Booked this cruise from Fremantle to Fremantle for 5 nights. My husband and I had never been on a cruise before. We both loved it! A great first experience on a grand old lady. Our room was bigger than expected with an ocean view room with a double bed. Very clean room which was cleaned twice a day by Augustine. A lovely man who placed balloons on our door and organised an anniversary card for us. Hot and strong water pressure in the shower. Never used the fridge. Plenty of storage. We were on the baltic deck, room 417. A bit rough the first night, but I got used to the movement of the boat in consecutive days. We ordered the CMV Premium drinks package at $48 per person per room per day. I kept all drink receipts and we ending up drinking $110 more than the drinks package. Glasses of white and red wine, sparkling, most spirits, cocktails, mocktails included in the price. Gede the barman was a great asset to the ship. Food in the Waldorf restaurant was very good, however I did not find a good dessert. The afternoon tea in the Ubersee club was ok, but the cakes, scones etc tasted stale. Breakfast in the Waldorf was help yourself with lunch and dinner served to you. We ate at the Mediterranean and Asian fusion restaurants as well, and the food was spectacular. An extra $15 per person which was well worth it. 6 courses and they were all good. Some staff in the restaurant were friendlier than others, thank you Anastasia who gave outstanding service in the Waldorf. Activities weren't that exciting, we did enjoy the quizzes which were on twice a day. Karaoke and the disco was also fun. Activities were centred around the older clientele (70 years plus), we are in our 40's. This did not cause too much of a problem though, we just had another drink! Lol. Did not try the pools or spa/ beauty salon. On our wedding anniversary we received an anniversary cake with sparklers and had our photo taken. The company has just sent me an email of this photo, thank you very much. This ship is lovely, a pity it will finish cruising off Fremantle this season. A bigger ship is coming in its place so it will be interesting to compare them. My husband and I definitely would love to go on another cruise again. Thank you to all staff on board for a wonderful trip. Read Less

We joined the Astoria in Portsmouth, Hampshire. We have just returned from a Norwegian Fjord Cruise. Unfortunately the weather was dire and we were unable to go to Eidfjord and Geirangerfjord. No fault of the company or Captain, we had two hurricanes! We put into Stavanger instead of Eidfjord and it's a beautiful little town, well worth a visit and delighted that we went there. We also went to Amsterdam (fabulous) and loved the organised river cruise with superb guide. We then went to Bergen (more rain) and Rotterdam (it stopped raining there for a little while!). Both interesting cities. The architecture in Rotterdam is fantastic while Bergen is a very beautiful old city with lots of character. The Astoria was built in the 1940s and I would describe it as very slightly faded grandeur but it is still certainly grand. There's a cinema and concert 'hall' with a lovely atmosphere. The entertainment was a really good standard and most enjoyable. Meals: I was taken aback by the small portions at lunch and dinner in the restaurant on board but in fact there were many, many courses, all very tasty and enjoyable. Great variety of food including veggie options and gluten free. You can also eat at the Grill on board. It's not as cosy as the restaurant where you sit at a table with other guests. We met the most lovely couple (and many others too through tours, bridge, concerts etc., ) and that made our trip especially fun. Cabins good. We had an outside cabin and last night as we came into the UK we left the curtains open to enjoy the moonlight on the calm sea. We were just above the water line on Mediterannean Deck and no one can see in! We had a bath/shower room. Everything was spotless. Crew - very friendly and helpful. Yes, it was a shame that we didn't get to the fjords but it would have been foolhardy to risk over 750 lives onboard (500 guests and over 250 crew). I have previously cruised on another line with large vessels and a thousand or so guests. I did not enjoy them but I love the Astoria. She's a brave little ship and got us through terrible weather safely. We are already planning the next cruise with Cruise Maritime Voyages. Read Less

The main reason that my husband and I chose this cruise was the itinerary. We enjoy long cruises and sailing 39 nights from Fremantle to Tilbury(London) appealed to us. Stops included Mauritius, various South African stops, St Helena, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Casablanca and Lisbon. We went on many excursions but the visit to a private game reserve in Mossel Bay, South Africa and Marrakech was the most enjoyable The entertainment was superb thanks to the cruise director Katie with something different each of the 39 nights. The caliber of the singers and dancers far exceeded any other cruise that I have been on and the costumes were outstanding. Kudos to Captain Andrey for his friendliness and exceptional capability when required. There was something about the ambience of this cruise. The helpful, friendly staff always ready with a smile, the delicious food and the sea day activities made this cruise something special. This cruise was magical. Read Less

