We were going on our Golden Wedding cruise with two !o g standing friends over Christmas for the first time. A cruise which had been looking to for many months which was ruined by poor service from the start. Destinations changed and replaced by ports and cut short timings in port on a number of occasions with little consideration for passengers. One old couple never even got off the boat having asked for assistance. A.real bargain basement holiday at having booked early was at a premium price. Never again and have asked to come off Newmarket Travels data base. We have been treated by CM V when we complained with total impumitiy. You have to like a lot of bread and butter pudding and cheap sausages and you will like the food. This is a 3 star cruise ship over 30 years o!d. Don't take my word for it, just look up Magellan on you tube for a behind the scenes look. Read Less

So many negative comments about this ship which I thought unfair. When you book you know it's an old ship and that it's rated 3 star. We've just returned and had a great time. Because of the seriousness of the virus it was obvious to us that extra measures were being taken to keep passengers safe. This was enforced at Tilbury with a thermal camera being used to screen passengers before they embarked. In spite of this additional screening and extra paperwork, embarkation was very well organised with the minimum of delay. The ship is kept scrupulously clean. Handrails constantly being wiped and cabins cleaned to a high standard. Hand gel has always been in use on cruises but obviously now to a greater degree when entering and leaving restaurants. Some passengers didn't seem to realise the importance of this! This was our third cruise with CMV and just as enjoyable as the previous two on Columbus. The food was excellent, always hot - don't know how they manage to do this with so many meals served - and well presented. The entertainment was good and they all work so hard; particularly the Cruise Director who also took part in the shows. The band were great and the guitarist and singer in the Captain's Club were so talented. All the shore excursions were very well organised and were well worth the money. We particularly enjoyed Shetland and the Faro Islands. We did have some very rough sea days and nights and at times it was difficult to walk around the ship but the Captain and his crew made every effort to keep passengers safe; waiters even assisting the less mobile and making sure they didn't fall. Because of the crisis with the virus we sailed back to Tilbury a day earlier than planned which undoubtedly increased the crew's workload as this was unexpected. We were pleased to get back safely. We were on the final cruise on Magellan prior to all cruises being suspended. All the crew were fantastic and it was service with a smile in spite of their unknown future; when will they be able to return to their own country and will they have a job in the future!! We met lots of great people on this cruise who enjoyed it as much as we did. Maybe write your own review and give others something positive to read rather than all the negative comments from the moaners!! Read Less

This was my 2nd time with CMV. I chose this cruise due to the itinerary and price. I am happy to travel on any cruise ship with any company, and would usually chose by itinerary and price (specifically solo supplement - I refuse to pay a large supplement). CMV doesn't do frills, however it never claims to. This trip, as with my last one with CMV provided a good itinerary, edible (and sometimes really nice) food, a comfortable cabin, and entertainment that kept me amused although will not win awards for excellence or originality. I drove down the drive down the day before and stayed the night at Stifford Park Hotel. This was CMV's suggested hotel, and provided decent accommodation for the night, breakfast, parking and a taxi, for close to the cost of just parking at Tilbury Port. First time I have done this, and would do again. Hotel was fine, think Travelodge with some nice gardens, and a good breakfast. Not somewhere I would stay for a holiday, but definitely more than good enough for 1 night. NB there is no lift to some rooms, so do say when booking is you have mobility issues (or just lots of luggage!) Embarkation Smooth enough at Tilbury. It took longer than usual due to additional health checks for COVID - 19. I arrived at the time requested, and went straight through to check in. I wouldn't want to arrive earlier as the port has few amenities. Cabin My cabin was the cheapest inside cabin and I liked it. Really big for 1 person, and plenty of storage. Shower great, with lots of room, hot water consistently and good power. The bathroom however had a slightly unusual layout; when you sat on the toilet, a shut door was right in your face. I was solo so just left it open. You need to step up into the bathroom, and there are no grab rails. No rails in shower either. Cabin steward brilliant, and even fixed my bed when the poor sea conditions broke it. Food Im gluten free, so as with most cruise companies I pre booked the meals the night before. Main courses were really nice. Lots of meat and potato options which they did well. I also had some nice pastas. Desserts were disappointing. Mostly because they couldn't make many gluten free. This included black forest gateau which I thought would be easy to do gluten free - even a brownie with blackcurrant jam and some creme would have been fine. When something was not possible to make you were given what they had that was naturally gluten free - usually a creme caramel or creme brulee. As someone who has been gluten free for 20 years, this desserts bore the hell out of me. Hey ho. I had cheese one night, and the cheese crackers were fine. Afternoon tea was really disappointing. GF rolls used horrible, and the scones were literally inedible. I tried twice, but gave up. The food in the buffet I thought was the same standard in the restaurant. All food had allergen labels as well which was good, although they cannot guarantee free from cross contamination due to other passengers sharing tongs etc. I ate most breakfasts here, and some lunches and had no issues. For breakfast gluten free toast was available from the omelette chef. At lunch gluten free rolls were available, but you need to ask at the same station as breakfast. Entertainment This I thought was broadly as expected. I attended most of the shows and enjoyed what was put on. Male vocalists were better than female, and as in usually the case the older cabaret singers based in the bars were (vocally) better than the show team. I particularly liked Pauline. Other activities included quizzes, dancing, creative writing classes, and craft classes. There were also unhosted events such as a book club, and knit and natter sessions. There were also a number of films shown in the theatre. This I really enjoyed especially the Greatest Showman (think I have now seen this 106 times). Some of the other films though I thought were odd. However a selection I suppose means wider groups are catered for. I accidently went into the gym, and it looked quite big. There were also some exercise classes put on, catering for literally all accessibility requirements eg chair aerobics. They had a couple of people giving lectures. Both were really interesting and I enjoyed, although one was definitely a more compelling storyteller. Misc thoughts I appreciated the TV in my room had a recent range of UK channels. As a solo traveller it was nice to have the news on while dressing for dinner. There were also a couple of film channels, although again I thought the films shown were slightly odd choices. The weather was poor, and we had 3 sea days that were really terrible. Staff and ship coped well, but, possibly for the first time in my life I missed the option for room service. I couldn't even stand up, so for those 3 days I didn't eat. I lost 5 lbs on the cruise which is the opposite of usual. I would have so appreciated a cheese sandwich from room service on those days. In fact i dreamed so much about that sandwich, it was the first meal I had once I could stand again. I bought the drinks package, which I thought was good value. I'm not a big drinker, so don't think it worked out cheaper for me personally. However I definitely tried drinks I wouldn't have before, because it was 'free' to try. So I probably would do the package again. I bought wifi, and although it is expensive compared to home, for me it was worth it and I would buy again. I am self employed so needed to do a little work while away. As a solo traveller I also usually buy a little wifi, so I can check in as safe with family. Signal is only available in public areas, however I found it coped consistently really well with emails, messages including whatsapp, and browsing social media. I don't think I would try uploading videos, or video calls though. Service getting drinks was often slow. Many activities in the theatre also lacked drinks service which was disappointing. Library (including book cases) were open 24/7. There was also a large book swap service, which was a greater range of authors and genres than the CMV loans available Most public toilets required a step into them. A few disabled toilets were around the ship, although one was inside the mens bathroom, so open that door with caution if you're female. Shop onboard was pointless. Nothing interesting or useful to buy. Definitely take your own chocolate and crips, as these were expensive to buy in the shop, despite being duty free. They did have a small range of toiletries if you forget anything. Read Less

