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Marco Polo sinks beneath the waves
Reviewed By: Inns, Maidstone on 11th Aug 2008
Cruise Line: Transocean Tours	Times cruised before: 6-10
Cruise Ship: Marco Polo	Sailed: July, 2008
Destination: British Isles	Age: 65+

Marco Polo I have just completed a cruise on the Marco Polo round the U.K. First of all I would say that the entertainment is superb. The cruise director was brilliant and one of the best I have seen. The food is quite good and after that it all goes down hill or shall I say sinks beneath the waves. On booking I asked for 2nd sitting however on arrival the Maitre D sat with a list of passengers asking them what they would like as his list of requirements was incomplete. Infact we were not even on his list. The first sitting was soon overbooked much to many passengers annoyance. This breakdown was not really the fault of the ship but the organization behind it. The crew were mainly Russian with with a smattering of east european with limited but just about adequate English but had obviously been told not to smile too much although there were exceptions. Our cabin (435) had a marble bathroom which required a climb of 30cms (12inches) to get into it. THis was no problem but getting out was a knee cruncher. I requested a step. An enginner appeared and fixed one to the wall below the door and all was well. However it was made from some scrap 1inch ply and cut with a blunt electric saw for the burn marks was very visible. The brackets were bent and obviously removed from something else. A little bit of paint might have made it look better. The other cabins were the same so why were steps not installed when the ship had a refit? We arrived at Stranrar and had to go ashore by tender. The first one was lowered at midday. Only two were used to disembark between 750 and 800 passengers and we were still leaving the ship at 3pm. As for the Tours one in particular was a rip off. My wife and I booked to see the Edinburgh Tattoo for a price of £69 each. On arival at the castle we were given tickets showing the sum of £22 which meant that were were charged £47 each for a coach ride of about three miles and for which the local bus charged £2.50 return. Their managements organization was such, that on our return the next voyage was a freebie for Travel Agents and Press to advertise the boat, they arranged for the oncoming paassengers to arrive before the previous passengers had embarked. Tilbury is not the largest of cruise ports and you can imagine the confusion. By and large it is a comfortable ship but is it necesary to witness crew arguing amongst themselves and with Officers in public places? Waiting staff in the bars was sadly inadequate and felt that they should hold the bar up unless you signalled them that you wanted a drink. I know that no ship afloat can offer everything to everyone but nearly everyone inclduding those who had sailed on her before were moaning. It was all very sad and I do not think that I would wish to sail on this boat again. Ted Inns
Quality of Food
Waldrof Restaurant
Entertainment
The dancers and singers together with the Cruise Director were excellent. And so to were a group called She3.
Shore Excursions
The Edinburgh Tatto was excellent except that the cost was a rip off on the ships part charging £47 for a three mile drive (We did not know this charge when we purchased the tour.
Staff
Two waiters in the restaurant serving table 48
Children's Facilities	n/a

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Comment by Grover, North Walsham (13 Aug 08 01:09) about this REVIEW.

I totally agree with the above review especially with regard to the bar staff. Often their attitiude was condecending and it was difficult to attract their attention. After all we were paying, nobody was giving anything away, ever. Ellie G

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