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Two "Cruise Virgins" enjoyed Norway! |
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Reviewed By: Cumming, Northamptonshire on 17th Jun 2009
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| Cruise Line: Cruise & Maritime Voyages |
Times cruised before: 0 |
| Cruise Ship: Marco Polo |
Sailed:
May,
2009 |
| Destination: Norwegian Fjords |
Age: 56-65 |
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This was our first cruise having been recommended to "do" Norway by friends who have visited three times before and loved it. Our thinking was that it was short enough if we did not enjoy it and apart from a day at sea there and one returning we could get off the ship every day in between if we wanted to. The embarkation at Tilbury went well enough with the porters and car parking attendants quick and efficient and we were on board with no problems! The cabin at first view was what we expected; basic, clean and tidy and our cabin Stewardess Ludmilla introduced herself and then promptly vanished as she was still in the middle of getting other passengers settled. While there was a television and a neat little "head" and shower mini-cabin in the cabin along with a safe and ample storage room there was no tea or coffee making provision. (Never mind, we had been warned of this by our friends and brought a multi-voltage travel Kettle and the nessesary to let us make our own.) The ship was not over large which suited us fine and we were very lucky throughout with the weather so had no sea-sickness to contend with. The crew from the Captain down were multi-national; mainly ex-Soviet satellite countries with a few Philipinos and Indians as well, again this was fine, they were all very pleasant and polite and the service was constant and not too obtrusive. Cleaning seemed to be a 24 hour affair throughout the ship and anti-bacterial hand fluid in dispensers at all the main entrances especially the restauarants were in evidence. The Waldorf was the formal dining room but there was also the casual Bistro for those who wished a less formal setting. The decor was almost art-deco in the Waldorf from the ceiling to the glass to the floor. Food was excellently presented but a little more of it would have been welcome! That said there was tea and coffee on demand all through the day into the evening with cakes in the afternoon. We ate in both establishments and had no complaints in either.
The library was very small, only open an hour in the afternoon and had seven chairs in it, usually occupied by people asleep! Pity about that. The decks were clean and tidy and had plenty of seating of various types to lounge about in and read or whatever you wanted to do. I was pleased that it was a cruise with mainly British passengers having had the misfortune to land in the past in resorts that were mainly German; so all the pushing and shoving and pre-booking of sun chairs was absent. This is not meant to be rude but they do things very differently to us and our experience has been as it has been. The evening shows had had a lot of effort put into them and the cast really were talented, we enjoyed the shows a lot, well done to the entertainment officer! The trips ashore were mixed in that we sometimes did our own thing (Bergen) and sometimes with a party from the ship (The glacier and Norway in a Nutshell.) The trips were well organised and went well but the glacier trip was a little disappointing visually. The hairpin bends on some trips were astounding, but we made it, obviously, although the guide let slip that 12 cars had gone over the edge during 2008! The only real moan was the least expected, we had booked very early in the hope of getting a good cabin but in the evening we found out that not only were we right next the medical centre we were adjacent to the air conditioning compressor and this cut in and out every night up until midnight and prevented any attempt at sleep until the early hours! We refused to allow it to ruin the trip but if we had not known that the ship was fully booked we might have asked to be moved. Would I do it again? We were definitely one of the younger couples on board (56 & 57) and we may try this in the future if still fit. The crew were very good, although there was no pressure to do so at all; we did tip our table waiter and cabin stewardess who we felt deserved something for all the attention. Finally, and you always get one on every holiday, but we came across two "whinging Poms" one of whom declared he had just written a 10 page letter of complaint! I don't know which cruise he was on but it wasn't the one we went on! We had a great time, well done Transocean!
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Ate in both the Bistro and Waldorf equally, food good in both but Waldorf portions were small. | | Entertainment |  |
| Actually all the shows were good but best was "Hits from the Shows" & "Joseph's Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat!" | | Shore Excursions | |
| "Norway in a Nutshell" was good but we did Bergen on our own, also good! | | Staff | |
| Cabin Staff _ Ludmilla - efficient and polite
Oleg - Table Waiter in the Waldorf - very good. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities |  |
| This was OK, the library was closed much of the time and seating occupied by sleepers! | | Cabins |  |
| This was very mixed, clean, tidy but ruined by being close to the air conditioning compressor that cut in and out until midnight making sleep impossible until then. | | Overall Rating | |
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