave Wrights lectures and he filled the Show Lounge he was so good and informative about all of his subjects from the Romanovs to Mary Queen Of Scots .Didn,t manage to get to the pop music lectures from a different Lecturer as they clashed with other things we were doing .Prebooked leisurely shore excursions in most ports and enjoyed all of them especially the Russian Folklore show which was fantastic .Weather was mixed but overal not bad considering the time of year early May 2019 Overall we had a great cruise met some lovely people Both staff and passengers and returned to Scotland Getting off ship organised well waiting in allocated areas till staff member comes to collect you . Read Less

This is our 5th cruise, the 3rd on the Magellan. We were sent tickets and purple luggage labels, booked for parking at Newcastle. Boarding turned out to be horrendous, something went seriously wrong which CMV blamed on the Port Authority. Eventually on board cabin 5193, right on the stern, deck 5, Baltic. All went well until 2-am, woke up by horrendous noise, props and bearings, followed by every imaginable noise a ship could make at one hour intervals. Phoned reception followed by visit to reception. Asked for change of cabin, refused at that time, was offered a temporary inside 4 berth cabin for the night, we refused that on the grounds we might have to stay there, so no sleep that night. Docking was even worse, continuous noise early morning docked at Dundee, we packed our bags. Visited reception for change of cabin, no can do until boarding has completed. Phoned local Dundee Taxi company for price back to Newcastle, they text me back £350. Waited and waited for info. Eventually told reception that unless we receive a like for like cabin before departure we will leave the ship and CMV can pay for taxi back to Newcastle. This seemed to do the trick and we were offered suitable like for like cabin on the same deck. Sorted and we thanked the staff involved. Day 2 was the start of our cruise, we can put all that happened behind us. New Cabin good, very clean, coffee and tea making facilities in all cabins which is a great bonus, lovely male Steward who was attentive throughout. As a rule we always try and give the Cabin Stewards a break, so making up room does not have to be every day, they are always there if you need them. Food as always very good, we never use the restaurants, that is our choice, we prefer to use the Bistro on deck 10, purely for choice and we can pick our time to eat. Always something there for everyone. Plenty to do and see on the ship on sail days or just relax and socialise. Noticed sick bags out at Dundee and at various other times although the sea was never rough, slight bobbing but gentle all the same. Unusual for us we decided to book shore excursions, we normally do our own thing, but as we had to book Russian excursions we thought what the hell. Actual excursions well organised and a good variety, (very good description of actual excursions so you know what you are letting yourself in for). Excursions are good value for money. All excursions start with a coach journey, this is where we noticed an abnormal amount of coughing. A lot of passengers were complaining of a sore throat. Further into the cruise the problem seemed to get worse, more people coughing, the general consensus was the air conditioning. Up to now we were not affected. We arrived at St Petersburg and disembarked for our excursion, half day at the Hermitage. This is a busy excursion and nonstop once you are in the venue. Two of our party went missing and were found outside, they did not seem well and said they needed air. Back on the ship by afternoon my Wife complained of a sore throat. As seasoned cruiser's we take every kind of medication just in case, so after taking this my Wife settled a bit and it was "carry on cruising". The second day in St Petersburg we were at the Yusipov palace and Waterways. This was a fabulous excursion for anyone going to St Petersburg. However it was marred by increased coughing, by the time we were back on ship it was noticeably worse among the passengers. Also we noticed passengers walking around with cannulas attached. My Wife's condition worsened throughout the day and evening, our own meds were not working. My Wife does suffer from COPD following Lung Cancer three years before. We always visit our G.P. before cruising for "Fit to travel purposes". By late evening things were that bad we had to visit the dreaded Medical Centre (no one wants to end up here). Upon initial assessment my Wife was immediately put on an I.V. Drip with Anti-Biotics (one hour) followed the next morning by another one hour I.V. drip with anti-biotics and face mask nebuliser. This was followed by two further treatments lasting one hour each. Various tests were carried out via a blood test. All tests proved negative. Diagnosis Pneumonia / Chest infection. Whilst these treatments were taking place a lot of other passengers were receiving the same treatment for the same problem, one elderly lady was very bad. This was a very busy Medical Centre. I have to say the care and treatment was first class. Eventually my Wife was discharged, however we were confined to Ship at Stockholm and no arranged Excursion at Alborg (we had a gentle walk here although limited). Elsewhere on the ship this was becoming an epidemic with coughing from every quarter so much so we spent a lot of time in our cabin to avoid the problem. The worse part was in the theatre where you could hardly hear the guest speaker for coughing all around. As far as I know and saw, one chap was airlifted off by Helicopter, he was being treated while my Wife had her last treatment, one person left at Stockholm for emergency operation. We heard of one being left at Russia