With relief we found Discovery waiting for us at Bristol Avonmouth (last time we turned up she was at Weymouth - another story entirely!) We were off to the Azores and Madeira via Spain and Portugal. It's a long way and we had to cross the Atlantic for 2 days through a weather depression which provided high swells and affected many on board - passengers and crew. Throughout it all the staff were kind, caring and professionally cheerful. Not the same can be said about some of the passengers. Lots of totally unfounded complaining - I suggest that careful perusal of the General information BEFORE booking would be helpful for all!! Personally, I would like to thank the Captain for putting my safety first when making the decision not to disembark us into tenders in a swirling 3 metre swell. Good call!! The Azores were beautiful. Slightly old-fashioned and a little quirky, but extremely interesting and well worth the long journey. Madeira (Funchal) was different in some ways - much busier and more "touristy", but again appealing. The ship is mature and may well be ready for a rest, but she sailed magnificently and felt like home for us over our 14 nights. All crew and staff were friendly, polite and caring - hats off to them all, they must have patience of a saint in some cases.   Read Less

First, just to be accurate, the site doesn't allow selection of our cruise, which was Portugal, Spain and Morocco, and it doesn't allow selection of our embarkation port, Avonmouth. Please also note that I couldn't select two of our ports of call, so I've chosen anything from the list given. Anyone thinking of embarking at Avonmouth should bear in mind that if you're heading east or south you've got a heck of a long way to go before you actually get going anywhere. Down the whole length of the Bristol Channel, then the whole length of the English Channel. Of course, if like me you like just sailing along, then it's no problem. This was Discovery's last cruise before heading off to the breaker's yard or whatever fate is in store for it, which is a shame, because as far as I could see, it was in marginally better shape than Marco Polo, which we'd sailed on twice before. I won't review the ports in this part, save to say that we were prevented by a storm from going to Tangier, which was a big disappointment. Considering that the crew were all leaving the ship at the end of the cruise, their behaviour and service was absolutely impeccable, right up to and including breakfast on the morning of disembarkation back at Avonmouth. On-board entertainment was good for a ship of this size, meals as ever with CMV were absolutely first-rate, drinks were sensibly priced, and free on the last night! The ship's shop ran out of cigarettes on about day 2, and the shop sold off everything else at half-price, and it was a race to see whether it was the crew or the passengers who would buy the most :-) All in all, this was a very relaxing cruise. We met a LOT of really nice fellow passengers, the staff were first-rate and we were lucky with the weather, apart from Tangier. I liked Discovery, I thought her a bright, cheery ship and I would certainly have sailed with her again.   Read Less

First time on Discovery under CMV ownership (been 3 times as Voyages of Discovery) and first time taking my 86 year old mother. Discovery is about is low key unpretentious cruising (that's what we like about it) and that continues under CMV. Cabins (1 x twin + 1 x single mid-range Pacific deck) - comfortable and relatively spacious, although ensuite undoubtedly getting a bit tired looking. Public space is a big plus on this ship - lots of comfortable seating indoors and out to sit an read / chat / watch the world go by with no-one hassling you to buy/participate or anything. Some of the public areas too are looking a bit aged now (carpets particularly) but not a major issue. Food plentiful and decent quality - but not absolutely top range cusine (note: mum preferred the less frantic pace of breakfast/lunch in the 7C restaurant than the slightly 'free for all' buffet in the Lido). Staff not over effusive but efficient and generally pleasant . Entertainment varied and certainly an enthusiastic team - the classical duo were superb. Excursions well organised and choices to fit most people. They were a wee bit pricey for what they were - but there was plenty of scope for just doing your own thing in port too. All in all we felt well satisfied that we'd got good value for what we paid for the trip - and had a pleasant and enjoyable break on board Discovery, Read Less

Our first cruise to Norway was 50 years ago and our recent voyage to Shetland & Norway aboard Discovery was our sixth cruise, so we are neither novices nor frequent cruisers. We were aware of the vessel's age and some comments about 'tired' - however our own experience was that all the public areas of the ship we visited ( and I think we found them all) were smart, attractive, in good condition and spotlessly clean. The crew were constantly cleaning, sweeping and vacuuming. Sanitising dispensers were everywhere and in addition hand held dispensers were wielded by the stewards when one approached any dining zone. Good Work! The handling staff at the Liverpool Cruise Terminal were a model of pro-active helpfulness and this set the tone for the voyage. All of Discovery's cabin & catering staff with whom we had regular dealings were very friendly, willing & helpful, often providing assistance just before we realised we needed it! The very least that we could say of the large number of other staff with whom we had occasional dealings was that they were satisfactory, but in almost all cases they offered the same outgoing friendliness & willingness to help as our 'regulars'. We took breakfast and dinner in the 7 continents restaurant mainly & lunched in the Lido buffet. One night we took the option to dine in the Yacht Club. The choice in all was very good and everything that we had was excellent. We did not try the late night snacks that appeared at 11 p.m. having been on second sitting for dinner, a time that suits us. Discovery is a very pretty ship, we thoroughly enjoyed her being our temporary home but are so sad that she is leaving CMV & we can not book for 2015.   Read Less

