Cruise and Maritime...anyone been on Magellan?

[Dark Knight]

I have found more info on FB etc , so I am happier with our change of cruise company, also they sail from more than one UK port , so that helps as well

[Gill W]

I have just made a spur of the moment decision and booked a baltic cruise with C & M departs 6th September.

You get on as we get off - hope you enjoy it - I'll look out for your review in due course.

It's now just over 3 weeks to our cruise break, and I'm expecting the tickets to be received soon. I must say, it seems very retro getting your tickets through the post, as I'm so used to getting them online nowadays, and have come to prefer the online method.

We've been able to enter our pre-cruise info on the website and booked a tour online. It was all functional, but maybe the website looked slightly clunky.

Since we booked the cruise we've changed our car, and tried to change our car details online for the parking that is booked through C&M, but it kept reverting to the previous details. In the end I phoned them, and was told it was a known glitch, and they took the details over the phone. It's not just P&O who have website issues!

[Dark Knight]

Gill, I will be very interested to read your feedback on the Magellan and what you think of C&M overall

[cruisingtoski]

Morning Gill,
Yesterday I received an email from C & M with my cruise tickets etc attached. I was expecting to receive them by post but I live
in France so wonder if that was why they were emailed to me. Anyway it's good to have them and it makes it seem real now!

[GillD46]

They sail from Bristol now and again, so I will be interested to read what you have to say.

[poole boy]

Bristol is the home port of Azores for C&M we have gone from Bristol twice in the last 3 years on Discovery (now left the fleet) and we thoroughly enjoyed both cruises and if they came up with an itinerary we both liked we would have no hesitation in going with them again as in our opinion some things are not as good as P&O but others are better.

[GillD46]

Bristol is the home port of Azores for C&M we have gone from Bristol twice in the last 3 years on Discovery (now left the fleet) and we thoroughly enjoyed both cruises and if they came up with an itinerary we both liked we would have no hesitation in going with them again as in our opinion some things are not as good as P&O but others are better.

Can I ask please, we don't NORMALLY choose P&O, so what , in your opinion is worse?

[Gill W]

Morning Gill,
Yesterday I received an email from C & M with my cruise tickets etc attached. I was expecting to receive them by post but I live
in France so wonder if that was why they were emailed to me. Anyway it's good to have them and it makes it seem real now!

Hi there - I received my tickets this morning by post, so it does seem to explain why yours were emailed as you are overseas.

All documentation was in order, including the amendment to our car registration number.

Looking good so far

[poole boy]

GILLD in my opinion the ship was a lot older and smaller which was fine for a week but not sure we could find enough to do for a second week on the first cruise we had an inside cabin to be honest not the best but on the next cruise we had a brilliant cabin on deck 7 outside as good as any we have had on P&O, the food was excellent as was the crew could not help enough the shows seemed to be put on the crew who were very enthusiastic but not as slick as P&O offering.
as we do not like the big ships on P&O we tend to stick to the mid size ships on P&O and if we are looking for a week we look at C& M

[GillD46]

Very interesting Poole Boy Thank you for that.

[Gill W]

I've just had a closer look at our paperwork, and it turns out we've had a free cabin upgrade.

We booked a standard outside cabin on deck 5 - we are now in a premium outside cabin on deck 7. I rang them to confirm this, and it is indeed a complimentary upgrade.

I've been with P&O for 15 years and never had a sniff of a free upgrade, but I've got one first time with C&M!

Sounds as if it's similar to the one that Poole Boy had, so I'm delighted

It's not as if they are having trouble filling the ship either, I looked at the website and it's pretty much sold out, apart from a few inside cabins

[Gill W]

We're packing today for our little break on Magellan.

We sail tomorrow and get back on Sunday

The ports are due to be Amsterdam on Friday, and Antwerp on Saturday.

Looking at the weather forecast on the BBC, the weather in the southern North Sea looks 'interesting' on Friday. To be honest, I'll be quite surprised if we dock in Amsterdam on Friday.

I'll report in full when I return

[barney]

Good luck Gill !

Hope you have a lovely time.

Don't forget to pay for the tunnel

[Manoverboard]

We did a b2b 24 day cruise in a Junior Suite on Voyages of Discovery ... comparing it to P&O ... no Butler, balcony nor even a cabin fridge. Less glitzy than P&O but there were only 5 sea days and it was doubtless one of the most interesting itineraries that we have ever done.