and one at Alborg. Talking to a passenger (coughing became a talking point) a maintenance team turned up at her cabin to fix the bathroom door, (no problem known to her) however miraculously the door repair yielded a new shower head??? Make of that what you will. By the time we left Alborg my Wife was feeling better, albeit she still had a very sore throat which we treated with hot honey drinks. I have to ask the question. What was lurking aboard the Magellan? I have never known a problem like this on all our other cruises and it was quite worrying. Disembarkation, we were sent two light blue luggage labels the evening before. We came on with purple and guessed this was because of cabin change, light blue also denoted SAGA cruisers. Back to reception and after explanation we were given purple luggage labels (remember the car park), so on the day we disembarked with all the other purples, only to find we were an hour late and that service had ended. We were told we should have had lime green labels (yep I am still working on that one). However CMV were very good and we had a coach and escort back to the car park. Now I said earlier the "dreaded Medical Centre". The final bill for this was £4600.00. Now we have insurance but as with all insurances there ARE RESTRICTIONS AND RIDERS, one of our restrictions is COPD. As the diagnosis was Chest Infection Primary and COPD as secondary we are hoping the insurance passed the treatment as we were allowed to disembark. DO NOT CRUISE WITHOUT FULL INSURANCE. My Wife has visited our G.P. and further blood tests have been taken. She is still unwell and is being monitored. I would like to say that this was a good cruise, but the health issue has left us with no memorable thoughts. Of course the staff were brilliant as always, they all work very hard to please you. Will we cruise again? We have a cruise booked next year on the Marco Polo, but seriously after experiencing what we have just gone through........................... Read Less

My husband and I traveled to London from America to celebrate my 60th birthday . It was our first time to be in Europe and it's beautiful. I would rate the places we went as Very Good. Embarkation and disembarkation is OK. I was so disappointed with the ship . Our cabin is in the 4th floor and once you get in the hallway it smell like SEWER. I heard people complained about the smell. But nothing was done about it. The Entertainment show is so horrible that some people walked out of the show. It was amateur singer and dancer. The singer are out of tune and you can't even tell if they were singing or screaming. The outfit of the dancer are so tacky and the performance is so horrible. The magician who did the show his magic trick could be done by a 10 year old. So amateur and so CHEAP. It's laughable. We been cruising quite a bit and entertainment is big for us. We always look forward for good show and was never been disappointed . But this ship the show they gave us is very insulting. CMV need to hire Professional people to entertain their customer. AT breakfast or lunch people talked about how bad the prior night performance was. There's nothing to do so you end up watching half the horrible show and walked out . If you like their activities like Board game, Darts tournament, carpet bowl, table tennis ,Knit & Natter , Bridge and song from the 40"s then this is your ship. We were bored beyond bored. Try to watch Tv on your cabin they only give you 1 movie all day. The food is Ok I won't complain about it. They need to improved their customer service. Excursion is Ok and I like the countries we went. When we came back to America I was asked by co worker , friends & family about the cruise line. I told them NEVER take a cruise with CMV Voyages Magellan. It's not a cruise ship that you recommend to friends and family. Read Less

My wife and I have just returned from the Hidden Baltic treasures cruise. Not our first cruise with CMV and various other companies. Embarkation was good. Our cabin 7073 was very nice and kept well cleaned by our cabin steward Alleyna who was very helpful and pleasant. We travelled on the Magellan last year to the Northern Lights and I must say that the ship has gone down hill since then. The food in the Raffles Grill at breakfast was good but people stay at the tables after their breakfast and it is hard at times to find a table. We were seated in the Kensington Restaurant (2nd sitting). The food served was not as good as last year and several times had to be returned as it was cold. This applies to us and others on our table. The two waiters that we had on our table were very good. We were on a table of eight and had a great time with the other guests. We went to the Indian fusion twice and will say it was excellent and very good value. Now the bad points. Why do CMV seem to think that everyone over 65 likes classical music. In the bar at the Kensington restaurant before dinner there was a violinist and a pianist playing classical music. In one of the bars early evening there was a guitarist playing Spanish music in my opinion very badly. Guest lecturers talking about art, Quizzes, game shows ,nit and natter, carpet bowls and painting made up the daytime so called entertainment then there were the shows . I have never seen such a load of out of tune and out of sync dancers and singers on any ship that we have been on,the shows were terrible. This is not only my opinion. We met others who said the entertainment was DIRE, who walked out shortly after it started. There were at least another half a dozen couples who said the same thing This ship needs to liven up its act and realise that just because a lot of people are elderly they cant enjoy a bit of lively music to dance to earlier than 11pm. I am 74 and find it boring. Shore excursions very expensive. Would we travel on CMV again, possibly. but not the Magellan. Read Less

