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Voyages of Discovery and Cruise & Maritime merger


Host Sharon

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Host Sharon,

I am really confused newcomer to ocean cruising.

Could there be two cruise ships named Discovery?

I have the 2013 brochure from Voyages of Discovery for the ships Voyager and Discovery. The cruises listed for Discovery bear no relationship for those listed on the Cruise and Maritime website for its ship Discovery.

Yesterday my travel agent had no information to suggest that the voyages listed in the Voyages of Discovery would not take place. Last week there was nothing on the Voyages of Discovery to indicate any changes or a merger with another company.

Can you clarify please.

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Host Sharon,

I am really confused newcomer to ocean cruising.

Could there be two cruise ships named Discovery?

I have the 2013 brochure from Voyages of Discovery for the ships Voyager and Discovery. The cruises listed for Discovery bear no relationship for those listed on the Cruise and Maritime website for its ship Discovery.

Yesterday my travel agent had no information to suggest that the voyages listed in the Voyages of Discovery would not take place. Last week there was nothing on the Voyages of Discovery to indicate any changes or a merger with another company.

Can you clarify please.

 

Hi

We are booked on Ocean Countess and our TA have told us that they have received an email regarding this change/merger.

I have also read it on the "travel weekly", it does state that there will be a better ship with balconys replacing the Discovery.

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Host Sharon,

I am really confused newcomer to ocean cruising.

Could there be two cruise ships named Discovery?

I have the 2013 brochure from Voyages of Discovery for the ships Voyager and Discovery. The cruises listed for Discovery bear no relationship for those listed on the Cruise and Maritime website for its ship Discovery.

Yesterday my travel agent had no information to suggest that the voyages listed in the Voyages of Discovery would not take place. Last week there was nothing on the Voyages of Discovery to indicate any changes or a merger with another company.

Can you clarify please.

 

 

No - sorry. Voyager stays with VOD and Discovery moves to Cruise & Maritime. I had the official letter from C&M as I am, or rather was, booked on Ocean Countess next April, and will now be sailing on Discovery, which goes in for a refit this winter. I do not know why your TA doesn't know about this, There was a press release out a couple of days ago.

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Thanks Sharon, sometimes takes a while for these announcements reach Australia and filter down to retail level. If the agents knew, they didn't mention it.

The Voyager itineraries appeal to us and I hope some of the its passengers will report soon.

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A lot of things can get overlooked by cruise lines as in C& M has 2 bookings for the same day totally different ...8th Sept welcome aboard with cabin to stay over if you wish no passport needed on the 9th Sept Autum Gardens 5 night cruise ..still being advertised for the 8th Sept by a couple of TA's C & M Autumn Gardens to Honfleur etc different ittenary 6 nights ..i let the TA's know & it's because it's in the brochure of C& M but the welcome aboard is from the net & nobody seems bothered that there are 2 totally different cruise's /welcome aboard on the same day ....i'm booked on the welcome aboard + the cruise on the 9th so on Ocean Countess already & can't wait to see what happens as the 6 nighter was £400 + & will be staying in dock in Hull :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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Drape this thread in black crepe.

 

As creaky and clunky as she was, the Discovery was well loved and was exactly what she was supposed to be - a ship that took passengers to exotic places with incredible enrichment - it self selected her passengers primarily because she was what she was - a ship and an agile and nimble one at that who could still get into those older, more convenient harbors and was still welcomed in some of the more remote passenger ports around the world.

 

We had two glorious long voyages on her and would sign up again in an instant and had planned to ...until this new. Waiting to see now how much will be lost because of this merger, and to see what can be a substitute for her irreplaceable charms.

 

Boo!

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Drape this thread in black crepe.

 

As creaky and clunky as she was, the Discovery was well loved and was exactly what she was supposed to be - a ship that took passengers to exotic places with incredible enrichment - it self selected her passengers primarily because she was what she was - a ship and an agile and nimble one at that who could still get into those older, more convenient harbors and was still welcomed in some of the more remote passenger ports around the world.

 

We had two glorious long voyages on her and would sign up again in an instant and had planned to ...until this new. Waiting to see now how much will be lost because of this merger, and to see what can be a substitute for her irreplaceable charms.

