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Hi everybody.

Thanks for your replies.

We have this afternoon booked with Fred on Greenland and Glaciers for July this year.

Think this will just be what we are looking for.

Now to buy the warm clothes.

Thanks again and happy cruising......

Hello everybody, my wife wants to see icebergs but doesn't want the long flights to Alaska. Any of Fred's Norway, Artic Circle or Iceland cruises a possibility ?

June, July or August 2014.

Thanks for any help.

St Marteen.......great atmosphere where we docked.

Grand Turk......hired a golf cart fantastic day

Key West..........atmosphere and Jimmy Buffet

Dominica.....great falls, pools etc and beach

Antigua.......history

Cuba.......not yet but going next Jan with Fred and hoping its great.

We were on the Ryndam and went to the Front Desk to reduce the amount.

We are from the UK and perceived the charge as tips, we understand now that is not the case. We would therefore not do that again.

There again we will probably not cruise with HAL again.

The Front Desk just asked us to fill in a form and never questioned our reasons.

I always wonder about the pens we use to sign for drinks. What do we do wash our hands every time we use pen that could have been used by a carrier?

We use a hand sanitiser called Q shield three times a day. Supposed to kill all nasties.

Read an artical that says if you are near anybody who vomits then you stand a good chance of catching the noro, as it becomes airbourne. That's why to protect yourself, it's best to get away as quick as possible.

It's often I think just down to luck.

It's as formal as you want, it's what you want. Don't worry about it, just do what you want.

Nobody is judging you on what you wear.

A dark suit is also ok for the Formal night by the way.

I think in August there will be plenty of children on the Azura.

We were on the Balmoral in August and I am sure our documentation stated that if you were AI then you would be seated with other AI.

We took an Anchor price.

Our table for six were all AI.

Forgot about the enhanced menu, and we only came off the Azura last week :) One of the reasons we love the Formal Nights.

Nothing better than seeing everybody dressed up then dancing at the Ball afterwards.

It tells you in the daily sheet, forgotten its name, which bars and restaurants are adhering to the dress code that night.

Can I just give you a suggestion seeing you have never cruised.

If you are on a table for say 4,6 or 8 in the Main Dining Room and you decide not to eat there one night, it's polite to tell your table mates and or the waiter the night before so they are not waiting for you

Sorry if you would have done that anyway.

Have a great cruise, and I bet it will be the first of many.

We had food after midnight in the buffet. Lots of staff and entertainers were there having meals well past midnight.

They often had a curry on to die for. Couldn't resist them.

Just returned, my wife paid same as pressy....charm say £60 in UK paid $60 out there.

We Had that choice and went with Azura.

Identical ships, but it seems they discount Ventura aggressively.

Also if you check the dress codes. Azura has three codes, formal, jacket/ tie and casual. Ventura only two, formal and casual.

If I recall after the demise of Ocean Village, the ship of choice and marketed as such was the Ventura.

We had a 4 day cruise on the Ventura last year and the two ships are identical, although I can not recall dancing in the Atrium on Ventura.

We are cruising next January to the Caribbean with Fred Olsen on the Braemar.

Happy cruising whichever you choose.

Hi Linda....

We had a great cruise on the Azura, but we have a great cruise on any ship. We cruise with friends and we just have a ball.

But our favourite ships are the smaller ships. All the Fred Olsen, the P and O ships below 75000 tonne. Arcadia etc and Thomsons older ships.

The Azura was great but as I say just a bit too large for us.

Lots of different entertainment, great shows, great Ballroom and Latin dancing, good adherence to the dress codes, cabin clean and tidy, food ok for us.

We will cruise with P and O again for sure but only on their smaller ships.

There again a good deal with a drinks package .......:)

The loss of power for two to three hours was a touch unsettling.

Bobbing about in the ocean, even for a relatively short time made you start thinking suppose we were entering port or near shore when it happened.

We had no problem in our cabin, but others were not as lucky with total loss of facilities and power in the cabins.

The Captain briefed us every 30 minutes as to progress with repairs.

I think the next safety briefing I attend will have my upmost attention.

Hope your friends enjoyed the cruise.

We did, but still prefer the smaller ships.

Hi everybody...l

We cruise with around five lines so I read all those forums.

On many forums you get "tips". One of these is to take an extension lead with multiple sockets.

Well we have just cruised on the Azura with P and O.

Whilst in dock a crew alert was sounded for a fire in a cabin.

The fire was caused apparently by the passenger using an extension with appliances.

We were just leaving the ship and to see the crew reacting to the alert was sobering I can tell you.

They certainly appeared very professional and it gave me confidence in them. You could tell straight away it was not a drill.

The fire was quickly under control apparently.

Just thought I would share this on the forums of the lines we cruise with.

Can you post this on Thomson boards please as they are always recommending extension leads :rolleyes: Thomson only have kettles on two of their ships and some of us have said that we have taken a kettle and have had all sorts of abuse, but surely an extension lead is much more dangerous!

Will do Linda

No we were not sent to muster stations. Certain areas were evacuated though. They did not sound the 7 blasts, but they did sound a signal, I think it was one long blast. I think my wife asked our steward what it was and he said it was a signal to the crew.

