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We chose this trip as we wanted to see Norway and the Northern lights. When we got to Tibury we were sent round in circles. The signs were few and far between and not very well positioned. We followed the signs only to be told that we were in the wrong area. It was like Custers last stand! There were cars going round and round in circles all being in the wrong place. We finally got to the right area and had to sit under a marquee with rain, whipped up by high winds, blowing through!! The first impression of the ship wasn't good. It looked pretty unkempt . We were on deck 7 and the smell of sewage and fuel oil was overwhelming . I made a comment to one off the crew and we were told " It's an old ship " and that this was it's last trip before a refit. The smell got worse over the next 4 days particularly when the Captain made a decision to sail with a force 11 predicted!! We had 7/8 metre waves and hurricane force winds. This was a full day at sea. The opinion if the guests was that we shouldn't have sailed. The smell after was REVOLTING. It made your eyes sting and you held your breath until you got away from the stairwell. The food was bland and pretty much the same every day. The trouble was seating. There simply wasnt enough seats and tables to cater for everybody. We had to sit on the window sills on two occasions!! They were constantly running out of cutlery and crockery. Mugs were at a premium. The room staff were SUPERB, as were the waiters, but other bar staff had a couldn't care less attitude. We were served the wrong drinks numerous times and had our cards swapped on 3 occasions. The shows were, well what do I say?. Queen tribute night summed it up. The backing ' band' were terrible. The 4 singers went from English to their native tounge if the couldn't remember the words. I didn't know if to laugh or cry! We walked out after the third song. Some people did say they enjoyed it to be fair. The comedian we saw had the oldest jokes you could think of. To make matters worse he tried to play the guitar! He couldn't keep up with the back music AND played out of time and time. The tours were good and we saw the Northern lights, which was the reason for the cruise. The tour guides were very helpful. We wouldn't sail again on the Meggelan. I know this was it's last trip and it showed, but it just lacked the things that make it a nice ship. Perhaps after a refit things might be different. But going on our experience, this was a outdated old smelly ship and had we known that, we wouldn't have booked it. Read Less

Back in May 2017, my wife and I decided to take a chance and booked to sail on CMV Magellan to see the3 Northern Lights. We choose this cruise because we liked the itinerary, the chance to see the Northern Lights and that it is a smaller (and older) ship. We have sailed on 8 other occasions from Australia using P & O and Princess Lines and from Southampton using P & O. Apart from our first cruise which was an older ship holding around 1200 passengers the other ships had around 2,000 - 2,700 and they were crowded and busy on every public deck and eatery. We choose to purchase the premium package and found this financially very beneficial as we were given an upgrade from a guaranteed outside cabin to a superior twin outside cabin (6199) as well as including the tips and a couple of free bottle of wine. (We opened 1 bottle but preferred to drink in the bars so we left the other bottle unopened in our cabin at the end of the cruise. Embarkation We also choose the return bus ride from Victoria Coach station to get us to and from the ship. This was a good and cheap option as the bus took us straight to the ship for embarkation and as we had received an email that the ship would be sailing an hour earlier than originally planned (This was the first day after the change of time for daylight savings) and from a different wharf, we didn't have to worry knowing the ship would have to wait for us if we were late. Of course we were not late but as we were one of the last to arrive embarkation for us was quick and easy. We were through and on the ship within 15 minutes. Once on board we were given our cruise card and pointed to our deck and room which we had to find for ourselves. The ship uses a separate card for entry to your room which was disappointing that the cruise card couldn't be used to open your cabin door. So for the entire cruise we had to have our cruise card for drinks and a room card to get into our cabin. This was an inconvenience that we soon got used to. Cabin Our cabin no. 6199 was spacious we thought with a large window on the Starboard side. It had one of the best showers we have had on a ship with good strong flow and plenty of hot water that stayed inside the shower recess and did not go onto the bathroom floor and the mirror did not fog up!!! There was good closet space, although we did have to ask for an additional 20 coat hangers that were promptly provided. We hung all our clothes up and had 2 large empty suitcases that didn't fit under the beds so we placed them against the wall and that was fine. Even though we were at the back of the ship on deck 6, throughout the cruise we DID NOT have any strange smells in our cabin and the ONLY engine noise we had was when the ship engines started up or slowed down to pick up the