No-fly cruises from the UK

My sister and I loved our 10 day cruise around the British Isles.

The ship Columbus was friendly, comfortable, and the food was excellent.. The shops troupe of entertainers were brilliant.

The Scottish Islands of Orkney, Skye and Mull were wonderful, I have wanted to see them for years. They did not disappoint.

Our day on the Scilly Isles was particularly lovely.

Blue Water Holidays were very friendly and helpful during the initial booking, and in all subsequent dealings. This was my 5th cruise, and I really enjoyed being on a smaller ship.

We have friends who have been on several cruises with different companies and they recommended that we try it out. We therefore all booked onto the Shetlands, Faroes, Orkneys and Scotland cruise on the Marco Polo with CMV.

Pleased to say our first experience at sea was good, the cabin was clean and the steward made sure it stayed that way! The catering was first class and I can honestly say we didnt have a bad meal throughout the cruise and I must comment the catering staff and waiters in the dining room for a first class service. There was plenty of variety with the entertainment which ranged from ABBA, Divas to the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the dancers/comperes were very professional.

As it was our first time at sea we decided to go on an excursion every day and there was a wide choice available. The most enjoyable trips ashore for our party was the Faroes (Mountain Scenery Pancakes), the Orkneys (South Island Scapa Distillery) and Invergordon - in particular Dunrobin Castle. However, as Im a bit of a history buff the highlight of the cruise for me was the excursion around Scapa Flow and the Italian Church on the Orkneys. Although I have to say St Magnus Cathedral and the Earls Bishops Palaces in the islands capital Kirkwall were impressive.

We were blessed with good weather throughout the cruise which made a big difference as we understood from local people that it can be cold and windy in some of the places we visited even during this summer period. The sea was also calm all adding to the enjoyment of our time at sea.

All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and if we could change only one thing it would be to have a cabin with a window as we didnt get any natural daylight down on the Baltic deck

I thoroughly enjoyed being on the vessel, from the mechanics of it all. It is such a large ship and it was fascinating seeing it leave the harbours and dock, anchor at sea and everything that was involved with it. I loved being on the deck seeing the the ship plough through the sea, and loved seeing the shore from the sea - especially at night when you could see harbour lights and the light from the lighthouses.

My cabin was wonderful, the window being under the deck so I was right beside the sea. It was all so clean and the cabin staff worked tirelessly to make it all a great stay.

The ship was spotlessly clean - again the staff working all day to keep it so.

The entertainment was good and the facilities of all the lounges and bars. I didnt like eating the formal dinner every night (the staff were wonderful, so friendly, but being a solo passenger with no choice of whom to be with, I found some of the other table members somewhat difficult to get on with). I found the dinner went on for so long, there being so many courses (the food was wonderful but too much for me to eat) that I found I could eat in the bistro instead. I found that much better as I could be more independent, eating when I wanted and how much I wanted. Also, it meant I was free to go up on deck and watch the ship as it left the ports.

I liked the library and games room. I found peace and quiet in both places and like minded people occupying them. It was great to have jigsaw puzzles that everybody could join in with.

The information sheet that we got each night in our cabin was invaluable. It was all so well organised. I also loved the little newspaper each day and the puzzle sheets - so many people used them.

It was lovely having free tea and coffee all day long. The food was superb in both the restaurant and the bistro, with super afternoon tea as well - I especially liked the pastries.

I did a couple of excursions but after that decided to do my own thing rather than having to be organised on and off buses. I enjoyed walking off into the towns, and enjoyed the tender journeys. We visited some lovely places.

I did feel at times like I was in a floating care home, so many elderly and infirm people. That is all fine but a lot of moaning went on as well! I thought the staff were very patient and friendly at all times when having to deal with such passengers and their complaints.

I applaud the captain and his staff on looking after us all so well and delivering us safely from place to place. I am in awe of how they handle such a large vessel.

All in all a very interesting, enjoyable experience. Although my next sortie at sea will be with 34 passengers.