We will be doing a 7 day cruise on Orient Lines Marco Polo ship 7 - 14 November from Rome to Barcelona. Just want a bit of input re what to expect. If anyone has been on this ship recently, what sort of service etc can one expect? How smart does one have to dress for dinner at night? Would appreciate any comments.

The Marco polo has been one of my favorite ships and I am very unhappy that it is being sold. I say all this to indicate my opinions here are biased. I believe the Marco Polo has been one of the best buys in the cruise market. The Filipino crew provides outstanding service. The only people who would not like the Marco Polo are those that love glitz, demand luxurious amenities, and want tons of extra activities that are charged extra. It does have formal nights where pants suits are dark suits are acceptable like most cruise ships, but you can go to the buffet if you wish. I suspect you will be very happy with your cruise.

Thank you for your input. We dont want glitz and glamour and are more interested in visiting destinations than being entertained on the ship. We will be travelling with a 13 month old baby too so hope this goes off ok. Also didnt want to have to get too dressed up all the time!

We chose the Marco Polo for the itinerary, which we loved, but I wouldn't recommend the ship itself at all. The ship was not particularly attractive, and semed a bit worn.

Our cabin was the smallest we've ever had, and if one of us was up, walking around, the other one had to be sitting on the bed or using the bathroom. The steward adequately cleaned our room every day, but he certainly made himself scarce, and wasn't particularly attentive.

The food was mediocre, and our waiter terrible. People say that the advantage of traditional seating is that the waiter gets to know you and your preferences, and therefore anticipates what you need. Not only didn't that happen, but if we asked for anything out of the ordinary, he seemed aggravated with us. Small things like having our coffee while we were waiting for dessert, or sking for additional onion rings.

Breakfast and lunch in the dining room weren't any better. One day I ordered a BLT for lunch, which was on the menu--and I was told they were out, which gave the others at our table a good laugh, as they speculated about which basic item they might be out of.

The entertainment was poor. We don't like glitzy production shows, but the caliber of the singers and dancers was laughable.

The four of us who traveled together don't love glitz, demand luxurious amenities, or want tons of extra activities, and we didn't like the Marco Polo.

I too have cruised on the Marco Polo. Fortunately, we had good service, decent food and a table with nice, fun people. This is an old ship and by now I'm sure it has seen it's better days. The entertainment at night was only so-so and seating was difficult as there are large poles in the theater that obstruct views from many of the seats. With this said though, I think it was a very good value cruise for the $$ with excellent itineraries.

We upgraded to a larger cabin and very happy we did. We would have been very cramped in their tiny standard cabin. I'm hoping you don't have a standard cabin! After knowing what I know now, it would be difficult to cruise on the M.P. again though as there are no balconies to the best of my knowledge.