pilot and this would last only for about 20 minutes but was not too obtrusive. It didn't bother us. Ship Naturally we explored the ship and like every other ship we have been on the layouts are very similar with bars, showroom, general entertainment areas, public areas, dining areas, photography, shopping and pool and deck areas. The main restaurants, a small cocktail lounge, table tennis and shopping areas (Small and limited in stock compared to other ships but we found some items that we bought) were on deck 8. On Deck 9 were the bars (plenty and all good) and other drinking areas, small casino and a coffee lounge. Deck 10 had the bistro and main deck area which was rarely used during our cruise due to the time of year and some weather conditions on some sailing days. The ship was easy enough to get around and while some may say the colour scheme may be outdated it was all good and functional and did not detract from our experience of an older ship. Some people would be excited and call it "retro" it depends on your perspective. Entertainment. After reading ship reviews and watching some you tube videos on the showroom entertainment we were worried as it didn't look exciting. How wrong we were!! The 4 main singers CAN sing and sing very well. The only observance I would say is that not all of the songs they sang I thought best displayed their voices and the ad-libbing by the males between songs needed to be improved. There is also a 6 piece live band that accompanies the singers who were FANTASTIC! I will make special mention of the violinist who played many solos and accompanied a pianist in one of the cocktail bars as he was OUTSTANDING!! One of the singers had her own night singing opera. She was fantastic and received a standing ovation. This was the last night of the cruise and she is spectacular singer. The dancers were also great and in particular a couple of the male dancers did some outstanding Russian dancing moves. The costumes were very colourful and exciting. Sometimes the choreography was a bit basic but overall there were some of the best shows we have seen on a cruise ship. On four nights we had 2 comedians, one was funny enough for me while the other one was probably past his best, but did say 2 funny lines when he did an adlib. Overall we looked forward each night to the shows. Activities & Guest Speakers The only activities that interested us were the Guest Speakers, The Star man talking about the stars and the Northern Lights was very fascinating and passionate about his studies, The Whale man was a bit dry for me and the craft person, we weren’t interested in. The shipboard activities weren’t to our liking much except some of the quizzes, although I didn’t think it was good when you self-marked your own quiz. The late night entertainment was reasonable at times but again the ad lobbing by some of the singers when hosting wasn’t good at all. The disco for us was also a bit disappointing as the music wasn’t always to our liking. But for other passengers, the game shows were well attended to and they obviously liked them. The cruise entertainment director David was fantastic and full of energy and new when to take the Mickey out of passenger contestants. His personality and style helped make the cruise! Around the bars, the music and singers were good and relaxing. Passengers were dancing and enjoying listening as we did to the pianist and violinist in the Hampton’s Lounge before and after dinner. The captain was seen regularly walking around and talking to passengers. We had a chat to him when someone we were sitting with thought he was a drinks waiter and asked him for a drink. The Captain was the most approachable and friendly Captain we have had on any of our cruises. He had a personality, told some jokes and we congratulated him on his steering of the ship through the hurricane winds. He then explained what he did and why he did it and the ships ability to cope in simple terms. The Captain also told us that during his previous 16 trips to Alta in Norway he had never seen the Northern Lights until this cruise. He also said that many of his visits to Norway were during the warmer months. Dining We dined each evening in late session in the Kensington Restaurant placed on a table of 8. We had marvellous table guests and we all got on very well. This helps to make a cruise if you dine with people you get on with. We had a lot of laughs and good conversation. Each evening the 6 course meals were delicious and filling. The variety and quality for our meals were outstanding. For me it was hard to choose which main meal I wanted so I would ask our waiter each night for his recommendation and to surprise me. He did very well and I enjoyed all of my meals. Our drinks waiter was also very good having my glass of red waiting for me each evening. The waiters were very popular on our table. We had breakfast and most lunches at the Bistro. We found if it was very busy just wait 20 minutes and there would be plenty of tables. The food quality and variety was reasonable here without being outstanding. Sometimes they were short of coffee mugs or replacing meals but serving so many people this can happen and you just wait a few moments. I will say that I didn’t like the breakfast sausages. To me they didn’t taste too good but, most of the passengers were eating them. The Cruise, Ports and