Polari Reviews

Have travelled with several other cruises lines and whilst Travelmarvel was very nice, we found it at the lower end of the scale. But it was very well priced in comparison so I guess you get what you pay for. We felt the cruise director was was hard to understand whenever she held a microphone and at times tried to give out too much information at once read more which had the guest bored and not listening. The meals were excellent but the tours only basic.

We cruised from Amsterdam to Budapest during the Christmas season. The cruise and the included guided tours were great. We learned so much about the history of these lovely cities, towns and areas that we visited. The standard and quantity of meals provided was amazing and the onboard service faultless. The only change I would make is to not go to read more as many Christmas markets as they all became a bit same same and most had food and drinks that we just didn't need. Next time we would spend more time exploring more than just the old town and market squares.

Rachael was a fantastic agent. Thanks, Rachael - brilliant. We did the two week cruise with Travelmarvel, and because it’s an Australian company, it was loaded only with Australians and Brits. This was perfect. Staff fabulous. Boat fabulous. We had the cheapest of the rooms and it was fine. Oh, and the food was really great. Thanks Travelmarvel, and thanks Rachael.

I could fault nothing! The cruise was fantastic, the ship was clean, beautifully decorated with all the comforts.. Barbara our director looked after us completely. Laura looked after the dining room and Alex did a great job with the bar. Our cabins were clean and comfortable thanks to Phyu our attendant. The free daily tours were interesting with knowledgeable read more local guides. I would definately travel again with this company. Hannah our Global Journeys' agent was very helpful and efficient. She got us great deals and looked after our airfares too. Thank you Global journeys 🙏 it was a winter wonderland.

I thought going on this cruise in late October may have been a mistake because of the weather but I was wrong. We had only one day of rain and the rest was fine, albeit a little colder as we progressed to Amsterdam. I loved unpacking in my spacious room and simply relaxing. Having a balcony was perfect and I recommend level 3. The organisation from read more the cruise director was exemplary and daily briefings made things easy. She catered for the very active to those who had decreased mobility. The food was beautiful with three course lunches and four course dinners - different every day. we saw the sights, had great information and were entertained nightly alongside of wonderful people. would I do it again - in a heartbeat because the Danube and the Rhein are spectacular!!

Our river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest was brilliant. Everything went seamlessly and Travelmarvel ships are beautiful and probably the best looking out of all the others we passed. Global Journeys did a magnificent job in organising the trip and we would like to send a giant thank you to Grace Enchelmaier for her friendly and professional service. read more Even though we had to change ships due to low water levels, the inconvenience was minimal. We would definitely recommend this trip and dealing with Global Journeys (Grace).

Global Journeys made the booking easy with many questions answered and good pricing. We have been using them for many years without issues too. TravelMarvel tours were truly wonderful, people, coaches, guides, ships, we had a few issues with a couple hotels particularly in Florence (had to change rooms 4 x!) and the coach tour was busier, as in faster, read more than we anticipated, some of us struggled with the pace but the guides and tour director was always fun and interesting.

Italy was manic with tourists even in this shoulder season, Vatican City particularly was very poorly organised by the venue, then people crammed through. We missed the museum and weren’t allowed to hover around taking pics, the crowds just carried you on! The Rome sites were all like this, so spoilt the tour. Koln was just awful, we visited 20 yrs ago and loved it so really looking forward to seeing it again, but it was horrible all the interesting shops and shopping areas have been replaced with tourist shops and the streets were seething with people, and smoking people at that.

Venice was magical, apart from the crazy way that tourist buses are forced to use water taxis to get to the hotel even though the hotel is adjacent to the bus terminal! Amsterdam’s name of Little Venice is appropriate too, nice place to stay for a few days exploring, but you need to see both sides of the Main Street, one side is quiet and sophisticated the other (red light side) is loud and blustering, both are interesting in their own way though.

We had to swap ships halfway up due to low water levels (they said?) and the difference in the crews was quite obvious, Capella crew was very relaxed and fun, vs Polaris who were quite restrained in approach and function, we felt that maybe the Capella crew was more experienced and comfortable with each other vs Polaris who we thought may have still been “training” a little. All in all it was a wonderfully tiring experience with TravelMarvel - yet very professional too 👍👏👏

Travelmarvel’s Amsterdam to Budapest was excellent. The ships were very well presented, cabins had good facilities, staff were very friendly and provided great service, quality meals and the tour director on our cruise ( Roland) was excellent. He provided great communications on each days activities, suggestions on extra things to do and was exceptionally read more approachable for all passengers. Overall this cruise was great value for money. We couldn’t fault any aspect of the cruise, the staff or the service.

I could not recommend this cruise enough. The staff were amazing with nothing we asked was too much for them to handle. they were professional, courteous and spoke excellent English meaning nothing got lost in translation. All guides and tours were professionally managed and went into details about the towns and site we passed by. This is definetly a trip I would do again.

