TheGardener

We have also just got our written confirmation of Covid rules for our next booked cruise in September (which I very much doubt will go ahead) and to us that is not cruising. Fred has done the best he can I'm sure but its not for us, so, as we are both in our mid 70's and have taken 30+ cruises over the years we have decided to hang up our cruising shoes. We have cancelled our booked cruise, yes its cost us, but the risks are just to high. We love GB and have wonderful countryside to enjoy.

We will miss meeting all the wonderful and interesting people but that appears to have gone anyway, all very sad!  We also like to do our own thing in ports and we cant see ourselves sitting on buses be taken to all the busy hot spots.

So after a wonderful cruising career which has taken us from the Artic to Antarctica and all the stops in between we will now live off all the rich and colorful memories of our cruising years.

Good luck to all of you who have decided to carry on cruising we hope it all goes well for you.

Michael

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

I do not know about T&C's, but certainly in the past Fred has only allowed transfer to the agent you booked the current cruise with if you book a new cruise on a ship.  I would read the last comment as saying the agent still has to be approved by Fred, but who knows what rules they may make when the ships start up again.  A conversation with the on board Oceans/sales rep on the ship will clarify what the situation is then, but always worth an ask if that is what you want.

The easy way to transfer the cruise to the TA of your choice is to leave it open when you book onboard ship and then when you get home give your chosen TA all your cruise details, booking references etc. and they then contact FOC and  transfer the cruise to their books. That's how I have done it it seemed to work ok for me.

regards Michael

I have found FOCL to be very responsive each time I have Emailed them they have telephoned me within a couple of days. Sadly I cannot say the same for our TA they have told us several times that they have requested a refund from FO for our cruise due to sail on 28th April 2020 from Liverpool but when I spoke to a FO representative last week they told me that the TA had not requested a refund. So FO offered to deal direct with me and credit the refund directly back to my account cutting out the TA.  Unfortunately because of the TA's lack of action FO said it would be around 8 weeks before I get the refund so we will be into August by then, 15 weeks after our cruise departure date. I do find it a little odd that it takes 8 weeks to process a simple bank transfer but as long as we get the money back I don't suppose we can grumble. These are very difficult times.

We had booked two cruises for later in the year while on Black Watch in March and FO refunded the deposits for both of these fairly promptly.

In future I will deal directly with FO at all times, I have lost trust in TA's completely it is all very sad it's not the first time we have had problems with various TA's.

Hi Lottie A

Thanks for your reply and the info on the meeting we will try and get to there on the first day (I don't do any of the SM sites all a bit risky for me.) though there are often some excellent talks or music recitals on sea days which I love so that could very well take priority for me. Anyway, hopefully our paths will cross over the thirteen days, I am 6Ft tall with a full beard do speak if you see me.

Regards Michael

3 hours ago, Lottie A said:

Daveywavey I am a frequent Silversea and Azamara cruiser and I must confess that before my first Fred cruise I was worried about the quality of Fred Olsen’s food compared to AZ and SS too. 

I was very pleasantly surprised! I would rate it far above P&O and also above Cunard....unless you are in The Grills.
 

It’s not gourmet food but excellent quality. In the MDR we had lobster, beef wellington, sole stuffed with prawns, a fabulous authentic chicken curry, an Italian night with great pasta dishes and the desserts tasted just as good as they looked. And as someone above said....the food was served hot. Even on SS they don’t always manage that. 

I went to the speciality restaurant The Grill on Balmoral twice. I have done two more Fred Olsen cruises since my Braemar one that I reviewed on here...that’s how much I like Fred Olsen. 😄

 

For the first visit I had scallops to start, then Filet Mignon and Pina Colada panna cotta. On my second visit I chose Goat’s Cheese and Red pepper cushion,  Grilled Lobster and Vanilla Mille Feuille. Both meals were absolutely delicious. 
I can also recommend the wonderful “posh” afternoon tea in The Observatory. Just skip lunch first because there is so much delicious sandwiches and cake....including proper clotted cream for the scones! It’s great value at £8.95 each. 

 

Did you know that you can go to the smaller restaurants (as opposed to the larger MDR) for breakfast and lunch? You have to stick to your assigned table/restaurant for dinner though. I found the service and ambience quieter in the smaller one and after the first day used it every time for breakfast/lunch. 