Excursions. To us the Magellan has character and charm and is not busy with too many passengers. It is easy to get around and even though we travelled through a Gale Force 11, 120kmph Hurricane winds with 7-9 metre waves for 20 hours on our first full sailing day, WE LOVED OUR CRUISE. We later spoke to the Captain on his remarkable handling of the ship during the hurricane winds. He told us that he knew the capabilities of the ship and that it could take plenty more before it became a concern. He said he had the ship listing at 60 degrees to tackle the winds as the ship could go to an 85 degree list safely. He also said that land during this time was still over 150 miles away so he would have to have gone further into the winds to go to a port and the n the remaining itinerary would have to have been changed to allow us to return to England on time. We have no problems on the decisions he made that day. The Ports we visited were wonderful with Bergan being our favourite. Alta came second because even though it snowed in the morning and we had heavy cloud all day and the tour guide said we only had a 47% chance of seeing the Northern Lights, we still saw them. The tour guide took us out at 8.00p.m to a secluded place about 55km inland and there we had a clear sky and for 2 hours we witnessed the magic and dancing lights. This was a highlight of the cruise. When we returned to the ship the Lights were still showing over the ship but not as bright as we saw them on the excursion with no town lights to distract. We also saw wild reindeer on the road as we travelled on the excursion. The coldest place we visited was the North Cape. At minus 3 and with horizontal bitting wind this was invigorating. All of the ports we visited had good and very good points of interest for us and we were glad we visited them. We saw many sights that we had never seen again and the snow-capped mountains, Fjords and wildlife was spectacular. When we booked our excursions we thought they were a bit pricey but checking local Norway websites for private tours we found the ship tours were very reasonable and value for money. Norway is an expensive place to visit with a small paper cup of instant coffee and a small coke costing 84 Krone (about 17 Australian dollars or about 8 GBP) Disembarkation For us travelling on the cruise line bus to Victoria Coach Station disembarkation was quick and easy. The ship docked at Tilbury around 8.15a.m. and we left the ship on schedule at 10.05a.m picked up our bags and got onto the bus and even though it was Remembrance Day (11/11) we had an easy drive into London, travelling over Tower Bridge, and were at Victoria by 11.30 a.m. We did see other groups waiting to disembark were running over an hour late but did not know why. Summary In summery we had a great time, we didn’t suffer any sea sickness and would easily travel on Magellan again. While I have read some other reviews of this same cruise I understand that everyone has their own expectations and experiences and any review is subjective. However, you do need to remember that this IS NOT a 5 star party ship, it is an older ship and that must be taken into consideration. You can either look at events as disappointing or you can look at them as an adventure. Looking back and at the time we thought the hurricane was an adventure to experience and say we did it. (I hope that we don’t have to do it again) My point is once you see things in a negative light it makes it difficult to enjoy the positives. The cruise, ports and excursions exceeded our expectations and as such we had a great time. Read Less

This was a mixed bag. I would love to give five stars, I think I should and I will explain why in a moment. Having been on the Marco Polo and loved it I was worried that i might not enjoy the Magellan as much and, if I'm honest, I still love the Marco Polo but there was nothing I disliked about the Magellan it's just different. A bigger vessel which means more walking, which I find difficult, but it didn't stop my enjoyment of being at sea. This was a multi generational, themed cruise. Two things I said I would never do but for the most part the children were a pleasure to be with. I saw no bad behaviour at all. Another plus for me was the number of different nationalities on board, so many interesting conversations. The downside came with the first excursion, to Paris. We knew we would have some free time but we were dropped in the most expensive, and probably busiest area for traffic for three hours. The majority stayed in the area as the traffic was horrendous with no notice at all taken of Pedestrian crossings. The coach did not pick us up where we were told we had to get on by standing in the middle of a dangerously busy road as the driver's side was facing the pavement. There were many more pluses I'm pleased to say but all on our coach agreed that the Paris trip was an ordeal and badly managed. The cabin an inner was very comfortable and our Steward very attentive. Entertainment was hit and miss, the Magellan singers and dancers were very enjoyable. There was an Irish folk trio on 2 nights with more or less the same songs the second time and a comedian we could only watch for ten minutes, it was dreadful, but that's just my opinion of course. The Cricketers and Nick Hancock were always approachable and as someone who knows nothing about