Cruise & Maritime

[Silver_Shiney]

Has anyone been with this line before?

We've just booked a one-night taster for next June, going from Avonmouth to Liverpool. I don't know how much it costs though - the brochure, which inspired us to make the booking, said it was £69 pp for an Inside Guaranteed cabin, but when I got to the website, it said £79. Ho hum. An email for clarification was sent yesterday.

The brochure and online videos of the ships certainly make them appear lovely.

[oldbluefox]

We shared a table on our last cruise with a couple who had been with Cruise and Maritime and they spoke very highly of their experience. I have since had a look at their website and reviews and they do appear to come out highly rated. The only downside for me would be the size of their ships which are rather small, 22,000 and 21,000 respectively.
However that's not to say never. I may be tempted to give them a try especially as they have cruises from more northerly ports. If the deal is right who knows?

[Dark Knight]

some interesting itineraries esp the northern lights ones and some sensible departure points as well

[Manoverboard]

They, have, or is it had, two ships in 2012/13 ... Marco Polo and MV Discovery.

We cruised on MV Discovery when it was part of the All Leisure Group, Swan Hellenik, and would certainly do so again if their itineraries were as good as they were in 2008. It is a small ship but one that is capable of sailing in all the Oceans of the World.

' Poole Boy ' cruised on MV Discovery during April 2013, there is a report somewhere on this site which I will post if I can locate it.

Et voila ... I think

[Dark Knight]

they seem to have 3 now, a new one called the Astor?

[Jan Rosser]

My son's in-laws have booked a cruise from Liverpool with this company to see the Northern Lights. They return to Hull and are then bussed back to Liverpool but I am put off by the size of the ships too but never say never particularly as one of the other ports is Bristol which is just a hop over the bridge

[Silver_Shiney]

they seem to have 3 now, a new one called the Astor?

correct!


I received a highly articulate reply to my query:

Thank you for your email I have spoke with my marketing team the Cheapest fare on this Cruise is
£79 per person the Internet is correct and Brochure has a error

I hope their cruises are better than their staff's level of education.....

[Dark Knight]

had a mooch on their web site and they could be a contender for a northern lights cruise

[poole boy]

as mob said we did a six day cruise on Discovery from Bristol in April the weather was awful force 10 to 12 most of the time but the ship handled it really well the food was fine and the staff very friendly and helpful we did feel that the ship was fine for a week but not sure there would be enough to do for longer period with that in mind we have booked another cruise on this boat for 6 days from Bristol September 2014.

[Capt Black]

Just booked a pre Christmas one nighter on Marco Polo with several friends. Will let you know how it went after Christmas. Be interesting to see what she's like on board as the last time I was on board was over 30 years ago when she was the Alexander Pushkin.

[Manoverboard]

... we did feel that the ship was fine for a week but not sure there would be enough to do for longer period ...

Would just add that we did 24 days on MV Discovery and it wasn't a problem to us, it was however Port intensive and that doesn't suit everybody of course.

I recall 4 sea days and 3 nights in Istanbul, the cruise was within the Black Sea and then down the Turkish coast to Alexandra via a few of the Greek Islands.

If only P&O would do something similar.

[Gill W]

Just booked a pre Christmas one nighter on Marco Polo with several friends. Will let you know how it went after Christmas. Be interesting to see what she's like on board as the last time I was on board was over 30 years ago when she was the Alexander Pushkin.

I've got a day trip to Marco Polo shortly before Chrustmas.

We are having lunch and some sort of afternoon show. I noticed it on a local coach operator's website.

The ship is docked at Tilbury when we visit, so I imagine it's probably around the time of your one nighter

[Silver_Shiney]

Well, several unanswered (but acknowledged) questions to C&M later, we now have the tickets.

Although the booking was for an inside, we've got an outside cabin.

