This was our fifth cruise with Fred Olsen - our first since the pandemic.
At the outset of the cruise were delayed by two hours while the ship underwent a "deep clean" as there had been a severe outbreak of Norovirus on the previous cruise.
Needless to say by day three of the cruise my husband and many other passengers were confined to cabin as the virus had once again taken hold. By day ...
We love the Balmoral because of the traditional raked stern that allows you to sit out on the balconies, either for lunch on Deck 10, or for drinks in the evening on Deck 8. You can then watch the landscape drift past, for example in the fjords or the Kiel Canal on this cruise.
This time we moved our Dining to the Avon restaurant on Deck 10 instead of being in the main Balindalloch. As it was ...
We were wary of returning to cruising as it is a very different world to our last cruise in December 2019 but we came home, having thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and having felt safe throughout the 11 daýs - so much so that we have booked another cruise for December. You could ask for nothing more, from Fred Olsen, to reassure you over Covid protocols. We can all find faults and claim to have had ...
Very first cruise so chose a very short 2 night trip Southampton – Honfleur just to get a taste.
We were told in advance that boarding would be from 13.00 (or 13.30) and we would board at 16.30 (different times for different cabins/decks so not all together in one big mad rush) and must be at the dock in time but not earlier. We arrived at 15.30 (just in case of traffic, parking etc) and sat & ...
First time with Fred Olsen and got a great saver deal. Sailing from Dover was so easy with excellent parking arrangements at the port and easy embarkation. This smaller ship is has a very friendly crew and staff. Excellent shows and entertainers in the bars and loung areas. Drinks and spa treatments are a reasonable price - much better than any other cruise line I have been with. Five course ...
We live in Edinburgh, the sailing was from Rosyth, and the itinerary was very interesting. The check in went slowly but smoothly, parking procedure very good. The gangway was very steep, very narrow and entirely stepped, with wide flat areas on either side. Many passengers were elderly, using sticks for support, and found it very difficult. These people make up a large part of Fred Olsen Cruises ...
Saturday, embarkation
Upon arrival in Southampton by car ABP parking met us right by the ship. The porters who unloaded us were very slick and in no time we were at arrivals then straight on board. Very efficient.
We had no idea where to go for muster so when we heard the call asked a member of staff who pointed us in the right direction. Until then we didn’t even know what time muster would ...
We have just returned from a trip with Fred Olsen, I hesitate to call it a cruise because as far as we were concerned (and other passengers) this was not a cruise, we booked this quite late as we had some A/L to use up and this fitted the dates, when I booked I was told that we would be getting the 'Anchor fare' and therefore we were getting it cheap, they went on to explain that because of that ...
The background for choosing this cruise, was a family bereavement. The purpose was to have a relaxing cruise to somewhere new. The Braemar cruise of "cruising the Seine" to Rouen then down to Honfluer, prior to return to Southampton, we thought would fit the bill. How wrong can you be.
We booked via a travel agent, a suite on a guarantee bases at what we thought was a good price, then came the ...
We chose it to see if the small ship experience was to our taste with Fred Olsen having sailed on many other small ship cruises and also for the Ports that we wished to visit.
Apart from from the first day there was no afternoon tea and cakes etc unless you were prepared to pay for them, and in fact it felt as if you had to pay for everything including the water. The ship itself was in good ...