We chose this cruise for Iceland, and the Scottish islands. Overall, the itinerary was great, and from this perspective we loved the cruise. The weather was definitely against us, though, and some extremely rough days at sea meant we didn't leave the cabin much - not necessarily a bad thing in light of virus concerns. However, there are many reasons we wouldn't sail on this ship again and the cabins were one of them: of the three cabins in our group, all had problems, and two of them were significant enough to interfere with getting a good night's sleep. The ship made gestures of dealing with them, but told us in the end it is an old ship and the noise issues are to be expected. Sound-proofing is terrible - whatever they are watching on the TV in the next cabin, so are you effectively. It's a shame, as the cabins are actually quite cosy looking. As note in other reviews, embarking and disembarking was a bit chaotic. In Rotterdam there was only a steep set of steps to get on and off the ship, which meant we queued for over an hour to get off as many elderly passengers had to be helped down the steps individually. Dinning is another reason not to go with this ship again: towards the end of the trip there were a couple of outbursts in the buffet from passengers sick to death of the same old food being put out each time. The restaurants were better, but not by much. Food was a major disappointment. It smacked of cost cutting. What was served wasn't bad, just unimaginative and a bit basic. Caviar was on the menu one evening - but just three tiny eggs, more for decoration. Blink and you'd miss it on the plate. The menu often looked promising, but what was served in front of you just didn't live up to the hype. Entertainment was hit and miss; this is an area of personal taste, so hard to assess. Certainly not very imaginative or engaging, but it killed 45 minutes. The talks were terrible - the speakers just gave a power point presentation and read their notes aloud. Service was generally fine. Many passengers ended up falling during the stormy seas and crew were quick to help out. The cabin stewards were great - mine even cleaned up my cabin after the worst night of the storm and everything ended up on the floor. Having spent the night wishing I was dead, I didn't clear up myself in the morning just staggered out to get some fresh air. Bit embarrassed to be honest that he'd picked everything up... but grateful too! One of our group ended up on the floor when the mattress parted company with the bed... it was really rough at times. Feel sorry for passengers on decks 3,4 and 5 who had the windows covered for most of the cruise in the end to storm the windows being blown in by the storm. Even when it was much calmer they didn't remove the deadlights on the windows, which seemed a bit lazy on the part of the staff to be honest. We took the ship's excursion in Rotterdam, a city tour, which was very good. We arrived in the Faroe islands just as the shops were closing, and it is raining hard so not a great experience. In Iceland we did private tours with Discover Iceland: very expensive, but worth every penny. In Shetland the tourist office recommended a local guide who was very elderly: turned out to be like having your grandad show you around. Hilarious after the event ( he couldn't/wouldn't talk and drive at the same time, nearly killed us all after reversing out into traffic and not seeing a bus), but a bit trying at the time. Shetland was sunny and wind-free, which we were repeatedly told was exceptional. The island looked gorgeous, though, so happy to have seen it at its best! After Shetland we were informed the ship would be skipping the next port of call, the Orkneys, and heading straight for Tilbury. Overall, the ship handled the cancelling of the cruise quite well. This must have been a nightmare logistics operation, and it went more or less OK. Two more days of rough sea ahead, so by the time we arrived back in Tilbury I have to say we were all very happy to get off the ship. Overall, I would recommend the itinerary, warn you that the weather can be very stormy ( 26 feet waves, gale force winds) so be prepared for that, but have to recommend picking a different ship if the ship matters to you. We went more for the itinerary and the ship was a means of getting there, which it did. We've been on other cruises when the ship was a destination in its own right, but this isn't one of those ships. The biggest plus point was that by and large the other passengers were some of the most down to earth and friendly people we've ever had on a cruise - lots of laughs and story swapping. If this is the sort of passenger CMV attracts then on that strength I'd be prepared to try out one of their other ships. Several passengers noted that having cruised on the Magellan before cost-cutting measures were clearly evident, and standards had dropped. If you can get the itinerary you want on this ship with a massive discount (which we did), then OK, it'll do the job. Otherwise, avoid... Read Less

Ship felt a bit “old & tired" – the stairs were steep between decks. Tables not equipped for rolling – we experienced severe weather conditions where items just skidded off tables – lips on the edges of tables would help or some friction covering on the tables? You can purchase WiFi – but this was relatively expensive and only really worked in (or near) the Reception area. Food / Restaurants We ate in the restaurants – either a la carte or buffet. We were allocated a table in the Waldorf restaurant for early sitting. The staff were very inflexible with regard to seating arrangements. A party of three were originally allocated to our table – but because this meant there were seven at the table they were moved off and separated – rather than just accommodating an extra seat. There was a table next to us that was always empty, so this could have been used. The food was generally quite good – a choice of four courses. My wife arranged for the sugar-free option, which worked reasonably well. The downsize was that she had to choose the meal the night before. All the waiters were very helpful and provided excellent service. We had a couple of days with very rough weather – it was difficult to walk around. The captain & crew made every effort to keep passengers safe. Our cabin’s window (deck 5) was boarded up for a couple of days. Excursion Reviews The excursions provided by the cruise were OK – usually quite informative. However, we discovered that they were expensive when compared to the locally provided tours. (Although be aware that we were diverted to a different port in the Faroes, so not sure how the local tour would work if the ship docked at a different location as planned.) The ship provided details of the tours for the following day, but we found these very unclear and confusing. The actual disembarking at the ports were consistently chaotic. In particular at Rotterdam – the only method of leaving (& joining) the ship was via a very narrow and steep gangway. It was so small that only six people were allowed on the gangway at a time. This was a severe problem for many passengers who were old and had mobility issues. (In fact, I am sure that this situation would be illegal in for safety reasons in the UK.) This caused severe delays getting off the ship – there were crowds milling around on deck 5 trying to get off, and it took us an hour to get off. One port (Shetland - Lerwick) required Tenders. If you wanted to go ashore then you were given Tokens with letters on them and each letter was called as the Tenders became available. This seemed to work satisfactorily at first – there were three Tenders and they seemed to be running regularly. But then we had to wait for forty minutes because all the Tenders were in port for some reason. Fortunately, we did not have a trip until 2pm – but it did mean we had very little time in Lerwick. The cruise was cut short by a day because of the Coronavirus situation. (The company decided to get all its ships back to port before the ports were closed because of the virus.) So, we missed out on the Orkney excursion. Our original date for arrival at Tilbury was Monday. The captain informed us that we would be arriving on Sunday and we could disembark then. No details were provided with the original announcement. When the final details were provided it transpired that (if we disembarked on Sunday) then we would have to carry our own luggage, there would be no porters provided and no shuttle service to the carpark. The actual disembarking was chaos. Rather than allocating disembarking slots (for example by deck) it was just a free-for-all with huge queues from all decks trying to get to the one exit ramp. Everyone was crowded together with their luggage. It took us over 30 minutes to get off and we were relatively lucky – we are sure others took longer. Once off the boat we had to carry our luggage out of the terminal and then find a trolley. Then it was a twenty-minute walk (in the rain) with our cases to get to our car. So not a good end to the cruise. However, we could have disembarked on Monday with 2 choices: Express disembark with own luggage and shuttle buses available Exit cabin by 7am, leaving luggage outside the night before & embark deck by deck to shuttle buses. Conclusion Would we sail again on the Magellan – only if the cruise would be visiting cities that interest us. Read Less

Saw an online deal that looked like good value for money, learnt a lesson, you get what you pay for. Below are a few reasons I viewed CMV so lowly. 1. Departed 1 day late due to storms which is ok but to miss two ports as a result of loosing one day wasn't explained. 2. Tv didn't work for the duration on cruise (14 day), reported daily and was informed it is a widespread problem and they are working on it. And was made to feel like I was inconveniencing reception each day when I asked about the status of the repairs. 3. The whole dining experience was exceptionaly poor, with all restaurants not meeting required food safety standards, I saw no evidence of temperature checks on food being conducted and it was rare to receive a meal which was hot and certainly not to the minimum required serving temperature of 60C. (I work as a food safety auditor) I would have no option but to close service if I was auditing the would service as temperature control were so poor which makes me wonder what was occurring behind the scenes. 4. The shows were almost laughable they were that poor, with one elderly lady commenting to me it was like going to her daughters school play. 5. The coordination of shore excursions was uncontrolled chaos. 6. Reported blocked cabin sink, soon after maintenance man turned up and confirmed it was blocked and left, 24 hours later managed to fix myself. The guy looking after our cabin did a good job, however when we reported issues to him he would apologise and say I'm sorry they don't listen to us you are better reporting it to reception yourself. Felt sorry for the staff as they appeared not to be well supported by management. I would never cruise again with company nor would I recommend to anyone. Read Less