cricket I still enjoyed their company. Now the reason I wanted to give 5 stars but can't as several people were genuinely scared in Paris either of being lost or knocked down. There was a raffle on behalf of the the Lord's Taveners with several prizes, the first being a Cruise donated by CMV. Never having won more than a bottle of wine in a raffle we had no expectations but, and I still can't believe this, we won the Cruise. Not a three night mini cruise that we thought it might be but an 11 night British Isles Discovery Cruise. To say we are thrilled is an understatement and we can't wait. If it had been a less chaotic Paris excursion I would have had nothing really to complain about but I really believe, given that families with young children were also with us, that not enough thought was given to the area where we could be left to our own devices. A too short time aboard the Magellan, Crew were brilliant, Magellan's own entertainers and the Cruise Director gave their all, and thank you CMV, we can't wait to come back. Read Less

This was our third cruise, but our first with CMV. We chose it for the itinerary and price. Having read the the reviews we were concerned as to what we may find. However the embarkation at Bristol was well organsed and efficient. The cabin, 7044, was absoluetly spotless and perfectly adequate for our needs. Throughout the voyage it was kept beatifully by our very friendly steward. The ship was clean comfortable and easy to get around. The food was very good in both restaurants and the Bistro and Grill. The staff in the Warldof restarurant were excellent. The Raffles Bistro is very popular, and at peak times can be very busy. However it is not the only place to eat. We never had any problems. There are bars to suit everyone, from pub to cocktail lounge. The staff in all of them were friendly and efficient and anticipated our requirements with a smile. We took the VIP drinks package and found it very good value. The ship's entertainment staff were brilliant and the shows very good. The guest speakers were not to our taste, but others enjoyed them. The entertaiments manager, David, was excellent and during the after show entertainments held in the Captains Lounge cleverly adjusted his approach to suit each passenger he got up on stage. St Petersberg was a true wow, and a definite must see. The itinerary was good, although our time in Cobh was reduced due to heavy weather all the way from Denmark. C'est la vie, it is a ship after all! All in all we had a wonderful cruise. The friendly crew worked really hard to ensure we enjoyed ourselves, with sailaway parties, barbeques and gala buffets to be proud of. The ship is not new but has got character. If you want glitz glamour and Las Vagas hype then go on one of the floating blocks of flats where you will find it aplently. This ship was for those who like comfort and with a bit of style. Will we sail with CMV again? We have already booked our next one and are really looking forward to it. Read Less

Have travelled with Cruise & Maritime before - took advantage of 2 for 1 offer by booking early.. Lots of good points - Entertainment excellent., cabin steward Jaya brilliant & also Anna - Maria in Hampton Bar.. Most excursions also very very good Whole experience badly let down by food. We chose to eat in Grill as found times of restaurants either too early or too late. (Perhaps they need to consider "open dining" as on other lines). Food was often lukewarm to cold - main dishes dried out for sitting too long. Not often a jug/tureen of sauce offered so food very dry. Vegetables a disaster - mixed veg EVERY night & boiled potatoes 9 times out of 10. (& my husband hates sweetcorn !!). Hot dessert rotated between 3 or 4 choices. Staff did try very hard to correct individual problems ie heated our plates & added sauces. But shouldn't have been necessary. Other complaint was itinery. We knew it in advance but as we have only cruised 3times in past didn't appreciate how many days at sea there were. Too many & we didn't enjoy this aspect although, to be fair, spoke to others who did. Felt end of cruise was badly organised with 3hrs in Aarhus then 2 days at sea. Bad weather (no-ones fault) meant we only had very limited time in Cobh Read Less

Chose because buy1 get 1 free. Ship was comfortable with nice lounges excellent crew, waiters lovely, housemaid lovely, captain joined in with everyone. But boy oh boy do not stay on deck 7. We were in cabin 7138 inside. Cruise was 16 nights and we never slept once in that time. Noise was horrendous from restaurant deck 8 above us, they worked all night dragging furniture, trolleys and Lord nos what else, complained to reception and was offered ear plugs. Ha Ha. In bad seas the ship sounded like she was going to crack up, cables inside the walls were crashing around all night, further down the deck people said it sounded like nails being hammered into the walls. We will never ever travel with this company or on this ship again. Have done many cruises and have never experienced this before. To be positive about something, shore excursions were fantastic, we saw some truly beautiful places. Dining was lovely, entertainment was good, lecturers we're informative Read Less