Lets start off with the positives: We got to see Iceland The coffee was good The Blue Lagoon was sublime Our cruise aboard MV Discovery was, unfortunately, the worst cruising experience I have had. My husband, who had never cruised before has been utterly put off the entire idea of cruising again. Firstly, check in at Greenock seemed to take forever. CMV were very strict about adhering to their "call by colour" process and this meant so many people were left milling around the terminal whilst the ship was boarded with military precision. As we missed our dinner seating due to the time it took us to board, we were left with no other option than the much over crowded and under stocked lido buffet where we shovelled food down our throats as quickly as possible so that we could attend the mandatory passenger drill. Our major disappointment was the lack of freely available food. After 8.30pm, your options are either: wait till 11pm when small snacks were provided in the lounges or pay 9 quid for a tuna sandwich delivered to your cabin. Having cruised with a few different companies, I have never had to pay for room service before. Entertainment really wasn't up to much either it has to be said. CMV tends to operate with the more mature passenger in mind and we were well aware of this when we booked our cruise. However, we just did not expect quite how mature many of the passengers were and couldn't help but wonder if they really would manage a full life-boat escape if necessary. Entertainment really was targeted towards the octogenarians and, as younger cruisers, we struggled to understand the humour and references being made. Not to say the entertainment team didn't try very hard to make the cruise enjoyable for their passengers but, with many of them being young themselves, I think that even they had a hard time keeping up. We found ourselves rather bored with the entertainment and our only alternative was to get drunk! Discovery has only 2 lounges to choose from, as well as a couple of bars scattered about. It was very difficult to find anywhere to sit during our sea days (of which we had a 'surprise' one). We primarily selected this cruise due to its itinerary - we both wanted to see Iceland and finding a cruise that took us there seemed perfect. We couldn't stop at one of the ports which was disappointing but we fully understood the safety reasons for this. The stops made were lovely - we were less keen on Eskiffjordur as there was not a lot to see or do there. We also didn't appreciate so much the cameras being thrust in our faces whenever we disembarked the ship. We had booked a couple of trips; one a tour of traditional villages and the other to the Blue Lagoon. The first we didn't enjoy so much as I am still unsure of what villages we visited other than a small church, a woodcarving workshop not big enough to fit half a bus load of tourists rather than the 2 bus loads they tried to squeeze in and a stop at excavations of a Viking long house. We were not so happy with the time restrictions put upon us at each stop meaning we really couldn't explore much at all but then the tour itself had a schedule to stick to. Customer service was non-existent. Staff clearly did not want to be there. Some were downright rude. Few smiled. Food aboard the Discovery was good on the whole. Not totally amazing but we did enjoy it. We tended to make use of the lido buffet which I referenced earlier as being low on choice. We made use of the yacht club on one occasion which was very nice but when we tried to book again on the third last night of our cruise we were informed that it was closed and we were rather upset about that. We didn't like that we had to eat at a certain time, sit at a certain table and had very little (and very poor) alternative. The final nail in the coffin was on our very last day. During the night, my hubby got up to use the toilet and on flushing, was met with a horrible noise and was sprayed with water from said toilet. That morning we learned that there was an issue with the toilets on board and staff members were having to flush the toilets using buckets of water. This strategy did not work and the toilets were left with waste filling them. As we had vacated our cabins by the stated time of 8am, there was no other option than to use the public lavatories on the decks. Because of the number of passengers needing to use such a small number of lavatories, the line was massive and because of the malfunctions with the water supply, the smell was absolutely disgusting.   Read Less

After reading reviews on this site it was with trepidation that I embarked on my first cruise. Arrival at leith brought my first delight, embarkation was seamless cases were whisked away and waiting outside the cabin on arrival. The ship was lovely, okay a little tired in places but so am I at being an advanced age. My cabin was comfortable and the steward very attentive, bed was extremely comfy. A little noisy due to engine but was at sea. The food was varied and beautifully presented in the restaurant, Lido was the same food but in buffet form. The entertainment was adequate with enough choice to fill the days at sea, I took a kindle full of good reads and read one book, too much happening to waste time reading. Lovely fellow passengers added to the overall experience I have made long-lasting friendships. The ship docked in most of the ports within easy reach of the cities, St Petersburg was the exception but as organised excursions were necessary this was not too much of a problem. Customs there were quite unpleasant possibly due to the present situation. The organised trips that I took were all very efficiently organised and informative. Yes we had problems on board with leaks and toilet hiccups but they were dealt with in a professional manner and appologies were always forthcoming, in writing on one occasion. The staff in all areas could not do enough, no complaints at all. As I said at the beginning I had read some very negative reviews of the ship and I know that not everyone was as pleased as I with this cruise .All I can say is that I had a wonderful time, celebrated a significant birthday made very special by staff and fellow passengers , and can't wait to go again.I was very impressed with the cleanliness and the constant cleaning measures taken. Read Less

This voyage was an utter shambles. Due to it being windy, the ship didn’t leave Bristol docks for 28 hours; consequently we were late arriving at several of the scheduled places to visit and two of the ports ( Oban and Stornoway) we never got to at all. We were told very little about what was happening and the receptionists were taking all the flack from disgruntled passengers. The ship seemed to be travelling at such a slow pace, we had no hope of reaching the destinations on time and it makes you wonder if Discovery is up to the job. This is the Irish sea; we were hardly going around Cape Horn! I would not criticise the hard working members of the crew or the food, or our accommodation. We were happy with all of these. We unlucky passengers have been offered a 20% refund which has yet to materialise in our case. This, in no way makes up for the disappointment of this trip. My highlight was to have been Stornoway, which I was really looking forward to. That’s gone now.   Read Less

We have just returned home after spending 7 nights on the HM DISCOVERY. We were charged £2000 of our hard earned money to travel around Scottish Isles This cruise advertised all of the wonderful wild life that we would be seeing at all of the scottish Isles that we would be visiting.Perhaps I should have looked further into this cruise, but we were shocked to find out that we had to pay up to £69 per person extra once you had docked at these Scottish Isles if you wanted to go on these excursions.and see anything that resembled wild life. We paid for a deluxe cabin, we booked for a cabin with a double bed and were given a cabin with two single beds. When I complained about this at reception Olga the very off hand receptionist said to blame the travel agent we booked with, and that the ship was full. so we could not be moved. I tried again the following day, and spoke to Sarah another receptionist. She said that there may be a cabin available later that day as some passengers were leaving the ship and that she would let us know. I still had not unpacked. Nobody rang us or got in touch, so when I once again enquired we were told there were no free cabins. I offered to pay for an upgrade and low and behold a cabin suddenly became available for an extra £250 per person. Needless to say I refused. I can honestly say that the outside cabin I had booked with P&O ferries for an overnight crossing to Calais was in better condition, and the bed was also a lot more comfortable. Food on this ship was hit and miss. We were served pork three times in two days. Cold meat cuts consisted of spam rounds every day of this cruise. Spam salads were not what we had in mind when we booked.Soups were a variation of the soup served the day before. Day one was Fennel soup, a yellow coloured liquid with no taste whatsoever,day two was butter nut squash soup. It tasted exactly the same as the day before.Day three was pumpkin soup, yellow again, and it tasted the same. (You get the picture?). My husband and I are in our late fifties,but expected something a little more challenging entertainment wise than a knit and a natter. Sewing, get the bean bag in the ice bucket and quizzes with questions my five year old granddaughter could answer. Examples being rearrange APE to spell a green vegetable.378-377.We found people asleep everywhere we walked on the ship, some snoring, some laying full length on the sofas asleep.The entertainment crew were fabulous in all fairness, and done a great job with a very varied entertainments programme every night.We were so glad to dock in Bristol.Even the imminent coach transfer back up to Hull seemed inviting. This cruise, and we have been on many, was the worst we have ever encountered. NEVER TO BE REPEATED Read Less

