3 day Cruise and Maritime mini cruise MV Columbus

I won a prize of a 3-night trip on board the MV Columbus sailing from Tilbury to Amsterdam and Antwerp from 25th to 28th August. I boarded a coach at Victoria coach station which was organized by Cruise and Maritime. The coach was comfortable and it took 1 hour 30 minutes to reach Tilbury but the traffic was very busy on Friday afternoon. It only took 45 minutes on the return on Bank Holiday Monday. Our cases were taken straight to our room. We checked in and boarded the ship. We had a twin cabin which was spacious and had a walk-in wardrobe with plenty of hanging and drawer space. The shower room had plenty of storage for toiletries and the shower cubicle was a good size. The room had been refurbished but not the shower room. It was very clean and our cabin steward was good. There was tea and coffee making facilities in the room, a mini bar, safe and hairdryer. There was one UK socket and one European socket. The Columbus was the old P&O Arcadia and then Ocean Village It is the largest ship in their fleet a t63, 783 tons and carries 1400 passengers. It was built in 1989 but was refurbished this year. The public rooms are very nice and well appointed. There are two pools. The pool area could do with new sun beds as they look a bit tired. They have put a cinema screen over one of the pools and there is also a swim up to bar in of the pools. They have installed a couple of large Jacuzzis and lovely large sunbeds on the aft of the ship. It is an all adult ship (apart from the odd sailing) so there are no children’s facilities on the ship. The cabins are spacious. We had an outside with a picture window. There is a walk in wardrobe area with plenty of hanging and drawer space. The shower cubicle is a good size but has a plastic shower curtain which I don’t like. The cabin had new furnishings in it but the pictures on the wall looked a bit cheap but that was a minor issue. The Waterfront dining room is pleasant and is sectioned off by partitions to make it feel more intimate and it worked but I did not like the plastic grass decoration at the top of the partitions. The dinner in the main restaurant was very good with good choice options and you could order every course if you wished – starter, soup, salad, main course, dessert and cheese, and biscuits. They catered very well for people with dietary requirements, such as vegetarians, gluten, and lactose intolerant. The portions were not large but certainly adequate. The wine and drinks prices are very reasonable with a bottle of wine house wine at £15 and good quality. Drinks in the bars were very reasonable too. They do a drinks package for £17 per day for cruises of over 4 nights and the gratuities are £5 per person per night. The breakfast in both the buffet restaurant and the main restaurant was very good with a great choice, the bacon was very lean and of good quality. There was a good selection of hot food and desserts but I did not try these. There were a couple of specialty dining options and we dined in the Indian restaurant (part of the buffet which is sectioned off and used in the evening) and the food was very good. There are two other dining options which we did not try. The service was excellent in all the restaurants. Our Goan restaurant waiters were very friendly and gave a great service. The entertainment was very good in the bar areas and the entertainment team put on an excellent show in the foyer on the last evening. We only went to see one show which was OK. I think I have been spoilt with the more professional shows on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. There were some talented singers, particularly one girl who sang opera in the foyer. There was a disco in The Dome which acts as a Crows Nest bar during the day and there are 7 other lounge bars and 2 deck bars. Entertainment was good and lively in the evenings in The Taverner's pub. There is also a casino.

There are two launderettes and ironing rooms which tend to appeal to the British market. Their excursions look good value. We did a coach tour and canal boat trip in Amsterdam and a Beer Walk in Antwerp which C&M provided for us agents. The staff were of many nationalities and were very friendly. The ship is classed as a 3* plus and that is where I would put it. The age group generally tends to be 60+ but there was a younger element on this mini cruise. All in all, I found it very good value for money and it was a good cruise if you are not looking for luxury or fine dining. It would also suit people who do not like the new large cruise ships. They do have some good offers, buy one get one-half price or get one free. I would certainly sail with Cruise and Maritime again.