British Isles Discovery
We managed to get away recently on a new ship for us: 11 nights on the Marco Polo from Cardiff, 22 April – 3 May – British Isles Discovery.
We were drawn to this cruise for several reasons – the dates, convenient embarkation port, the itinerary and the price. Having read many reviews of the Marco Polo, my expectations of the actual ship weren’t too high, but I have to say that this was probably one of the most enjoyable cruises we’ve experienced. So here’s a brief summary for anyone considering CMV and the Marco Polo in particular!
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The ship:
I’m about the same age as the Marco Polo so I know what happens in middle age! For that reason, I can’t be too critical. Yes, it’s looking a bit rough in places, but it was very clean and solid. Our cabin on Caribic deck (the lowest deck) had two tiny portholes looking out at sea level, but it was very spacious and well laid out. Excellent shower but pathetic hair dryer located in the bathroom. No tea making facilities, but that wasn’t a problem. Housekeeping standards were high. It was a bit noisy when the ship was travelling at speed, but I’m a good sleeper. Being so close to land meant that 4G was available quite often.
The entertainment:
Hardworking entertainment team – the dancers and singers doubled up during the day hosting quizzes and various activities. They were very visible and the Cruise Director, Mitch, was here, there and everywhere with a ready smile and very engaging with the passengers. Great shows with a live band most of the time which is always a plus for me – I think they put on 6 shows in 11 days. The singers weren’t the best we’ve seen, but they were very enthusiastic. The dancers were excellent. The other entertainers were Don Reid, comedian and a husband/wife magic duo – Evans Plus Evans. Again very entertaining and approachable and appropriate for the audience in question. The cocktail pianist was excellent and there was a duo singing up in Scott’s Bar. The lectures didn’t really appeal to me so we gave them a miss. It appeared that the craft and art sessions were very popular. The art teacher said that he ideally would have liked a bigger venue. There were 2 formal nights, but it didn’t appear very formal to me, so I quite liked that.
The food:
This was poor overall. We didn’t actually use the Main Dining Room but we heard that the food there was similar in standard to the buffet. The choice was limited and a lot of the meat/fish tasted a bit odd and was often lukewarm. The salad selection was much better and the soups were quite nice so I went for soup/salad most of the time. Luckily, I love salads! The outdoor grill had tasty chips at lunch time. The desserts were much better. I suppose that something had to give, given the price we paid. The buffet closed at 9.30 and the only snacks available later on were served ‘around the lounges’ at about 23.00 – 2/3 pieces of chicken/fish bites usually. I wonder why they even bothered really! We had one speciality buffet in the reception area between 22:30 – 23:30 towards the end of the cruise which was quite nice. I don’t drink alcohol but I bought a non-alcoholic cocktail package – £24.99 for 15 cocktails which was excellent value. My husband thought that the drinks were very reasonably priced. CMV offer different packages which you can purchase before the cruise. I bought the basic one which meant that we paid £6 a day each in gratuities (instead of £7 if you put it on your onboard account) and had a bottle of wine thrown in. So we saved a few pounds by doing this.
The itinerary:
8 ports and 2 sea days. The weather was great (apart from rain at Le Havre) and we missed Storm Hannah completely.
Isles of Scilly – (10:30 – 17:00) tender on a warm day to Tresco. The Abbey Gardens were glorious.
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Le Havre – free shuttle. Had a walk around. The new Cathedral built after the war was interesting.
Invergordon – (13:00 – 22:00) short cruise on Loch Ness and then Urquhart Castle. Fantastic weather again.
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Kirkwall, Orkney – (09:00 – 22:00) visited the Italian Chapel built by the Italian POWs and then Scapa Flow. Our guide was a real scream. Then took the free shuttle back to town as we had a late departure.
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Lerwick, Shetland – (08:00 – 23:00) excursion to Eshaness, walked above the spectacular cliffs. Had a fish and chip supper in the chippy by the quay to end the day.
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Tobermory, Mull – (07:00 – 19:00) tender to a delightful little town. Had a most enjoyable meal at the award winning Café Fish and then a look around the Distillery. Interesting museum on the seafront too.
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Belfast – time was limited here (07:00 – 14:30) so we took an excursion which included a 3 hour visit to Titanic Belfast followed by a city tour which went down the Falls Road and Shankill Road. I definitely want to visit Belfast again, such an interesting place.
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Cobh – (08:30 – 15:30) – a lovely final destination to our cruise (but not for the 123 or so passengers who embarked on the Titanic here!). Enjoyed the Titanic Experience in the White Star Line Offices. This gave more a feeling of the actual voyage than the Belfast experience which was more about building the ship and industry in general in Belfast. We walked up to St Colman’s Cathedral for a great view over the town.
Conclusion:
We both enjoyed the cruise immensely. I was probably among the dozen youngest passengers aboard Marco Polo, and it was odd not seeing any children. As we sailed from Cardiff, there were a great number of fellow Welshmen and women aboard and the atmosphere was very friendly. There were quite a few Scots aboard too – some had flown down to Cardiff. Let’s put it this way – I wouldn’t fly up to Scotland to cruise back to Wales!! The weather was a great bonus and we spent long leisurely days outdoors. We were very lucky, and I’m sure that it would have been quite miserable in the far north if the weather had been against us. I have realised that in my case, itinerary is far more important than the ship. We didn’t miss our usual balcony this time, but I wouldn’t want portholes in the Med or the Fjords. Many of the passengers were CMV regulars and several said that Magellan is a nicer ship overall. Would we sail with them again? Definitely if an interesting itinerary grabbed us at a reasonable price.
We managed to get away recently on a new ship for us: 11 nights on the Marco Polo from Cardiff, 22 April – 3 May – British Isles Discovery.