Let's start with the port of Hull. The Port of Hull is a cargo port located at the confluence of the River Hull and the Humber Estuary in the city of "Kingston upon Hull" in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The only way we could get there by plane was taking a flight to Amsterdam and from there to Humberside Airport. (There are no flights from London to Humberside). Humberside is about 2 hours from Hull. Obviously Cruise and Maritime Voyages caters to working class British who are afraid of flying thus their motto: "Cruise without flying." Well... we were specially instructed by Cruise and Maritime Voyages not to used the ferry terminal in Hull. So the van driver that picked us up at Humberside Airport could not believe that we were not to wait at the ferry terminal for embarkation. When we arrived to a wood hut belonging to the Associated British Ports in Alexandra Dock, Hull, North Humberside HU9, we understood why the driver was so puzzled. The only thing we found there were bare wood walls, a couple of run down tables and plastic chairs and some employees of the port that at least showed us where the kitchen was so we can make our own tea. Everything was quite dirty. The only heater was in a corner of the room, but people kept leaving the door open when coming and going from the room so it was quite cold. We arrived around 9 AM and we had to wait until 2:00 PM to be transported to the ferry terminal where we waited for a bus to take us to the ship. Did I mentioned that it was not even a vending machine in this wood hut? As soon as we arrived to the ship we left our carry on on the cabin and went to the buffet at the Lido. Our first impression of the buffet was not good at all and it continued for the remaining of the trip. Tea, more tea, and coffee were free but any drink was at least twice as much as in any other cruise. It was quite difficult to find some decent wine. The food at the restaurant was a bit better but again catering to British taste. Have you ever heard of the famous British cuisine? No? There is a reason for that. At least they offered fish and chips, boiled fish, grilled fish, lamb, boiled vegetables and other "delicacies" as such. The ship (sister of the well known Love Boat) had a major refit between 2001 and 2003 and since, nobody has cleaned the windows! It was no way to take any decent picture in the whole trip from the inside of the ship and the weather was quite cold outside. Yes we did have a safety drills one before the cruise in the Baltic and one before the cruise in the Scottish Isles! The entertainment was good enough to see it a couple of times. Same kind of routines and songs in all shows. Films were all for adults with lots of violence and crimes and full of hate and vulgarity. We left in the middle of most of them. No, you could not get any good show on TV because the signal obviously didn't reach. So they repeated the same horrible vulgar violent movies. Some of the lectures were interesting but also geared to crime investigation. The best guest lecturer was a lady that had a great sense of humor. The cabin was small. We could not hide the bags under the beds because they did not fit. S we have to just stand them in the middle of the cabin and we had to move them every time we wanted to either open the closet or the bathroom door. Our steward, from India, was a very nice and efficient worker. The ports we visited were great and we had some really good excursions and some others not so good at all. Some of the guides were really boring. In St Petersburg we were cut at least half and hour short of the visit to the Hermitage because the guide was apparently in a hurry. In Oslo we fall asleep during the tour to the Olympic skii jump. However the tours in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm, Kirkwall, Torshavn, Portree and Tobermory were quite good. We specially enjoyed the opportunity to go from Hull to York to see the Minster. Although the time we had was minimal. Disembarkation was uneventful. We were instructed to wait in assigned areas but it was a bit of confusion with the transfer we paid in advance, We had to wait about 30 minutes to get a taxi in Avonmouth. The best service on the ship was the Medical Center, which we have to visit several times because when waiting to be transported to the ship at the wood hut in Hull my travel companion got a terrible bronchitis. She was quite blessed to have a good travel insurance. In summary let the British continue to enjoy this cruise! Read Less

Embarked in the port of Hull, not listed in your choice of ports, UK City of Culture 2017, it does exist. Smooth embarkation was provided, good directions to port, great help to park, get on a bus to the ship. All luggage brought to cabin. Disembarkation very good, no hiccups, smoothly run. Compared to our journeys with P&O Ferries from Hull to Rotterdam it was a heaven. Allocated disabled cabin by ship staff, even though not by booking agents. The cabin was excellent with a good wet room, where one could almost lie down in the shower. The cabin steward was even better, really helpful, funny and friendly. The ship accommodates about 680 passengers, which is a good number, without feeling too overcrowded. All entertainment was on one floor and generally very good. A group of young entertainers from mainly Ukraine were very good at different types of music shows. Plenty of other activities on offer. The food was first class, one could not eat all on offer during the evening meal, but there was absolutely nothing one could complain about. The quality of food was excellent, the staff were very efficient, polite with good sense of humour. The shore excursions were very good on the whole, although a little pricey, but we were in Norway, one of the most expensive countries in Europe. Read Less

