Cruise & Maritime Voyages Reviews 

Awful customer service. Had a cruise booked for April. Cruise was cancelled in March. I eventually got the cruise refunded via the booking agent. And that was a struggle. I've been trying to extract a refund of the additions package which I paid Cruise & Maritime direct for. I've been trying to get this repaid since March. Dreadful company and I will NEVER have anything to do with them again.

Disappointed with the whole customer service element of this company . They did not reply to an issue that was raised . We did not know whether we were actually allowed to board the ship up to 3 weeks before travel . Despite continuous correspondence from our travel agent .
On a separate issue . ..
We did however get our full refund as our cruise was cancelled due to corona virus . However we wished we had cancelled earlier when we possibly had the chance . CMV caused us a huge amount of stress and we would never book with them again .

Well CMV cancelled the cruise 7th May,asked for refund first answer 60-90 day wait,but before that you have to do the Future Cruise Credit dance and submit a further form well hidden at bottom of page .Then the next kicker it has now gone out to 90 -120 days to process the refunds.Really shoddy treatment of customers and THEIR money.As stated before CMV have lost any future cruise bookings from me and any reccomendations will be of the negative type.

I've have taken a couple of cruises with this company in the past and I actually enjoyed them and liked the onboard experience. I would therefore have remained a customer and indeed had a cruise booked with them for early May (C007 Amsterdam & Antwerp AB5078). Given the current situation with Covid I accepted that this would be cancelled and looked forward to a refund. I contacted them through the website, no answer at all. I emailed them on 21.04.20 and got an auto response saying it would take up to 7 days to hear from them. Now it is 11.05.20 and no email and no refund. It surprises me that companies would take so long to refund people and still expect them to be customers in the future! Unfortunately it seems that leaving bad reviews on this website is the best way to get action these days. I'm not interested in a response saying "unprecedented demand blah blah." I just want my money back! Congratulations you lost a customer who actually liked you. Of course I'm not going to be quiet in telling others to stay away too.

Callous company. My parents had travelled with them before & were looking forward to a short break. My Dad took ill (before able to sort insurance out) & my Mum contacted the company they'd booked through to explain Dad was very ill & in hospital. The lady rang the Company to explain & to see if anything could be done - they seriously offered to allow Mum to take someone else & leave my Dad in hospital while she was away.
Obviously Mum refused. They were due to travel 29 August 2019 - my Dad passed away suddenly & his funeral was 30 August. Mum wrote to the Company & sent a copy of the death certificate along with the Order of Service as proof of the funeral date. To this day, they have never had the decency to even reply. My Mum's brother & wife also lost the trip as they were with us at the funeral.
Absolute disgrace & it just added to Mum's sadness as they were so looking forward to that trip.

In common with many cruise holiday operators, CMV was obliged to cancel future itineraries, including one on which I was to sail in April 2020. The immediate reaction of the company, well documented and with online web evidence to verify, was a knee jerk reaction to deny a refund of the £2300 single transaction paid by credit card, instead offering a future cruise credit. Thereafter, CMV reverted to an unacceptable 'email us to apply for a refund in 60 to 90 days subject to management scrutiny', a dispiriting stalling tactic with no surety of outcome. Unfortunately, it seems that UK legislation does not currently permit transfer of a transaction to a future cruise credit to be jointly underwritten by the originating merchant (CMV) and the banking facility (credit card company). The credit card company will only support the original transaction. Consequently, I have taken the understandably pessimistic view that CMV may neither be able to honour a refund nor a credit in the future since it may not exist in its current form. I am, therefore, reluctantly pursuing a Section 75 chargeback from the credit card provider for the entire sum. It should be noted that CMV should have refunded the whole sum within 14 days of it cancelling the cruise. No doubt CMV, perhaps at the expense of future customers, understandably wants to preserve as much cash as possible in an effort to survive. I'll follow up in due course.

Update 13 May 2020: Having worked through the lengthy credit card charge back process, I recently received a full repayment of the money I paid for the cancelled holiday. CMV now has 45 days to dispute my application.