First a little context: We started cruising nearly 30 years ago, doing CTC, Costa, MSC, Princess cruises, Ocean cruise Lines, HAL, then after a 25 year break returned to it 4 years ago and since then we have done Oceania, Azamara x3, AmaWaterways, Celebrity, Marella Dream, FO x2. This was our first time to the Fjords and, wow, what absolutely stunning scenery. The weather was absolutely perfect, not a drop of rain and barely a cloud in the sky. Embarkation/Disembarkation Very efficient. The cases were being taken out of the car before the engine was even switched off. We were called forward at our allocated boarding time of 12, spent about 15 minutes queuing, all the formalities were done really quickly and onboard we went and to our cabin, which was ready. No glass of fizz though. Nina, our cabin stewardess whizzed us through all we needed to know, by which time our cases had arrived and we were good to go for lunch which was being served around the ship. On disembarkation we had to leave the cabin at 7, assemble in our allocated lounge at 8.30 and we were called off at around that time. There was a queue of around 15/20 minutes for the shuttles back to the car park. Tilbury is a really quaint little cruise terminal and it was delightful to sail from there. Cabin We had a forward outside ‘superior’ cabin on Deck 6. Nice picture window, although pretty filthy (as were all of the windows although we did see crew trying to clean them with lowered hoses)! Cabin was small and plain, but adequate. TBH most cabins seemed much of a muchness in terms of size. Kettle and supplies were provided but no fridge. No complaints about the bathroom and the shower was fine. Oh yes, the toilet did stop flushing from time to time, which was a bit awkward first thing in the morning, but was fixed quite quickly. I wondered if it was because, unusually, the toilet paper was pretty thick and luxurious?! Quickly moving on, we had no particular issues with noise or vibrations, the aircon was rather noisy though and could only be turned up or down, I suppose you get used to it, but I did find it a little warm at night. The bed was comfortable and the extra half-pillow used on the bed instead of a cushion got a gold star from me. Extra pillows and duvets were stored in the wardrobes and all looked clean and fresh. My one gripe was that the bottom sheet was stretchy cotton, which had that ‘bobbly’ kind of feel, OH didn’t even notice though. The flatscreen TV showed various channels including BBC and Sky News plus 2 films a day. Ship Yes, it’s an old ship. The decoration and furnishing is quite basic but it’s clean. It’s not quaint and charming, but it is small, you can sit inside and see from one side to the other, you know that you are at sea. There are lots of little outside areas to explore. However, a number of these are smoking areas, including the outdoor heated area by the pool! 2 of the whirlpools were open during our trip, and towards the end the pools were filled with freezing water which looked really murky. Not very inviting! Food Before we sailed, I was having grave misgivings about this area. But I suppose that the half a stone I put on in a week is an indicator that my fears were groundless. There are 2 main restaurants, Kensington and Waldorf, which operate 2 sittings for dinner. Both serve up 5/6 course evening meals. Portions are not huge but I felt that the quality was pretty good. Plenty of fresh vegetables and meat that looked like it had come from an actual animal. There were also themed nights – Greek for example where the waiters dressed up and did a bit of Greek dancing, and Italian. All in all a bit of fun! We had requested a table of 6 late sitting, and were put on a table of 8 with just one other couple. It wasn’t a problem though, the other couple were lovely and eventually we arranged ourselves so that we could all look out of the window at the stunning scenery passing by. For breakfast you could opt for cabin service, free if you just wanted drinks and croissants/toast or £10 to include cooked breakfast, self-service in the bistro, hybrid waiter / self service in Waldorf or full service in Kensington. Now, I don’t really do buffets for hygiene reasons but the full service restaurant was really slow so we mostly ate in Waldorf where there was an excellent egg/omelette station in addition to the other breakfast goodies or the served dish of the day such as egg benedict, smoked salmon and eggs or corned beef hash. The breakfast spread was pretty good to be fair although the fruit juice and coffee were undrinkable. A similar system was in operation at lunchtime, with full service lunch in the Kensington. When the weather permitted there was also an outdoor grill, serving hotdogs, burgers and chips on the pool deck and, my particular favourite, a pizza station in the buffet, open from 11 til 5, perfect for a late lunch on a port day. The pizza was absolutely delicious and I think primarily responsible for my alarming weight gain. Afternoon tea is served in the buffet at 3.30. This was a complete bunfight, with people dipping their spoons into huge bowls of cream and jam after having started to eat their tea en route from one buffet station to another, licking their fingers as they went. There is no late-night buffet, but canapés do circulate in the lounges, including tasty little samosas and spring rolls, infinitely preferable! A word or two on the ‘speciality dining’. We did the ‘Chef’s table’ which was a ‘reception’ with the restaurant manager and the chef, photographs, a quick galley tour with the chef followed by a 10 course menu with wines and dedicated waiter. The cost of this is £60pp, discounted if you