 

Boo!

Well said!!! How could they do this to our ship! I would think that almost 99% (ok maybe a little lower :rolleyes:) of people who sail on Discovery really take her into their heart and you feel part of the family as soon as you step on board. Which is why people come back again and again to see their friends made on board. Having enjoyed three cruises on board I as well was looking forward to sailing again as soon as possible! We can not deny that the refit is needed.

 

Ok so the places to be visited are usual, the sad part is the enrichment side really seems compromised in favour of "A Laugh on the Ocean Waves" or the like.. that only makes me :(. A definite change there and just becoming like any other cruise line has to offer.

 

I just hope that she returns unharmed at the end of October and this not their way of pushing her out to only sail Voyager (a smaller ship and in no way as beautiful!!!)

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Pheebs, please tell us more about your Discovery Diamond Jubilee lunch I noticed in your signature.

 

There were so many familiar passengers on our second long cruise back to the Indian Ocean that the magic of this ship became apparent as soon as we re-embarqued and got to spend time again with this stalwart group of like-minded passengers, who thrived on exactly what the Discovery offered.

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Pheebs, please tell us more about your Discovery Diamond Jubilee lunch I noticed in your signature.

 

Sorry for the late reply just started back at work these last couple of days and too tired to think!!

 

Well what can I say... I was very lucky to be a guest of crew on board for the day. When I knew they would be in London for the weekend I was hoping to go down and visit, not expecting the chance to actually go on board!

 

We arrived in London and took a tender to the ship, had our passports checked and security etc and stepped on board, we had a little tour (I was with family who hadn't been on before so showing them my favourite ship was great fun especially my young niece who this was a bit of a surprise for!) Had a hot chocolate in the lido :D and then relaxed in the Discovery theatre out of the way of the few remaining passengers on board (two young children they needed a little space to play so the stage was great for that!)

 

Then it was time for lunch, I think there was only a couple of tables dining in the restaurant, it wasn't a fancy Jubilee lunch the main event was in the evening so unfortunately we missed that only for the passengers! But they were getting ready for the evening putting up all the flags and everything, the ship was all decorated for the celebrations. So maybe it is a little cheat to call it what I did :o But we were very well looked after and saw so many familiar friendly faces and everyone was asking are you coming back for a cruise with us?!!! Of course! having been back on for a couple of hours, I had to go book a cruise!

 

After lunch sadly we couldn't really stay on board :( so hard to get off after only a couple of hours! We went off to find the flotilla. We arrived just as the Queen was passing, but unfortunately couldn't see as there were soooo many people and also it just started to rain very hard!

 

We got a couple of things to take away like the Discovery daily programme, but unfortunately that got absolutely drenched. So when I went back on board for a cruise at the end of July, saved especially for me were new copies and a copy of the evening menu!

 

 

Very much doubt chances like that would happen with this merger :(

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Thanks for the report, Pheebs. I can picture every venue you described. Boo hoo! I would have felt the same way you did. Glad you got to sign up for another one so all will soon be well.

 

Did they tell you anything about the upcoming refurbishments? Superficial software changes or major hardware changes?

 

Those Coral Deck bathrooms could sure use a total make-over to make even that tiny space more usable. There are also plenty of in-cabin overhead storage options too that could make the cabins, small as they are, far more accommodating.

 

But I worry more about the change in focus and itineraries for the Discovery, which is why we fell in love with her in the first, last and always place. Oh, yeah and the Discovery crew!

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When I sailed in July, they had refitted two bathrooms on Bali deck, they you could go and look at them. Although when we tried we were told the cabins were occupied! But we did have a look on the final morning the cabin steward let us have a quick look. To be honest, all it is a refresh, the fittings seemed the same it was just nicer tiling. Still the tiny cupboards either side of the basin, which are fine till rough seas hehe and you have to chase everything around as the catches never hold! So I think it will be the same for the coral bathrooms as they are exactly the same size.

 

But they still didn't know where the ship was going for the refit, or totally what the plans were but I don't think it was anything drastic! I hope not, don't want to lose any of the charm of the little shippy! Just sort the Lido roof!!!