Guest and Passengers on M/V Columbus should note that the Medical Clinic on the ship is an entirely separate company, not associated with Cruise & Maritime Voyages Limited. It is not clear which Health Authority (unlikely to be the UK) is responsible for ensuring the Medical Clinic itself and its medical staff are properly qualified and licenced. This should be of concern to all guests and passengers based on my experience described below, in a complaint lodged with CMV UK:

Could you kindly review the attached and explain why the doctor on board Columbus, a Roberto Teru, would not accept standard UK NHS and GP advice that the MMR vaccine has to be given in two doses at least 28 days apart.

By way of background, my wife and I were on Columbus embarking at Tilbury on 6 January 2020 and were handed your letter during check-in that day. Your letter is quite specific and says "ensure all passengers and crew have received 2 doses of MMR administered at least 28 days apart and at least 15 days in advance of arrival at Fiji". Having now returned to the UK from Sydney, I have also confirmed with my GP that this is in accordance with her and NHS advice. Throughout the cruise, we were told by the Reception Desk that the Medical Centre would respond to your letter and despite enquiring almost every day, the standard response from the Medical Centre was that it is NOT a requirement and that they would not be bound by your letter. Eventually, after many frustrating days, a letter was received on 25-Jan-20 to attend the Medical Centre for a vaccination. Despite being totally shocked that it would cost an exorbitant £177.81 to have the MMR vaccination, I decided to have it at the stated date of 28-Jan-20 at 1800 hours and enquired if it would still be OK as Columbus would be docking in Fiji on 14-Feb-20. The Nurse responded to say it would be absolutely OK and I was given the first injection by the Nurse at that time. I then enquired when the second injection would be provided and the Nurse went out, checked with the Doctor who came into the room and said it was not necessary(!). This is truly amazing and contradicts your own, my GP and standard NHS advice and had I known the Doctor would be so irresponsible and unprofessional, I would not have had the first injection at all. In my view (and my GP agrees), the Doctor is verging on being negligent and if he were in the UK, a viable complaint would be lodged with the General Medical Council with an attestation from my GP. My GP has checked the GMC website and confirmed that Roberto Teru is not registered as a UK doctor. Subsequently, I expressed my concerns about the Doctor's unprofessional conduct with the Reception Desk but was told they could not help and that they were not aware of your letter and could not comment and I would have to follow up with you "at Head Office" when my wife and I were back in the UK. Before disembarking at Sydney, I checked with the Medical Centre again about the second vaccination and the Doctor came into the room and was thoroughly unprofessional, very rude and totally dismissive saying the "first vaccination is 93% effective anyway and that the second vaccination was unnecessary" and he had told me so before (absolutely not!). I then asked for the MMR vaccine dosage I had been given the first time so that I could relay this to my GP but he said he could not provide it as "it comes in a sealed tube which is not manufactured by him". A truly irresponsible and unbelievable response! My GP has also confirmed that I will have to have my second MMR vaccination ASAP in accordance with NHS regulations for it to be effective and without the dosage details, he will have to assume the first vaccination is in accordance with NHS regulations. As you know, MMR vaccinations by NHS doctors are also free in the UK . With the spectre of coronavirus, it may be best to trust NHS and GP advice, rather than a lackadaisical doctor who is not registered with the GMC.

I booked a cruise last year for March 4th this year for 4 people, including parking and drink packages. We had to cancel the beginning of March for fear of Corona Virus - for the following reasons.
I am 81 with COPD, My partner if 76 and asthmatic, my daughter has a history of pneumonia and her husband has a heart condition.
All completely true.
I advised Cruise Maritime direct with this information and stated that for our safety AND for that of all those on board, we had decided it would be inadvisable to travel.
I asked if any refund was available on the £6000 paid. As of today's date, 13 March, I have only received an acknowledgement of receipt and indicating that no refunds will be made.
I would have expected the parking and drinks packages to be refunded and perhaps a little more. So far nothing.
Today the Govnt have advised that Cruising is inadvisable.

My wife and I embarked on an eight-night cruise from London Tilbury to the Norwegian fjords and back, beginning on August 26, 2019.

At her first dialysis session on Deck 11 during the first morning my wife had difficulty breathing. This reasonably common problem amongst dialysis patients is easily fixed by providing a small amount of oxygen from a cylinder. But the head dialysis nurse refused to do this, and the supervising doctor was not present despite his contract saying that he should be.