My thoughts on an emergency at sea is that I would prefer to be on a smaller ship say Balmoral than the larger ships. The reason is that even after two weeks I kept getting lost on the Azura, on the Balmoral I would feel comfortable getting to my muster station in an emergency.

Well hi there David and Barbara,

Sorry about your delay, our return went trouble free. :)

I put double that weight in two weeks so heaven knows what I would have put on in four.

That link is fantastic isn't it.

Will pass your regards on and maybe our paths will cross in the future.

We are with Fred Olsen January 12 next year.

Take it easy

Paul and Col x

We cruise with around five lines, so I read all their forums.

I have seen many tips on cruising suggesting using an extension with multi sockets.

We have just cruised with P and O on Azura.

There was a full crew alert caused by a fire in a cabin. This was caused by the passenger using an extension and loading it up with appliances.

I can assure everybody that although we were docked it was a most sobering experience to see the crew on full alert. You could tell immediately that it was no drill.

I suggest we all ignore this "tip" as it is obviously dangerous.

Great cruise on the Azura, but like Freds smaller ships.

Back to the Carribean next January on the Breamar, with hopefully no electric extensions:)

Hi perky,

The point of a forum is to share all our cruise experiences.

I didn't complain about the entertainment, I said I was disappointed.

This disappointment was based upon our experiences on other P and O cruises along with other lines.

The disappointment was probably more targeted at the other entertainment rather than the Headliners Shows which you refer to. I think the production and costumes are some of the best.

Cruises are like beers, there are no bad ones just some better than others.

We, like you, also enjoyed the cruise.

Hello, we cruise with around five lines, so I read all the five forums.

I see lots of threads about tips when cruising.

One that keeps cropping up is about taking extension leads.

Well we have just returned from a P and O cruise on the Azura and a full crew alert for a fire in a cabin took place.

The cause was a passenger using an electric extension and loading it up with various appliances.

Fortunately we were docked and many passengers were off ship.

We were just leaving the ship but it was a sobering thought to see the ships crew in full alert.

You see lots of crew drills but it was immediately obvious that this was for real.

Thought I would share this with the lines we have cruised with.

If you were flying out on the plane we flew back on, then they were probably mending the undercarriage as it bounced down with a terrific bang.

Even the Flight Steward made a crack about the landing.

Hope your there now.......

Sorry to hear that, we are just unpacking after A402 cruise. Is the weather the problem? Hope you have a good time when you get there.

We were on this cruise. We were just coming down the stairs to leave the ship when a crew alert was sounded.

It was obvious by the urgency and actions of the crew that it was serious and certainly not a drill. I was most impressed by the concentration and actions of the crew.

We were told later that night by a waiter that the problem was caused by the occupants of the cabin using an extension with multiple appliances plugged in. How true that was I am not sure just passing the information on.

The ship also lost all propulsion for two hours the day before. Some cabins in total darkness with nothing working. Ours still had lighting.

Now that was a bit scary.

Others... It rained every day of the cruise apart from one sea day. Ok only for ten minutes maybe three times a day, but boy was it heavy. Sea days were fun with everybody dashing for shelter.

Enjoyed the Azura, but prefer the smaller ships of Fred Olsen and the P and O smaller ships.

Bit disappointed in the entertainment, but speaking with other Azura regulars it seems that was a one off.

Ballroom and Latin Dance in the Atrium was fantastic.

Dance hosts exhibition was awesome.

Food fine.

First sitting in Oriental, lots of empty tables meant it lacked a bit of atmosphere.

Staff and service fine.

Dress code adherence was really good.

Thomas Cooke flights ok.

Fellow passengers were fine.

Hardly any children.

A deck Inside cabin clean, tidy and comfortable.

Usual scramble for beds on sea days but that happens on every cruise doesn't it.

We hired a golf buggy on Grand Turk, great day. Could recommend that.

Happy cruising, time to unpack now....

Fred Olsen is certainly different to the lines you mention.

Your fellow passengers will probably be older than you have experienced apart from maybe C & M.

The dress code in the MDR will be strictly adhered to and is overall more formal.

Drinks package is detailed on the web site. All the shorts are house drinks. So there maybe a house martini.

Not sure about drinks to your cabin. I often carry my drinks from one bar to another so suppose you can carry a drink to your cabin. Or do you mean bringing drink from shore. Again it will tell you on their web site.

Smoking I recall on the Balmoral there were people smoking on one side of the ship outside.

Yes there are port lectures.

We have cruised with Thomson on the older ships and enjoyed but we like Fred Olsen as the ships are better appointed. Not cruised on the Dream or Majesty so can not compare.

Entertainment, if you liked C&M and Thomson I think you will like FO. Maybe not as energetic as Thomson but we like it.

Of the three lines you mention I believe the food on FO is the best.

Two ports in one day, I would always take the ships trips. Otherwise we often do our own thing and use the taxis at the ports.

If you like Ballroom dancing as we do, FO is best by far.

The sparkling wine on the AI is great, drink it all the time.

Have a great time.