Magellan Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this because of the price and because of the itinerary. Not only did the cruise cover the fjords but there were stops in Dublin, Lerwick and Kirkwall. My partner had never visited Dublin and the stop in Kirkwall offered a chance to visit the Stone Age village of Skara Brae. It was unlikely that we would ever be in the vicinity again so the opportunity was one worth taking.
We were conscious of the fact that CMV was at the cheap end of the market but first impressions were good. Check in at Liverpool was smooth and we found the cabin to be clean and spacious.
For the first time we had fixed dining. We were wary of being 'stuck' with the same people for eleven days so requested a table of eight. Our fears were ungrounded. We all gelled well and conversation was easy throughout. The food and service in the restaurant was uniformly good. Breakfast in the buffet, although on sea days, a scramble was fine. On the one day that we were forced to have our evening meal in the buffet it was poor - my Lamb Madras was merely stewed lamb with potatoes plus a pinch of mild curry powder which was bland and tasteless. We did not explore the other eating options.
Cabin Review
The cabin was spacious and well maintained. Our steward was attentive and courteous. A nice touch was the bottle of wine for the room (part of a value for money drinks package) There was no noise from other guests and, apart from some inevitable early morning noise when docking, no noise from any other source.
Port Reviews
Dublin
Went to Kilmainham Jail. Excellent presentation. We then enjoyed a drink in the city.
Lerwick (Shetland Islands)
Walked around the headland - very enjoyable then visited a Stone Age house. Weather was surprisingly good.
Bergen
Rained for most of the morning as is the norm in Bergen. We then took the funicular after the clouds lifted before walking round the old town.
Olden
Did the trip to the glacier independently by using the local bus which stops right by the boat. From there you have a choice of a 45 minute walk or motorised transport (at a cost) to get close to the lip. We chose the latter and were rewarded by a splendid walk. We did bear in mind however that the whole experience would have been far less enjoyable had the weather not been favourable.
Eidfjord
A briefer stop and made even briefer by the failure of CMV to tender its passengers ashore within a reasonable time after weighing anchor. In truth there is little here. We got off, walked around, saw the few sights and got back on board just as the couple with whom we had been sitting were making their way to the tenders. Having waited for two and a half hours, we didn't have the heart to tell not to have any great expectations of Eidfjord.
Stavanger
A lively city with an interesting old town. We pottered around quite happily, ignoring the attractions of the sardine canning museum only to find that others who did make the effort thoroughly enjoyed it!
Kirkwall
We took the open top bus from the bus station which gave us an hour at Skara Brae plus a photo stop at the Ring of Brodgar. This was excellent value. Returning to Kirkwall we found a lively town with good options for a drink and/or a bite to eat.
Geiranger
Lovely setting with great views. We opted for a locally offered trip to two vantage points, one either side of the town. We then came back to Geiranger and walked up the side of the waterfall.