| One thing I love about CMV ships, which I also liked on Voyages of Discovery, is they leave port plagues up from their past career. But the bonus on CMV are the original bells. Astoria has hers, although she is only a charter. Stephen had told me about this one and I was delighted to find it. Marco Polo also has many items from her 15 years under Orient Lines (not to be confused with the UK company) dotted around the place. Once I'd finished, I went back to the cabin, watched Steptoe and Son then bed at 4am. |
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Unusually for a short cruise, we had a sea day as we ambled to Honfleur so, since I had such a late night, I was up at noon, woken by the Captain's announcement. It was a very lazy day. At 2pm, we had the deck party featuring bartending flair then Mitch and the entertainment team before just music. They were working on the forward deck, which was a bit frustrating on such a glorious day, but more so for David as the hammering was above his head. Sleep then a drink before dinner in Scott's Bar before meeting up with the others in the Columbus Lounge, since the Captain's Club was occupied with guests wanting to go to the Captain's Welcome Reception. Dinner was a bit of a cock-up. My starter didn't come with everyone else's, so I was beginning to think I hadn't ordered one. When it eventually arrived, it came with a slice each of red and yellow bell peppers, which I told them I am allergic to. The Baked Alaska parade had no warning and was over quickly. I didn't receive an advance menu. The sunset was lovely. Stephen and I went to Scott's to see the Legends with Mitch cabaret. The others had no interest with David even saying, "See you back here in five minutes." While Stephen was briefly gone, there was a punch up! Mitch went over to them first then security with Assistant Cruise Director Josh but, surprisingly, despite CMV's Code of Conduct, they weren't removed. When Stephen came back, he couldn't believe he missed it! But he hadn't missed the show. On Astoria, these Cabarets lasted 20 minutes so I was surprised it was double and we returned David, Bill and Richard in the Captain's Club after midnight! It was an absolutely superb show with Josh and one of the singers doing a couple of songs with him. Another late night and you could see the waiters willing us to bog off, which we did at around 1.45am. |
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| Honfleur. I had been here three months earlier on Astoria but didn't even get off that day as I needed rest. This day, my friend, Marie Mariani, couldn't make our meeting due to rail strikes so I decided to take it easy again as I would be going from Harwich to Dover the following day. I saw the others waiting for David, then they all went into town while I just took photos of the ship then got back on. Lunch and it was lovely sat on the deck in the shade. As I was on the phone to my dad, a bloke emerged from the pool, wrapped a towel around his waist as he changed from trunks to shorts then forgot himself while straightening up, pulling his shorts down at the back and flashing his arse! Not a pretty sight. Later that afternoon, we had a French jazz band who were excellent. They were also on the dock during our sailaway. Dinner was good then it was time for the sunset, which was lovely. Back to the cabin to put the case out before meeting the others in the Captain's Club for drinks. It was a pity it was too misty to see the ships heading to Southampton as we passed Dover. Before bed it was decided to take a stroll around the deck so off I set with Stephen, Richard and David. The mist had got thicker but you could still see the stars above. Stephen and Richard disappeared into Scott's Bar leaving David and I to continue the circuit before returning to our respective cabins. |
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| Back in the UK as we arrived in a miserable Harwich. We had to be out of the cabin by 7am but there was no way I was taking my hand luggage to breakfast! We all met up at the restaurant then went our separate ways as we waited to disembark. |
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Marco Polo is a gorgeous ship and I hope the Storylines rumours aren't true. She is so quirky, going uphill then down to get from one side to the other. I wish CMV had coach transfers to Victoria instead of only back to Cardiff. Harwich, like Tilbury, is a pain the the arse to get to and from without a car and, due to lack of cruise ships now, there isn't much help at the railway station. More photos of Marco Polo arriving into Cardiff are here. |
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