Cruise Reviews

Only worth going for the shows

Reviewed By: Wolstenholme, Steeton, Keighley on 11th Aug 2008
Cruise Line: Transocean Tours Times cruised before: 3-5
Cruise Ship: Marco Polo Sailed: July, 2008
Destination: British Isles Age: 56-65
I too have just returned from the Marco Polo cruise around the British Isles. I think the comments offered by the first reviewer were accurate and fair. The entertainment was exceptionally good and they worked incredibly hard at their nightly shows as our cabin was above the stage and we heard the rehearsals each afternoon before giving two performances on all but one night. The cruise Director was clearly an inspiration to his staff and was very talented. I hope he moves his talents to somewhere else and takes the entertainment team with him.
They all deserve better.
The food was mixed - we enjoyed one or two excellent meals and our dinner waiters tried really hard but were working in a very unhelpful atmosphere and with management who thought angry very public dressings down of struggling staff was the way to improve things. Breakfast was chaotic and unappetising.
We had not booked any shore excursions as we reckoned they were greatly over priced. We decided to do our own thing and had arranged car hire in three of the destinations - a good idea but be warned. We didn't land on Jersey which was the first car wasted. On Lewis we were amongst an angry group of passengers who waited three hours to be tendered off the ship by which time the five hour car hire had reduced to two. Only on Orkney did we manage the day we had been promised.
The Captain and senior team with the notable exception of the Cruise Director were invisible and silent. The performance of docking would have made hilarious viewing had it not been a public display of incompetence in seamanship by a crew that had our lives in their hands.
It was a very disappointing experience that requires a huge shift in management style and behaviour if they are to achieve the standard that passenger's expect. We had paid the lowest price so still felt it was value for money - I'm glad we did not pay more. The final straw was the failure to deliver our promised end of cruise questionnaire. We asked for one as we waited to leave the ship and it was nrevously handed over. I have no faith that it would ever reach someone in a position to take action.
Quality of Food2
Entertainment5
Shore Excursionsn/a
Staff1
Children's Facilitiesn/a
Onboard Activities2
Cabins3
Overall Rating1
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Opinion: Agree Comment by Grover, North Walsham (13 Aug 08 15:36) about this REVIEW.
Agree regards docking and tendering. Thank God there was not a real need to man the lifeboats !!! I imagine it would have been crew first, at least it would have given us the chance to see them.
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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Goose, Wisbech (13 Aug 08 11:30) about this REVIEW.
In some respects, I disagree with previous comments, and wonder if in some cases I was on a different ship! I did have grumbles - I'd previously sailed with Transocean and on the ship when she was with Orient Lines - but not to the extent of grumbling about food, and the safety of the ship. There were a lot of moaners on this particular cruise when nothing would please them. As for the comment that the person went home losing weight, if they couldn't find suitable food from that very extensive range supplied, they deserved to starve! I agree with the business at Stornoway to some extent, but we went ashore independently, and still got three hours or so in the town. The sailing crew were more or less invisible, I agree, but the captain ate in the Bistro and was approachable, but lack of information from the bridge was non-existent. We had a genuine complaint - not the constant whingeing from some passengers - in that we had a damaged suitcase which the team on reception handled admirably, and we were duly reimbursed generously. Quite frankly,we don't see what the moaning passengers had to moan about; as I said, we think they must have been on a different ship to us! My hubby and I talked with many other passengers who said they had nothing to complain about and that we were surrounded by whingers who wouldn't have known what they wanted if it had hit them on the head.
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Opinion: Agree Comment by Spencer, Burnley (11 Aug 08 19:41) about this REVIEW.
If it hadn't been for the fantastic shows I would have jumped ship It's the only cruise that I've taken and lost weight!!!
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Comment by Armstrong, Wallasey (12 Aug 08 07:33) about a COMMENT by Spencer (11 Aug 08 19:41)
Good!!!
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