worldfamoustravellers

I am trying to find out more about the ships and would be grateful if you would tell me your favourite ship and why. The impression I have received up to now is that Balmoral is most peoples favourite.

The only ship we haven't been on is Braemar and that's not deliberate, it's just that she does a fair number of fly cruises, not our favourite way of cruising.

Providing the itinerary was to our liking, we'd be happy with any of Fred's ships.

wft

We also enjoy the sea days on Fred's ships. There's more than enough to do, or you just relax and don't need to be doing anything.

wft

Perhaps there are now too many gold members and they should introduce a platinum member level at 200 points to reinstate the benefits?

Good point. Well said.

wft

I can recommend Daniels Taxis from a previous stop in Madeira.

I'm thinking of afternoon tea at Reids on our next visit in January - a private visit rather than a ship's tour.

I gather it's quite near the port.

Would appreciate any thoughts and personal experience.

Thank you

wft

I have been reading through this thread. I would be very interested to have any feedback on entertainment on the Balmoral. I am a solo traveller and thinking about taking the 34 day cruise to the Carib but am not sure if there would be enough entertainment to keep me occupied for that length of time. I am a very young 62 year old who loves dancing, particularly salsa which is why I would love to go back to Havana on this particular cruise

 

Thanks

We have sailed on Balmoral a number of times and met several solo travellers. I'd be confident you will find enough to keep you entertained. They provide dancing hosts as well.

The "Balmoral" is a fine, well maintained and comfortable ship. I have sailed on it several times and, in fact, I disembarked from it last Friday after a splendid cruise to Canada and the USA.

It is, of course, an older ship like all the Fred. Olsen vessels and does not have all the amenities of some very modern ships. I have found the cabins comfortable with plenty of storage space, good air conditioning and (in many cabins) lovely picture windows.

There are three venues for dining, the main one "Ballindalloch" on the main deck and two more intimate ones (Spey" and "Avon") on the Highland deck, high up on the vessel. The food is very good indeed with pleasant and friendly service. There is also a self-service restaurant, the "Palms" cafe, which is good for more casual meals.

The international staff are renowned for their friendliness and I can vouch for this.

Daytime entertainment is a mixture of lectures and an assortment of practical activities. The classical recitals are very good and a pleasant way to spend the odd hour at sea. There are, of course, the usual sessions of bingo, horse racing etc. Evening entertainment is mainly cabaret type shows in the Neptune Lounge although some smaller performances take place in the Lido lounge. The quality of the cabaret acts varies enormously but this is a matter of personal taste. Some performers are excellent whilst other are well past their "sell-by" dates.

The great things about the "Balmoral" are the wonderful itinereries varying from world cruises to shorter voyages to a wide range of interesting destinations. On the world cruises they are divided into sectors so there are always a good selection of fly-cruises included in the ship's programme.

As it is a relatively small ship with limited facilities it is not ideal for children or teenagers.

It is a ship to be recommended.

I would second everything Parsman said. I think FO have stopped World Cruises on Balmoral, at least for the time being - I'm guessing that's because of the cost of the Panama Canal transit????

We would certainly sail with her again, although nothing booked at the moment.

Hope this helps.

wft

I've been on many many cruises on many cruise lines and really don't like to dress up. I've seen the Fred Olsen dress code and have to ask:

 

Is it possible to survive a F.O. cruise with only one blue blazer and one tie? Is there any alternative to formal nights? Or should I just avoid this cruise line?

You don't say for how long you normally cruise, but for, say 15 days or so, that would be fine. I doubt you would get into the Main Dining Room on Formal nights, but there is an alternative.

wft

I understand that the "Balmoral" will be having a routine dry-dock in December. Does anyone know where this will take place?

No idea where, but it will be interesting to see the result. She was looking a little 'jaded' at the beginning of the year!!!

wft

Live and learn :)

 

Good to know the service exists, but I wonder how the 'continuous sectors' are defined on a world cruise where it is sold in a number of different blocks?

Good point actually. Previous World Cruises would typically be split into 4/5 sectors. Balmoral's 'Grand Voyage' (i.e. not a World Cruise) next January is comprised of 9 sectors, I think, so could be expensive???

wft

We are joining the Balmoral at Singapore for the return trip to the UK ( March 2015). We would like to put our luggage on the ship before it leaves Southampton in January so that we can take more than the flight allowance.

 

Has anybody had experience of this ?

 

Fred's office say all luggage labels will be sent to us before the ship leaves and we can simply send the baggage to the ship then. Anybody done this ?

 

Are the tickets and label for the later world sectors really sent out before the voyage commences ?

I'm sure I've heard that you can have your luggage stored on board for your later arrival, but check with FO or your agent. There would be a charge for that service, of course.