We have just returned from a trip to Norway in search of the Northern Lights and everything about it was superb. The staff made the holiday; they were exceptionally friendly, efficient and courteous. The cleanliness of the ship was second to none, as was the food. Perfectly adequate accommodation. Clean towels and bedding every day and toiletries, hair dryer and safe provided. Sufficient storage and comfortable beds. The only thing that could be improved on was the television. At first I thought the excursions were expensive, but they were well worth it and value for money. It was a pity we didn't see the Northern Lights on the planned excursion but the excursion planners gave us all a dvd of the lights to help compensate towards our disappointment. The Captain made sure that we were informed as soon as he spotted the lights from the ship on two consecutive nights, so all was not lost. The entertainment was good and there were plenty of activities on board. The scenery was magnificent and the Captain informed us of points of interest throughout our trip. After the Northern Lights, the Husky sledging was the highlight of the holiday, and not forgetting the excursion in deep snow to the North Cape, the coaches travelling in convoy behind a snow plough. Birthdays on board were recognised and made special with a cake and the dining room staff singing Happy Birthday. I would travel on Discovery again without hesitation. Read Less

i have cruised many times but my husband was on his first voyage. we sailed on the discovery to the north cape to see the northern lights. firstly, in defense of a classic ship, yes she is old, yes she has no balconies, she isn't a floating block of flats with a climbing wall or a florider. she is an old fashioned classic cruiser. a little rough around the edges, but all the more charming for it. embarkation - couldn't have been simpler, avonmouth port is easy to fine, easy parking, friendly staff. the actual process was quick and simple, and before we knew it we were on board and being shown to our cabin. cabin - compact, but it had everything we could need. we were in an outside twin on bali deck, our cabin steward was lovely, polite, helpful and our cabin was always made up beautifully. food - lido buffet, a bit school dinnerish, but good food and plentiful. seven continents restaurant - wonderful food, excellent staff, had the right atmosphere without being stuffy and pretentious. the free tea and coffee station on lido deck was an added bonus, although it would have been great if this had stayed open later as those of us late night northern light spotting could have done with a brew at 2am, but a minor quibble. entertainment- was excellent, be it daytime, quizzes, deck games, films, etc, or evening, wonderful cabarets, stage shows or late night music. the entertainments team do a fantastic job, but are never pushy. you can do as much or as little as you like. lectures - our cruise had a number of guest lecturers, all were informative and entertaining, especially the one about how to commit the perfect murder by tony thompson !! excursions- we felt at first these were pricey, but after we had been shopping in norway we realized this was due to the high cost of living there and not down to the cruise company. the trips we went on were well run, and very interesting. overall, good value for money. facilities on board - everything you could need, cinema, pools, whirlpools, little shop ( could be better stocked with everyday items you might have forgotten to pack), plenty of lounge space, quiet corners to watch the sea go by. in cabin laundry service was good, as was room service. prices on board - drinks were just below pub prices, but water in the cabin a little on the steep side, soft drinks a little pricey, but overall good. shop prices were a little high, especially for chocolate and crisps. disembarkation- because we had to wait for the coaches to take us from liverpool to avonmouth, this took a little time, and having to be packed and cleared out of the cabin by 7am made for a very long day, 8am would have been a little kinder! overall - this is a well run ship, we were kept informed of any changes, sea conditions, sights of interest on the voyage etc. we had a wonderful time and are already booking our next trip on this great little cruise ship. don't be put off by negative reviews, if you want an old fashioned, proper cruise without all the disney razzamatazz, on a classic ship, with interesting ports of call then book a trip on the discovery. cruise maritime voyages - have taken a bit of a bashing recently, but are an efficient company, with friendly, helpful staff, ready to help with any questions you might have.   Read Less

We have just come back from our cruise on the Discovery. I had read many negative reviews before we went but must say we were delighted with the ship, staff and the food. The staff were all very friendly. The Captain was brilliant he had a good sense of humour and kept us informed all the time about the weather. There were two ports we were unable too go into as the weather was rough. The second one was the Shetlands on the way home but he managed to arrange for us to dock at the Orkneys instead. They were able to organise trips for those people who wished to go on them. It was a Sunday so we thought there would be nothing open but the café and shop owners had all had emails the night before giving them the option to open a lot of them did and we had a very good time there. The trips were all well organised but a tad expensive. We had a trip to see the Husky's and ride on a sled pulled by them which was brilliant and then to see the Sami people which was very interesting. very good guides on the few trips we did. We saw the Northern lights on 3 evenings on board ship which made our cruise worth it. The ship is old and tired but the staff more than made up for that. The shows were not bad. They got better as the days went on. The group had only been together 6 days before the ship left so they did really well. The comedians were good. The lectures I went to were very good aswell. The cabin was very small not a lot of space to put the cases. We had 2 windows which were a good size. The television was very old but did not bother us that much as we were not in our cabin very much. The cabin steward was very pleasant and kept the cabin clean.   Read Less

We have sailed on the Discovery many times and have loved it mainly because it goes to different destinations. We sailed from Istanbul on the Treasures of the Black Sea. At the airport we heard a number of conversations about the Discovery and how the standards had dropped, poor staff service and very poor food at times. We were under the assumption when we booked the cruise that the ship was on lease to MV but it still belonged to Discovery,. We took the comments we heard 'with a pinch of salt' truly expecting the ship to be of the same standard as we had experienced before and we had picked the cruise for the destinations. On boarding the ship we found the staff were not the same nationality as we had had before and that some of their attitudes to passengers was not friendly or helpful and quite off hand at times. Our waiter from Burma was fantastic and nothing was too much trouble. Our cabin stewardess was also friendly and made us feel welcome but these members of staff were the exception. Generally the standards have dropped dramatically. We were not introduced to the show members until the last night. A few of the shows were excellent but many of them were lack lustre and boring. The shows were also let down by the state of the costumes which were ripped, bits missing, held together by safety pins and not very inspiring at times. Coffee on the Lido deck was only available up to 10 pm, no longer 24 hours so if you wanted a late night coffee you had to get it at the bar and it was not good. Also on the lido deck on one of the coffee stations was open so sometimes there were up to 30 people queuing, the lack of cups was also a problem. The ice machine was not working and the bar manager of the Lido bar was very snooty if you asked for ice. They need to remember that not everyone is a drinker even of soft drinks. We have always enjoyed eating in the Yacht club as it had a lovely atmosphere. This time we felt rushed, no one playing the piano and generally you felt you could have been eating anywhere it was not an enjoyable experience. The food at times was excellent but too often it was a disappointment and on a few occasions unedible. Breakfast was excellent and the choice as good as ever. Lunch was a bit hit and miss sometimes a good choice and tasty but other times very bland. Afternoon tea which if we had been out on a trip and back late and we were second sitting was a real disappointment. They used to make up sandwiches of your choice this time it was usually bits of French bread with lettuce, tomato and something and because they had been made a while before the bottom was always soggy. Usually we could find something we liked on the evening menu, we are not fussy eaters however the night I got pasta with chicken in a gravy type sauce I could not eat it. No salads seemed to be available but I did discover I could have fresh fruit, it was not on the menu and I do not have a sweet tooth. The ports of call were excellent and we loved the places we visited especially Sochi, Yalta, Sevestopol and Odessa and we would love to visit these places again but not on the Discovery. I contacted MV when we returned at the end of October and apart from an acknowledgement I have heard nothing even though I have emailed them several times. My reason for writing this review now is that good friends of ours who we met on the boat said in their Christmas card they were considering booking a cruise on this ship as like us they have enjoyed many brilliant cruises on the Discovery. People on board who had booked further cruises were not looking forward to the cruises. As MV have not answered any of my queries they obviously do not care about their passengers so please be aware their standards across the board are not as good as when it was sailing under the Discovery company. Read Less