This was a 9 night trip around the UK (and one stop in France) so not sure why it is showing as a 1 night cruise! We booked only a couple of weeks before sailing - as the price was excellent. We had a Guarantee Outside Cabin so was prepared to put up with what we were given. Unfortunately, I was kept awake the first night by an awful knocking noise which seemed to be coming from outside. After complaining, we were offered a "sleep" cabin - but this was noisier than the main cabin. I was then given ear plugs which I used for the rest of the trip. But having a read on previous reviews it seems that the knocking/clanking noise seems to be a common theme. The cabins need to be soundproofed a bit more - I could hear conversations being had in the next room! Bathroom shower had a very short shower curtain (so I ended up covering the floor in water every time I had a shower). No idea which of the dispensers was shower or shampoo. Cleanliness of the cabin was not good - smeary marks around the phone never disappeared and the taking away of rubbish was a bit hit and miss. Food in the Kensington Restaurant was good. The upstairs buffet used for breakfast and lunch was extremely busy (you had to be lucky to find a table most of the time) and the food quality there was very bland and reminded me of school dinners. The ship is tired - but for the price we paid and the destinations we went to, it was very good value for money - so you get what you pay for. We were not to bothered about the entertainment in the evening - and the one show that we did see was disappointing as the main singer seemed to have lost her voice and was out of tune. This was a "Legends of Palladium" cruise - but we gave most of the legends a miss as it was not our main reason for picking the cruise. Service in the bars was again hit and miss. Sometimes you would wait for ages to be served. Sinatras bar was good (if you could find a seat). Definitely doesn't seem to be enough seats around the whole ship. I have cruised before but this is my first time with CMV. Would I do it again? Maybe - if the price was cheap and the destination somewhere I really wanted to go. But I would pack earplugs and set my expectations accordingly. This is definitely not a luxury experience. Think of it as the budget airline equivalent of cruising. Locations visited: Dublin, Bristol, Skye, Orkney Islands, Honfleur, Guernsey, Scilly Isles, Dublin. Read Less

We chose this short, 2 day trip to try out another ship, having had several cruises on the Marco Polo. We were lucky enough to get an upgrade to a suite which was amazing- you could have held a party in there! Only downside was the open balcony which although a super facility was spoiled by neighbouring smokers. I guess you can ban it around the ship but not on the individual balconies. Pre trip paperwork was a bit chaotic as one said departing Avonmouth and the later one Portbury; we thought Portbury more likely (having only realised the night before too late to ring the office). Arrived early as we left longer than we needed becasue of potential Bank Holiday traffic. No directions on the dock (they were put up later). A very helpful PBA staff member directed us but then the designated parking was blocked so he had to get someone to move a forklift. He then had to sweep the area clear of rubbish. Eventually we boarded our coach to Liverpool and waited over 30 minutes after it was full due to the CMV rep. not arriving until it was almost departure time. Leaving at 10.45 the coach driver gave us no indication of where he would stop and eventually pulled in at Cannock Services at 1pm, telling us to be back in 30minutes. We were, but he stood outside for a further 15 minutes smoking! Traffic was dreadful and we got to Liverpool at 4.40, instead of 2.30. We loved the space on the ship, plenty of public areas and a good choice of bars etc. The theatre was much more comfortable than the one on Marco Polo and the whole ship much more modern and less 'tired'. So why do we still prefer the MP? The staff!! With the exception of our cabin steward we found most of the staff surly, uncommunicative and frequently talking in front of the passengers in their own language - which we were told on the MP was not permitted. When I asked for a glass of dry white wine in the Bistro I was told - 'we have wine-not dry'. The friendliest staff were the ones we knew from the MP. I suggest the Hotel Manager on Magellan takes some lessons from the MP. This was a very short trip and we wouldn't necessarily decide never to use Magellan but on the basis of this trip it's back to the MP for next time! Read Less

We chose this for convenience, it sailed half hour from where we live. Good price too for itinerary. The ship is tatty with broken furniture and stained carpets upholstery etc. The food in the restaurant was, luke warm, unappetizing and small. The ship was over crowded. No where to sit in bars at night, too small for the amount onboard. No facilities for kids even though it was a multi generational cruise. Very small pools filled with kids so didn't use them. Very poor service because of understaffing. Flooded areas including our bedroom. Very bad smell in hall ways last couple of nights.c Buffet area always crowded. Too small for the amount of people. Had to take sea sickness tablets because of movement of ship even in calm waters. One pool was empty so unable to use it, with plastic plants around it that had lost there leaves so looked really tatty Read Less