An enjoyable river cruise with everything run well except for how the problems with the boat propella were mismanaged . This ongoing problem impacted on the mid cruise stops in particular we missed seeing Numerburg a high value tour and we sailed almost all the Rhine Valley in darkness.

The trip in total was 7 weeks, with the first 4 and the final week organised independently by my wife and myself. The 15 day Travelmarvel cruise was a great way to relax after 4 weeks of independent travel. We could unpack both suitcases and put everything away in drawers, and get our clothes laundered. I'll summarise my feedback for future travelers:

1. read more We travelled Amsterdam to Budapest and I would definitely recommend this direction rather than the reverse. The reasons include the first day or 2 are more grass bank views before the beautiful castles and towns appear, and you also get the mind-blowing view of Budapest at the end of the trip.
2. Take a few days in Amsterdam at the beginning and a few days at Budapest at the end as these are brilliant cities. Be sure to book Anne Frank House in Amsterdam 6 weeks before you arrive (as we did) as it will definitely sell out and every other passenger missed out.
3. Flights were included in the cost, but we paid for a Business class upgrade that was good value and worth every cent.
4. Travelmarvel caters for both independent travellers, and well as those who wish to pay for the extra day trips. We liked this option as well could often "do our own thing" on land and that suited us.
5. The meals on board were great.
6. Drinks at lunch and dinner are included, and we found that refills were regular and plentiful and more than enough for us. You could even get the glass filled before 9pm closure and take it upstairs to the lounge.
7. Rooms are great and second and third floor of the Polaris had large windows that could be lowered for a great view.

Global Journeys were very communicative and our agent Rachael McSorley was excellent in answering all questions and providing all information. Well done Rachael.

Very friendly thoughtful professional and welcoming crew from the tour director to the cabin staff. Our room was perfect. The food was amazing (the soup could be improved) and the dining room and bar excellent. All tour guides were very knowledgeable and helpful although the audio did not always work. An unforgettable experience. Loved it!

Thank you Hannah for being such a great agent from start to finish - nothing was too much trouble and we really appreciate our positive Global Journeys experience! We really enjoyed our Travel Marvel Eastern Europe extension and Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. Sadly the weather on the cruise was not great so never really got to experience fully the top read more deck! Our cruise director Hedleigh was great and an organisational wizard! Our only hesitation to do another was perhaps it was a bit too regimented for us - kind of a bit ground hog day with the food on board (which was great but not a lot of change from day to day) and similarity of the organised tours in each place with some tour guides excellent but others not great! Highlights for me - the concert in Vienna - don’t miss it - and I really enjoyed the various ‘bergs’ and the home visit in Miltenberg! Some of the German towns were lovely and we met some great people on the tour! Overall this was a great holiday - the river ships are really nicely done - French balcony cabin great and staff on board friendly!

We had the most wonderful holiday Rachael McSorley from Global Journeys was a blessing she was so helpful with booking and organising our river cruise with Travel Marvel. Cruising down the Danube was a dream come true and the ship and staff did not disappoint. The tours and food were amazing. We will definitely use Global Journeys and Travelmarvel again in the future.

The whole trip was excellent. I have nothing bad to say. The accommodation was great, the food was to die for and the trips where good. Our cabin on the ship was lovely and in fact the whole ship was great. Crew were also excellent.

So glad we chose Travelmarvel's European Gems cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest for our first trip after covid restrictions for the past three years. We sailed on the Polaris, a brand new ship which was modern and tastefully furnished. The staff and crew worked very hard throughout the cruise and were very friendly and eager to please. The cruise director, read more Andrew, was always available and approachable and he made sure everyone was informed about each day's tours and activities. The food and drinks were of a high standard and plentiful. We were looked after in every way and felt very special indeed. There were so many lovely passengers on board and we enjoyed their company very much. We saw some amazing places and were thrilled that it also snowed for some of the cruise. Of course, being December, the Christmas markets didn't disappoint either. A big thankyou to Georgie from Global Journeys who always makes booking so easy and stress free and Travelmarvel for a wonderful cruise that was everything we could have hoped for.

This was a birthday gift for my husband 60th birthday. I fretted and worried that it would be an OTT organised activity trip which he hated...BUT was so pleasantly surprised at how stress free and optional it all was. The tour leader Andrew was fab. The staff superb.
Absolutely everything was outstanding. Could not fault it. Was really hard to get off!!

I had an amazing trip. The crew and staff were fantastic always smiling, nothing was to much trouble. The tour guide was fantastic on the ball for every little detail. I would highly recommend this trip to everyone.

This trip was fantastic, the food was good, the crew were excellent and nothing was a bother. I can highly recommend Travelmarvel for a river cruise.