We chose this cruise to see the Northern Lights. We didn't see them in bright colour, but I loved how we were let know each night there was a good chance of a sighting. Magellan isn't the fanciest ship we've been on, but it was certainly clean, warm and adequate for all our needs. The staff are constantly cleaning hand rails/ toilets etc all over the ship to reduce bug transmission. We mainly ate with our friends in the Waldorf dining room. Every night I had delicious vegan menus. My husband was very happy with the meat meal choices. On his birthday he got a special surf and turf meal followed by birthday cake and delightful singing by the kitchen crew! Breakfast omelettes were delicious. I miss them already! Ok we missed a couple of ports due to delays with the weather, and missing booked port times, but our destinations were so lovely. Honningsvag with light snow drifting down, was like walking inside a snow globe, so very pretty. My only complaint about the whole 2 weeks, was that the time went too fast. I do agree with reviews about the terrible coughs I heard around the ship, but luckily it didn't grab any of our group. We may think about cruising with CMV again, but it would be nice to know that they had fixed the windows that leak etc. Read Less

THE WORST EVER CRUISE SHIP. Northern Lights Cruise Feb/Mar 2020 The good points, food we thought was quite good, staff in restaurants and bars very good. Cabin steward, Cabin 5009 very good always cheerful and helpful. We thought the dancers were excellent but the singers left a little to be desired. The two guest entertainers were way past their sell by date, a comedian who was so old and frail was unable to stand for very long had to sit down to tell his jokes and a magician who who would probable be more at home as a children's party entertainer. So much for the good stuff now reality. 1. Due to bad weather we sailed one, just one day late but lost TWO ports of call. I wonder if the simply did that to cut cost at our enjoyment expense. 2. When we did dock we were always late, probably another money saving gimmick. 3. The disembarking and embarking procedure was utter pandemonium, management non-resistant although there seemed to be lots of staff wandering around in their officer suits doing absolutely nothing. They really ought to take lessons from any other cruise line. 4.We were in cabin 5009, not the most expensive on board I acknowledge, about an hour or so before we docked or departed at every port they started to run a piece of equipment that was deafening, it was impossible to sleep even difficult to remain in the cabin it was so loud. 5. One of the windows on the deck below us started to blow in during one of the storms apparently and according to the person who’s cabin it was said part of the ceiling also came down whilst water was running across the floor. 6.A few days later when more bad weather was expected they boarded up the deck 4 windows obviously as a precaution. Makes you wonder if the boat was actually seaworthy. 7. During the bad weather some of the chairs in the Captains Club fell over spilling their user across the floor. On guy fell at my feet and I saw at least two others. The entertainment was suspended whilst a lady medic was called to one. Problem was obvious the armchair leg base is far too small making it top heavy. 8. We both developed a bad chest and cough as it seemed did many of the passengers. When you sat in the theatre at night all you could hear was cough, cough, cough. The air con system must be so badly contaminated/maintained. The number of cruise first timers we spoke to who vowed never to cruise again was incredible, a crying shame because cruising is a normally wonderful holiday. We have cruised once on Columbus previously do not recall any serious problems but thought the Magellan was CMV’s flagship, we will steer clear of CMV in future unless there are radical improvements. Read Less

This was our 4th cruise with CMV, all of the other three being on the Marco Polo, which we absolutely loved. Although we enjoyed the cruise (we enjoy all of our cruises), there were quite a few things that could have been better: The cons The cruise was booked for 14 days, 5 days before we were due to go we were informed that the cruise was being cut short by one day, because of bad weather during the current cruise. When we received the revised intinerary we discovered that we were going to miss two ports of call, even though we were only one day short - no explanation as to why. When we book a cruise we pick one that does not have more than one day at a time at sea, under the new itinerary we were to have three consecutive days at sea - not happy with that! Embarkation at Tilbury was pretty chaotic, large numbers of passengers were called at the same time, so there were long queues. This was nothing compared to when we tried to get off the ship in Alta, some genius had arranged for 7 full excursion coaches to leave at the same time, immediately after the ship had docked. This resulted in hundreds of people crammed into reception and up the stairways. We waited for an hour before we got off the ship. The reason was that the gangway was very steep and only one person could use it at a time, and then only slowly. The chaos was repeated when we docked in Trondheim, there were fewer coaches waiting so it only took about 15 minutes to get off. This time they had a different gangway, even steeper and more difficult than the first. One elderly American gentleman was using a walker and was unable to get down the gangway, so he asked the staff if there was another way to get off the ship, he was simply told 'no', so could not go ashore. A couple of days before the end of the cruise my partner developed a dry cough, which worried her a little with the present coronavirus panic. We noticed that lots of other people were coughing as well. It was only on subsequently reading other reviews that we learned of the 'Magellan cough', apparently a common occurrence on the ship. Pros The cabins were a reasonable size with adequate storage. Crew were invariably friendly and helpful (apart from one person in reception). Food was quite reasonable, with plenty of choice. Shows were pretty good, although was had seen most of them before on the Marco Polo. The cruise director, Jon, performed two solo cabaret sessions that were absolutely brilliant. The scenery in Norway in winter was breathtaking, well worth the voyage alone. And yes, we did see the Northern Lights, although it was a pretty weak show. So, would we travel on Magellan again? In view of the problems, probably not. Read Less

We’ve just returned from 13 night cruise on the Magellan to Norway. We’ve done Royal Caribbean, P&O, TUI and one previous CMV cruise on the Columbus. It pains me to say that this was undoubted the worst cruise we’ve ever been on. The positives are more than outweighed by the negatives. Positives: Quality of food was very good, as were the Waiters and Wine Waiters. The Room maid was fantastic and the twin inner cabin was good. The itinerary looked promising but the cruise was reduced from 14 nights to 13 nights (because of bad weather on a preceding cruise - fair enough) but to cut out TWO ports was inexplainable. No one ever responded to our and other passenger questions on the revised itinerary and why they had taken two ports out. Front line staff were amazing and worked so hard. Negatives: Embarkation was a nightmare and we once on board we were left with a feeling of total disorganisation. Ship not easy to get around, the ship is dated. Port disembarkation was a joke and very poorly handled. We saw elderly and disabled having to negotiate steep steps to gangway on deck 5. A potential Health and Safety nightmare. You can imagine the queues both with passengers on ship waiting to to get off and passengers on quayside waiting to get back on. At one port however, they opened deck three gangway and this was so much more successful especially given that they had two gangways for outgoing and returning port passengers. I asked why this was only too be told by the Guest Services Manager that it was Port Authorities. The Ship was was so bitterly cold. At time this was unbearable, especially in entertainment and eating and bar areas. At the end of the cruise a significant number of passengers had coughs and colds. In short this was unacceptable. We had a change of captain during the cruise, the first Captain was not very communicative and certainly did not have any presence around the ship. Thankfully the second Captain was totally different. We had previously sailed on the Columbus which was superb and was the reason we booked a second cruise with CMV. Our last Cruise was an utter misery and we will never again step aboard Magellan and will think seriously about booking with CMV again. I’m not one to moan or complain and don’t make a habit of writing reviews (this is the first) but my lasting memory of this cruise wasn’t the amazing ports we visited but how Cold it was onboard. Air conditioning and heating system was a nightmare and not controllable effectively. TV did not work, not that we watch any TV whilst on cruise but it is nice to see where we are and views from the on ship camera. We reported this 3 times but no one ever came to sort this. Read Less