have already taken one of the drinks packages. There were 8 of us in a private area and it was such a excellent evening I would thoroughly recommend it. This is not ‘pushed’ very much around the ship, so if you want to do it, you have to put your name down with the Restaurant manager and, if they get enough interest they will send you an invitation. We also went to the curry Fusion restaurant – which was an area of the buffet separated off. This costs £15, discounted once again if you have the drinks package. I was a bit reluctant to do this because to be frank, the congealed dishes of curry they were displaying at the entrance to the buffet on the day we boarded hardly looked appetising. You get a plate of mixed appetisers, a rolled up popadum, rice and breads plus one main course and some very sweet desserts. Delicious! Entertainment There was the usual range of daytime activities, quizzes, craft classes, lectures. In the evening, there were 2 shows at 7.15 and 9.15 which meant that second sitting guests had to go to the show before dinner. Not my preferred arrangement, but the reason for this was that the singers often had to perform again in the lounge at around 10.30. The show team, 4 singers, 6/7 dancers worked hard with very limited costumes and virtually no sets. There was a small live orchestra though. I thought the shows were ok, not exactly West End standard, but then I often don’t think much of them!. The guest artist was a comedian who did shows on 2 nights, I gave the second show a miss. Most of the action after the show took place in the Capatain’s Club lounge. Usually there was some kind of ‘gameshow’, hosted by the CD then cabaret by one or more of the singers followed by a DJ who managed to put a dampener on any dancing and send everyone to bed! There was limited entertainment in the other bars in the form of sets by a pianist and a pianist/violinist duo. The CD didn’t seem to do an awful lot, other than host the gameshow and say a few words at the end of the production shows, and was not very visible, but perhaps he did a lot behind the scenes. Service This area was admittedly a little variable. On the one hand, our waiters in Waldorf for dinner were excellent, as good as any anywhere. OH was on a special diet and well looked after with the next day menus and so on. On the other hand, it was often difficult to get served in the bars. All good things come to those who wait, but sometimes you had to wait a very long time. Our cabin stewardess was efficient and made us a mouse towel animal on embarkation. The only towel animal we have ever had! I think they said that there were 42 nationalities of crew, some of the service staff didn’t speak perfect English, maybe that was something to do with it plus the fact that the ship was full. Fellow passengers There was a very high proportion of first time cruisers onboard and a lot of passengers came from the Kent/Essex area. Everyone was very friendly and there was very little moaning going on! Top notch! This was an adult only sailing with passengers from their twenties to their eighties, with the average age probably mid fifties. Read Less

we've just come back from majestic fjords with beautiful scenery and weather but alas was a disaster the ship was full the room was small uncomfortable and very noisy broken sleep with funnel next door no transfer of room available several complaints unresolved reception issues couldn't get a buffet table was like being on a Costa ship Also the cost was very reasonably priced on the face of it.. but.. When you factors in cost of excursions and car parking then not so reasonable. So.. if the basics are not right.. then you can't really fully enjoy the good bits. Good Majestic fjord land Very relaxing with beautiful scenery Awesome in fact but that's the natural side of fjords for you with 3d passages that melt away and mountain overhangs you can almost touch as the ship sails through occasional narrow channels but you have to be up on deck at the right time to see them 1 particular spot was like the scene from Jason and the argonauts were Neptune pops up out of the water to save the ship from clashing cliff tops. Weather from other previous holiday comments weather could be very wet especially in Bergen but Unexpectedly the weather was gloriously sunny all week although occasionally very windy and cold Room Free use of safe Tea making but limited with small table and kettle Only 2 sockets in room Bed very uncomfortable and small for me Food Good value food with excellent English breakfast On gala and captains night the cuisine was excellent on other nights could be average though Cream teas and biscuits are to die for unfortunately everyone else felt the same.! when everyone comes back from days out at same time there are queues and shoving going on then finding a table is difficult too when ship is at capacity, which rather takes most of the pleasure out of it. The food is very good in general if not repetitive tho, sometimes bland and not very hot all of the time but one has to remember the cost of some of the cruises. The service is good in general as the staff trying hard to accommodate everyone but again because of this you can be waiting for 15 mins or more for a drink in certain bars. Cocktails of the day are usually very good and reasonably cheap at £3.50 per day. They did a wheat beer at same price which was a bonus as it's 1 of my favourites even tho its £1.25 in aldis I was just happy to see it as most cruises don't seem to accommodate wheat beer usually Bad Beds uncomfortable Small room and shower Tv poor Our room 5111 very noisy all day and all night Also had smelly gas smells from engines and main funnel Complained twice but not taken seriously. Like trying to sleep on a rollercoaster 1st time they sprayed carpet for smells 2nd time gave me ear plugs which were not adequate. Said they were full and couldn't change my room but found out later that they hold back some rooms in case of emergency. So our 50th and 60th birthday holiday was spoiled through lack of sleep and rest. 1st dining time too early and 2nd too late Only 1 buffet restaurant which was packed full several times with no spare tables and a scramble to get anything. The 2 main service restaurants too slow when busy and food some times not hot enough even when not busy. Excursions over priced and not good value when you can walk off and do some of the so called tours for nothing or a lot less when you just pop into tourist information and a small "what's available?" Read Less