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After reading that the Discovery would be sailing for CMV with 700 passengers (up from 650), I contacted VOD to ask whether additional cabins were going to be added while the ship was in drydock. I was told that having fewer guest speakers and crew onboard would free up cabins for more passengers.

 

So, more passengers and less crew.

 

The VOD "product" will continue to be provided onboard the Voyager.

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After reading that the Discovery would be sailing for CMV with 700 passengers (up from 650), I contacted VOD to ask whether additional cabins were going to be added while the ship was in drydock. I was told that having fewer guest speakers and crew onboard would free up cabins for more passengers.

 

So, more passengers and less crew.

 

The VOD "product" will continue to be provided onboard the Voyager.

:(

 

On a much smaller ship ~ 100 passengers fewer!

 

There are no Voyager cruises with VoD between the end of June and start of September 2013 :eek:

 

So no ships offering the VOD product next summer :rolleyes:

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After reading that the Discovery would be sailing for CMV with 700 passengers (up from 650), I contacted VOD to ask whether additional cabins were going to be added while the ship was in drydock. I was told that having fewer guest speakers and crew onboard would free up cabins for more passengers.

 

So, more passengers and less crew.

 

The VOD "product" will continue to be provided onboard the Voyager.

 

Fewer guest speakers! A knife just went through my Discovery-loving heart!!! :eek::confused::mad:

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:(

 

On a much smaller ship ~ 100 passengers fewer!

 

There are no Voyager cruises with VoD between the end of June and start of September 2013 :eek:

 

So no ships offering the VOD product next summer :rolleyes:

It looked like the Voyager had an open deck and not the retractible covered Lido deck like the Discovery had -- which would mean this could be an unusable space in inclement weather. But that was only how it looked from the pictures.

 

On our last Discovery trip the retractible roof had problems and had to be closed for the first few days ---starting in Singapore heading into the indian Ocean --- and it was unbearably stuffy. We thought oh, woe because that is our favorite part of the ship.

 

But finally they were able to open it just a little bit and get some breezes going (thank goodness) but it never worked and apparently the parts could not be replaced. I can see if the poor, dear Discovery was having this level of mechanical problems it would become burdensome to keep it on its exotic itineraries. (Boo hoo)

 

Never realized how this sort of internal mechanical detail mattered until it is missing, so now I do look at ships to see what kind of protected or semi-protected outdoor space they offer. Fine to be open in good weather, but nice to have the option to close in bad. And to be able to do this at moments changes in the weather.

 

So does anyone know the status of the new Voyager Lido deck? Does it have the retractible glass roof?

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Its true :( None of the speakers usual to a Discovery cruise but this...

 

"The on board experience will be provided by Cruise & Maritime Voyages, featuring a friendly yet attentive service for which Discovery has always been known, but with different entertainment options including production shows, comedians and speciality acts as well as guest speakers."

 

http://www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk/news.php?&newsid=13243

 

 

 

I had a look at the brochure :( and it just isn't the same kind of thing when they say guest speakers

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Its true :( None of the speakers usual to a Discovery cruise but this...

 

"The on board experience will be provided by Cruise & Maritime Voyages, featuring a friendly yet attentive service for which Discovery has always been known, but with different entertainment options including production shows, comedians and speciality acts as well as guest speakers."

 

http://www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk/news.php?&newsid=13243

 

 

 

I had a look at the brochure :( and it just isn't the same kind of thing when they say guest speakers

 

Okay, ............. you just twisted that knife!!! ARRRGGHHH!!!!.:eek::mad::eek:

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Basically Discovery is replacing Ocean Countess, with ll that that entails. I would imagine that VOD might look for another ship though?

 

Sounds like they're overextended-- they've never had two ships in service simultaneously.

 

What's really outrageous is that CMV announces this and VOD says nothing...

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We were booked on the Ocean Countess next June, we have now had a letter cancelling our cruise, they did offer 3 other cruises but they were going to a different place from a different dock on a different date.

 

We chose to get our money back, considering this was going to be our first cruise celebrating my 60th birthday it's very disapointing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We have never sailed on Discovery before but may do next summer. Can I just ask those who have been regular passengers on her - what difference is there in the Guest Speakers that used to be on her when she was a VOD ship & those that may be on her next summer (and also those on P & O which we have recently sailed on)?

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