Vasco Da Gama ship visit.

I was invited to spend time on board a ship which is part of the Cruise and Maritime fleet, this was Vasco Da Gama, their latest ship to join their growing fleet. We were able to be on board for a few hours to have a good look around this 55,000 tonne ships carrying 1200 passengers, 9 passenger decks, accessed by stairs and lifts.

I was particularly impressed with the style and design of the public rooms, beautiful colours, very inviting and comfortable along with quirky extras. You can pick from Hollywood's a 2 level entertainment lounge, The Dome Observatory - a lovely lounge at the front of ship to watch the world go by during the day and a night club in the evening. Or the Blue Room for more late night entertainment.

There are 3 main Waterfront restaurants - Waterfront Restaurant, Waterfront Mediterranean and Waterfront Eurasia - no sittings or pre-booking plus 2 speciality dining venues; The Grill steak restaurant and The Chef's table - cover charge applies.

A central 3 tier atrium is where you will find on board sales, shore excursions plus various comfy chairs just to sit and relax plus the photo gallery. Also on board you will find a cinema, casino, bridge and card rooms, arts and crafts area, library plus the all important coffee shop and ice cream bar. Plus of course 2 swimming pools and lots of deck space to rest and relax with the benefit of a retractable roof. Not forgetting the Jade Spa, sauna and solarium and a well equipped gym. Or find a quiet corner and relax and indulge in the people watching.

As you would expect there are a range of cabins to cater for all budgets, standard inside and outside cabins plus larger more luxurious balcony cabins and suites, something to suit everyone. 120 balcony cabins and 29 suites. The ship is very relaxed on board, staff very welcoming and friendly. The whole ship felt very welcoming with a warm relaxed atmosphere on board.

Cruise and Maritime also have Marco Polo, Columbus and Magellan. All smaller ships. They operate a wide selection of cruises to world wide destinations including, Caribbean, Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Mexico, Panama Canal as well as world cruises.

Cruises depart from various places including Bristol (Avonmouth), Tilbury, Liverpool, Dublin and Cork. Plus fly cruises to sectors of the world cruise or to their Mexican, Panama and Caribbean cruises.

I have attached a few photographs taken yesterday.