We recently embarked on our yearly conference here at Cruise.co.uk and this year we had chosen Cruise and Maritime voyages ship the Marco Polo. Having never sailed with Cruise and Maritime voyages I was excited to see what they offer.
We boarded at Avonmouth Bristol for our 3 night voyage across to Dublin, our category 12 outside cabin was great , large in size , 2 large windows plenty of storage and apart form a few squeaky floorboards I was pretty impressed!
As expected the Marco Polo is an older ship she was built back in 1964 so her decor is a little more dated although she is refurbished every few years, she is definitely more of a traditional cruise ship.
I personally preferred the dining options in the main restaurant over the buffet option but I do prefer a sit down waiter served meal any day over buffet options! We also had the onboard drinks package which gave plenty of choice including cocktails although you do pay a supplement for speciality coffees such as cappuccinos approx 90p.
In Dublin we opted for the Guinness factory tour which was fantastic and we spent around 2 hours here, its a self guided tour where you make your own way around the factory at your own pace and at the end you can enjoy a Guinness in the Gravity bar with fantastic views on the city.
The main downside unfortunately was the sea conditions, it has to be one of the worst rough seas I have encountered crossing over to Dublin and return was even worse, when there are sick bags all around the decks you know its going to be rough! Of course this isnt Cruise and Maritime voyages fault its just one of those unlucky things, the weather! Hopefully we can make a request with mother nature for much calmer seas next year!
