winningstudio

We were in Bremen on board Balmoral in April this year and we had to pay £10 per person for the shuttle bus ride which drops you off at the Raddison Hotel in the centre of Bremen.

The bus takes about 10 minutes to get there, alternatively a few people opted for the tram which is situated at the port and is slightly cheaper

I have used Top Cash Back when booking a Thompsons cruise as recently as May this year. I have paid a deposit and the final balance is to be paid in July 2018. Top cashback money has been in my account for a good few weeks now (£158.90).

Well pleased :D

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)

I thought I understood the drinks package but after reading a recent review posted from someone who has just sailed on Balmoral I am a little puzzled.

The review is here

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=576121

It seems you cannot order a free tea or coffee from a bar ? Do you have to go to a restaurant as the review states there are no self service machines either. No free soft drinks available while eating in the restaurants ?

Is this the case?. We have a drinks package arranged and this news seems a tad disappointing.

:) 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

Many thanks for the up to date info

Hope you had a great cruise

Cheers

We have twice traveled down to Southampton on the coach from Durham. The first time it was with Eavesway and the last time with Cruise Connect.

The first time we had three stops for a break and to stretch your legs which we thought was great and we were disappointed with the Cruise Connect one as he only made two stops even though the traffic was good. This resulted in us sitting twice for three hours on the coach which we think is unreasonable and are looking to cruise now with Fred from Newcastle.

The coaches are very clean and modern with toilet facilities and blinds etc. As a guide maybe for you we only had two pickup/drop off stops and the journey started at 7am arriving at the dock just after 2pm.

I haven't been in Balmoral for a couple of years but you used to be able to smoke on the top deck outside the bar - is it the Marquee bar..?

I am not familiar with the Balmoral as yet as we have never been on her before

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.

 

 

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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

Hi

Could anyone please tell me where the designated smoking areas are on the Balmoral please?

I know you can smoke on some balconies but we will not be having a balcony cabin

Thanks

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

Many thanks to all of you who replied to my post. Taking everything into consideration I think we will put up with the long journey down to Southampton and stick with P&O, we don't like the idea of small cabins, lack of varied entertainment, 24 hour food availability and smaller ships.

Hi

We have sailed with P&O three times now to the med and Norway but we are wondering about the Fred Olsen Cruises.

Reasons are we are from Durham and Fred sail from Newcastle which is a lot easier for us, and also the drinks package I have just discovered with Fred is very appealing to us as we do like a drink.

Anyone sailed with both P&O and Fred and could share your thoughts on price, value, food etc?

Happy Cruising Everyone :)

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 ?

We have an up and coming cruise on Ventura and I can't for the life of me remember something which I am sure I have asked about before (one of the joys of old age I think).

When making purchases e.g. duty free, you are usually asked if you want to pay in Euros or pounds and I cannot remember which is the best, if there is a best ?

Advice anyone

Thanks

This topics really getting on my ....

Well it has raised a couple of points.............................. or in some cases maybe not

Congratulations on posting an excellent review Stevie. One of the best reviews I have ever read.

We sailed on Ventura around the med four years ago on our first cruise with our 14 year old son and will be on her soon to cruise the fjords and even though we have been on her before I am sure we will again get lost :)

Use the gells for what good they do but proper hand washing is the best way to kill the virus. Also try to avoid putting your hands to your face, it's surprising how often people do this without knowing they are doing it. If there are no gells when entering the MD complain to the MD.

 

This is a useful quite. We have never caught the bug after multiple cruises over the years, but we do take care.

 

http://www.wash-hands.com/hand_hygiene_and_you/how_to_wash_your_hands

 

David

That is a good link David thank you. We intend to take our own gels and foams just as an additional precaution to the ships gels.

Hand gels are not effective against norovirus, the only way of prevention is thorough washing with soap and running water. The problem is some people think gel can take the place of good hand hygiene, it cannot.

I hope you are feeling a lot better now Dave.

This subject frightens a lot of people including me as it can obviously ruin a holiday.

So can anyone direct me to the best information to try and ensure we take the best possible precautions. By information I mean is it really the best prevention to use just soap and water, I thought the hand gels/foams were supposed to be the best ?

Hi we got the hoho bus just off the shuttle bus in Bergen and did a 50min circuit of the town. We bought the hoho ticket and funicular ticket together and saved 35nok on the funicular ticket (normally 85nok £7.50). Try and get off the ship early - the queue for funicular tickets builds up throughout the day. Worth going up there - it's a short walk to the funicular from the drop off or the first stop on the hoho bus.

Stavanger was my favourite port - museums all near the ship and loads of shops. We wandered around for 3 hours or so then came across a sleek looking ferry across the quay from the ship. We booked for 340nok each and had the most fabulous trip down the fjord - can't recommend it enough - just less than 3 hours.

We are also thinking of doing the funicular ride, it is advertised on our personaliser as £39 for an adult but we are thinking of doing it ourselves, is it just a case of walking off the ship for a short walk to the funicular and purchasing the tickets there ?

I understand it is best to get there early to avoid the queues.

Does anyone have a link to copies of recent Horizon newspapers on Ventura ?

6.96 but well worth it

The last time we were on Ventura it was free, with three of us going this time that is roughly £21 before we start. Seems a bit steep to me.

I've had Freedom dining on Ventura and asked for tables for two - it works well as there are 2 Freedon restaurants so we found we didn't have to wait long for a talble for two. They give you a buzzer and you can just get a drink while you wait.

 

We also liked one of the buffets in the evening turned into a waiter service restaurant and it was free when we went in 2013 but now there is a cover charge of £5 - well worth it though and there many tables for two in there.

 

Have a lovely time.

Is it a charge of £5 per person ?

Thanks for your help everyone I am a lot more clued up now :)

You may be able to choose a specific disembarkation time but only on board.. You can choose self disembarkation and leave whenever you like. However this means disembarking with all your luggage.

 

 

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We are having our luggage transported via The Luggage Company so does this mean we just leave our cases in the cabin and would be able to walk of the ship quite early ?