The destination of the Amazon was the principle criterion for selecting this cruise. I also thought I was not paying a single supplement but came across more than half a dozen couples who jointly paid less than me so I feel duped. The onboard entertainment was a mixed bag. But lints is missing some performers. I walked out of some shows as there are only so many songs that I could cope with being sung out of tune. Food was plentiful and some people were clearly only there for the food. No steaks just stews and casseroles. Chicken legs not breasts so all cheaper cuts. Staff very friendly except my cabin steward who was grumpy and not versed in customer care. I doubt they are well paid but they certainly work hard. Disembarkation was a shambles. Shore excursions were excellently managed but the most critical was unforgivably bad. We arrived late and because I was using coach transfer I was subjected to an additional two hour delay resulting in missed connecting arrangements. Read Less

Sometimes the food was great, sometimes very ordinary. The desserts in particular started to taste much the same - there was often no subtlety or nuance of flavour. It was just all sugar and chocolate. The only exception was when I had a couple of lemon desserts which were extraordinary. We were given a outside view cabin on the 5th deck but would advise people not to book ocean view rooms on the fourth or fifth decks. Because of the rough seas we had our windows boarded up for 2 days after another room on the same level had its windows pushed in by the waves. Rooms on the 4th had quite a few days extra with boarded up rooms. Our cruise was one day late in leaving but we ended up missing out on two port calls. We were given a refund of one day but it was placed on our cruise account and had to be spent on board. I thought that was incredibly cheeky. But I did like the fact that they gave each passenger I further 50 pound credit. Do not expect much quietspace to read as the library is right near the area where trivia quizzes and games are played. And while there are doors at each end of library they kept on swinging open when the ship was in motion. On the final day we were required to vacate our rooms by 6 a.m. This meant that you had meaning hundreds of passengers awaiting disembarkation for hours, during which many of the toilets what closed the cleaning or closed for maintenance. There were ridiculously long lines. This was poorly organised. Similarly disembarkation at ports was a dog's breakfast. Cabins were roomy. Read Less

We chose this CMV cruise on Magellan as it offered ports along the Norwegian coast not available with our normal cruise line, Princess. What a let-down!!! To begin with, a few days before the cruise we were advised that ship would be departing a day later than scheduled, and the cruise shortened by a day, and somehow this lost two ports. The cruise package included transport by bus from London Victoria Street terminal to the port. At the terminal, it was a totally disorganised rabble! That chaos was repeated when embarking at the port, and again when leaving the ship at the end of the cruise. Our cabin was basic, but adequate although it groaned terribly in all sea conditions. It sounded like a herd of possums were running amok in the ceiling. The ‘air-conditioning’ was poorly controlled by adjusting a vent on the ceiling, heaven help anyone of shorter stature. The maid was very friendly, and efficient. One ‘feature’ of the cabin is that the door lock is opened by a punched plastic card. To identify the card, the cabin number is printed on the card. If you misplace the card (as we did) anyone that finds the card has the key, cabin number and access to your room. When we reported the key as lost, all that reception did was replace the card without re-coding the lock. Live entertainment was, with one or two exceptions, quite basic. The comedian was okay but ancient and was recovering from a recent hip replacement which made his balance quite precarious as the ship rolled. He probably came cheap and the booking helped top up his pension. The theatre was designed by someone whose objective was to ensure that virtually every seat has an obstructed view ( no, I am not exaggerating ). The lower level is largely ‘on the flat’ so a patron’s view is blocked by those in front. Even those in the front row, looking at the legs of the performers, could have their view blocked by large speakers on the stage. The upper level, and some parts of the lower level, are cleverly designed so the glass and aluminium railings will distort or block the view. In addition, there are many columns throughout the theatre. Somehow, every other cruise ship we have been on has been able to avoid these design problems. The theme of this cruise was to see the Northern Lights. These are natural displays that can appear at night in the Arctic night sky. They can be feint and difficult to see, so what does the ship do .... it turns on a string of bright lights that run from mast to mast, from bow to stern, which I feel would surely have blotted out any Northern Lights had they appeared. A suggestion to the Cruise Director, that the lights be turned off, was promptly rejected. We had not been on a cruise, apart from MSC, that did not have excellent quality and variety of meals, until the Magellan. The ship had two specialty restaurants and the buffet. As far as we could determine, the meals in all three venues were the same, the only difference was that in the restaurants, waiter brought the meals to the table often cold. Food quality and variety was poor, well below that of other cruise lines. The tours at each port were very good. Disembarkation from the ship to get to the tour buses was not well organised. In fact, at times, it was rather dangerous due to the steepness of the gangway. Beware of tipping. There is no choice who, or how much, you tip. It is a compulsory amount added to your bill. Read Less

Never heard of this cruise line or ship but got what I thought was a good offer from “trip a deal”, but you get what you pay for don’t you. The sail date was delayed by one day due to bad weather but we missed out on two ports of call for some unknown and not informed reason. We had to organise our transfer from the hotel in London to Tilbury cruise terminal ourselves, something the travel agent could have done as the hotel was full of people for the same cruise, it is a great distance to travel and we jammed 8 people into a mini van for the best cost option otherwise it was 2 train rides or an expensive Uber ride. The television didn’t work, the food was terrible, the same food being served in every restaurant so no variety. I was thrown out of the bed on the second night due to bad weather, the stabilisation system was not working properly or was just not good enough for the seas. As for the entertainment, we only went to the shows for a laugh, singers and dancers without any talent and it looked like the choreography was self organised. I feel sorry for the band as they were the only professional artists on the ship, playing for out of tune and flat singers, dancers were all out of step in every performance, it was cringeworthy. The only good thing was the ports of call, Norway is a beautiful place and sailing into the ports was a highlight of the cruise. I would never cruise with this company again, very low quality in every department and I cannot believe that their other ships are any better as they cater for the English traveller, who I think are easily pleased. Read Less

Deciding that we would like a Christmas holiday together, my cousin and I chose CMV Magellan for the “21 night Christmas & New Year Cape Verde, Madeira & Canaries Cruise sailing from Tilbury on Dec. 18, 2019”. To start this review on a positive note, my first impressions were all positive. The terminal at Tilbury was decorated beautifully and had a festive air about it. Embarkation went without a hitch and upon entering the Magellan, I was struck by its cleanliness and the beautiful Christmas decorations that were throughout the vessel. We had an ocean-view cabin on Deck 6 and it was bright, clean and inviting to enter. And then the issues began. The storage space in the cabin was limited (one tiny shelf in the bathroom; night tables were just small tables without drawers; and in the desk area there were only 6 small drawers, one of which was home to the hair dryer (which had little power to adequately dry your hair). While we were struggling to find homes for our belongings, it became unbearably hot. There was no thermostat on the wall and in order to *try* to control the temperature, I had to stand on a chair and attempt to turn a knob in the ceiling! Eventually we came to the realization, that there were only two temperatures available to us: boiling hot or freezing cold. The showroom is always cold, take something to cover you, when you go. The first port, Rotterdam, went without a hitch except that we were told that there was a storm coming in that would delay departure and that we would have to shelter in Cherbourg, France for 24 hours to wait out the storm. Fair enough, better safe than sorry. However, the 24 hours turned into almost 48 and our itinerary had to be changed. We missed the port of Vigo and the stop in Tenerife to see the fireworks on New Year’s Eve (the reason many of the passengers took this cruise) was cancelled. Our next stop to Agadir, Morocco wasn’t until December 26th and wasn’t on the original itinerary. A medical evacuation caused the ship to turn around to allow a helicopter to access the sick individual (again human life comes first and that had to happen) but it delayed our arrival at port and shortened the shore excursions significantly. CMV did refund 20% off of the excursion price as an afterthought But since we didn’t see 50% of what was advertised, it should have been more. I believe the total time in port was 4 hours in total. Also CMV did give everyone £100 for all these changes BUT it was given as an onboard credit – spend it there or lose it. Getting back to Christmas. There was no Christmas programming or Christmas music anywhere until Christmas Day. Boxing Day it was back to the same old routine. A guest choir was organized to sing Christmas Carols on New Year’s Eve Day and a pantomime was put on after Christmas. It all seemed backwards. New Year’s Eve was celebrated near the pool and the venue was too small to dance or to seat all the guests. Top marks to the galley team for putting on some eye-popping displays for the various special displays. They were visual feasts. Top marks to the hard-working crew who kept things very clean. The food was okay ... just okay. Certainly not what I have come to expect from a cruise line. Raffles Bistro does not offer cold drinks like lemonade throughout the day. You can get juice at breakfast, otherwise there are only juice glasses available for water throughout the rest of the day. Only one water dispenser has ice (when entering from the pool area, go to the left hand side). Ice seems to be a precious commodity on this ship. There were some interesting guest lecturers on the ship.However, the entertainment wasn’t that good. The dancers were excellent but at least one of the singers couldn’t carry a tune if you put it in a bag for him. The guest entertainers were mediocre at best. Overall, I would say that port time was extremely limited. The service was generally good. I stress that I cannot fault the hard-working crew, but this cruise left a lot to be desired. Read Less