We were drawn to this cruise for several reasons – the dates, convenient embarkation port, the itinerary and the price. Having read many reviews of the Marco Polo, my expectations of the actual ship weren’t too high, but I have to say that this was probably one of the most enjoyable cruises we’ve experienced. So here’s a brief summary for anyone considering CMV and the Marco Polo in particular!
IMG_3620.JPG
The ship:
I’m about the same age as the Marco Polo so I know what happens in middle age! For that reason, I can’t be too critical. Yes, it’s looking a bit rough in places, but it was very clean and solid. Our cabin on Caribic deck (the lowest deck) had two tiny portholes looking out at sea level, but it was very spacious and well laid out. Excellent shower but pathetic hair dryer located in the bathroom. No tea making facilities, but that wasn’t a problem. Housekeeping standards were high. It was a bit noisy when the ship was travelling at speed, but I’m a good sleeper. Being so close to land meant that 4G was available quite often.
The entertainment:
Hardworking entertainment team – the dancers and singers doubled up during the day hosting quizzes and various activities. They were very visible and the Cruise Director, Mitch, was here, there and everywhere with a ready smile and very engaging with the passengers. Great shows with a live band most of the time which is always a plus for me – I think they put on 6 shows in 11 days. The singers weren’t the best we’ve seen, but they were very enthusiastic. The dancers were excellent. The other entertainers were Don Reid, comedian and a husband/wife magic duo – Evans Plus Evans. Again very entertaining and approachable and appropriate for the audience in question. The cocktail pianist was excellent and there was a duo singing up in Scott’s Bar. The lectures didn’t really appeal to me so we gave them a miss. It appeared that the craft and art sessions were very popular. The art teacher said that he ideally would have liked a bigger venue. There were 2 formal nights, but it didn’t appear very formal to me, so I quite liked that.
The food:
This was poor overall. We didn’t actually use the Main Dining Room but we heard that the food there was similar in standard to the buffet. The choice was limited and a lot of the meat/fish tasted a bit odd and was often lukewarm. The salad selection was much better and the soups were quite nice so I went for soup/salad most of the time. Luckily, I love salads! The outdoor grill had tasty chips at lunch time. The desserts were much better. I suppose that something had to give, given the price we paid. The buffet closed at 9.30 and the only snacks available later on were served ‘around the lounges’ at about 23.00 – 2/3 pieces of chicken/fish bites usually. I wonder why they even bothered really! We had one speciality buffet in the reception area between 22:30 – 23:30 towards the end of the cruise which was quite nice. I don’t drink alcohol but I bought a non-alcoholic cocktail package – £24.99 for 15 cocktails which was excellent value. My husband thought that the drinks were very reasonably priced. CMV offer different packages which you can purchase before the cruise. I bought the basic one which meant that we paid £6 a day each in gratuities (instead of £7 if you put it on your onboard account) and had a bottle of wine thrown in. So we saved a few pounds by doing this.
The itinerary:
8 ports and 2 sea days. The weather was great (apart from rain at Le Havre) and we missed Storm Hannah completely.
Isles of Scilly – (10:30 – 17:00) tender on a warm day to Tresco. The Abbey Gardens were glorious.
IMG_3627.JPG
Le Havre – free shuttle. Had a walk around. The new Cathedral built after the war was interesting.
Invergordon – (13:00 – 22:00) short cruise on Loch Ness and then Urquhart Castle. Fantastic weather again.
IMG_3671.JPG
Kirkwall, Orkney – (09:00 – 22:00) visited the Italian Chapel built by the Italian POWs and then Scapa Flow. Our guide was a real scream. Then took the free shuttle back to town as we had a late departure.
IMG_3697.JPG
Lerwick, Shetland – (08:00 – 23:00) excursion to Eshaness, walked above the spectacular cliffs. Had a fish and chip supper in the chippy by the quay to end the day.
IMG_3740.JPG
Tobermory, Mull – (07:00 – 19:00) tender to a delightful little town. Had a most enjoyable meal at the award winning Café Fish and then a look around the Distillery. Interesting museum on the seafront too.
IMG_3777.JPG
Belfast – time was limited here (07:00 – 14:30) so we took an excursion which included a 3 hour visit to Titanic Belfast followed by a city tour which went down the Falls Road and Shankill Road. I definitely want to visit Belfast again, such an interesting place.
IMG_3331.JPG
Cobh – (08:30 – 15:30) – a lovely final destination to our cruise (but not for the 123 or so passengers who embarked on the Titanic here!). Enjoyed the Titanic Experience in the White Star Line Offices. This gave more a feeling of the actual voyage than the Belfast experience which was more about building the ship and industry in general in Belfast. We walked up to St Colman’s Cathedral for a great view over the town.
Conclusion:
We both enjoyed the cruise immensely. I was probably among the dozen youngest passengers aboard Marco Polo, and it was odd not seeing any children. As we sailed from Cardiff, there were a great number of fellow Welshmen and women aboard and the atmosphere was very friendly. There were quite a few Scots aboard too – some had flown down to Cardiff. Let’s put it this way – I wouldn’t fly up to Scotland to cruise back to Wales!! The weather was a great bonus and we spent long leisurely days outdoors. We were very lucky, and I’m sure that it would have been quite miserable in the far north if the weather had been against us. I have realised that in my case, itinerary is far more important than the ship. We didn’t miss our usual balcony this time, but I wouldn’t want portholes in the Med or the Fjords. Many of the passengers were CMV regulars and several said that Magellan is a nicer ship overall. Would we sail with them again? Definitely if an interesting itinerary grabbed us at a reasonable price.
........................................Carol
don't want to work, just want to cruise. 
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