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Low priced cruising 'English style' small ship. Thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Instead of the usual gorgeous balcony cabin on a 5 or 6 star ship it was a totally budgeted choice. I can tell you the food on this ship is 6 star and so beautifully presented in their version of a grand dining room that I can't make one single criticism. It was superb in every way from the white linen tablecloths to the service from the sommelier / drinks waiter to the absolutely beautifully presented food which was always tasty and delicious. The drinks package which I decided to purchase allowed for easy ordering of cocktails, wine and so on and the drinks again were always beautifully presented and tasty. I found the house wines to be quite palatable and I highly recommend the cocktails, especially the pina coladas! Breakfast could be taken as casual affair in the buffet and again was always delicious. If you are after a multitude of activities the ship is not for you. Its a scaled down basic style of cruising but there is still entertainment on the decks on fine sea days and the evening cabaret style entertainment is a feature of most evenings - lots of song and dance whilst you sip on an after dinner beverage. The entertainment lounge is not tiered so sometimes you need to find just the right seat to see in between others heads. Shopping on board is minimal but adequate with a couple of small shops selling candies and chocolates, handbags, clothing and so on and the walkways were never filled with tables of bargain like I have experienced on other ships. There is no casino on board. There are photographers wandering around at dinner for example and you have the opportunity to order photos if you wish but there is no pressure to do so. The swimming pool outdoors is not heated and is adequate. I only saw two people swim in it the entire journey and it was February in Australia. The lifts are small. I like the way sofas are placed nearby to the lifts on various levels so people can sit and wait - I have wished for this on other ships but never seen it before. Embarkation was smooth and friendly. Disembarkation was lengthy - you are required to exit the room by 7am. We did not get off the boat until about 10am. It was a long wait and a long breakfast but survivable as we were quite comfortable. Would I do it again? YES Read Less

We chose this cruise as it was a small cruise ship experience, budget price, Tasmanian Adventure, Feb. 2018. We have done cruises on Princess, P&O so this was an interesting experience. The Astor Ship had a very cosy feel, very good staff, good entertainment, great cruise director, wonderful singers and dancers, in the well equiped Astor Lounge, on a small ship, packed most nights. The Dinning area was well appointed, good staff, average menus, not much imagination, food ok could have been more variety, Captains Club Bar was well appointed, nice feel, with good late nite entertainment, very good waiting staff. Hanse Bar great, with the pool area not far away, nice relaxed area. Cabins were small, but ok, we had single beds, we couldn't shift the single beds together. Drinks package was good, well priced. Ship did rock & roll a bit in heavy seas, all in all this was a budget cruise, nice itinerary out of Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne and Tasmania, good for first time cruisers, but for us would pay a bit extra, go on Princess Cruises, as they now, like others lines, are servicing this market, in Southern Australia. Read Less

Astor is an older, smaller ship, our preferred style of cruising. This trip was from Adelaide to Melbourne and Tasmania, an itinerary that suited our requirements. It all seemed perfect. Then we embarked. The Portside experience was quite efficient with queues managed well. However, once we embarked we were greeted by surly, non interactive security. The usual procedures of hand luggage X-ray and metal detector entrance was fine, but then, without any apparent cause and no request, my husband was body searched. This has never happened to either of us on any previous of around thirty cruises. Additionally, the search was well beyond the bounds of propriety. My husband immediately complained to management, including the captain and staff captain. No effective remedy was offered or action taken. It is apparently company policy. When we discussed the incident with numerous other passengers we found this was a common experience. Both men and women were regularly frisked on embarkation and on reboarding at every port. It was embarrassing to watch and must have been humiliating for the victims. The average age of passengers would have been over 70, the only items likely to be secreted on their bodies were artificial knees or hips. Clearly no effective risk assessment had been undertaken prior to implementing this policy. Our attitude to other elements of the cruise was coloured by this initial experience. For the price other aspects of the cruise were quite acceptable, and the overall crew service and food were relatively good. We enjoyed our port experiences and the one ship organised shore excursion we undertook was impacted by the weather, not the standard of the process. As the ship was fully booked and we had booked late we had a standard twin inside cabin. It was typical of ships of this age and had adequate storage and facilities. There was no body lotion provided, with the drying effect of ship air conditioning that would have been appreciated. Everything was very basic. Food was of a good average, although variety at the buffet for lunch was limited. Skim milk was not provided at tea and coffee stations or with cereal for breakfast. I believe it was available on request. Our favourite pastime on board, other than reading, is trivia. The quiz questions were good, not too hard with some teasers. There were no guidelines set down before the quiz, such as use of phones or numbers in teams, and question sheets were not exchanged prior to marking, not satisfying for serious trivia buffs. The library was quite good, better than some recent cruises I have been on. All in all, I will not use this company again, or any other line that has a similar approach to customer privacy and respect. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the inexpensive price and because it left from our hometown of Adelaide. Although it was quite enjoyable and relaxing we would not sail with it again because the food whilst quite edible was only really nice on the first and last nights. It was made to a cheap price. The one thing that was outstanding was the entertainment with a small group of really good singers and dancers and a fabulous cruise director called Katie. We did not choose the weather but it would have been nice to be warmer. We spent a day in Melbourne a day and a half in Hobart and a day in Burnie. We spoke to many other guests and if they had sailed on Princess like us they were not planning on another cruise with CMV We were in an interior cabin which was quite nice but the beds were like rocks. Fortunately when I told our cabin steward he bought me another mattress to put on top and then it was ok. There were some strange ideas that we have not seen on any other cruises for example you could not have soft eggs they had to be hard cooked or nothing. Also there was a table reserved for the captain every night at the show and we thought that was in poor taste as he should defer to the guests and not sit in front of them. All in all it was a relaxing cruise but I would hate to do a long trip to Tillbury on it Read Less