The itinerary and the price together with promise of a couple of weeks of sunshine over Christmas seemed a very attractive propositio. Transport from Victoria and embarcation were very efficient and we were very happy with our Outside cabin on Deck 4.First impressions of the ship were good: clean, bright & open. From the beginning, however, the ship was cold both in the cabin and in the public areas. Whilst we were able to regulate the temperature in the cabin, the rest of the ship remained cold throughout the cruise and was commented on by a number of other guests. The food initially was fine but the standard was not maintained throughout. Lunch & afternoon options in Raffles Bistro were repetitive & unimaginative: triangles of processed cheese & luncheon meat were the only options available as an alternative to hot food; no variation of sandwich fillings and fruit selection was okay - as long as you liked melon. The itinerary was disrupted by a storm in The Bay of Biscay over which the captain had no control & so two days had to be spent in Cherbourg and four more ports - Vigo, Oporto, Lanzarote & Tenerife for the whole of New Year's Eve - had to be missed. Whilst decisions about personal safety are paramount & the two day delay unquestionably correct, it adversely affected the overall enjoyment of the cruise as 12/13 days were spent at sea and only 5/6 days were available for comfortable enjoyment of the sun onboard. CMV awarded us €100 each as compensation but this had to be spent onboard which was less beneficial to those of us who were cruising all-inclusive. The entertainment generally did not compensate for the additional sea days & lack of port time. Apart from Quizzes & Bingo,there were few alternative activities and the daily talks/lectures were adequate at best. Two films were shown yet the theatre remained largely unused for the best part of each day. Entertainment overall was poor. Also disappointing is CMV's recent policy not to stock non-alcoholic wine yet provide 0% beer & non-alcoholic cocktails. Were were offered Schlor at €25.00 per bottle which is available for 1.50 in most supermarkets. Most of the crew - waiters, cabin steward etc; - were friendly and helpful. Overall, for various reasons, this was a disappointing festive cruise. Read Less

There were parts of the cruise which were very good namely the cabin steward and the waiting and bar staff. Unfortunately there was a force majeur situation which meant that 4 stops on the itinerary were cancelled - Vigo, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Porto which was extremely disappointing but apparently couldn't be helped 2 of those stops were replaced with Cherbourg and Morocco. The entertainment show staff were very amateur and some of them couldn't even sing apart from a couple and I really didn't rate the cruise director Toby talk about arrogance with no talent. The other singers were a band called the funky lions were very good as was an Argentinian guitar player and singer in Taverners bar (can't remember his name) he was also excellent. Just a pity about the show staff talk about flat. The worst thing about the cruise however was that more than half of the people on board succumbed to what I now know is famously called 'The Magellan Cough'. Many people were having to go to the medical centre and you could see people walking around with canulas in as they were getting IV antiboitics. I am generally a very fit person who never gets colds and I am now back in the UK and off work due to this terrible cough. Magellan sort it out, there is no sense in trying to put a cruise on if more than half of your passengers fall ill due to lack of proper air con or whatever caused this, we do not want to be spending thousands on a cruise to then come back and be ill with infections and coughs. I would have given a higher score if it hadn't been for this cough I contracted. I will never sail on the Magellan again due to the cough epidemic if not for this I would have done. Until CMV sort out their cough epidemic that constantly happens on this ship I think they will continue to lose custom for it. Sort it out CMV !! Read Less

