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Cruisers help please with your opinion


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Hi all

 

I am new to the Fred Olsen Board having sailed three times to the med and fjords with P&O.

I would be grateful if anyone could give their opinions on the comparison of Fred v P&O. The reason I ask is we are from Durham which is near to Newcastle and is very much easier to get to than Southampton for us and another plus for us I have just found is the drinks package with Fred (we do like a drink)

 

Our first travel agent when we were looking for our first cruise put us off Fred saying the majority of passengers were a lot older than us !!.

We are m55 and f52 but we enjoy company of all ages

 

Anyone sailed with P&O that could share your thoughts about differences etc ?

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We have also,done many cruises with P&O and Princess and would say that we love Fred Olsen. The food is much better and the crew so friendly. We have booked Black Watch WC for 2018. We think you will be impressed. The ships aren't as glitzy, more like country hotels, and there is always a good atmosphere on board.

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It's horses for courses and most passengers are very happy with the age profile. The vast majority are very pleasant and the staff are wonderful. The food is better than most cruise lines and you can have as much as you can eat.

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We are in our Early 40s and were not the youngest on board when we sailed on the Blackwatch.

Had the same fear as being the only young ones by 20 or so years, but not the case. The average age was about 60 but there was a good 15% or more of the passengers around my age and we even found a young couple of 26 year olds.

I enjoyed the company of everyone on board as we were all cruisers and there for the same reason, also the tours went at a nicer walking pace than other cruiselines.

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Does age matter? I am in my 40's and have been on 6 cruises with Fred since 2014 & loved every one. We have been with friends also in their 40's and our older teenagers. We have partied sometimes until 4am and we mixed & have partied with other people in their teens, 20's, 30's 40's, 50's & right up to their 80's - I can tell you that some of those 70 plus know how to have fun!

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Does age matter? I am in my 40's and have been on 6 cruises with Fred since 2014 & loved every one. We have been with friends also in their 40's and our older teenagers. We have partied sometimes until 4am and we mixed & have partied with other people in their teens, 20's, 30's 40's, 50's & right up to their 80's - I can tell you that some of those 70 plus know how to have fun!

I dont think it matters one iota! I am in my early 60'sand with a few niggly health issues. So some days ( the majority) I still think I am 25 or thereabouts and some days I feel about 95!

And we are going on our first Fred cruise in September having been with P&O and Cunard in the past, with a totally open mind. I am sure we will make some comparisons (who wouldnt) but I got my head bitten off on FB for saying that, and told to stick to P&O if I was only going to make comparisons! We go on cruises to enjoy ourselves, which I am sure we will ....whatever the ages of our fellow guests!

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Age on cruise ships is relative, normally relative to the length of cruise. Up to 14 days, usually but not always, the passengers are younger than on say a 24 day cruise. It's usually only us old retired folk who can get the time off :D

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Many thanks for all your replies and views. We have decided to try Fred and we are looking at the Balmoral Scandanavian Waterways and Capitals in September.

 

Hope we wont be disappointed.

 

Having not sailed with Fred before I have been looking through a lot of posts on here to glean any info possible but I may have to ask a few questions at some point

 

Thanks again everyone

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We have done a lot of Fred cruises and choose our cruises regards destination. Fred does particularly well from that perspective when going north. We have been cruising for just over 10 years and are now 67. Age generally doe not bother us, but must admit we do despair sometimes regards Fred's "entertainments". We do like the chance of a disco from time to time and find that sorely lacking on many Fred ships, though the band in the Coral lounge on Braemar this winter was very good indeed. We do not ballroom dance, and do not want to do so, yet largely speaking that is often the only option on Fred ships. When the main ballroom bases of the main show lounges close, we have often found the the dance hosts turn up in the less formal lounges and manage to make pop music into ballroom dancing numbers. Sometimes requests of music (e.g. by The Stones), has got us and others on the dance floor to outnumber the ballroom dancing folk. I have no objection to ballroom, but do not think it should be offered with no alternative. Fred seems to have started doing cabaret or things like karioke or other things in the less formal lounges earlier in the evening, so the only discos are after 11pm or perhaps even midnight, when we prefer to be asleep, especially if in port the next day.