A one night mini cruise - Bristol to Liverpool - isn't long enough to form a judgement about a ship or a cruise line,

Nevertheless, it didn't stop you airing your judgements.

I have to say, the comments about some of the staff standing around talking is, sadly, well founded.

wft

It would be nice if the Balmoral was Kid-friendly. The ship needs to have more balconies, Kids clubs, arcades, waterslide (optional), and more Kid-friendly entertainment.It would be nice if it did a 7-day cruise to the Caribbean. I wish they sailed out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, etc. No offense! :)

Nice try, but I won't take the bait:D

Great lumps of animal are not what we consume at home or on holiday.

Thank you for sharing that with us.:confused:

wft

Not sure what the fuss is. If you do not want to eat in there don't. We were on the Boudicca to Greenland and never noticed or considered the restaurant. The Spa is extra but nobody grumbles about that, the bingo is extra cost, wine tasting is extra.

So there is a restaurant with so called "better food" than the MDR at extra cost, so what.

Happy cruising.

I'm not making a fuss, just reporting the news. Might even indulge if it's where I think it is on Black Watch.

Will Fred Olsen's extra-charge Grill restaurant turn out to be a mis-steak?

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/2014/06/will-fred-olsens-extra-charge-.html

I'll keep an open mind until we know more. Perhaps 'Fred' would like to give us some more detail?

I'm assuming this will be the Marquis grill offerings on Black Watch??

wft

Tried to sail without a tug to reduce ports costs?

Clearly something Fred would deny, but one wonders...............

Wft

There was a flurry of posts in July last year for Nathan, but nothing recently. Has he stopped visiting or am I looking in the wrong place?

Thanks

wft

Just been on the Balmoral and it strikes me as a very tired ship well past it's best. Maybe now a 2 star line.

I agree, although it pains me to say it. We have had some lovely cruises on Balmoral and I don't like criticising it. The fact that there are no 'grand cruises' planned post 2015 suggests, to me, that FO are having a serioius re-think about the vessel.

wft

We have done our visa request on-line and printed the forms. We had them returned on the basis we were applying too early. I recommend you advise you are traveling by ship in a letter with the application as they assume you are arriving by plane.

 

Following our e-mail explaining the situation we have just re-sent the applications off but hopefully all will be in order by the 14th Jan.

 

And check the Fred advice on where you claim to be visiting in India as one area at least, the Andamans, is dealt with separately

I had problems doing the Visa online:mad: - I couldn't log back in after doing part of the form, so eventually our TA did the whole thing using a company that does them all the time and it went through no problems. I get the impression that the Consulate is more likely to 'rubber stamp' applications submitted that way. Anyway, I'm sure yours will arrive soon.

I see from the date that you are on Black Watch - that's a really nice cruise and I'm sure you will have a great time.

wft

We were on 8 Deck (cabin8031) on the Agatha Christie Cruise in October/November. The cabin had a partially restriced view, but the view was still very good - we were between lifeboats. We found the location, comfort and space of the cabin to be very good and in fact much better than the photo on the web site. However we were subjected to Force 8 conditions in the Bay of Biscay, and on looking around the ship, found that there was much less movement the lower down the ship that we went, so on reflection, if we go on the Balmoral again, we shall probably opt for a Deck 6 B Grade cabin. I am sure that you will love the Balmoral - we did.

As someone once put it to me - 'The more you pay, the more you sway':rolleyes:

We have been offered an upgrade from our D Grace cabin to a b grade on either deck 6 or deck 8 Has anyone any experience of cabins on either of these decks. I am worried that deck 8 has restricted views I would like to know how restricted. Cabins on deck 6 are below the promenade deck how noisy are these from joggers etc.

Hope you don't mind me asking, how did you get the upgrade? Did you ask or did it come out of the blue. We have a D grade on Deck 5 and would love to go to Deck 6, having heard so much good about it.

Thanks

wft

We were in a mid-section cabin on Balmoral for this years World Cruise and had noisy neighbours, mainly the TV. We asked them politely 2 or 3 times to turn it down. Finally, a complaint to reception ended up with a visit by the Security people and that did the job.

Unfortunately the rules on this forum do not allow asking for or providing TA recommendations, sorry :(

Fair comment, thanks for putting me right. What about the general principle of TA's v booking direct with FO?

wft

Then I'd be looking for a new TA I think.

 

I get a little nervous when they appear to be using your money to reduce their operating expenses rather than just passing it straight on to the cruise line.

 

Being able to hold on to 5% of the cruise cost for the entire period from booking up to final payment and the entire final payment for over a month must represent a nice boost to their finances even at current interest rates.

 

I can only hope they are giving you a decent amount of on-board credit and other incentives ...

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with our TA (a local company) and considering changing. Can anyone recommend a good UK agent who can provide decent service and a good overall package? Thanks

wft