Was it perhaps us? We’re not new to Cruise and Maritime, far from it, in fact. We were really looking forward to the Christmas New Year cruise. It was our third time on the Magellan, and our second during the festive season on the ship. Embarkation was exceedingly efficient, and our luggage was already at our cabin when we got there. Just a couple of months earlier, we sailed to Canada on the Marco Polo and had an absolutely fabulous cruise. I perhaps ought to say that unlike in September, this time, we boarded hugely deflated due to the election result and knew we’d have to bite our tongues as the country had chosen a very different path to the one we’d fought for. It actually crossed my mind that most people should be in a really good mood, looking forward to all of the excellent opportunities our new government was promising, so complaints would be minimal and kept to something that’s justified. But no, for many, the sea was still too wet, the earth was too round and the moon wasn’t made of cheese. But the prize went to a woman who exclaimed “not fish again” one lunchtime when her main course arrived, having been given a choice of at least five other options… We usually find Cruise and Maritime’s “quirks” quite endearing, after all, where else would you find exotic delights such as “Scottish Cornish Pasties” on the menu? And we loved trying to work out what the warning on the lunchtime menu meant (it said “The below Icon which one mention the menu is condense with”). The restaurant signage refers to “Ruffles” and then there was the beef “noddle” in the buffet… The lack of attention to detail really is something CMV ought to address – the worst example of this was when we docked in Lisbon at a different place to where it said on the daily explorer, so people went the wrong way when leaving the ship if they didn’t know the city. And why are there no maps of ports included in the writeups? But at least this time they got the time right, unlike during our Canadian trip where one day ship time ended up different to shore time! We found the entertainment a little mediocre to be honest, but one thing that is most entertaining is to hear all the gossip which quickly becomes Chinese whispers. Apparently we got the Columbus’s dock in Agadir, very interesting considering they were due to go to Casablanca! And so many people seemed to be much more accomplished sailors than the captain, constantly questioning why the ship went when and where it did forgetting that it can be quite tricky to park in a supermarket carpark at this time of year, never mind finding a port! We were very glad to be kept safe from the bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, but yes, we’d have liked a couple more hours in Lisbon. One thing that might be considered during the muster drill is to teach passengers how to explain how to communicate effectively with waiters whose first language isn’t English. Waiters simply don’t really need to know why you want something, just that they’ve understood what you’ve ordered - in amongst the life story of why you want a poached egg rather than a fried egg, but you don’t like boiled eggs and the scrambled eggs are too runny/firm/hot/cold (delete as applicable), but then decide on a boiled egg anyway while all the other passengers are patiently waiting to place their order... It all just leaves the poor server very confused. It’s also very useful to listen when the order is being confirmed to avoid saying “is this what I ordered?” when it arrives. I have no idea how they do their job, let alone for 8-10 months without a day off! As for the muster drills, I joked that CMV were cutting down on comedians as the drill was an absolute farce – I’m not sure a member of staff ought to have been setting up the buffet during our second drill! Oh, and if there is to be a second drill, perhaps it might be a good idea if it were reflected in the Explorer’s events programme?! I do apologise if I’ve sounded like I’m moaning – I am a remoaner after all! Let’s cheer up the mood by saying that in three weeks, we didn’t queue once, there were no art auctions, no kids and on the whole, food and service were great and all in all great value for money – just some of the things we like about CMV and make it our preferred line. I also like the fact that there are a fair few non-UK guests onboard giving a more international flavour than some other British lines. We also like not having 24 hour food, so sometimes you can actually feel hungry before eating again! Another thing we very much liked was that even on port days, the Kensington was open for à la carte breakfast and lunch, meaning no pushing and shoving at the buffet and generally interesting company. I’m not quite sure why they ran out of orange juice, but even that isn’t really the end of the world and it’s not like they can just go and get some whilst at sea! As for the cabin, we were allocated 7029, towards the front and well located - there aren’t any frills, we bring our own toiletries and it’s kept spotless – the bed’s comfy enough, but the fold down beds do get in the way of you being able to sit up in bed, and some hooks would have been very useful. We could have done without the toilet being so temperamental, but it was mended fairly quickly each time – it did make us laugh when we were waiting for the handyman when on the TV one channel was showing “All the Number Twos from the 1980s”! We also enjoyed the free breakfast in bed – a pastry and a slice of toast was all we need so we could enjoy lunch. Our cabin steward (Wiktoria) was very efficient and kept us well stocked with tissues – and Ruben, the steward on the next block, had been our cabin steward last time and even remembered us leaving a Christmas decoration in our cabin which he’d left at reception for us (but that was a couple of years ago…). In all fairness, CMV does what it says on the tin very well – it doesn’t claim to be what it isn’t. We always go for second sitting, but for the first time on any cruise, after a week or so, we chose to eat in the buffet as we generally wanted to go to bed early - we both suffered badly from colds (in common with lots of other passengers) and we were out of sorts generally. However, for the first time on any cruise we’ve been on, let’s just say we ran out of conversation with our table mates – we’ve never moved table before, but it did cross our minds, but wondered if it would be out of the frying pan... It was a shame, as our waiters - and the food – were great. The buffet was okay once you got used to it and we perhaps weren’t up to making conversation for a prolonged period every night. Our usual game of “Brexit bingo” seemed somewhat easier than usual – we score points for words such as Wetherspoons, Brussels, Benefit Scroungers, Immigrants, Tipping, Foreigners… Brexit itself didn’t seem to be mentioned that much (and we’d have politely steered the conversation away, especially as we’d banned ourselves from looking at the news). We awarded ourselves a bingo bonus when we learned that there was a book written on the carpets of Wetherspoons (and were shown photos!) by someone we met who had made it his life’s mission to visit each and every pub in that chain! It takes all sorts to make a world, after all, and if that’s what floats your boat…! Somehow we found the entertainment a little lacklustre (again, it could have been us) – we really didn’t understand why the Netherlands aren’t included in the Round the World cabaret (is Rotterdam not a home port these days?), nor why that dreadful song about us ruling the waves and having an Empire still gets an airing – perhaps “The Old Bull and Bush” would be more in keeping, especially with so many East End/Essex people on board, although I’d rather have John Lennon’s Imagine to represent our country. But I did learn that Tequila comes from Brazil. Apparently! There are so many great Brazilian songs and they play one from Mexico!! Another CMV quirk! Due to weather conditions, our itinerary was amended a couple of times at the beginning of the cruise – we spent a lovely day in Rotterdam, then the Captain told us about storms over the Bay of Biscay, so we docked in Cherbourg for two days, which meant missing out Vigo, Tenerife and Lanzarote, and adding Agadir. To be honest, apart from being able to meet up with friends in Tenerife, the new itinerary suited us far better – it included a country new to us, and we still made it to Cape Verde, which was really fascinating, especially as we didn’t visit the two more touristy islands. I can understand people not knowing anything about Morocco as it wasn’t on our original itinerary, but it’s beyond me why people didn’t do a little research about Cape Verde before going there – why go to a developing country then moan about its infrastructure? Due to the itinerary changes, we were given £100 onboard credit for the inconvenience, which we thought was a very generous gesture. There were also free shuttles at just about every port (although at some it was stated they were for the less able-bodied) – in Praia in particular, the old town was far too far for just about anyone to walk and thankfully anyone was admitted onto the shuttle. The blurb said it was around 800m to town, but that was obviously copied and pasted from the Mindelo information as it was much further– and uphill most of the way (in nearly 30C). Our excursions were very good, and changes to the itinerary were handled without a glitch (we were in Cape Verde a day later than originally planned, and our excursions were simply transferred) – the additional stop in Agadir was very short, so by doing the excursion we made the most of our time there. Restaurant times were adjusted in accordance with port timings, for example sometimes lunch was served from 11.30. On sea days, we attended quite a few of the lectures – a graphologist, stargazer and talks on entertainers of yesteryear were all interesting – I’d have gone to more of the creative writing sessions had they not clashed with lunch. One of the passengers organised a daily LGBT meetup which was a great idea and something we haven’t had on CMV previously, something most other cruise lines put in their programmes automatically – on every CMV cruise we’ve been on, there has been a fair smattering of same sex couples. As we weren’t on top form, we didn’t go to quite a few of the shows – although it was interesting how few of them were repeats of what we’d seen on the Marco Polo, just a few of the production shows were very similar. It’s hard to pin down exactly what made this cruise one of our least favourites. Perhaps it’s just that we’ve enjoyed others more and our mood was a little lower than usual. Toothache certainly didn’t help (the medical centre arranged for a trip to the dentist in Gran Canaria), and our colds and generally feeling unwell meant we were in bed by 11pm on New Year’s Eve, and many times by 9pm. We also weren’t overly fond of the Captain’s Club where all of the entertainment happened, it was crowded, hot and the band weren’t at all to our taste, we found them far too raucous, but that could, of course, be due to us feeling under the weather and other passengers commented how good they were. If there’s something that could be put right, then I’d gladly give some constructive criticism, but I’m really not sure what CMV could do to rectify anything, apart from a little more attention to detail. Perhaps it was just our deflated mood following the election campaign (in which we were heavily involved), general health and the fact that we’d recently spent 30 days on the Marco Polo that lessened our enjoyment and back then, we still had some hope for our country’s future. I sincerely hope that I can look back at this review at the turn of the next decade and that our fears were completely unfounded. But before that, let’s hope that the next two cruises we’ve got booked on CMV are as enjoyable as our Canada cruise! Let's just hope we get rid of this cough/cold by then! Read Less

I took this short cruise with my Mum as a quick festive getaway. We had low expectation due to the very reasonable price we paid and for the most-part our expectations were either met or exceeded. The ship is very old - no amount of decorating will hide that fact. It has been re-branded and changed hands several times over its 35 year life and it does look its age. However, it does have a retro charm and we quite enjoyed going back in time for a few days. It was mostly well maintained (as much as such an old ship can be) and was very clean throughout. Most of our fellow passengers were 65+ which does make the experience echo that of a floating care home. I, being 24, was by far (VERY far) the youngest passenger on board. Our cabin was clean and quite spacious. The carpeting looked new and the beds were reasonably comfy. Being an aft cabin, it was extremely noisy due to being above the engines, however this did not disturb our sleep too much. The room was extremely hot and despite putting the air-con on full blast, the room remained hot throughout the trip. The food in the buffet was limited but tasty, good for a quick bite. The main dining room was exceptional, honestly some of the best food I've had at sea. Five courses were offered every night and all were very good. The daily activities were average - bingo, ballroom dancing, trivia etc and the entertainment team did their best. There was live music in most of the lounges in the evenings which was appreciated my most and the shows in the main theatre were entertaining, a bit "holiday camp", but pretty good. Service in the dining room was excellent and our room steward was very pleasant. The bars needed more servers. They were clearly struggling with demand and we had to wait quite a while to catch someones attention to order a drink. Overall I would do this cruise again. For the price we paid I think we received a decent cruise which, in some areas, exceeded our expectations. Go with an open mind and low expectations and you will enjoy. Read Less