With the ticket came a letter quoting earlier correspondence/material that had not been sent, neither were our car parking permit or luggage labels included. On querying this, I was told that the labels would be sent but we hadn't booked car parking, hence no permit. I emailed back to them their invoice showing that car parking had, indeed, been booked and pointed out that, if the letter states something should have been sent, it should have been sent; if it was not appropriate for that particular cruise, it should not have been mentioned in the letter.

We've now got complimentary car parking.

However, we are now not sailing from Avonmouth, but Plymouth. We've got to get to Avonmouth at crack of sparrows to join a complimentary coach down to Plymouth, where we should board the ship in time for lunch. Contrary to their first letter about this, stating we'd arrive in Liverpool at 1600, we're now due to dock at 1200 - but I have no idea if we'll get fed, so we'll pig out at Breakfast and take some snacks with us in case lunch on the Sunday is not provided.

I can only hope that their ship-side service is better than their back-office service. As I said to them, the excitement and anticipation of this short break has been somewhat tarnished.

I will report back next week on what the cruise was like...

[david63]

Well, several unanswered (but acknowledged) questions to C&M later, we now have the tickets.

Although the booking was for an inside, we've got an outside cabin.

With the ticket came a letter quoting earlier correspondence/material that had not been sent, neither were our car parking permit or luggage labels included. On querying this, I was told that the labels would be sent but we hadn't booked car parking, hence no permit. I emailed back to them their invoice showing that car parking had, indeed, been booked and pointed out that, if the letter states something should have been sent, it should have been sent; if it was not appropriate for that particular cruise, it should not have been mentioned in the letter.

We've now got complimentary car parking.

However, we are now not sailing from Avonmouth, but Plymouth. We've got to get to Avonmouth at crack of sparrows to join a complimentary coach down to Plymouth, where we should board the ship in time for lunch. Contrary to their first letter about this, stating we'd arrive in Liverpool at 1600, we're now due to dock at 1200 - but I have no idea if we'll get fed, so we'll pig out at Breakfast and take some snacks with us in case lunch on the Sunday is not provided.

I can only hope that their ship-side service is better than their back-office service. As I said to them, the excitement and anticipation of this short break has been somewhat tarnished.

I will report back next week on what the cruise was like...

... and people complain about P&O

[Silver_Shiney]

Okay, we're back and the photos are here.

The instructions we received were a little misleading and we were supposed to follow signs off the M5 for Bristol Airport, not the docks. Still, we made it in plenty of time, only to be told by the car park attendant that we weren't expected, despite having a parking permit from CMV. He eventually let us in.

As the ship was actually in Plymouth (it turned out she'd been involved in the D-Day commemorations and it was easier to start the cruise from Plymouth), we had to be bussed down there.

There was no check-in process, we just got on the coaches. Once at Plymouth, we went into the terminal, showed our tickets and passports and were issued with our cruise cards. We joined a queue of people who were boarding for the 11-night cruise to Iceland, at the security check-point where bags were being x-rayed. A member of staff came along checking our tickets and, on finding that some of us were only going for one night, those passengers were pulled out of the queue and invited to board immediately. We could have had any amount of weaponry in our cases... A crew member took our cases at the foot of the gangplank and carried them on board for us but dumped them just behind the boarding terminals - we were distracted by the staff swiping our cruise cards and didn't see what had happened to the cases, but we were reunited shortly. Another crew member took the cases and took us to our cabin.

This was slightly shorter and not as wide as the Oceana cabins we're used to. While the furniture looked worn, it was spotlessly clean and the mattresses very comfortable. Unfortunately, the pillows were quite hard. The shower room was perfectly adequate and a good pressure of water in the shower. There was a small CRT-style TV bolted to a cupboard, which contained a small safe. Surprisingly (to us), the door lock required a key instead of a swipe with the cruise card.

The pre-cruise documentation we received said that we would have tickets for our return coach journey delivered to our cabin during the afternoon. A letter already in the cabin stated that the tickets had already been delivered. We could not find them and went to reception to query this. We were told that no tickets would be issued, we just had to get off the ship and onto the bus once we'd arrived at Liverpool.