Good value for money, not too big a ship. It sailed well and felt comfortable despite a swell on the sea our first full day at sea, I never felt it like others did. Lunch was available before we sailed on the 13th and it was a lovely buffett, good selection and included a special diet buffett for vegetarians, vegans and diabetics, the diabetic desserts were very good in taste and presentation. No after taste. The bars were very comfortable, I made the Taverners my spot as great window seating to spend drinking after dinner and enjoying the sea or fjords scenery. The evening meals in the Waldorf were delicious, five courses... wow. Lots of selections and all very well presented and delicious... I never heard one complaint. The breakfast buffett was full English, a buffet of croissants, pastries. An omellette station, there was porridge, a cereal station... then lunch buffet from 1130 to die for. Or you could go to your designated restaurant and sit down for breakfast or lunch. I liked the buffet, everyone chatty in the buffet area's when eating. Very friendly cruise. Always someone happy to have a conversation. The staff were kept on their feet and I felt for them working so hard to keep our tables cleared, and cups supplied. I will say on day one the 13th it seemed everyone of the 1200 passengers wanted a cup of tea and got bitchy when cups ran out and they had to wait five to ten minutes for fresh ones. I did point out that a dish washing machine has a cycle and that's about ten minutes long. Some rude passengers who bitched about anything and everything, I guess they enjoy being miserable or unreasonable because the crew did a great job. Good service everywhere, good cabin staff, discreet. Bar staff kept very busy, hardly time to look up and smile much as they were busy making cocktails by the dozen, lol. Great drinks package, I mean you could drink yourself into oblivion as most cocktails included, also spirits included. My friend had double whiskies every night - bells? I loved the small gym. I liked the decks to sit out on. The ship was very comfortable. Evening entertainment is what you make it, sit there or dance. The shows were fun, not west end but good enough with fantastic male and female vocals.. lovely voices. I can't wait to go again. There are short cruises coming up of two or three nights I hope to catch.. the Captains cocktail hour was fun. The Captain was seen every morning on deck available to the public as he always did a walk through. Very nice. Thanks Magellan. Read Less

Having read so many bad reviews about Magellan we were very surprised and delighted that we enjoyed our cruise so much. The ship was a proper old fashioned, lovely vehicle and so much nicer than those ghastly things which look like a block of flats on a barge. We found our cabin very adequate and it was kept scrupulously clean by our delightful steward Putu. Shower was excellent and endless clean towels. The food and service we found to be excellent and lots of choice and everything very crisp and fresh. We found all staff very very kind and helpful and cleanliness throughout the shop was faultless. We were not very interested in entertainment as we love sea watching and sky watching and reading so could entertain ourselves.The ship seemed very buzzy and fun though if one wanted entertainment. We would have liked more information about where we were at sea and maybe maps. We were not very happy with one of our excursions and found staff not very able to deal with this and the other people who complained. Dealt with now. A small complaint about an altogether great value and very very lovely cruise. Cannot wait for the next one already booked. Read Less

This cruise itinerary was great plus there was an excellent deal for solo passengers. I booked an inside and was upgraded to an outside cabin, L shaped beds, but a reasonable size, with shower, a decent size. It was set up for someone with mobility issues, extra handles in the shower room and a pull down seat in the shower, but these didn't get in the way at all. Shower/hair gell and conditioner were in two containers in the shower plus small bars of soap were provided. A kettle with tea/coffee was provided in the cabin plus a TV (but no BBC world service just a French channel giving news in English?). There was no daily newspaper to catch up on the news available as I had always had on other ships. The first two days was open sitting at dinner time with no allocated table which a lot of people didn't like (I didn't mind), then I was allocated a table but given the time of between 6-8 pm so after people joining at different times, my table agreed a time for us all to come, so that worked well. For a solo there were a lot of get togethers but I found I met a lot of people, just by chatting to whoever sat next to me. The jacuzzi was always sociable. I did a couple of ship excursions which were well managed, as you would expect, and priced reasonably £38 for a half day. The shows were ok and due to the numbers on board, there was only the one