My Review of Magnificent Fjords Cruise on Columbus 4th August 2018

This was my first time on Cruise and Maritime Columbus, although I have been on board for a tour before, it isn’t the same as cruising as you cannot get a sense of the atmosphere when the ship is in port on a turnaround day.

We boarded at Tilbury on a sunny Saturday after a short ferry ride across the Thames from my hometown Gravesend. Boarding was well organised and we didn’t have to wait too long to be checked in and onboard and as we reached our cabin were surprised to see our bags already outside the door.

We had an ocean view cabin on deck 5 towards the back of the ship. Although a little dated in decor, it was spacious and comfortable with masses of storage. We didn’t fill all the drawers or hangers. There was a welcome bottle of wine and water and all rooms ocean view and above have tea and coffee facilities. Also a small fridge in the room. The bathroom was small but functional with a really powerful shower and the large double bed (can be converted to twins) was very comfortable. The cabin was very well serviced twice daily and spotlessly clean.

Cruise and Maritime generally are an adult only cruise line, but during school holidays they will operate limited multi generational sailings of which this was one. There were over 200 under 16s on board. Feelings were mixed about this among fellow guests, some disagreed with it while others thought it made a nice change, with a good mix of age ranges. I thought the kids were pretty well behaved although there are no child facilities on board and there were areas of the ship exclusively for adults.

There is a vast amount of open deck space on this ship which in my opinion is under utilised. There are 2 decent size pools, one with swim up bar. No music on the pool deck at all which is unusual, and no sailaway party. There is a big screen, but it wasn’t used much.

Plenty of bars and lounges on board, the first you discover on boarding is the 3 deck Atrium with Hemingway’s bar and coffee shop on deck 5 serving delicious cakes and pastries and Raffles on deck 6 which has lovely sea views. The Captains Club Bar and Casino is also on deck 5. Deck 7 has The Taverners traditional English pub and Connexions, a more contemporary bar, both have live music in the evenings, generally low key guitarist or piano. For more lively music and dancing, The Dome on deck 14 has live and disco music and open till the early hours. During the day this bar is lovely to relax with a drink and a good book and enjoy the panoramic views if it’s cold outside.

Food on board was excellent! As good and better than some of the larger and more expensive lines. There is one main dining room, The Waterfront on deck 7, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We didn’t try it for breakfast, had lunch once which was much more relaxed than the buffet and dinner was a feast, with a choice of 4 or 5 starters, 2 soups, 2 salads, 5 or 6 mains, 4 desserts, cheese and biscuits and tea or coffee. You could have all courses or just some. There was always grilled salmon or chicken as a fallback and always vegetarian options too. The buffet on deck 12 again open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the same food on offer as the main dining room but serve yourself. The was also afternoon tea from 3.30 to 4.30 with sandwiches, rolls, cold cuts, cheese, cakes and biscuits and freshly baked scones with cream and jam etc. As if all this isn’t enough , you could get burgers or hot dogs on the pool deck most of the day and at 11pm, trays of snacks were offered around all the bars! All of this included in your cruise fare.

Bar drinks on board are reasonably priced, some less than UK pub prices, but you can also choose from a range of pre-paid drinks packages which range from £15 per day includes gratuities and all soft drinks up to £25 per person per day for the VIP package which includes gratuities, soft and alcoholic drinks including signature wines, speciality teas and coffees and 50% off the cover charge for speciality restaurants.

Speaking of speciality restaurants, there are 2 on board Columbus. The Grill is a steak restaurant serving great cuts of steak as well as lobster, salmon and lamb. At a cover charge of £14.90 (half that with the VIP package) it is well worth a visit. The food is delicious and we went twice. Fusion is an Indian Restaurant, same charge as The Grill and although the food was great, the ambiance was lacking as it is located at the end of the buffet restaurant and although sectioned off, the lighting wasn’t great and the music was shared with the buffet so general not Indian music. Again for £7.45 that we paid was well worth a visit.

In summary, we chose this cruise for the itinerary (more about the ports in my next blog) and because of the Tilbury departure being so close to us and also the price which was very reasonable. It proved fantastic value for money and exceeded our expectations. Columbus is not huge and glitzy, nor does she have the gadgets that many of the modern ships do, but this is very much reflected in the price paid and I would certainly travel on her again.

If you want to know more or think you might like to book, give me a call 0333 300 2687.

Dee