We heard mixed reports about Magellan but were very pleasantly surprised. Fresh out of a refit, the ship was far smarter and far more stylish internally than expected. Compared to Fred Olsen's Balmoral (the standard we were expecting), it was streets ahead. The cabins are large, smart, well fitted and comfortable, excepting the rather rough bottom sheets. Everything throughout the ship was spotless and gleaming. As this was a Christmas Markets 3 day cruise we didn't use the outer decks much but they were spacious. Internally there were a good variety of comfortable bar areas. The theatre was a good size for the size of ship, although the upper tier views would be marred by glass screens there was ample space in the main arena. Food was superb in the restaurant and the buffet. The latter could be a little crowded at times but we always found seats eventually. Staff throughout the ship were superb, really friendly and helpful without exception. The theatre shows were simple, no sets but a live orchestra. The standard of the performers, however was extremely high. There was an excellent live band in one bar, an excellent guitarist in another and also a piano bar so plenty of quality entertainment. Now for the negatives: This was billed as a three night scenic Seine and Christmas Markets cruise with Rouen as an evening visit and a full day in Honfleur. The Seine was lovely even in the rain, about 6 hours on the river. We arrived at Rouen at 4.15pm, back on board time to be at 8.00pm. This is where the fiasco started. The gangway on deck 5. There was an announcement to wait in the lounges, not on deck 5 but having a slow moving elderly person with us we went down earlier. We joined a fairly short queue to get to the entrance. We were glad we got there early. From the point the gangway opened it took 25 minutes to get to it. When we got there we realised why. There was a flight of around 30 really steep metal steps down to the quay. This was the only exit for 1400 people, one or two at a time. There was absolutely no warning of this. It was pouring with rain and no cover so very slippery. There were of course many elderly and disabled people. Many simply could not do it and had to turn back. Those that tried took ages as would be expected (not their fault). We did get off eventually but by the time we got to Rouen we had just two hour and we were near the front in the queue. Many saw the queue down many flights of internal stairs and gave up. It was frankly very dangerous and the safety officer clearly isn't doing his job. We spoke to many disappointed people who wanted to see Rouen and were unable. None had any warning there was not going to be a ramp though CMV must have known the tide was in and they have no exit below deck 5. Honfleur was much better. The same steps but the tide was in so far less steep and having docked early there was no pressure. The biggest issue here didn't bother us particularly but this was billed as a Christmas Market cruise and the opening night for the market was that day, in the evening after we sailed out! Some seriously bad planning there! We have never been on a ship with no exit below deck 5. It simply does not work without a proper ramp. There was little time in Rouen and most would not have seen it at all. A great pity as the rest of the cruise was pretty faultless, especially at this price level. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it was from Liverpool, which is much nearer for us than Southampton and much easier than flying. The ship itself, Magellan was old, we knew that before we booked and that as far as we were concerned was fine. We also understood the general age of other holiday makers would be 50+, that also was ok by, we are 50 & 54. Our main problem was that eating on board was aimed at a certain group of people be this older than us or not it was very regimented. We never used the main dining rooms as we just wanted to relax and be informal also being honest we aren't the type of people who want to sit with other people every night for our meals and there where no tables for 2 offered. The food on the buffet always seemed to us to be very similar, 2 choices of meat, 1 of fish and then pasta, boiled rice and frozen vegetables to go with it, all very edible but very predictable. Quite often we just had buns and cheese, deserts were also very much the same every day. Bread and butter pudding, made from the left over bread rolls from the day before and then some separate little glass dishes with mouse type cakes. Like we said edible but quite predicable after a day or two. Our main problem was that if you ate at 5ish and fancied a snack or even a biscuit before bedtime there was nothing. All food finished at 8.30pm unless you were eating second sitting in the main dining room, which of course some people were happy with but on holiday we like the freedom to relax and not clock watch. By day 2 we learned that people took biscuits or scones up from the afternoon tea which was served between 3.30 and 4.30 in Raffles buffet and wrapped them in serviettes and put them in their cabins for supper. We have always experienced 24 hour dining on other cruise lines and like the relaxed atmosphere you get with that choice. I should mention there was a supper trolley at around 11pm but we only saw it once what we saw was 2 waiters with trays going round the bars and lounges(the ones that weren't shut for private parts, which a lot were) We visited Rouen, Hornfleur and Dublin, Dublin being the only port that wheelchair users of anyone using wheeled assisted frames could get off the ship. CMV announced this was down to the ports which was probably the case but we really felt this was wrong. Having said all this, we thought the staff on board were lovely, helpful and kind as were all the other passengers were spoke to. Our cabin and all the public areas were immaculately clean and well kept.Shuttle buses were provided free of charge from the port to the center and frequent enough not to cause too much trouble. Would we use CMV again, yes probably if the price was right and we could visit ports we wanted to see. Read Less

Scenic River Seine Sail plus French stop offs and Dublin on the way back. Unfortunately this did not work out as planned this cruise line need to change their winter timetable to ensure you are arriving at places no later than midday. Rouen was 3pm far too late, too cold, too dark and shops closing, the queue for shuttle bus numbers was non stop and they were still calling them off at 5.30pm when most people then decided to remain on the bus and come straight back as the journey was taking around an hour. We decided not to bother getting off at all.Honfleur the next stop was much better and as the shuttle into the town was only ten mins rather than longer plenty of opportunity to get there and back okay. Dublin our last stop was again quite a lengthy transfer into town ours took an hour due to traffic but only to an area where the terminus hop on and hop off buses were rather than central so unless you liked walking you were obliged to use those which a lot of people didn't want to do so again when this was realised stayed on the shuttle bus and came straight back to the ship so we felt there had been insufficient information about these ports of call for people who were not paying for the organised ones from the ship. This ship let down the disabled people very badly, when awaiting disembarkation at both Rouen and Honfleur days annouchments were made that the gangway could not accomodate wheelchairs so they could not get off. They were saying this was down to the french port authorities I would say they should have known this as people were trapped on board. I personally saw one man shuffling down the gangway on his bottom with his chair at the bottom to be able to get off a sight I would not wish to see again in this day and age and totally blame the ship for taking these peoples bookings under false pretenses.The dining and food quality on board was excellent and that gets full marks, sadly however no dedicated daily afternoon tea only twice over the week and no late supper just a few nibbles on a tray a steward wandered about with around 10pm.We saved buns from breakfast and fruit to have in our cabin as there was tea making facilities in there.The overall bar and entertainment experience was good but the theatre was dreadful for viewing no matter where you tried to sit it was either eye level glass panels or large posts in your way so a thumbs down for that! also the ship was far too cold everywhere with the aircon on high not necessary in the winter! We managed to turn ours down and off intermittently in the cabin, but I still got a stiff neck to come home with! There were a large number of private groups on board who kept blocking off the public bar areas both in the day and early evening which we found totally unacceptable on such a short cruise that we were not allowed to go where we pleased, when we paid the same as they had. One night in the bar near the restaurant where you went for pre-dinner drinks at 5.30 they were still in there from the afternoon standing up giving speeches so you didn't feel you could intrude this we found along with many other people to be totally unacceptable, on a ship this size they should have been given a private area not the public bars.The crew and staff were very obliging nothing was too much trouble but as this ship sails from Liverpool therefore mostly an english contingency using it we feel they let themselves down on customer service.I will end by saying that although we wont use them again others probably think this is the cruise market and was okay but there are better ships out there.Another note of caution if you are thinking of paying for port parking at Liverpool DONT there is none our pack contain instructions and a parking permit for a car park burnt down over 12 months ago and they had never changed their website! we ended up being put into a fenced gravel compound for the week not the undercover 24hr security we were expecting! So board the Magellan at your peril and definately check out docking times and distance to places from the ship. Read Less