Having travelled on "Discovery" several times before under the prvious management - Voyages of Discovery, we decided the itinerary to the Black sea was for us.However now the vessel is Chartered to CMV standards have dropped, it is no longer the same happy crew or ship as previously. It started with our flight being put back by 12 hours, meaning we arrived on board in the early hours of the following morning,and therefore missed trips to Corinth/Athens, a lost day spent sitting in Piraeus.Likewise our return flight from Istanbul was put back 3 hours and notified to us by note under door, although some passengers had written notice prior to leaving Uk, consequently missed a dinner engagement and had to re arrange transport at short notice,In the main CMV personnel had very little idea of what was going on, and their reception staff were particularly unhelpful, and at times quite rude. Ships officers kept low profile, hardly saw Captain,none of the officers appeared in the Dining room, ships windows were filthy.Toilets out of action one morning due to ship running aground, no explanation or apology from ships personnel. Trips generally good with the exception of the panoramic tour of Istanbul, which consisted of sitting in traffic jams, bazaar closed, ended up in a water front hotel for tea which cost us £64.CMV must have known of the 4 day public holiday, and should have rearranged the stop over on our inward passage, consider taken for a ride quite literally! All in all would never take another trip on "Discovery" or deal with CMV again, as stated by many other passengers, it is sad that such a lovely ship should end its days this way. Read Less

I start with stating that I am quite a seasoned cruiser at all levels, We decided to go on this cruise largely because of the destinations. Not expecting too much as the price was more than reasonable. * Itinerary started with the rather uncomfortable " squeeze em in Thomas Cook Airways to Athens. Not the best way to start a holiday, but for the price we paid more than acceptable. Met at Manchester by very helpful Cruise and Maritime Staff. Mirrored in Athens. Once we had located our luggage Cruise and Maritime took over. Cases direct to Cabin. *The refurbished Discovery is more than acceptable for a budget cruise, with the majority of decor and services bordering on 4 to 5 Star *Cabin was a little tired but immaculately clean, with plenty of wardrobe and draw space, refrigerator and largish bathroom with bath. Cabin steward Taiwanese gets a FULL 5 star rating . *All lounges and bars, refurbished to a high specification, waited on by numerous waiters, mainly Eastern European. Again 5 star Service could not be faulted for professionalism. *Food RESTAURANT. Again 5 star plus, as good as if not better than other ships of all standards we have cruised with. 6 Course meal every evening with 2 formal evenings.TOP DECK SELF SERVICE RESTAURANT. Very clean with efficient cleaning and mopping up staff. Food quality very good but not a large selection. *Pool Space. Limited but not necessary on this cruise * Relax areas- Plenty of deck and indoor space with no crowding *Entertainment - Headed by Cruise Director Kate who is very talented and an excellent host, heading the most amazing and talented 10 person Entertainment team, all duplicating with late Cabaret. Cabaret Theatre is excellent with NO area having obstructed views, and the Cabaret Lounge spacious with large dance floor. The guest speakers were very good, giving numerous interesting lectures. If I was to pick a week point it would certainly be C & Ms choise of commedian who was on 2 evenings and unfortunately fell flat We personally did not do any ships tours, but upon listening to other guests, a few of these fell short of professional. But overall A GREAT CRUISE at a very reasonable price. We did hear the usual complaints from the Professional Moaners, but I can recommend this ship to anybody wishing a good cruise experience at a good price.   Read Less

We booked this cruise on the recommendation of some friends who were already booked on it. Before we left it was extremely difficult to get sensible information out of CMV regarding the flights to and from Istanbul. We received a succession of invoices which all showed correct payment information but all specified different flights. We were unable to arrange transport to the airport (Manchester) until the last minute. The cruise itself was far better. It is many years since we cruised on Discovery but the ship still has a very pleasant atmosphere. The ports of call included Sochi and Novorossiysk, which are not often visited by cruise ships. We enjoyed them all, especially as we had excellent guides on all the excursions we took. On board, the food was of a high standard, as was the service, although the latter seemed to deteriorate on the last day, after several crew had left the ship. The entertainment was a bit mixed, with an absolutely brilliant comedian (Andy Rudge) and a very talented violin & piano duo from Russia. The quizzes, on the other hand, were, for the most part, gimmicky and boring. The journey home was a nightmare. We were booked on a Monarch flight from Bodrum to Manchester with an intermediate stop at Gatwick, and the latter caused the problems. CMV should have known what was going to happen, but we were not warned until we got to Bodrum airport, and even then the warning was merely a few words on an A4 sheet, which many people missed. The Manchester passengers were required to leave the aircraft, with their hand luggage, and go through security before returning to the aircraft. Several people had bought duty free items airside at Bodrum, including drinks and beauty products that were liable to be confiscated by security personnel on the grounds that they exceeded 100ml of liquid. The Monarch captain did his best to get concessions, via the handling agent, but he was only partly successful. Given that we had been through not one, but two security checks at Bodrum, there should have been no necessity for further checks. We were told that our passports had to be processed at the first point of entry int the UK, but that did not actually happen - our passports received a perfunctory glance but were not scanned. Only one position was open and there were more than 200 of us to be dealt with, so the second leg of the flight was delayed. The attitude of the security staff was officious to the point of being offensive - they seemed to think they were doing us a favour by putting us to this futile and pointless inconvenience. We even witnessed a case where one lady had perfectly harmless (and apparently expensive) duty-free items confiscated. On arrival at Manchester our passports were processed in the normal way, and the Border agency officer we dealt with was quite surprised to learn what had happened at Gatwick. While none of this was CMV's fault, they should have made it clear before departure from Bodrum that this particular flight would encounter this problem. It has soured the whole cruise experience for us. Read Less

