Having some doubts about Paul's advice(sorry Paul) we would like to hear about the Marco Polo from others before we commit to 22 days trans atlantic. 50th anniversary so this is special.
Little Cricket
orient line's Marco Polo
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We went on the Orient Lines Marco Polo approx 2 1/2 years ago-Barcelona to Athens, and loved it. This ship was not the one previously owned by Norwegian, and transferred to Orient lines when they were bought by NCL-it has been under the ownership of Orient Lines for a number of years, at some point in it's past was a Russian ice breaker-hence it's Antarctica itinerary. We were so pleased with our experience, we will soon be booking their Scandanavia/Russia trip for next summer.
The Marco Polo was launched in 1965 and was known as the Alexandr Pushkin. The owners decided the name was not appropriate to gather American and some European cruisers thus the name Marco Polo.
The original and present owner is Fiducia Shipping Company. Is is leased and operated by Orient Lines a subsidiary of NCL.
Paul
We've just returned from a Scandinavian/Russia cruise on the Marco Polo and also used them to go to Greece/Turkey. We really enjoyed the cruise as it was very port intensive so we didn't spend much time on the boat. Of the three lines we've sailed on this one was the best for ports and the most laid back.
A couple of things about the ship. It's a smaller boat, capacity is about 800 people. So the entertainment options are probably a little more limited than on the larger ships. There is one show lounge and I thought the entertainment was a little weak.
Options for dining include the regular dining room and a buffet style restaurant which serves different food than the restaurant, hit and miss on the quality. The food in the dining room, in my opinion, was good but not great although the desserts were always good. I can only compare it to Princess and RCCL both of which I thought were better. I thought Princess and RCCL both had better alternate dining, Princess had a pizzeria and RCCL had a sit down restaurant with some of the same food as the dining room.
The Marco Polo did have lots of activities scheduled throughout the day but we were always off in port. Bingo, trivia, aerobics, golf, etc.
I couldn't see your itinerary on Orient's website so I don't know how many formal days they have on the transatlantic. We didn't have any on the Scandinavian cruise which I really liked but some people might not. I think it's one of the more casual ships.
Hope some of this is helpful.
www.oldistanbul.com
can give you some idea in Istanbul
Ferit
See Istanbul through the eyes of the artists and historians of Les Arts Turcs, innovators in off-the-beaten-path walking tours. Explore Old Istanbul, from the ancient tradition of the Turkish bath to the mystic Whirling Dervishes, from the Egyptian Spice Market to the trade secrets of the Silk Road linking Europe with China. Each of these intimate half-day and full-day tours will immerse you in a unique aspect of Turkish history and culture.