The noise in the cabin was dreadful. It was sold as a superior plus. Day and night, there was banging, rattling and what sounded like very loud power washing. These noises would would regularly shock us awake. It was like having fireworks going off in your cabin. This was not good for me, but it was very serious for my husband. He is 57 years old and an ex-marathon runner, but now has a heart condition. Normally, he is very well. His cardiologist, GP and insurance company are more than happy for him to go on holiday. We have had several cruises recently, all very enjoyable. Unfortunately, when he was startled awake, his heart would go into a dangerous rhythm, which has since shown up on his ICD tracings. Cruise & Maritme were fully aware of his heart condition before the cruise. They ask everyone to declare their medical conditions. The excuse for the noise was ‘you’re next to the winch room and they are carrying out essential maintenance’. This was followed by a shrug, as if we should have know about the noises before we booked the room. But maintenance in the middle of the night? We complained. They refused to move us as they said it would be a downgrade, and they weren’t allowed to do that. I have worked in the health profession all my life. I worked mainly with the elderly and disabled. I was so shocked at the dreadful way these vulnerable people were treated throughout the cruise. Cruise & Maritime cancelled several of the disabled people’s trips due to chaotic organisation. In Rouen, over 100 people, including some very vulnerable people, were left waiting for over an hour for a return shuttle bus. It was cold dark and raining heavily. There was nowhere to shelter. It was heartbreaking. The ship was old and tired. Carpets and seating were stained. Most of the staff looked depressed and some were quite rude. We have never experienced this before. Cruise & Maritime have not responded appropriately to our letters and video recordings. They have dismissed all our complaints. All we can do is warn others. We have been on over 10 cruises in as many years and never had anything to complain about. Until now. PLEASE DO NOT CRUISE WITH CRUISE & MARITIME! There are far better cruise lines out there ( basically all of them) which are of a far higher standard and cheaper too! I strongly believe this company should not be allowed to operate. Read Less

We knew someone who had enjoyed a Seine river cruise from Newcastle on the Fred Olsen line and they had enjoyed it immensely. So when this cruise came up with C & M and sailing from Liverpool we jumped at the chance because we always use C&M.all of the other cruises (4) have been brilliant from Accommodation, Food, Staff (except 1 last year) and the trips ashore at the ports. We are a couple 15 minutes in a Taxi from the Cruise Terminal at Liverpool which is handy and we know all about the improvement in the city over the past 20-30 years. On day 1, the boarding went very smoothly and we were on board within the hour and sitting in our favourite Taverner's Pub.Our room and our Steward were very good throughout our trip. The ship could do with a little TLC this winter for next season but not too bad really. Our first problem came at the Raffles Bistro were we noticed that the meals were not up to the usual standard. The Beef and the Lamb were pretty tough and little things like vegetables were under-cooked to still firm.The breakfasts were dire all the way through with the Bacon being too salty to eat most of the week and the Scrambled egg was like light yellow Porridge and very runny. I will say though that the Soup; of which there was always two varieties was always very tasty and I survived on that and Puddings( except the Bread and Butter pudding, which was on pretty much every day but if you like that, lucky you). The entertainment was pretty average for this boat but we did have a couple of excellent nights with the Staff late night quizzes and games, 10/10. The service was slower than normal as the Staff seemed to be working 2-3 bars at the same time, ( the Taverner's Pub/the Sinatra Bar and the Captains Club) were all slower service than you normally would expect), this was very disappointing when trying to get served.We did have some very good waiters and Bar staff but they were rushed off their feet all of the time. Going ashore was a nightmare as they operated a ticket system for boarding the buses into the Town centers, form A-Z. We got Y on the first trip to Rouen and never got on the bus until 17:30 and into the Town Center at 18:30 because of the Rush Hour and there were more buses coming from the ship behind us. To cap it all everywhere, except the Bars was closed,it was pitch black and pouring with rain(can't blame the company for that though!). we stayed for a drink and got the next bus back.The next day we sailed down the river to Honfleur and we got the letter H. To be fair they organised more buses this time and it appears a good time ashore was the norm, though I don't know what time the last people got to Honfleur after us.we were at sea for almost the next two days until we reached Dublin. Guess what? there were no tickets and loads of Double Decker Buses and everyone got off within the hour. We did enjoy that day very much, except for my wife and I getting lost and walking for miles until we caught the next to last bus back to the Ship. That was my faultas the Wife said. Read Less

Ship in general was a reasonable size. Very Clean. Rooms were spacious. Enough room for everything. The staff was fantastic ! We had Alex and Avetik in the dining room ( they were awesome – great recommendations and super kind ) and TUN was a great room steward. The food. Supper was very well presented. My husband liked the cream soups. I liked most if not all the appetizers. We were very lucky to be there for a special Halloween Gala. The food was more than lovely and the Entertainment was great on this night as well. The pools and outdoor areas were really not open. It was chilly and rained most days. The ports of call I really liked. We came from Canada and had travelled specifically for this cruise- it took a bit of time and we loaded at Dublin. I am now a HUGE IRISH fan. The people. The Food. Everything. The port – well – it is a busy industrial port. Not really meant for a cruise ship but all the same Embarkation went well. We were early for Embarkation and in pouring rain and they let us on the boat before our time. We decided to press a couple pairs of pants prior formal night and had not realized there were no irons aboard for safety reasons. So on the ship we headed up to the lunch buffet. Which I liked – Super busy though. Very difficult to find seats as there was no outdoor sitting area and meals were at set times. Breakfast was difficult. The orange juice and the apple juice seemed either highly diluted or perhaps powdered tang. It was best to take water. Coffee was good. Very good. The scrambled eggs were a pale pink – every day. I thought maybe it was an Irish thing – but NO – we had breakfast in Ireland several times after and did not have pink eggs. There was a very likeable fellow manning the omelette station and he was busy doing eggs over easy and poached as well. So that was a lifesaver. The Sausages – too large and most were not cooked thru. The bacon is a different than in north America and is not crispy. The muffins were plain white – no bran or flavors. Breakfast was not my favorite meal. The staff were great on the buffet as well. Lunch was good with a carvery , a curry and a couple of traditional British dishes. The Waldorf helped the buffet by basically doing a copy cat of the menu and there was always space there. We only made it to the tea once and it was fine. Tea biscuits and jam, sandwiches a bit soggy but in general okay. The Shore Excursion was a bit of a muss up for us as we had booked the Paris Trip from Rouen and it was booked about six weeks prior but our name was not on the list. We were on the waiting list and it did not look good until the last minute. Very thankful for this as we had travelled quite a way and my husband had never seen Paris. So as far as Excursions at others ports we went on our own. At Liverpool Day 1 – we walked to the St. James train station and took the train to Chester. It was awesome despite the rain. We walked the wall, watched buskers and generally loved it. With the rain – trains were delayed getting back however but we made it back for supper. On day 2 in Liverpool we took another train on Mersey Rail to New Brighton – and walked the water promenade. The waves were crashing with the wind and it was great. Gorgeous well kept town. We then jumped on a Hop On Hop Off bus – we had pre-booked with Expedia. It was a very interesting city and the guide was excellent. Loved this. We did not Hop back on and were tired and headed back. Thankfully the next day was at sea. There was not a lot going on and we rested. The next day we arrived at Rouen – and took the Paris tour. It was very good – more rain. Interesting guide. Should have driven by Versailles really. This cruise has quite an elderly clientele and a high percentage are not mobile for various reasons. It was difficult for disabled persons to get on and off the ship/bus . It held up others and there is general worry that someone will get hurt. We are late 50’s but are very mobile and walk several kilometers a day but this is not the norm here. I would have enjoyed dancing many nights but the ship does not have a disco or really any modern dance music. I would have also liked more physical fitness activities like yoga in the morning or stretch or zumba classes- but only 3 days had a 9 PM class and we missed them. At Honfleur – it was a quick walk into town. We decided to hike up to the top of Mont Joli. It was steep but fine. Coming down it was a walking path. Gorgeous views from up there. Loved this town – at least 4 very interesting churches, a market and a lovely park by the water. The River Seine itself was interesting . I had no idea there was that amount of industry in France. They are making windmills and manufacturing tiles and exports in the extreme. Their economy appears robust. Another day at sea with a wonderful Gala dinner with our fantastic Irish friends. We are won over. Stayed a few extra days to see the gorgeous Irish countryside and seaside. What a great country and such a sad past. Read Less