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Has anyone ever sailed with Cruise and Maritime?

 

We have just found a great itinerary for next year with them but don't know anything about the line.

 

We know that the ship is old (1985) and small (46,000 tonnes/1250 passengers) but that doesn't bother us at all as sounds similar to Spirit that we loved last month.

 

Would really appreciate any comments.

 

Thanks.

Edited by campolady
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Has anyone ever sailed with Cruise and Maritime?

 

We have just found a great itinerary for next year with them but don't know anything about the line.

 

We know that the ship is old (1985) and small (46,000 tonnes/1250 passengers) but that doesn't bother us at all as sounds similar to Spirit that we loved last month.

 

Would really appreciate any comments.

 

Thanks.

 

Well, we have taken a gamble and just gone ahead and booked as we really like the look of the itinerary; mostly Scotland but husband will be spending his 70th birthday in the Faroe Islands.

 

CMV Magellen - 8 nights from 14th July 2017 ex Dublin calling at Liverpool, Greenock, Tobermory (Mull), Kirkwall (Orkney), Torshavn (Faroes), Lerwick (Shetland), Dundee then finishing at Newcastle.

 

Very simple phone booking (like Thomson the website cannot accept non-UK addresses) - and we already have our cabin number at no extra cost.

 

Have we done the right thing in jumping ship - only time will tell Maybe we will be saying come back Thomson all is forgiven but ti will be good to try a different company.

 

Only 349 days to go!

Edited by campolady
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We went with cruise and maritime on our very first cruise about 8 yrs ago? Around Brittish Isles. Had a lovely time. No problems. Ship (ocean countess) was small but nice. Lot more formal than Thomson. Set dinning times etc but there was a buffet. It certainly gave us the cruise bug so that says a lot. Enjoy.

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We sailed with CMV in 2010 from Liverpool to Casablanca on Ocean Countess.

Found it a very comfortable ship, not fancy but well maintained. Set dining times as already mentioned. Quality of food and entertainment on a par with Thomson and a very friendly ship. No all inclusive but drinks reasonably priced, as were excursions. Have to add on the gratuities as well.

We felt well looked after in ports- getting on/ off was always well organised, and free shuttle buses provided where necessary. Think this gave us a nicer experience in Casablanca as we didn't have to find our own way out of the port as I have read about with other lines.

We even had a free cabin upgrade !

 

Anyway, we have booked to sail again with them next year from Liverpool as we liked the itinerary- Honfleur, Rouen, St Mary's, Guernsey, Dublin. So hoping the experience is as good as last time.

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Thanks for all your comments. The itinerary sold the cruise for us as it is over 30 years since we visited Scotland and we have never been to the northern isles; the price was a factor too lol. We have also never visited Dublin so plan to add a few nights there before we sail.

 

I am a little apprehensive about having to share a table for dinner as I am hard of hearing but we have been able to select a table just for 4 so only have to share with one other couple; we always eat at 6.30 on our Thomson cruises so having first sitting for dinner suits us fine.

 

At the end of the day, a holiday is what you make of it and I am sure that we will have a great time. We are not fussy eaters so will always find something that we like and, as we are having the AI drinks package (set price of £17 p.p. per day), we can always drown our sorrows if things don't go to plan.

 

By the way, the gratuities charge is £5 per person per day which is better than we feared.

Edited by campolady
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I've booked to go on the Columbus next year from Tilbury. Fantastic itinerary taking in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, St Petersburg and Germany.

Looks amazing and I got a very good price.

Cabins look very spacious and have chosen cabin number (free). They also give you the option of having a free upgrade if available at the time of sailing.

Can't wait!

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I've booked to go on the Columbus next year from Tilbury. Fantastic itinerary taking in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, St Petersburg and Germany.

Looks amazing and I got a very good price.

Cabins look very spacious and have chosen cabin number (free). They also give you the option of having a free upgrade if available at the time of sailing.

Can't wait!

 

What a great itinerary Lynne! We too got a very good price with the possibility of an upgrade if available and it was so good to be able to choose our cabin without paying for the privilege.

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I believe Cruise Maritime sail the oldest serving cruise liner at sea, launched 1946, since extensively modernised of course.

 

The MV Astoria - which in one of its former lives was the MV Stockholm and was involved in the collision which sank the MV Andrea Doria in 1956.

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I believe Cruise Maritime sail the oldest serving cruise liner at sea, launched 1946, since extensively modernised of course.

 

The MV Astoria - which in one of its former lives was the MV Stockholm and was involved in the collision which sank the MV Andrea Doria in 1956.