 

Having got that moan off my chest, I would also add that some cruises can have quite a different feel to others. The ones with the highest number of older passengers are the longer ones from the UK. Fly cruises and the shorter cruises tend to have more of an age mix. You will also find a different atmosphere on board if going to the less visited northern bases (Spitzbergen, Greenland and even Northern Norway) as many people travel for the destination and take a great interest in the surroundings. We love to just spend evenings (and later nights) in the observation lounges just looking out for whales etc. or viewing the scenery. Fred do a lot of scenic cruising and Captains announce certain sights and when the ship will be passing them, whereas P&O and other cruise lines with bigger ships sail out to sea between ports. This means you are less likely to get sea sick on Fred as well.

 

Be aware that Fred ships are older than P&O, so you can get quite a bit of noise and vibration if on a low deck to the rear of the ship, so choose your cabin carefully.

Edited by tring
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Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons. Thomson are doing several itineraries from Newcastle this year. A broader age range and excellent value for money.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Yeah we have looked at the Thompson Cruises from Newcastle but the dates and cruises do not fit in with our availability, but we do like the look of the ship and have heard good reports so we may try it someday hopefully

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Our first cruise was with FO on Braemar in 2003 when we were 57. We were worried about the age range too. On our table of 8 at dinner 4 people were about our age and the other two were younger. We found all sorts around the ship. there was a 92 year old in a cabin near us and a more entertaining person you couldn't have met. There were also a couple of young honeymooners who seemed to be enjoying themselves. Now in September we are going on Braemar again, our first cruise with Fred since a short three night pre-Christmas cruise in 2010 and our first on Braemar since she was 'stretched'. As you can work our we are now both 70 - do we feel it? No. Do we look it - well I'll say no we don't, but that's a subjective comment! It will be interesting to see what the mix of ages is. It's a round Britain cruise so I would think maybe older people are more likely to book it I don't know. We are booking it because it's going to places in Scotland and ireland that we've never been before. We fully expect to enjoy ourselves whatever the age range.

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there was a 92 year old in a cabin near us and a more entertaining person you couldn't have met.

 

The best table companions we have ever had was an 80 year old lady and her husband. Lots of laughs on that table and my husband disco danced with her at the deck party as we were going into Tromso - her husband had problems with his heart, so she really appreciated that.

 

Must admit we often ask for a table for two now as it is nice to have some time alone and if we book fairly early it has been supplied. Plenty of other chance to speak to people on board, so do not isolate ourselves, but easier to pick our own company. If you do have any problems with dining companions a quiet word with the maitre d'hotel tends to get you moved - so do not be reluctant to ask.

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  • 1 month later...

I am sure that you will enjoy your 1st cruise with Fred and I am sure you will return. The age thing is just not worth thinking about what does it matter, both myself (65) and my wife (62) enjoy the destinations, food, the friendly staff, the shows, the AI and the company of the other cruisers we meet. We never consider their ages it is as unimportant as would be their inside leg measurement or what colour of hair they have, so please enjoy yourselves and forget the age it is only a number!

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:) Thanks for your advice and thoughts everyone. We have took advantage of the current sale that is on and we are booked to travel on the Balmoral in September.

 

I am sure we will enjoy it and the age thing will not bother us.

 

Thanks

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See the Monsters of Rock show on the Balmoral, very good heavy rock, great dancers, music and costumes athough, for me, the music could have been louder (the floor and furniture wasn't vibrating!

 

I'm in my sixties but can anyone expain to me why an elderly lady, (looked old enough to be my mother) sitting behind us went to a heavy rock concert and then sat there with her fingers in her ears and her eyes closed, very strange!

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See the Monsters of Rock show on the Balmoral, very good heavy rock, great dancers, music and costumes athough, for me, the music could have been louder (the floor and furniture wasn't vibrating!

 

I'm in my sixties but can anyone expain to me why an elderly lady, (looked old enough to be my mother) sitting behind us went to a heavy rock concert and then sat there with her fingers in her ears and her eyes closed, very strange!

 

The Monsters of Rock show sounds very interesting indeed and I am very surprised to hear of such a show on a Fred cruise, it is not something I was expecting, I used to many years ago go to Donnington to see the Monsters of Rock and only hope the show is still going when we cruise in September and likewise hope it is loud (yn)

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I'm in my sixties but can anyone expain to me why an elderly lady, (looked old enough to be my mother) sitting behind us went to a heavy rock concert and then sat there with her fingers in her ears and her eyes closed, very strange!

 

She was feeling the vibes man :D :D

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:) Thanks for your advice and thoughts everyone. We have took advantage of the current sale that is on and we are booked to travel on the Balmoral in September.

 

I am sure we will enjoy it and the age thing will not bother us.

 

Thanks

Really pleased that you have considered all the comments and booked this cruise,i am sure you will enjoy it, have fun enjoy life to the full!

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