around 9pm, then another entertainment around 10pm. Quizzes were generally at 9.30 and 4pm and well attended (It was obvious some people do lots of quizzes as they regularly won). We didn't have a message from the captain at noon, which I enjoyed on other ships. There was one gala night (usual shake hands with the Captain, photo then into lounge followed by introduction to staff) and another evening termed 'elegant' the rest were casual though most men wore shirts and trousers and ladies smart trousers and tops, or dresses. Sea days there was usually a lecture (I found them so so) a creative writing session (this was great fun, really enjoyed this), deck games and a fitness session, plus the quizzes and other get togethers. Embarkation seemed a bit mixed, after an eleven and a half flight, I just wanted to get on the ship and it wasn't clear whether we had to take our own cases from the coach or not. Disembarkation worked well. I bought the Premier package before boarding which paid for gratuities, most cocktails and other drinks on board (not speciality coffees) and a small bottle of water. There was also a bottle of wine as part of this. This was reasonably priced and just made things easy for me as a solo to have a drink when I wanted. Read Less

Last minute cruise with interesting itinerary; however travellers beware, you get what you pay for. The ship has limited facilities for pleasure on sea days; the entertainment was poor at the best of times. The excursions were not great value for money and were limited. Excursion staff had limited knowledge and did not understand you as their English was limited. This also applies to the reception crew. If you wanted to lose weight on a cruise this is the one to go on; the food was extremely poor with limited choice and odd combinations of food were put together. What the chef described as a cheese and onion tart was in fact a slice of quiche served with parsley sauce. The chef obviously lacked imagination and flair and did not have an educated palette for flavours. I am well aware of food recycling to ensure budgets are met; however I think bread and butter pudding or a combination of different egg custards everyday can get boring especially when lacking flavour. The best meal of the day was breakfast; however even a microwave technician can cook an egg. On a positive note the superior outside cabin was comfortable and clean. Cabin boys diligent in their work ethic. Read Less

First time with cruise maritime voyages and was disappointed. I should have realized a European cruise line was not to the expectation of the US branded companies. Food was not even average and must have been tailored to the English crowd. Of the 1350 passengers 95% we from UK, 2% from USA and remaining from elsewhere. Itinerary changes made to accommodate the UK flight arrangements took us from our main stop (Belize) that I had booked this a year in advance. Also while on cruise ports of call cancelled. Read what force majeure means cause they use this as there reasons to cancel without regards to your expectations. Entertainment was lacking through out and the only highlight would be the nightly ship show. Casino non existent, food & buffets had sub par quality and no variety of choices. Cabins spacoius but a/c cooling lacked. As I looked forward to sharing this time with my wife it ended up being quite boring on board and the ports we're of great relief to find something to be excited about. No frills of the ship and the age groups were of retiree. Pools we're occasionally shut down and created a boring trip. Servers were not attentative to your needs and lacked the courtesy to ensure you were pleased & had the service you expected. Hope they find improvement moving forward to 2019 but I would recommend other companies to spend your time with. Sorry CMV but wanted to give an honest review and would like to see you improve services to better cater to your Passengers. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it was the time of the year we wanted to travel & the ship was calling into ports of calls we have never visited, competitively priced. About 2 weeks before departure we received a letter saying that we would be flying to Cancun instead of Cozumel & this meant that we would not be going to stop at Belize. Very dissappointed as this was one of the main reasons that we had booked this cruise. It is my understanding that the plane chartered from Virgin Atlantic could not use the runway at Cozumel as it was too large! Surely this was known to C&M some time before! When we landed at Cancun we waited 1 hour for our luggage then dragged our cases for 10 minutes to musty coaches that took 40 minutes to Playa del Carmen where we were marched crocodlie style through the resort for 30 minutes, to then wait 20 minutes for the packed dieslel-smelling ferry. The crossing took 40 minutes then 30 minutes to board the ship when we had to go to the theare for the Mexican face-to-face immigration then registration. At approx midnight we were offered flat Cava or warm juice and the snacks had all gone. We finally got to bed at 02.00. Many passengers were of retirement age & a few less mobile, how these people faired I can't begin to imagine! The embarkation was a totally grewling shambles. There was no apology by any of the cruise staff written or verbal. What about an appology from the captain? Shame on you. The following morning we went to reception to ask for some onboard credit (why was none given to all passengers?) after several emails to head office in the UK this was refused & 'force majeure' was used used as the excuse. We have twice written to C&M since returning home to request compenstion but none has been offered that we are happy with, nor do they acknowledge any responsbility any