I am writing in defence of the Discovery. Yes, she is old and a bit tired, no balconies, no flash crystal chandeliers, a leaky roof etc. But we had a fantastic itinerary in the Black Sea. The excursions were excellent and tour guides (with maybe one or two exceptions) were brilliant. We learnt so much history and saw so many things we would have missed if we had tried to do our own thing. Istanbul, Yalta, Odessa and Sevastopol were the highlights for me and so interesting - Stalins Dacha, the winter palaces, the secret submarine base at Balaclava, Troy - I thought it was all fascinating. We opted for 2nd sitting a table of 8 and met some great people. Food was good - not too filling. Breakfast whivh we usually had in the Lido was good. Lunch, which we also usually took at the Lido buffet was also good. Drinks were a reasonable price. We often had the gym to ourselves in the early evening and sat in the jacuzzi under the stars. Our cabin was nice (although we paid quite a bit extra for a junior suite at the front, it was worth it on a winter cruise when you spend more time in the cabin). Quality of lectures was poor in general. It would have been nice to learn more about where we were visiting. And the shows were very amateurish. The comedian Andy Rudge was very popular and judged his audience (mainly of a certain age) impeccably. No swearing or too blue jokes. We met some great people. Everyone was nice and friendly. The ship had a lovely, friendly ambiance. You felt you knew most of the passengers. The itinerary was brilliant. I assume that most people doing a Black Sea cruise are there for the interesting ports of call, rather than a boozey, loud time. Indeed most people were in bed by 11! I did hear a few complaints about the ship being a bit down at heel, but to be honest, I felt those people just didn't "get" it and would have probably have been happier in a 3 star hotel in Benidorm. They were often the ones who did not take the excursions and came back to the ship saying there was nothing to see! This was our first cruise and I loved it. However, I am not sure I would like one of those enormous gin palace ships with thousands of passengers - and I would only cruise somewhere like the Black Sea which would be impossible to get to see any other way. Lastly, we were originally booked to go on the cancelled Northern Lights cruise mentioned by other reviewers. In hindsight, I think we had a lucky escape - you may want to choose a bigger, newer ship with better stabilisers to venture into the North Sea in winter!   Read Less

Discovery's Mediterranean Odyssey and Black Sea cruise. Over the years we've done two long cruises on Discovery and so have an experience of expectation when we resumed our sailing holidays with the partially refurbished ship. A lot of things went wrong some quite needlessly. We requested seating for 8 under your fixed seating policy for dinner on board; in the event we were allocated a table for 4. We were given no explanation for this compulsory change and re-arranging caused quite an upheaval and some embarrassment. Why the company still insists on fixed seating is not explained. The previous argument that the dining room staff get to hereknow people better is undermined by the new policy of compulsory tipping. We informed Head Office that visas are required for landing in Turkey, but were advised to the contrary - with, in the event, visa charges being added to our shipboard account. We inquired about guest lecturers and were advised these would be notified on arrival on board! Assumedly this would have been well known to Head Office who must have booked them in advance. The current policy seems to dispense with appropriate lecturers in favour of port briefings by the excursion team reading out the standard notes - on this cruise there was there was a wonderful opportunity for a qualified communicative speaker to talk about Nelson who,at times, was involved in most of the ports we visited. The talk on the Crimean War was abysmal - the speaker muddled the facts,omitted others and clearly lacked the background and knowledge to present such a complex subject with authority and conviction. He informed us about the Cruise Lecturers Association he'd created. Perhaps this will be the means of raising the standard and relevance of Discovery's guest lecturers in the future. A final disappointment was to be told two days before disembarkation that the timing of our return flight from Istanbul had been changed to a later time. Our dismay turned to anger when passengewrs joining the ship at Piraeus had already been notified of the change by letter before departure. But Reception on board insisted that Head Office had not notified them! What incompetence! How can one have confidence in the Company's professionalism after experiencing that? The character of the ship has greatly changed, The wonderfully polite and efficient Philipino staff have been swept away to be replaced by a lot of Eastern Europeans who clearly were not properly trained, with some downright rude to passengers at times., The new policy of compulsory tipping can be baffling - who actually receives the large amounts of money which the policy creates? Prior to joining the ship we were encouraged to book excursions in advance. But we didn't know at which ports we'd be going ashore by tender - those with mobility problems were actively discouraged from using the tenders- creating more needless disappointment. It was soon apparent that in the refurbishment programme all the wooden sun beds haved been removed, not replaced, resulting in a general shortage. The former Discovery was a truly popular cruise ship; but many experienced cruisers such as ourselves found so many aspects of life on board have been changed - for the worse - that we have to recall the ship we knew to remember the good times. Read Less

