Windsurfboy

..... in Brewery comes to mind.

Any well done to those who managed to book , saves me staying up to midnight 

I could book pay for , but included coming soon

11 minutes ago, Sussexboy said:

I am on Arvia in 26 days time. Mine still say coming soon for the bookable venues.

Weird I can still  book  10 minutes ago, but glad I have all I  want, before they change things again

I booked at 55days yesterday,  so just give it a try

Interesting when I was having trouble yesterday afternoon  phoned up , the lady knew nothing about any change in timings,  thought it was still 14 days for speciality restaurants. 

Got the majority of my bookings eventually at 10pm last night, for Epicurean and limelight  and Sindhu.  Added Mizu.. for Sushi this morning , very quick this morning.  Glad I persevered.

So have speciality bookings for every night. All at discount and no trying on board.

Downloaded my orders for safety. 

4 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

 

Fred seem to be going after older special interest cruisers and offering  more unusual itinerary’s to attract them.

 

Exactly  Saga's market. 

Saga, offer better service, food (as speciality  restaurants included)  and drinks.

But Fred seems to have more interesting itineraries,  and sails from the North occasionally. 

Waiting  for email saying, sorry,  ignore this and wait for 14days before cruise.

Even the lady on the phone couldn't pay manually 

Snap , Who else got the email far to early 

Very  strange as only 15 knots officially recorded yesterday in CapeTown,  which is normal for this time of year.

The windy season is November to February, the "Cape doctor" , due to trade winds being accelerated by thermal effect of high inland temperatures. 40 knots+ in afternoon is  not unusual in January but rare April, Table Mountain normally shelters Cape town city centre  from worst winds

Katabatic winds are normally  at night or early morning and short lived,  so won't have kept a ship at harbour all day. 

Unfortunately our visa ran out on 9th , or would have cancelled flight to get on Victoria. 

Winds were petering out as normal  before we left

Mine was a bit temperamental,  seems to need a very fast Internet or it has a paddy.

However once working it was very efficient. 

The real comparison is what you can get on both lines for same money.

So Fred vs P&O bigger balcony cabin , plus eating in speciality restaurants each night.  Fred food is better than MDR, but how does it stack up to Epicurean, Sindhu,  or limelight club

P&O isn't the only line to have kept number of dishes constant,  but now have 3 vegan/vegetarian options. Cunard and Saga are similar.

Vegans,  vegetarians are 15% of UK population. So either that means 1 dish in 7 . Or a separate menu, as they deserve a choice , but not at the expense of the 85% meat fish eaters

One thing always let Saga know how much luggage,  if you're not sure better to give them a generous estimate.  This will ensure a big enough "car"

10 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

One thing I don't understand. You get off the ship at, say, 9.30 for the 3 hr trip home. The other passengers need a loo stop after a couple of hours. Fair enough. But do they really need to spend 45 minutes having a cup of tea, a faceful of food and a wander round the retail outlets? They've only just had breakfast for crying out loud. 

 

L'enfer c'est Les autres

Did this happen to you , I  see your signature doesn't include Saga 

We had a shared transport last time, comfortable big merc 8 seater for 4 , nice company to chat to. Added 30 mins max.

Certainly not worth the extra £600 for private transport

53 minutes ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

 

This is one case where comparisons are pointless.

 

We've visited Svalbard with Fred Olsen in the 1990s and so were captivated with it that we've been there lots of times since... often on a Fred cruise, a couple of times with expedition boats and we've flown in and out... staying at the Radisson. It captivated us and it still captivates us... one of us checks the weather forecast every single day... and we watch the webcams... if you've not tried it, have a look at  https://portlongyear.kystnor.no ... still lots of snow and ice on the harbour... it's been a cold winter.

 

We completed a polar circumnavigation of the archipelago one year, been blocked from doing the same on another year because of the ice. We're both certified marine mammal surveyors and one of the most wonderful experiences that we've had was cruising through a group of Belugas only minutes after leaving Longyearbyen on the Boudicca. Mind... we had to dress very warm to stay out on the decks.

 

And we've seen a polar bear in the distance from the Balmoral not far from Longyearbyen but they're not common in summer... just as well as they're quite partial to unsuspecting tourists! (We've had a couple of close encounters on expedition boats much further North as well as some superb sightings.)

 

On a perfect day you can see the sun for 24 hours... it makes a complete circuit of the sky and at about midnight it shines from due North... quite sensational  if you can catch it.

 

Been to Hammerfest about four times... but always in the midst of winter... very, very cold but as a result we're both members of the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society... you can join at the museum on the quay!

 

Hope that you have a really great time. It is something well-worth looking forward to.

But your comments are all about itinerary not about the cruise line.

If Fred was the only cruise line to go up north then comparisons are irrelevant.  But there are other cruise lines that go there with small ships, perhaps not P&Os mega ships. So you must compare Fred to these.

But in general its Fred vs P&O for similar cabins and similiar itinerary that is relevant. 

There are sea view  cabins on P&O you can compare with Fred.

However my cursory examination of prices, Fred is up there with many better lines , but these have no insides. So if you want a balcony cabin, then Fred price is up there or perhaps above Saga, but no comparison in terms of the Saga better offering. 

Clearly given smoking we'll never touch Fred.  But we'd never pay their prices when there's Saga , or for a little more other lines with small ships and great service . Or even big ships with ship within ship.

If you want a better offering than P&O, and willing to pay Fred prices, you have a lot of choice of better lines , especially if you want a balcony. Fred seems to want to charge luxury prices for a average line. Like P&O of old is not luxury

Or you can stick with P&O and use difference in price for speciality restaurants,  treat yourself to great wine and perhaps a bigger cabin.

Yes the Savoy is far superior to premier Inn.  But is it worth the extra is a more complex equation 

No one's arguing that Fred is not better than current P&O

If its like old P&O worth may be just 25% more pushing it at 50% more

It would need far far better food and service to be worth double.

Comparison  without price is not useful.

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

What is wrong with buying wine by the glass, it's no more expensive , especially if you buy the large 250 mile glass, 

Not all wine is available by the glass

On Arvia

If you eat in Epicurean  two days in a row, can you keep bottles  to next night. My wife only drinks white , I  like a red. 

Don't need to know what you paid.

But for the same cabin size , and position (ie inside vs inside , balcony vs balcony) what are relative prices.

If P&O is 100 per night,  what does Fred cost. If Fred is 105 then choosing Fred is a no brainer, if Fred is 200 then it's a more complex equation. 

Can you let everyone know relative cost

Suites on Saga don't sell that fast.