of this. We moved cabins 5165 to 6112 due to the boom boom of the engine, spacious & clean. Cabin stewards excellent. We were overall happy with the food. For 3 days the swimming pool was drained, 1 day for swell but the other 2 for poor water quality! The tours except for the Chiva Bus Party in Cartagena were overpriced & lacked content. The port lecturer for the Panama Canal was excellent. A large number of the activities were unhosted. The Yoga took place on deck 11 not enough mats some passengers in the sun with no shelter. Other posts have covered other shortcomings so I won't duplicate....I could go on. Overall I woud never cruise with C&M again, as their customer care was none existant compaired to other cruise lines. They are hiding behind the terms & conditions not giving a dot for good will which would possibly result in repeat boookings. The whole experience has been so upsetting to have the need to complain on returning home mars the whole trip. A gesture of good will in the form of onbaord credit to all passengers would have put C&M in a more favourable light. Read Less

Having had five previous cruises on Magellan there were generally enjoyable I booked this Panama cruise based on the itinerary and then fact that l had so far found the ship to be a friendly, if cheap and cheerful one. However, after this horrible holiday l will never again sail with Cruise and Maritime Voyages We were meant to fly to Cozumel before our first port of call, Belize. About ten days before the start of the cruise we were informed we would be flying to Cancun instead, and that Belize was cancelled. Apparently the flight chartered by CMV was unable to land at Cozumel. Why this was not disclosed until just before departure remains a mystery, however instead of flying to Cozumel and having at leastca short time to explore, we got to Cancun, had a long coach journey to Cozumel followed by a long walk through busy streets to a port where we sat for 90 minutes on an oil-stinking ferry being buffeted about before the 30 minute crossing to the ship. Entering our cabin (4042) on Magellan we saw toilet paper stuffed into a gap between the wall and ceiling. Once we set sail (around 1am) the reason for this became clear as an extremely loud banging noise emanating from this area kept us awake all night. We complained for three days, during which time various staff members came, listened, said it was awful and something must be done, but it wasn't until four days into the cruise that a replacement cabin (4080) suddenly materialised. We had three totally sleepless nights when an empty cabin a few doors away had been available the whole time. Magellan is really showing her age, and there is an obvious cost-cutting exercise going on. The food was APPALLING in both the restaurant and the buffet. The same overcooked fare served again and again, no variety, no taste. Worst l gave ever experienced on any ship. Entertainment was OK but not up to previous standards. Daytime activities more or less non-existent. The day before we were due to dock at Nicaragua this stop was dropped from the itinerary and we e design up in a dreary nothing to do place in Costa Rica. The return flight was also a farce... rerouted in mid-air to an unscheduled stop in Montego Bay where we waited anxiously to see if we would actually take off again or be forced to sleep on the plane. Eventually we set out but without enough food being loaded, so dinner was - literally - a packet of crisps. Breakfast was a cup of tea and nothing else. My written complaint to CMV was acknowledged three weeks later with a standard letter offering nothing but lame excuses. Considering this was the treatment l received as a "Gold CMV' member I can only suppose a first time traveller would not eve have received a reply. The entire trip was a total disgrace and more of an ordeal than a holiday. Read Less

We booked this trip over a year ago - for the itinereary - our first time with CMV - and our last unless they come up with an exceptional route. The first port of call, Belize, was cancelled a week or so before we flew. CMV hadn't realised the chartered Virgib Atlantic flights couldn't land at the embarakation port of Cozumel due to their size. Consequently we landed at Cancun then coach to Playa Del Carmen and ferry to Cozumel adding over 5 hours to our trip after a long flight. We arrived at 8 pm - the second flight was 3 hrs later. Consequently there was no time to include Belize (which was one of the reasons we booked). Surely CMV must have known about this when they planned the cruise. Our cabin was ok and our steward exceptional. No fridge but kettle etc and good shower. The ship, despite a refurb, is nearing the end of its days The food was palapatable at best but not up to the standard of the several cruise lines we've sailed with before. It was a treat to have a live 6 piece band but the compant shows were unispiring. The 4 British singers were good and the 12 European dancers were proficient but the choreographty was samey and some of the costumes were dire. Some nights a singer had to inroduce the show and request applause at the end - where was the CD? We had two excellent guest speakers, one gave 4 lectures about the canal (and a useful commentary as we traversed the canal. The other chap gave 4 talks about photography and his travels which I enjoyed. We usually enjoy dancing on a cruise but the male of the duo in the Captains Club lounge was, quite frankly, so poor - choosing songs out of his range - that we couldn't bare to listen. The TV films in our cabin had a habit of "freezing" half way through then starting from scratch or were in a foreign language - Forrest Gump in Chinese! The daytime "activities" were uninspired and in many cases do it yourself with no cruise staff