Cruise & Maritime Voyages has a fleet of six much-loved ships that are quietly comfortable rather than frantically modern, with most of them designed to please their mainly British passengers.
Flagship Columbus is based at Tilbury with Marco Polo offering departures from other British ports such as Bristol, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Newcastle and Rosyth – as well as Tilbury – and Astoria departing from Poole, Portsmouth and Hull.
Magellan will be based in Mexico from January to April 2019, then returning to Britain and a host of regional departures including Newcastle, Dundee, Liverpool and Dublin, while Astor will make its now traditional trip from Australia to the UK in spring 2019, having sailed from Tilbury to Australia in autumn 2018. Meanwhile the company’s new ship, Vasco de Gama, will leave Singapore for Amsterdam on its maiden voyage for CMV before concentrating on the German market.
Marco Polo and Astoria are child-free ships, although teenagers 16 and above can travel with adults, while Columbus and Magellan operate on similar lines except during school holidays when some multi-generational cruises are on offer. There are also special programmes of events for solo passengers on cruises of six nights or more, so that they can meet other single people and get together in groups.
THE WOW FACTOR
This has to be the value for money that all CMV cruises offer. There are no whizz bang features on Columbus although it has a lovely layout, thanks to its previous life as a Princess Cruises ship among other cruise lines, but there’s a real feelgood feeling onboard.
This is partly because of the prices, with special discounts and buy one get one half price offers ensuring the ship is always pretty full and quite lively.
There are also limited numbers of half-price fares for solo travellers, so they don’t have to pay for double occupancy, and children’s fares are from £99 when sharing with two adults during the multi-generational cruises. Very reasonable bar prices add to the general good value vibe – a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot red wine costs £15 – and there are no service charges in the bars, shops or spa.
Best of all, for the British market at least, there are no compulsory gratuities to pay, although you’re encouraged to tip staff for good service.
THE LIFESTYLE
Relaxed and easy going sums up life onboard Columbus, where the dress code is pretty casual during the day and smart casual in the evening with just one formal night on a week-long cruise.
Although most passengers jump ship for excursions when in port, there are always activities on offer such as power walking on deck in the morning or a quiz in the Connexions Bar – often morning and afternoon.
Other activities include Darts Get-Togethers in the Observation Lounge and even Bean Bag Bowls and Chairobics – nothing too difficult so it’s very inclusive. This is partly because sometimes days in port can be limited to a long half a day, although there may also be late departures to give you time for a drink in local bars.
On sea days there’s a full programme of mainly traditional cruise activities such as bridge, quoits, shuffleboard and bingo – mostly free. Columbus doesn’t claim to be sophisticated or bang up to date but passengers seem to be happy with that – there’s very little moaning onboard.
STATEROOMS
Columbus has several categories of cabins, as it still calls them, with four types of Inner cabins, nine of Ocean View cabins (outside, with windows), two styles of Balcony cabins and a choice of five cabin categories available to singles.
Most are 188sq ft (17.50sq m) with just the Standard Single Ocean View smaller at 146sq ft (13.50sq m) and the Junior Balcony Suite larger at 372sq ft (34.50sq m), so there is plenty of space.
All have ensuite shower rooms (there’s also a bath in the suites) with a walk-in wardrobe that includes plenty of drawers. Air conditioning, flat-screen TVs, fridge, hairdryers and a safe are standard to all categories and some cabins have third and even fourth berths.
All are comfortable, with new carpets and upholstery installed during its June 2017 refit, when the ship joined CMV. However, the bathrooms are small and basic, with some in need of an upgrade, and the toiletries on offer are basic – so you may prefer to take your own.
But this is a good ship for singles thanks to its large choice of solo cabins, it also has cabins adapted for wheelchair users and there are some inter-connecting cabins for families or groups.
DINING
The Waterfront is the main dining room with an interior that manages to feel glamourous but not glitzy and there are no fixed places so you can sit by the window for lunch and in an alcove-like area for dinner if you like. This restaurant also has a paid-for Chef’s Table, which seats 14 for an eight-course degustation menu that costs £49 each.
The Plantation buffet restaurant has a modern interior design style with dividers between the food stations and seating areas full of nice but fake potted plants and other knick-knacks, to give it a homely feeling, and diner-like counters and tall stools as well as traditional seating.
There are also two speciality restaurants with cover charges: The Grill serves steak, rack of lamb, Scottish salmon or free-range chicken, with a choice of starters, for £14.90.
But it’s Fusion, the Indian restaurant, that is stand-out superb. Yes, you can get brilliant curry in the buffet or main dining room any day of the week but Fusion takes things to another level.
At £14.90 per person, this small restaurant attached to the buffet is as good as anything you’ll get on any of the luxury lines. The menu starts with a selection of appetisers such as samosas, then you choose your own main course – classics such as Lamb Rogan Josh or Tamarind and Chili Glazed Prawns – followed by a plate of sweets such as dates stuffed with Baileys and white chocolate. All the spices are from India, not a Western supermarket, and you can really taste the difference: it’s outstanding.
Other dining options include afternoon tea – hard to catch if you’re off the ship – burgers and the like from the Pool Grill, room service (mostly paid-for) and the coffee shop Hemingways where you can buy premium tea, coffee and cake.
ENTERTAINMENT
There are no West End-style shows but there are cabarets, comedians and reviews and, best of all, themed cruises featuring retired sports stars, veteran pop stars or British actors from television’s 1970s glory days.
Particularly good are the Cricketing Legends themed cruises hosted by Nick Hancock of They Think It’s All Over. Former England captain Mike Gatting is often among the cricketers joining in quiz shows as well as taking part in serious on-stage interviews and meeting fans for photographs and autographs in the bar.
Other themed cruises for 2019 include the 75th D-Day Anniversary cruise, Rouen Armada & River Seine cruise and Christmas & New Year cruises.
FACT BOX
Columbus sails from London Tilbury on its Grand Round the World Cruise in January 2019, returning from Auckland in February and is back at Tilbury in May for round-Britain and northern Europe cruises plus a couple of Canary Islands trips.
Cruises with the stars include a seven-night Fjordland Splendour return-trip from Tilbury on September 29 featuring The Three Degrees as well as calls at Amsterdam then on to Norway’s Eidfjord, Flam and Bergen with scenic cruising in Hardangerfjord and Sognefjord.
Twin inner cabins are available from £929 for the first person and £464 for the second person, two sharing (0844 998 9530; cruiseandmaritime.com).