We travelled from Adelaide to Perth on the Indian Pacific and the Astor left a day after we got to Perth so we thought that would be an interesting way to return. The cruise started out badly discovering we had not got the cabin I requested but that was the travel agents fault. The corridors are narrow but the restaurants were spacious enough. The service in the Waldorf was hot and cold. When you first sat down the drinks waiters couldn't wait to present you with the wine list and take your orders, but try getting a second drink if you didn't order wine. You could look directly at a drinks waiter and he would look away. They were each assigned a certain table and didn't seem to want to help any other table out. But, if you dined in the specialty Mediterranean restaurant it was like being on another ship! Service and food were both excellent. Even though some of the service was lax the food itself was pretty good to excellent. There is no facility where you can buy a good coffee except after 9am in the morning. My Wife likes a coffee first thing so she was not impressed. Another irritation was the fact they charged $10 a day in gratuities. I believe this contributes to the behaviour of some of the crew. We never saw our cabin steward once for the whole voyage. I am comparing them to the steward we had on our last Royal Caribbean cruise who always seemed to be available and wishing you good morning etc. Won't be cruising on this ship again. Read Less

This was a trial for us on a small ship, being used to the three Queens and a more formal style. The journey from Fremantle to Adelaide, Feb 2018, was rolling and pitching constantly, and not at all pleasant for a couple used to big ships and liners. However, that's what we wanted to find out, so small ships aren't for us. We booked a suite (110) and the room was large and comfortable. The bathroom and shower were very good. There were 2 floor to ceiling windows, one at either end of the cabin. Dining was just a terrible experience. We booked and were told by email that we were on early sittings, on a table of four, which suited us. Once on board, it was announced that there were no early or late sittings, just one "anytime" dining starting at 18:00. This of course created a queue outside for 10 or 15 minutes before opening time, with most couples wanting one of the rare tables of two. There were no crew supervising, and queue jumping was the norm. I can't believe the rouses people came up with to get to the front of the line 30 seconds before opening time! CMV's website quotes "For formal evenings many gentlemen wear a dinner jacket, although a lounge suit is quite acceptable. On these occasions ladies have a chance to dress up and opt for evening or cocktail dresses. On ‘informal’ evenings a suit or smart jacket and trousers, with or without a tie, is suggested for men and the ladies have further opportunities to look elegant in cocktail dresses, trouser suits and stylish co-ordinates." Well, on formal nights people in shorts and thongs were turned away, only to return in jeans and T-shirts. I felt out of place wearing a jacket, and disappointed that the staff do not enforce their own printed standards. On Valentines Day, the ladies were given a pink paper serviette folded to make a rose - how tacky! The food was just the worst. Fish and chips was universally described at our table of 6 as inedible, and all meals were very second grade. If you can't cook chips, you can't cook! Watching the "human chain" moving the luggage down the gangway by hand on disembarking was a comedy, and as the workers tired (it took 45 minutes) they found new ways to pass the bags, including "tunnelball", kicking them along the gangway, and letting the ones with 4 wheels career down on their own until they crashed into the sides! Unfortunately, selling drinks packages just ensures that those who buy them make sure they get their money's worth, and they start early and finish late in a poor state. It's fine if you want a cheap cruise with like minded people, but it isn't what you'll enjoy if you're used to cruising in style. The library was a shambles, with 2 rows of books, one IN FRONT of the other, on all the shelves. It was unmanned. We had one shore excursion, unfortunately by tender. They could only be bothered launching 1 tender, so delays were unreasonably long, and tenders overcrowded. They are stamped with "46 passengers" and we counted at least 70. We were glad to get off, and would never again go on a small ship or any CMV ship. Read Less