Cruise & Maritime Cruises Reviews
Thursday 9th Feb 2012
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MARCO POLO BALTIC CITIES AND ST PETERSBURG
MARCO POLO BALTIC CITIES AND ST PETERSBURG |
2 of 2 people found this review informative
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Reviewed By: COATES, NEWLYN on 2nd Sep 2009
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| Cruise Line: Cruise & Maritime Voyages |
Times cruised before: 0 |
| Cruise Ship: Marco Polo |
Sailed:
July,
2009 |
| Destination:
Baltic
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Age: 36-45 |
| Cabin: Inside |
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I can honestly say this was a holiday of a lifetime, the Baltics cruise on the Marco Polo was the most amazing experience I've ever had. The Captain and crew were outstanding, every last one of them. the food was fantastic, with a choice of buffet or more formal meals in the restaurant. All staff were chatty, helpful and attentive without overcrowding you. The cabin was cleaned twice a day and our cabin attendant Leonid was exceptional. All the receptionists were friendly and informative, daily itenaries and world newsletters were printed daily, the waiters and bar staff were very attentive, always approachable and willing to have a chat when possible. The Jade Wellness centre was clean and very professionally run, the therapist I had for a massage and facial was very highly skilled. The pool, gym and hot tub facilities were excellent. The excursion staff and volunteers were very efficient, somehow returning back to the ship with the correct number of people each time despite peoples' best efforts to get lost! The entertainment was second to none, what a great performace of Joseph, and the Abba tribute on the last night was a great success. Prices were acceptable drinkswise, a large glass of wine was around £3, same for a beer. Tea and coffee was free, breakfast had a good variety of continental or cooked with fruit availble, lunch was superb - buffet, restaurant or pizza/bar-b-q outside and a new choice of soup every day and vegetarians (ie us) were very well catered for both at lunch and dinner. There was afternoon tea with sandwiches and cakes galore. There was plenty of room to move about both indoors and out without having to meet up with the same people unless you wanted to. The shop had a good selection of goods, the photo shop displayed pictures taken regularly and there was a chance to buy a DVD of the cruise. The itenary was absolutely fantastic - Warnemunde (we didn't take an excursion for this as Berlin seemed a long way away to travel on a coach in the heat) so we wandered around the town and took an hour river cruise for 6 euros. All the other excursions we took were for 3-4 hours which was just right for us and great value for money. We took a boat to a fortress island when we visited Helsinki which I would recommend due to time restrictions. We went on a cruise at every destination giving us a chance to see a different view of the cities. I would thoroughly recommend this cruise to both novices and experienced travellers. We certainly hope to return to the Marco Polo and to repeat this wonderful experience. Couldn't rate this highly enough. Thank you to all the dedicated staff for making this the most wonderful holiday ever.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| ATE MOSTLY AT MARCO'S BISTRO CAFE, GREAT SELECTION OF FOOD, ESPECIALLY FOR VEGETARIANS, 2 DIFFERENT SOUPS EVERY DAY. ENJOYED WALDORF BUT PREFERRED THE MORE CASUAL EXPERIENCE AT MARCO'S. | | Entertainment |  |
| LOVED JOSEPH AND THE TRIBUTE TO ABBA ON THE LAST NIGHT. GOOD CHOICE OF GAMES IN THE EVENING (CAN'T BELIEVE WE ACTUALLY WON MR AND MRS!), ENJOYED THE DECK PARTY - SHE 3, NICK MCBRIDE, STEVIE AND THE STAR OF THE CRUISE RICHARD SYKES WERE OUTSTANDING. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| ALL WERE SUPERB, DIDN'T DO THE BERLIN ONE AS IT WAS 3 HOURS THERE AND BACK ON A COACH BUT THOROUGHLY ENJOYED WARNEMUNDE, HAD A CRUISE FOR AN HOUR AND JUST WANDERED AROUND THE BEAUTIFUL TOWN. WOULD RECOMMEND THE FOLKLORE AND DANCE EXCURSION IN TALINN, NICE GUIDED SHORT TOUR WITH FOLK DANCERS PUTTING ON ENTERTAINMENT. DEFINATELY RECOMMEND A GUIDED TOUR IN ST PETERSBURG TO BYPASS MOST OF THE HASSLE WITH DOCUMENTATION - WENT WITH A BLOCK VISA WHICH MADE THINGS MUCH SIMPLER. HAD 2 LOVELY EXCURSIONS ON THE WATERWAYS OF STOCKHOLM AND COPENHAGEN. CHOSE TO GO IT ALONE IN HELSINKI, WALKED AROUND THE CITY AND GOT A BOAT FOR ABOUT 6 EUROS TO THE FORTRESS ISLAND WHICH WAS LOVELY. | | Staff |  |
| EVERYONE DESERVES A MENTION AS EVERYONE WORKED WELL AS A TEAM AND DID THEIR UTMOST SO WE HAD A FANTASTIC CRUISE. SPECIAL THANKS HAS TO GO TO RICHARD SYKES THE CRUISE DIRECTOR WHO IS AN ABSOLUTE STAR, OUR CABIN ATTENDANT LEONID WAS SUPERB, SYLVIJA, DUSON AND ALL THE WAITING STAFF WERE VERY ATTENTIVE AND FRIENDLY, RACHEL WAS GREAT FUN, THANKS ALSO TO JOHN, TOM, ALL THE RECEPTIONISTS, DAWSON, FERDINAND AND MATEA MY MASSAGE THERAPIST. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| NOT APPLICABLE | | Onboard Activities |  |
| SMALL BUT WELL PRESENTD GYM, SMALL BUT CLEAN POOL, 3 HOT TUB JACUZZIS, THE LIBRARY WAS UNORTUNATELY CLOSED DUE TO FEARS OVER THE DIARRHOEA AND VOMITING BUG BUT THERE WERE PLENTY OF THINGS TO DO - INCLUDING WATCHING FRUIT BEING CARVED! | | Cabins |  |
| ABSOLUTELY - EXCEPTIONALLY WELL CLEANED AND PRESENTED. | | Overall Rating |  |
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