The result was that half an hour later my wife collapsed with a full cardiac arrest - no breathing and no pulse. She was then revived, apparently, by staff called up from the ship's Medical Centre on Deck 4.

We were both then immediately and dramatically disembarked by ambulance to a hospital in Rotterdam where the ship had just docked, and during this commotion I was handed a number of forms to sign as well as a closed envelope. I opened this envelope two days later to discover that it contained an invoice from the ship's Medical Centre for 2,500 pounds for less than one hour's work, which is surely a ridiculous fee. Moreover, on the very same day as our disembarkation the Medical Centre staff had taken this amount from my credit card because "Cruise and Maritime Voyages" had given them access to it.

We then enjoyed a pleasant, eight-day holiday in Rotterdam instead of on the cruise. But despite extensive correspondence since then to point out the negligent treatment and over the top price gouging that we endured, there has never been any offer of even partial compensation - not for our completely non-redeemed cruise and super expensive, shipboard dialysis fees, nor for the huge amount taken from my credit card by the ship’s Medical Centre, nor for our repatriation flights to London. Consequently, I am many thousands of pounds out of pocket.

I have been continuously told for four months now that "Cruise and Maritime Voyages"'s CEO is "overseas on business" and so he replies to my correspondence through his Customer Relations Officer. The latter actually claims that my problem has nothing to do with "Cruise and Maritime Voyages" because our cruise contract was with their dialysis contractors - "Cruise Dialysis" (sometimes referred to as “Dialysis Cruise”). This is untrue. The small print on the clearly titled, eleven-page contract with "Cruise and Maritime Voyages", which my wife had to sign before embarkation, basically says that customers cannot sue the company for anything and, if they do, their case has to be heard in Florida, which is hardly known as a citadel of justice.

Likewise, the only "Cruise Dialysis" Board member whom I could find does not reply to me either. He simply has his booking agent do so. The latter just advises me to take up the issue of the exorbitant Medical Centre fee with "Cruise and Maritime Voyages" even though this company says that my issue has nothing to do with them.

Moreover, her dialysis medical staff do not even acknowledge my assertion that they demonstrably failed in their duty of care. Instead, they hint that their doctor was present at my wife's dialysis session when he was not, and they imply that my wife suffered the trauma of a full cardiac arrest because she has a heart condition. Given the extensive tests before, during and after her incident which show that she has always had, and still has a perfectly healthy heart, this is clearly untrue.

Both companies have now indicated that they consider the matter closed, and so I have reached a dead end. Their blaming of each other, and their crude stance of "always deny everything" is simply appalling.

To summarize, this cruise might well have been good. I do not know. We paid for it but, through no fault of our own, we never experienced it. Nor have we been refunded anything despite the gross negligence of the dialysis staff and the rapaciousness of the ship's Medical Centre. So unless you have extremely deep pockets, stay well clear of "Cruise and Maritime Voyages" and their sub-contractor "Cruise Dialysis".

CMV are cheap and from my experience that can be the only reason anyone would choose to travel on this ship ! (Columbus)
Food was ok in the waterfront Restaurant but I can not say the same for the food in the Plantation Bistro where the selection was poor when compared with other ships. Standing room only on one morning at breakfast in the Bistro !
Drinks service in the show lounge was a joke, long wait for drinks, waiters spent more time trying to sell cocktail packages, than they did serving !
Expensive excursion to Ghent, with worst guide ever, he spent more time talking to his driver than to us ! He also raced around the town leaving a trail of passengers behind who could not keep up. Ghent full of students ! Keep your money in your pocket.
The ships staff never looked happy, they moped around the ship, it was clear they didn’t want to be there ! Never saw a smile or good morning from any of them ! The entertainment was obviously on a budget, they did their best but it was very third rate.
It is advertised as a festive cruise but it didn’t feel very festive and the ship and staff didn’t show much of the Christmas spirit ! There is more, but I think you can come to your own conclusion. On a positive note the show on the last night had us laughing in the aisles.

On 13th December 2019 a party of 4 attended a festive lunch on board the cruise ship Magellan. The day adter the lunch I looked through the company website and noticed that we should have had a 5 course lunch. When we were at the table the orders were taken for a starter, a main meal and a dessert. There was no mention of 5 courses. Most people are used to 3 course dinners in restaurants and therefore may not have been aware that they were entitled to 5 courses as stated on the company website. . Perhaps this is one way of cutting costs by not telling guests at the table that 5 courses are on offer. I wrote to customer service and also to the CEO Mr Verhounig. I know of another person who also emailed customer service . No one bothered to reply.