We have spotted a couple of C&M cruises of interest but would only book it/them providing the ship's Terminal was Bristol, Avonmouth cos Tilbury's a pig to get to from Darzet.

[oldbluefox]

Have a good time Gill. We look forward to hearing what you think of C&M.

[Gill W]

Hello from Magellan!

We left home at 10.30 and were on board by 11.45

First impressions favourable.

Will do full report when we get home

[Manoverboard]

Have therefore assumed that you embarked in Tilbury rather than Avonmouth

Bon Voyage

[barney]

When my dear old Mum used to cruise Moby and the Gravesend - Tilbury ferry was still running, they would be from home to on board in twenty minutes

[Manoverboard]

When my dear old Mum used to cruise Moby and the Gravesend - Tilbury ferry was still running, they would be from home to on board in twenty minutes

Sounds like a good plan ... but how big were these Ferries, did they sail or were they chain driven and when did they stop running ?

[barney]

There is still a limited service running Mob but it's a much smaller boat.

The ferries in the hey day held hundreds and were mainly used by workers going from Gravesend to Tilbury power station.

We used to go over as kids (bunk on without paying) to play in Tilbury Fort

The one I remember was called Edith and ran until the mid nineties

wiki Tilbury-Gravesend ferry it it tells all.

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/TilburyGravesend.html
have a look at this if it interests you

[Mervyn and Trish]

They sold the old one to Thomson. It's debuting as their "new" ship next year.

[qbman1]

We shadowed the "new" CMV ship Azores around a few ports on the recent Round Britain. Looks like she could do with a lick of paint - maybe that was the old Gravesend/Tilbury ferry ?!

[Gill W]

There is still a limited service running Mob but it's a much smaller boat.

The ferries in the hey day held hundreds and were mainly used by workers going from Gravesend to Tilbury power station.

We used to go over as kids (bunk on without paying) to play in Tilbury Fort

The one I remember was called Edith and ran until the mid nineties

wiki Tilbury-Gravesend ferry it it tells all.

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/TilburyGravesend.html
have a look at this if it interests you

That was very interesting.

I never knew the names of the ships, but we'd go over to Gravesend for a day out.

At Tilbury, the walk way from the terminal to the ferry landing stage can still clearly be seen.

[ambrosian97]

My sister did the Fjordlands cruise in Sept 2017. She and her husband booked it a year ahead in 2016. Tragically, just 2 months before setting sail her husband collapsed and died with heart failure. To save her having to cancel the trip, his sister offered to take her brothers place on the cruise in a straight substitution. When Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) were advised, the sympathy my sister received for her loss was zero. They saw it as a money making opportunity, quoting a clause in their Terms and Conditions and charged her an administration fee of £232.50 (25% of the booking cost).
There was no fundamental change to the holiday, just a different name on the booking. CMV absolutely refuse to reconsider and choose to hide behind this clause in their T & C's. Their T & Cs and FAQ's don't even mention "name changes" specifically. Other cruise companies however are upfront about them. P&O for instance advise an admin fee of £20. Carnival and Celebrity declare that normally no charge would be made at all.
My view is that the admin fee charged by CMV was draconian and that their treatment of my sister at a vulnerable time was spiteful.
All that said, somehow my sister did manage to enjoy the cruise itself and was well looked after by the ship's personnel

[Manoverboard]

My sister did the Fjordlands cruise in Sept 2017. She and her husband booked it a year ahead in 2016. Tragically, just 2 months before setting sail her husband collapsed and died with heart failure. To save her having to cancel the trip, his sister offered to take her brothers place on the cruise in a straight substitution. When Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) were advised, the sympathy my sister received for her loss was zero. They saw it as a money making opportunity, quoting a clause in their Terms and Conditions and charged her an administration fee of £232.50 (25% of the booking cost).
There was no fundamental change to the holiday, just a different name on the booking. CMV absolutely refuse to reconsider and choose to hide behind this clause in their T & C's. Their T & Cs and FAQ's don't even mention "name changes" specifically. Other cruise companies however are upfront about them. P&O for instance advise an admin fee of £20. Carnival and Celebrity declare that normally no charge would be made at all.
My view is that the admin fee charged by CMV was draconian and that their treatment of my sister at a vulnerable time was spiteful.
All that said, somehow my sister did manage to enjoy the cruise itself and was well looked after by the ship's personnel

We have made two changes to our P&O cruises over the years and were charged £100 Admin fee on both occasions, cannot remember if that was each or per booking. Either way the detail for a change ( any change ) is stated in their T&Cs.

ps .... Hello and welcome