Marco Polo Review
This is cruising at the very bottom of the market
Rating by category
Additional details
My wife and I are experienced cruisers with over one thousand sea days.
We chose this cruise because of the itinerary with St Helena and Suez canal top of our list of "to do's".
First impressions of the ship, cabins and staff and crew were mediocre at best. As time progressed on this 78 day trip we downgraded that initial impression.
Cabin Review
The cabin lacked most of the facilities.considered to be normal fittings.
We did have a kettle but few other cabins did
The cabin was clean but well worn,
Port Reviews
Casablanca
To be honest we saw little of Casablanca as we took the ships tour to Marrakesh. It's a long day but well worth the effort. The atmosphere is unique.
Walvis Bay
This part of the country is either sandy desert or coast / sea going activity. We did a Desert wildlife tour with Laramon tours. Yes there yes there is lots to see in the desert and they knew where to look. The oysters from the port are without doubt the best in the world.
Cape Town
We have been to Cape town many times but always headed out to the Cape or Constantia valley. The town is now safe to walk around and within reasonable distance of the port.
Port Elizabeth
Again we had been to the area several times recently so really a town stroll was sufficient.
Zanzibar
The slave market and adjacent church are reasonable walking distance as is the spice market.
Mombasa
Great improvement on previous visit more than 20 year ago but must do more to enthuse the tourist. The single day trip to the wildlife refuge are not good as by the time you get there it's mid day and the animals are resting.
Victoria
Previous we had took snorkeling trips here and the area is first class for coral and variety of fish. On this occasion we strolled into town which is an average working town.
Male
The tender operations were very poorly organised and the resulting delay meant we had barely a couple of hours in the town
Colombo
The town is walkable if you are in the old port. The new tourist port is a fair way to get out of the port. We had previously been to the elephant orphanage and the large elephant temple in town. This time we discovered the large market and added to our already overweight cases
Salalah
The town has grown out of being a small fishing and beach location to now a large regional town that has lost its character.
Durban
If you don't take a wildlife tour try walking into town and try some of the unique India style snacy. You won't be disappointed.
Aqaba (Petra)
Due to the corvid 19 virus the remaining ports were all missed as landing was refused.
Bristol (Avonmouth)
Embarcation was not well organized. A cold drafty hanger and not even a cup of tea whilst enduring the wait.
Lisbon
Lisbon is a great place to stroll around, taste the unique food and try the local drinks. Despite being a capital city it is small enough to walk to the major sites.