We have been on previous cruises with CMV on other ships and enjoyed them (apart from the car parking last year, but glad to say that is now sorted with a new car park near the terminal).
So a big tick there, before things went downhill!
Our cabin was a good size and comfortable but:
Safe hinge broken and despite being ‘fixed’ twice, the whole back then fell off exposing all the wires!
No BBC channels on TV - hence missed the best two Wimbledon matches for years (P and O have these). We missed Rotterdam as I was waiting for a communications officer to fix our TV after reporting it 3 times to no avail- no one ever came! Most staff do not understand English or choose not to.
Bathroom very cold, due to fan on constantly, unable to switch it off at all. Ok under hot shower but so cold getting dry. Felt like 1950 ablutions al over again! Not comfortable.
The cabin steward took to knocking on our door about 7pm each evening and if everything ok he did not come back until next morning, so no cups washed or bed turned down - which is no big deal but things you expect on a cruise. He cleaned the bathroom well each morning but the cabin was never hoovered.
Connexions bar SO cold, air con set too low, plus music and videos in bars not appropriate for age group onboard. Example: Eskimo Joe? The Killers,INXS, ZZTOP, John Mellencamp??? I complained and air con was adjusted for a couple of days then went back to the previous fridge like temperature.
Taveners Bar, 10.30am Dublin - waited 30 minutes to be served, one one waiter and another making drinks, restocking crockery etc. (About 50 people in the bar at this time- I counted).
Isles of Scilly cancelled yet again, as last year, main reason we went.
Another passenger told us that local boats were used instead of the usual tenders,so if at all choppy (9 times out of 10) the trip is cancelled! CMV should emphasise this more.
One lift out of order the whole cruise. Food in Waterfront restaurant warm, never hot enough, while dishes hot for fruit and cereal, cold for hot food??? Frequently ran out of crockery and cutlery. CMV should ask people to vacate their breakfast tables once finished breakfast to make room for others, as never enough seating.
I could go on and on......I think CMV needs to employ me as a consumer surveyor to point out all of their failings!
Needless to say we won’t be sailing on Columbus again!

went on cruise with them to Norway from Dundee on Magellan. Excellent service from start to finish. Excellent friendly, helpful crew. Smaller ships mean proper traditional cruising unlike the floating hotels of today. only negatives was the speed of the waiter service in main restaurant but this was mainly due to other passengers who seemed to think that specified dinner time didn't apply to them and they could turn up half an hour late which is just plain rude. The other was disembarkation morning which was a total shambles and badly managed. Entertainment was very good for such a small ship with various things going on late into the evening including live shows, live musicians, quizzes, game shows. Our cabin was wonderful very spacious and excellent value for money. CMV do attract and older passenger clientele but i really don't see why thats a problem and i was 38 on this cruise. People refer to them as floating old peoples homes like this is some sort of negative and people over 65 shouldn't be allowed to go on holiday or enjoy themselves. I have been on several cruises on various lines on small ships, medium ships to the largest cruise ships in the world at the time. Some of the best cruises I had where on these so called "Old peoples homes" including this one on the Magellan.

I booked the “British Isles Discovery” cruise last year and having never been on a cruise before wasn’t too sure what to expect. I had to provide a lot of information prior to the cruise including information about food allergies. I took the time to carefully detail my food allergies but CMV failed to pass this information to the ship. Once on board I spoke to the ship staff but despite them writing my allergies down, I was consistently provided with food containing allergens. My cabin was OK except for the totally worn out mattress that should have been replaced months ago. The service on the boat was really poor in the bars - I tried to order a drink but the bar staff were totally disorganised and were not filling requests for drinks in order. After waiting 20 minutes and watching others who arrived after me get their drinks I gave up and went back to my cabin. The average age on board must have been 70+ and none of the social events, aimed at the floating nursing home clients, appealed. Some of the shore excursions were good but a couple were spoiled by woeful guides, especially in Lerwick where an incompetent tour guide and his irresponsible driver placed passengers at risk.
I was very glad to disembark and won’t ever book a cruise again!