old biddy

Yes really, all alcohol consumed is replenished daily. The only hiccup we had was a whisky was replaced by a vodka one day. We have been back from Star for 3 weeks, we had a PV1 (6084) it was amazing. We are seasoned cruisers, 17 to date, 3 more booked. I can honestly say it was probably the best yet! Yes the initial price appears high, but by the time you have taken into account all that is included it makes a lot more sense. In 10 days our bar bill came to £40, never heard of before, that was for a pre dinner drink.

Go and enjoy!

Just to put a spanner in the works...... I organised our own Golden Circle trip last August. I did it all on line, and it was fantastic. The minibus picked us up at the dock and basically took us to all the places Fred goes to plus a few more where the bigger buses can't get. The driver was a lovely chap, spoke very good English and was very informative. The company was Fab Travel, a small family owned company, the son also drove an excursion from Akeureyri.

We stopped for lunch at the same place that Fred's tour stopped. It was very easy to purchase what we wanted. It was nice not to have a heavy meal at lunch time, much easier to stay wake in the afternoon! We paid the driver on the day by credit card, couldn't have been easier.

The Whale Watching trip in Akeureyri, yet again I organised it myself, on line. There is only one company so you really can't go wrong. There are 3 trips a day, morning, afternoon and evening. Fred usually monopolises one, so that still gives you options. You just have to walk round the bay 10 - 15 minutes, it really is simple. I have to say the Whale watching was amazing.

I actually took 12x 500ml bottles of water in a suitcase when we did the arctic this August ( how sad am I!) as like you I drink a lot of water and was loathe to pay Fred's prices. I am sure on previous Fred cruises it was made very clear the general tap water was not for drinking, however this time in the passenger information it said the bathroom tap water was of drinking quality. Once my supply ran out I used said tap water with absolutely no ill effects and it didn't taste too bad. I was drinking a lot of water as I caught the most horrendous cold which inevitably developed into a cough hence the reason I was drinking large amounts of water. I should perhaps say this was on Boudicca but I can't see that should be any different across the fleet.

We were on boudicca for 27 nights in August and honestly the food was far from good. Some nights I struggled to find something to eat. Not an experience to be repeated. After 15 Fred cruises we are decamping to elsewhere.

Just returned from 27 nighter on Boudicca and apart from cocktail party evenings it was 8.45pm for ist sitting and 10.30 for 2nd sitting.

Another good place in Tallinn is the Estonia country museum. They have moved various old buildings from around the country and rebuilt them in a park setting. You can get there by the HoHo bus, from the port entrance, very obvious