I am driven to writing this review by the one written by another member who appears to have travelled on a very different ship to me, yet on exactly the same itinerary and exactly the same time and on a ship with the same name! That's a bit unfair, because I do agree with some of his statements. Yes, the food was pretty good in the Seven Continents restaurant, but if you were doing a back to back as I did it's a bit boring to be faced with exactly the same menu on the second leg! Where we fall out is in relation to the top deck cafe - the Lido. This has an ambiance akin to a motorway service station, has rotting floors, a leaking roof and, towards the end of the cruise by which time I think some crew had jumped ship in the Ukraine, continually short of cutlery and mugs. "Relax areas", may be adequate in cooler climes such as those when orford.len was on board, but woefully inadequate when the sun shone. Points of agreement: Cruise Director Kate had the voice of an angel and the entertainment team, all Eastern European, were excellent. Yes, one of the comedians was pretty poor, but the Welshman had some wonderful observational humour. The Classical duo on the first 75% of our trip were excellent and had a good following until the venue was changed to the cabaret area where, let's be honest, constant chatting and drinking are not a good mix with classical music! Embarkation for us at Barcelona was superb, although I'll add some adverse comments about flights later on! Back to disagreements now: one of the lecturers was dire - his talk on Churchill a great disappointment and largely a motley collection of "Churchill moments". We had read the reviews of Cruise and Maritime before booking and so our expectations were not high and therefore you could say that our expectations were met! We had sailed on Discovery 5 years earlier when she was a Grand Dame of cruisers, today she is better described as Grandma Quite what refurbishment took place in Genova this year, I'm not sure - many of the soft furnishings are tired, in places there is more paint than steel and the teak decks are in a poor way. She still has the advantage of looking like a ship. What attracted us was the itinerary and that did not disappoint in any way, although 3 days in Piraeus was too long (I suspect the ship's owner/manager is based there, so that may have influenced things a bit). What really disappointed and fell way below expectations was the poor organisation and customer service of CMV: flight details were really late in arriving and there was no debate/feedback about upgrades etc.. The outbound flight with Easyjet was pretty chaotic for CMV passengers as we were pre-allocated seats by CMV with partners not sitting together and no ability to change - although negotiation with the other travellers so affected resolved the situation when on board the plane. Passengers joining the cruise in Athens from Gatwick were in a far worse position as their flight had been re-timed at the last minute to arrive in the early hours of the morning following the day they were supposed to arrive - this meant that their cruise was in fact one day less than planned! This meant that the passengers leaving in Athens were also subject to that 12 hour delay. Our flight from Istanbul was also re-scheduled, just 36 hours before departure and this meant a lot of individual re-scheduling for those with connections from Gatwick. I just don't believe that CMV did not know about this beforehand - if they didn't, they should have. Finally, I have tried to make sure that my comments are not coloured by the fact that I came down with a really nasty tummy bug just 12 hours after leaving the ship! Read Less

I booked the Med Odyssey and Black Sea Discovery holiday through my travel agent. I was very disappointed with Cruise & Maritime. They said that the excursions booking forms would come arrive approx. 56 days before departure, mine arrived approx. 14 days. My tickets which arrived 6 days before departure had my name spelt wrong and no explanation as to why there was no return flight ticket. When I phoned them to get it all corrected I was told I had to go through my travel agent. The ship was in a bad state and the carpet in the corridor out side my cabin was mouldy, the roof in the Lido restaurant let the rain in. The entertainment was repeated for the second half of the cruise. It was a back to back cruise was the excuse from the ship management, they did change it slightly but the quizzes' in the evening was all the same questions. They didn't have a solo traveller get together because there was no day at sea but they had sat solo travellers together at dinner. Why they couldn't arrange it for an evening I don't know. When I questioned why it had cost me so much in single supplement and yet a lot of other passengers had buy one get one free offers, I was told that it was up to the travel agents what was charged. Very limited entertainment was organised. Read Less

The 'base line' for our cruise around the British Isles was somewhat different to the final amount we paid. However, it fell within our budget and we booked accordingly. Had we not cruised before we might have thought that this trip on Discovery was up to the usual standards expected on cruises. However, we had cruised several times before and therefore noticed the places where standards fell short of what might be considered appropriate. Our cabin, which was not the cheapest, was perhaps the smallest in which we had ever cruised but it was adequate - just. The food was usually of acceptable standard but of course, we felt we were paying for spectacular and this is not what we received. It did not compare well with other cruise lines we had experienced. What struck us most, and immediately, was the price level of absolutely everything on board. To begin with: we were told that because many people found it difficult to decide how to tip etc. the company would apply a £10 per day per cabin gratuity charge to our bill. Eventually we had to advise the ship's staff by means of a form that we did not wish to pay this in order to have the charge lifted. (This was not generally known by passengers!) Many elderly people did not realise that this was an option and duly paid their £90 per couple. If all on board did this it would add in the region of £35,000 to the cruise income - useful! Although Piracy on the High seas has long been outlawed when carried out by people who carry swords it is alive and well on Discovery minus the swords. Try £2.05 (why the extra 5p??) for a 330ml can of lemonade, £24 for a moderate quality bottle of wine, £2.30 for 20ml of indifferent German beer - and this is duty free!! Then just look at the cost of photographs on board! A great many people bought drinks ashore for use on the ship, and among these were several crew members! Incredible. Tours offered ashore were many and quite varied however try this for size: £50 each for a 3 hour city tour of Dublin (includes 40 minute river tour), £65 per person for a trip across Mull to Iona or also on Mull £29 each for a walking tour, yes, seriously! And why did the cruise director advise us to take the boat's trip to Inverness (for £52 per couple - over 50p per mile!) 'as the service bus takes a long time to return'? The 25x goes direct from Invergordon to Inverness and it's about a fifth of the amount the ship charges. On the plus side the crew were friendly and helpful (except for one snooty blonde bird on Reception) although their English was sometimes limited. The other passengers were very friendly and the shows in the evening were very professional. I realise any company needs a mark-up in order to exist but why did they spoil my trip with such extortionate pricing. Like many of my fellow passengers I'll go elsewhere next time - there's lots to chose from!   Read Less

Check in was very efficient and our luggage was waiting for us outside the cabin on the Pacific Deck (Deck5). The cabin was spacious with a double bed dressing table and wardrobe two large windows. The bathroom had a shower which worked very well and was spotless with a supply of soaps and toiletries. The ships Public Areas were in very good condition with lots of nice seating areas,however on deck the ships age become more apparent.The ship has two very small pools but on our trip only one was in use in the Lido where the buffet is situated perhaps not an ideal location. The Buffet was generally fine we used it for breakfast and snacks using the Severn Continents for evening dinner. The food was most days of a reasonable standard with several choices for each course. The restaurant is on deck 3 and the portholes are permanently covered with curtains. The noise levels in the restaurant are very high and the tables are very close together. The entertainment was most nights very good with a visiting comedian doing two shows during the cruise. We have cruised with some of the larger cruise lines and found the price of drinks much cheaper on the Discovery. However the cost of excursions was not and we only did one ship excursion on the Isle of Scily. Franky the other trip price were exorbitant. One major grip is that tea and coffee were only available free up to 10:00pm. That said we enjoyed the cruise and found the crew very friendly and helpful. Read Less