presiding. Two days before we were due to stop in Nicargua we were advised that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office only endorsed essential travel. This edict had been in place for several months and other cruise ships were callling there with no problems. Even though CMV secured a second Costa Rica port of call to replace Nicaragua they should have advised us much earlier rather than rely on a last minute change of policy. We were due to stop to refuel in Barbados on our return flight (either it was cheaper there or the plane was too heavy to take off from San Jose with a full fuel load. As soon as we took off the pilot announced that we couldn't go to Barbados as air space over Columbia was denied to us - following a car bomb in Bogata 4 days earlier. Surely Virgin Atlantic must have known before take off. We were diverted tp Montego Bay where we were told that they had no food prepared and were there any volunteers to forgo a meal. After an hour's delay hot pasta and beef was supplied - a packet of crisps for the vegetarians. Next year's CMV Panama Canal cruise already has 2 fewer ports of call. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we, a usa couple, had a land-trip scheduled near puntarenas costa rica starting jan. 21, and found this cmv ship from cozumel-to-puntarenas would disembark there that day, after cruising the panama canal, and stopping at central american countries we've always wanted to visit: belize, roatan, cartagena, nicaragua, & colon (we'd only already seen limon costa rica). Ship & cabin: nice, clean, fairly well laid out. About the same as celebrity, costa & princess ships we've been on. Room comfortable enough, with desk, chair, bed-lights, etc. Tv was lacking any variety of options, but we didn't cruise to watch tv. Ac worked well. And we got the cabin upgrade that we were told we would get as part of a special package we bought (for gratuities-paid-in-advance). It also included a bottle of wine, although we had to remind them of that many times before they finally brought it to us. cons: immigration processing was very disorganized & frustrating. All passengers had to just sit in a theater seat doing nothing until they called your row, and wait hours while they processed each individual, one by one; a super inefficient, boring process. Then later they topped that by doing the longest lifejacket safety session ever, having everyone again sitting in wait a long time in the theater, then slowly hearing all the safety protocols, repeated in several languages, and then when it seemed over, they had us walk out on deck and have to just stand, silently in place in our lifejackets for about 20 minutes longer, with no information being conveyed, until they said ok to go back to our cabins. Also, i could never find an empty lounge chair or comfortable seat by the pools, and the upper deck had no covered/shaded seating at all! There was no decent place for the popular yoga class: held in the hot sun & strong winds on the top deck. Fitness rm was always too hot, had no views, and cardio-equip had no individual tv consoles to watch, and the room lacked space for floor exercises out of the foot-paths. entertainment/activities: the big shows were excellent. But the comic they had on 2 nights was bad and got almost no laughs. No opportunity for us to listen to a live-music dance band before or after dinner. A couple bar-lounges had a super boring piano player, or cello-violin duo, but no fun dance music or any classic-rock bands). there were some trivia-type activities on-board, but not much else. Not even any free hands-on learning to fold napkins or towels. The dance classes were disorganized (like most activities), often didn't happen at time or place scheduled, and held in a walkway next to the smoking section, so not a good space to do a dance class and we had to breath horrible smoke! the lectures were also not as described, and often didn't occur as scheduled, and a couple of the shore excursion lecturers were very inarticulate...could barely speak english. Dining: we usually love buffets (vs fancy dining rm), but the buffet was quite limited vs other cruises we've been on. Only 1 cooked veggie dish, the same every day-- a mix of carrots, corn, peas, green beans. Never salmon, halibut, or other popular grilled fish. And for meat, no carving station, or grill, or steaks; mostly traditional british dishes. also, no cookies, chocolates or ice cream ever offered. No soda-pop either, which was offered on other ship buffets. The fine-dining restaurant was so crowded & noisy, & slow service, that it ironically felt more relaxing & peaceful in the buffet! we went when there were not many people there, yet they sat everyone super-close together! and the food options were essentially the same in both places. Biggest disappointment was the last minute cancellations of two ports! belize especially i wanted to see and had pre-scheduled a snorkel-boat tour there, and it was cancelled due to lack of coordination (poor mgt) by cmv, re: london flight passengers arriving too late for ship to depart on original scheduled time from cozumel to belize. Also, they thought it might be unsafe to stop in nicaragua as planned, even though many passengers disagreed and would have preferred going there anyway, even if we were limited on which places there to visit. Cmv gave no compensation of any kind to passengers, who ended up visiting 2 fewer countries than planned & having 2 extra boring days at sea. Other cruise lines that similarly cancelled port stops compensated passengers. furthermore, the cmv booking agent told us when we booked by phone with her that we would get a $100 cabin credit. never got it! Overall, i would never cruise on cmv again, nor believe what they say. Read Less