We are going on Black Watch in just over two weeks. It’s an Andalusia intensive cruise for 13 nights. I will try to remember to take some food pix for you and post them here when I’m back home in March. 

 

Hi Lottie A

Delighted to hear you talking so enthusiastically about FO we have done lots of cruises most of them on Celebrity which we absolutely love. We did our first cruise on FO last year, Norwegian Fjords on Boudicca we had a great time. Sailing from uk ports and some very interesting itineraries are what attracted us to FO initially. We now have two trips with FO booked this year both on Black Watch. In two weeks we will also be on Black Watch around Andalusia, lots of interest including the Cadiz Carnival. We might even see you around the ship?? We love to start a cruise with a couple of days at sea a nice relaxing lead into the trip.

Regards Michael & Janet

Thank you ovccruiser and Pentlands for your replies I thought that might be the case.

Hi All we are new comers to Fred Olsen cruising although we have done around 30 cruises with other Cruise lines, mostly Celebrity. We did our first Fred Olsen cruise on Boudicca last year and we had a great time cruising the Norwegian Fjords. We have a further two cruises on Black watch coming up this spring.

I seem to remember last year while on Boudicca that there was an offer on for people wanting to book a future cruise while onboard "Book two cruises and get a third one free." Does anyone know if this offer is on all the time for onboard bookings or was this a special one off??

Regards Michael

While on two cruises earlier this year aboard Silhouette and Eclipse we attended presentations about the new Apex due to go into service in 2020 and the big news was that it would be sailing out of Southampton. I know many people including ourselves were very excited about this wonderful development, we took out an advanced booking option and just waited for the itineraries to be published ready to get in with our booking on the 27th November.

I have just seen the itineraries and I feel quite let down even cheated there are only the first four cruises sailing out of Southampton (sadly we cannot go on any of these cruises) the ship then goes to Barcelona. What a let down. Needless to say we will not be converting our booking option into a cruise aboard the Apex we are struggling flying these days. Very very sad!!!

The Gardener

Thanks for info & amazing photos Turtles06 & Digitl ...we are planning a trip to Antarctica via Falklands & South Georgia December 2014 / January 2015 & these posts make me want to go NOW!!! Have just started researching & planning so all info is invaluable.

 

Have a great trip Gardener & please post a review when you return

 

Cheers,

G&G :):cool:

Hi G&G

This time next week I will be boarding the ship for my great adventure all very exciting after the long long wait.

We have been having lots of discussions about all things Antarctic on trip Advisor it really is a great little community if you click on the link below it will take you to the forum page with the endless list of topics I really feel like my trip started months ago they are a great bunch of folk do have a look. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g1-i12337-Antarctic_Adventures.html

I am following in the footsteps of my lifetime hero Sir Ernest Shackleton and the ship I am going on next week the Akademik Ioffe two years ago took Frank Wilds ashes down to be buried next to his boss Sir ES on South Georgia so quite a sentimental Journey. I booked through an Australian company called Chimu Travel they seem quite good so far.

I will let you know how it all works out in four weeks time!!

regards Gardener

Can't answer your specific questions as we did this itinerary on the Prof Molchanov with Quark in 2007. Just wanted to say, you're in for such a treat. Have a wonderful time.

Hih2so4

Just had a look at you Antarctica pictures they look great, I really enjoyed them. What cameras did you take with you not sure whether to take my full digital SLR plus a couple of lenses or to suffice with a point and shoot. I am a bit concerned about getting things wet as you did?

Regards Michael

Thanks h2so4 & digitl for your replys it is always good to here others specific experiences.

Thanks once again Michael

　I will be joining following trip in November "Falkland Islands, South Georgia & Antarctica on One Ocean Navigator (Akademik Ioffe) Departing Ushuaia 18th November 2013"

I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who has done this trip or is booked to do the trip on this date. Useful information would be;

1. Do I need walking boots as well as rubber boots provided by one ocean?

2. What is the waterproof gear like that they provide, am I better taking my own gear?

3. What are the download facilities like for digital images should I take my own laptop?

4. I have very good binoculars that I will be taking for bird watching should I also take my telescope?

5. I am in a twin shared cabin any tips?

Any other relevant information would be great.

Regards Michael