I have just returned from the Grand British Isles Discovery Cruise 28th June 12 nights. Overall very enjoyable. We had a grade 12 outside cabin on deck 7. With Cruise and Maritime you do have to take into account this is not a 5 star holiday you are getting and indeed you are not paying P&O prices. Those expecting Cunard or P&O standards are being unrealistic. Staff very friendly and helpful, cabin steward could not have done more. Table waiters very efficient and friendly. The food is good but once again not 5 star. For example the cooked breakfast bacon was never hot and looked as though it had been standing for a couple of hours. On the other hand you could get a cooked while you wait egg/s or omelette. The rest of the breakfast was very good in range and quality. Buffet lunches were OK, evening meals were also good. Someone asked about the drinks package. Not much use to us as we are not drinkers so just paid as we went along. Wine - the drinks package only covers the house wine which from Marco Polo experience we kept well away from. We bought wine at about £22-£25 a bottle of acceptable quality and the waiters kept the bottle for a second evening (told you we are not drinkers). Entertainment was led by the excellent Richard Sykes although his material does not change much. The Magellan's show lounge is one of its excellent features being two tier. The standard of the shows is good but the material is firmly 50's 60s which is more or less what was on offer in the lounges/bars as well. There was a Scott's Night Club allegedly providing disco music from 60s to up to the present but we always found it empty and playing 70's tapes.I guess this is all aimed at Cruise and Maritime's market - an older age group in their 60s, 70s and 80s. We only did the Orkneys and Outer Hebrides excursions which were interesting. At all the other ports we were independent using the ship's tenders and port shuttle buses. This is one of the aspects of Cruise and Maritime that its critics do not mention. As an independent you are able to leave the ship alongside those paying the exorbitant charges of the managed excursions with no apparent disadvantage. At Stornoway, Tobermory, Scilly Isles and Guernsey tenders have to be used to get ashore. In choppy conditions this can be challenging. Overall enjoyable if you are not expecting perfection. The moaners will find things they can get their teeth into. As an example - the boat drill on the Magellan (as on Marco Polo) requires all passengers to put on their life preservers in the designated muster location and then proceed in a crocodile to their designated life boat location and await the Captain's inspection. In other words getting the passengers familiar with the procedure which would be carried out in the event of a disaster. Some were complaining about this saying that in other cruises they could just sit in a lounge and watch a presentation!