We went up to the Lido deck for lunch. There was a small choice of hot and cold food - not as extensive as Oceana, but still quite sufficient - including a separate section where pasta dishes were made to order.

We noticed plenty of seating areas around the vessel, which were all in good condition and, again, spotlessly clean.

After we set sail and entered the Channel proper, we noticed the waves getting up to around 6'. Oceana would have cut through these without blinking but we found that Discovery was pitching quite a bit and mid-afternoon I had to take a Kwell. It got so bad that by dinner time, Claire had to take one too. The ship experienced the same amount of movement that Oceana went through in far rougher seas (including a Force 11) - I would not like to be on Discovery in really bad weather. After we rounded the corner of Cornwall, the captain announced that the worst was behind us and the sailing should be more comfortable. It was certainly a lot better but I noticed a fair bit of rolling, especially after I went to bed (no comments on that from you, Cubie, please )

One thing we thought was an excellent idea was that, before dinner, they put a table outside the restaurant with one of each course selection displayed so you could actually see what the meals looked like. There were 4 choices of main course and grilled chicken or salmon were available on request if the menu dishes did not appeal. The food was well cooked and well presented. Portion size was adequate, so waste should be minimal.

We went to the main show lounge to watch the onboard entertainment troupe perform a selection of songs from major musicals. They were splendid and certainly better than the troupe we saw on the QM2 five years ago.

We didn't find anywhere to go for a late night coffee and had to buy one from the bar. However, just after 11.00pm the stewards came round with trays bearing late-night snacks: miniature bhajis, spring rolls and spiced fish cubes - one of each per person.

Breakfast was good. We went to the MDR and were surprised to see that it was a self-service buffet. Porridge was made to order but other than that, you had to help yourself to bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, grilled tomatoes and baked beans. There was a separate bar where you could have omelettes or fried eggs cooked to order. Other tables offered cereals, fresh fruits, yoghurt and continental dishes (cold meats and cheeses).

If we could be absolutely guaranteed good weather we'd go on Discovery again - but, of course, you cannot guarantee the weather. One lady we spoke to at breakfast said it was her first ever cruise and she'd never been so ill through the pitching and rolling, and would not cruise again. If CMV acquire bigger ships in the future, we would certainly consider booking a proper cruise with them. It's just a shame that the company's administration is so poor.

[Silver_Shiney]

Forgot to say - we were allowed to keep our cruise cards when we disembarked. I wish the other lines would do the same - it's a nice little memento.

[Gill W]

Thanks for your report.

Back in December when I did my short visit toMarco Polo, I found the food and the short entertainment to be perfectly acceptable, although I'm not sure I'd book anything more than a weekender. But with bigger shops I'd consider it

[david63]

But with bigger shops I'd consider it

[oldbluefox]

But with bigger shops I'd consider it

[poole boy]

oldbluefox
a very fair review but must say we sailed from Scotland to cobh in a force 12 and thought discovery was very stable my wife who gets sea sick was fine but on oceana crossing the bay she was quite ill and the shows were cancelled.
also on Oriana in march we were allowed to keep our cruise card

[oldbluefox]

Thanks poole boy. Much as I would like to take the credit for the review it was in fact Silver Shiney who did all the work.

[poole boy]

that's what happens when you watch tv and type messages on here
graham

[oldbluefox]

I should have kept my big mouth shut!!!

The trouble is Shiney is too much of a gentleman to say anything.

[Silver_Shiney]

The trouble is Shiney is too much of a gentleman to say anything.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people......

[Mervyn and Trish]

had a mooch on their web site and they could be a contender for a northern lights cruise

I'd love to see the Northern Lights. What puts me off cruising to see them is their unpredictability. It would be a bit of a bummer to shell out all that dosh and spend a fortnight in the North Atlantic in the dark and cold winter if they failed to appear! And having to visit Liverpool and 'Ull as part of the package too! It's too much. What happens if you get to the transfer coach depot to find it propped up on a pile of bricks with no wheels?