Travelled with my wife, this was our first experience with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, after having done the obligatory research initially.

A well organised event - a Fred Olsen charter flight for some 370 cruisers aboard a Pullmantur Air Jumbo 747 from Gatwick to Callao (Lima) was a pleasant experience, perhaps the most comfortable charter we've ever travelled on, with comfortable seats, plenty of legroom, seemingly continuously being fed & watered, toilets regularly cleaned by cabin crew during flight (something regular airline could learn). Upon arrival in Lima, clear directions through all formalities and onto the coaches taking all to the ship.

The Black Watch itself is a tired old lady, but with a certain faded dignity - our cabin, rather optimistically called a "Superior Outside Double" was for us rather small and cramped, with no room for twin beds side by side, all be it with a small picture window as against portholes - one bed was along a cabin wall, the other against the outer bulkhead, set in "L" shaped configuration. Clear signs of wear & tear (scratch marks on dressing table, one draw not fitting properly, loose shower head, etc), but comfortable beds none the less. The in cabin TV was still was still one of the old box type, with sometimes a fuzzy picture - these days, we would have expected a slim flat screen set. The air conditioner struggled in the South American climate, even at the coolest setting, and sound insulation between cabins was an issue. Everything generally worked OK though, and unlike some cruise liners, tea/coffee making facilities were in situ. Read more