 

According to the CMV website 2017 is the final season for Astoria - currently offering 2 for the price of 1 on that ship. Doesn't affect us anyway as we are on Magellan. We are going with an open mind and will definitely post our true impressions when we return (you just have to wait 12 months lol!).

Edited by campolady
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I believe Cruise Maritime sail the oldest serving cruise liner at sea, launched 1946, since extensively modernised of course.

 

The MV Astoria - which in one of its former lives was the MV Stockholm and was involved in the collision which sank the MV Andrea Doria in 1956.

Yes it is even older than me WCM :D:D

 

As Brenda says it is going next year, presumably to make room for the old Ocean Village (or is it OV?)

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The little Astoria followed us all round Norway back in May ! she parked next to us everywhere we went and looked sssoooo small next to Britannia! she followed us out of the ports and into that big North sea like a little duckling follows its mother and looked so pretty all lit up. I swear our captain kept slowing down to wait for her ;)

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We too have booked with cruise and maritime Magellan Baltic cruise next year! Buy one get one free no charge for a choice of cabin and great itinerary and price leaving from Dundee just down the road!!:

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We tried a 3 night cruise on Magellan in December from Tilbury for the Christmas markets and enjoyed ourselves. We found a lot of the way things run very similar to Thomson's and Fred, and the layout of the ship and inside cabin suited us fine, so would have no problem booking again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Saga have just started including C & M cruises in their Cruise World brochure (which includes Fred and various other lines). Inclusive of transport to and from port, also insurance. Amazing prices. Booked Fjords on Magellan 20th May.

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We did a Fjords itinerary on the Magellan last September. The ship and crew were lovely - well up to Thomson standards of friendliness and welcome. Main dining was faultless, we were nervous about the set dining after so many freedom-dining cruises but we were lucky and had a great set of dining companions for the 6 days.

 

I would say the entertainment staff, specifically the show team, were not quite up to what we have been used to on Thomson, although I've read elsewhere that standards there may be slipping across the board. It was a nice change to have live musicians playing with the shows though. There was a lecturer onboard that gave three very informative talks on the Vikings.

 

The only real criticism I can make is that the buffet dining hours are very restricted compared to other ships, e.g. the evening buffet ends at 9pm! So no midnight snacks to be had anywhere.

 

All in all though we were impressed and CMV offer a lot of no-fly options for anyone, like us, who are fed up with the airport 'experience'.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We booked our cruise for July 17 online on 14th May this year. Printed off the invoice, and was looking at it today. I have only just noticed the small print at the bottom

 

"Please note this is a temporary confirmation and your full confirmation invoice will be sent by post in the next few days"

 

Haven't had anything in the post at all. Has anyone else booked online and actually received confirmation in the post?

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We booked our cruise for July 17 online on 14th May this year. Printed off the invoice, and was looking at it today. I have only just noticed the small print at the bottom

 

"Please note this is a temporary confirmation and your full confirmation invoice will be sent by post in the next few days"

 

Haven't had anything in the post at all. Has anyone else booked online and actually received confirmation in the post?

 

Not had anything by post - just the email confirmation.

 

What date are you travelling in July? We sail from Dublin on the 14th.

Edited by campolady
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Not had anything by post - just the email confirmation.

 

What date are you travelling in July? We sail from Dublin on the 14th.

 

Hi, we sail from Liverpool on the 8th July, and call at Dublin on the 14th before returning to Liverpool on the 15th. It's good that they embark at more than one port- much more convenient for passengers. Never been to Dublin before (or any of the other ports on the cruise) so looking forward to it very much.

Is your cruise wholly Scotland (apart from Liverpool!)?

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Hi, we sail from Liverpool on the 8th July, and call at Dublin on the 14th before returning to Liverpool on the 15th. It's good that they embark at more than one port- much more convenient for passengers. Never been to Dublin before (or any of the other ports on the cruise) so looking forward to it very much.

Is your cruise wholly Scotland (apart from Liverpool!)?

 

Yes, we also think the choice of embarkation ports is a good thing.

 

We have booked 3 nights in a hotel in Dublin before boarding the ship as we have never been there before either. Apart from the Liverpool stop, and one in the Danish Faroe Islands, all our ports are Scottish - Greenock, Mull, Kirkwall, Lerwick and Dundee; we finish back in England at Newcastle where we are having 2 nights before flying home to Spain. Have only been to Liverpool before and that is many years ago so really looking forward to seeing new and different places.

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