We chose the "North Cape and Land of the Midnight Sun" cruise, because it sailed from Hull which is convenient for us. However the ship had been filled, for the first night while we sailed to Newcastle where the majority of people boarded, with a One Night offer, basically Dinner,Bed and Breakfast and a one night cruise.We boarded and 1pm. and were offered a very basic buffet lunch. We were surprised to find the drinks prices seemed dearer than we had paid on any other ship we had been on. They WERE. The following evening, the drinks were all cheaper than the first night, especially the House wine we had each evening, which was 3 cheaper! It seems the "one nighters" and passengers from Hull had been totally ripped off! The next day in Newcastle was a farce. We were all but ignored, apart from having to go to reception to replace our cruise cards no less than 3 times that day,all that was laid on was a shuttle bus to a shopping outlet or the railway station. All they were concerned about was getting the "one nighters" off the ship,down a really steep gangway, where wheelchair users had to be carried by staff, and getting the other passengers on board. The next day, I had to once again renew my cruise card, 5 times in all over the first 3 days.We also had to report a really bad smell in our bathroom and therefore, cabin. They did sort it out after 2 visits, but on looking outside the cabin, the carpet in the corridor was all mouldy and rotten, so obviously there was an ongoing problem. The food in the Lido was very disappointing. Basic salads, leaves, tomato, cucumber and then some using up the previous days leftover meats etc. One dish of cold meats, one dish of cheese cut into minute portions. The hot dishes were mundane, I never had anything I really enjoyed, and there was never a hot pudding at lunchtime.The only hot one was at teatime, which was the best meal of the day, the scones were really good. Dinner was not much better, ok if you like Pork which was served in one way or another each night.Any again no hot puddings. The entertainment was OK, the best a Russian Night, was excellent, and also they did a slight spoof on "Joseph" done in a very comical way. Richard Sykes, the cruise director was FANTASTIC, such a talented man, and far too good for the Discovery was the general feeling! The seating around the ship was also very poor, in condition, especially in the Discovery Theatre where the seating was very low and some of the settees were broken, and also in the Discovery lounge the seats were low and uncomfortable. The seating in the Lido was also poor, some plastic chairs, some rattan and some wood. Also in the Lido, if it had rained you could get very wet as the roof leaked in many places, and there were buckets catching leaks in other places also. Despite all this we did enjoy the itinerary although the port information was rather sparse,no details of local transport etc. On arrival back at Newcastle, we had to go by coach back to our joining port,Hull, and the coach was a very uncomfortable, a basic school bus, and we had to pay 25 for the journey! MORAL : DO NOT CRUISE WITH THIS COMPANY Read Less

Although we have cruised several times before, with Costa (Arabian Gulf), Princess (Alaska) & Celebrity (Baltic), we really only cruise when it seems the best option to see where we want to go. Hence we booked this 'Iceland & Northern Isles' cruise with Cruise & Maritime. My wife has always been keen to see Iceland (I was neutral), but the visits en-route to Shetland, Faroes and Orkney interested me - plus the price was right, ie low, and we were sailing from Liverpool (we live near Manchester). We booked originally on the Ocean Countess, but then the ship was changed to Discovery, ex Voyages of Discovery, and the port was changed to Harwich, a mere 275 miles away!! We had 2 days extra for no extra charge, but these days were at sea, which we do not really enjoy, but we stuck with it, as all the other reasons were still valid. Before we went, we heard that 3 lots of friends had been on the same ship shortly before. Two lots had been on the British Isles Discovery cruise, and hated it, while another pair had been on a Norway cruise and loved it! So our expectations were not high. In the event we loved it all, the only downside being that Newmarket Travel did not send out anything until 10 days or so before the start and - in particular - did not include anything about excursions off the boat. By the time I managed to find them on CMV's website and decided which we wanted to do, we were too late to book them. In the event, we booked the ones we wanted as soon as we embarked, except that one we want had been full for weeks, so we had to choose another. Our cabin - a standard twin on deck 4 with ocean view (2 portholes) was fine, though the engine rumble would have led to loss of sleep for me if I had not taken some earplugs. The food was generally of a high quality, and the service very good and pleasant. We ate in the restaurant every evening, apart from 2 visits to the Yacht Club (no extra charge), which was worth doing. You could eat in the restaurant for breakfast and lunch as well, which we did several times each. At these meals, we sat with whoever was on the table we were sent to, and could have a nice chat. The smallish size of the ship meant that you would see those people again, which we found very friendly. The Lido food was fine, and in all eating places there was compulsory hand sanitization, no no sickness problems. The entertainment, led by the brilliant, very pleasant and talented Cruise Director Richard Sykes, was very varied and enjoyable, and the theatre was small enough that you were right on top of the action. We also enjoyed the guest lectures, especially by geographer Louise Bonner, and there were films and quizzes to fill in other periods of time. This meant that we survived the days at sea better than we expected. The weather was with us all the way - how lucky we were! This meant that excursions, whether through the ship or on foot (we did Faroes (Torshaven) and Reykjavik on foot) were very scenic and enjoyable. We would recommend Reykjavik on foot, as it is a small and interesting city, and by the time we arrived, we had been sceneried-out, as it were, from 3 previous Iceland ports of call. I must finally mention the efficiency and timeliness of the ship's staff. Apart from a 5 hour delay leaving Harwich due to an engine fault (this time was almost all caught up by the time we reached Shetland), everything started band on time - meals, shows, excursions, and disembarkation. When embarking at Harwich, we were told not to arrive until after 4pm, and when we arrived, we were straight in. Similarly, disembarkation was handled by deck number equally efficiently. Finally, finally, the Italian captain was great, with good sense of humour when making his regular announcements. I hope this review helps. Maybe we were lucky, but most others whom we spoke to on the ship agreed with us. Happy cruising. Read Less