tigernut

Thank you for your replies. My main reason for choosing to cruise with Fred is that I want to experience the smaller ships and their advantages cruising in the Norwegian fjords.

 

I am grateful for the replies and I am sure I will enjoy the cruise.

It's appreciated when people offer their thanks for helpful replies.

I have sailed on some of the largest ships and also some of the smallest. I much prefer the smaller ships, as the sensation of being at sea is more evident.

The Norwegian fjords are beautiful and I hope you have a thoroughly enjoyable cruise. :)

Hi This will be our first cruise with Fred and after many cruises with Royal Caribbean I would be grateful for answers to my following Questions.

 

Some beverages are free ie in with the cruise price what are they?

 

Do they serve Chilled water in dining rooms and buffet?

 

I see that there are self service tea and coffee facilities in Palms. Are there any snacks outside mealtimes available?

 

Finally, is their absoultely nowhere that you can get anything to eat on embarkation. We hav an early morning flight followed by a 2 hour coach journey to the pier. Do they have the tea and sandwiches in Palms and Marquee at 3.30 on embarkation day?

 

Thanks ever so much for any help.

Hi, I can see that you have already received some useful answers.

I have also sailed many times on Fred's ships and I've had some memorable holidays.

Beverages included in the cost of the cruise are: coffee and tea, including speciality teas, and occasionally hot chocolate, all are self serve 24 hours a day in the Palms cafe and possibly the Marquee Bar.

Unless you have paid for a drinks' package, all drinks, apart from tea and coffee, will need to be paid for. Bottled water in the cabin, is also charged for. If you were offered a drinks' package at £10.00 p.p. per day when you booked, it is good value, as apart from the included standard drinks, it allows you a 50% discount on premium drinks and wine, not on the included list.

Chilled water (water with ice cubes) is served free of charge in all restaurants including the buffet during meal times.

Apart from the main dining times, tea, coffee, sandwiches and cakes are served in the afternoon between 3.30 - 4.30pm. In addition, if you prefer, a superior afternoon tea is served at a cost of approx £6.95 per person. Late night snacks are available in the Palms' cafe from about 11- 11.30pm. You may also order sandwiches and snacks to be delivered to your cabin, not available on embarkation, or disembarkation days.

Lunch on Fred's ships is never served on embarkation day. You will be offered afternoon tea at 3.30pm on embarkation day. I always suggest that passengers eat lunch before they board, especially if they are dining on late sitting. As you are arriving by coach, I suggest you buy something to eat on the coach journey.

You will have been allocated a dining table and time in the Ballindalloch, Spey or Avon restaurant. Apart from the evenings and lunch on some sea days ,when it is fixed dining, you are able to use any of the three restaurants, or the Palms cafe for breakfast and lunch. The Palms buffet occasionally has speciality evenings e.g. Indian or Chinese.

A cruise on Fred Olsen is absolutely nothing like a cruise on R.C.I., the ships are very small in comparison and do not offer the facilities of many of the larger ships. However, the food, service and entertainment is usually good and the staff friendly and welcoming.

You will be expected to comply with the recommended daily dress code.

Have a great cruise! :)

Thanks for the information. I have been on Braemar 3 times and loved every one. A friend has recommended Balmoral. I have been tracking a couple of Fred cruises and a couple of Thomson repo cruises for next year. We have just come back from a cruise to Iceland and were supposed to stop at Stornoway on the way up, but bad weather prevented us from tendering there, so I started looking at other cruises that go there and noticed that Balmoral is going there next June.

 

tigernut - we live in Cowley :)

Hi Linda, I'm sure you will enjoy sailing on the Balmoral. I have sailed on all the ships in Fred's fleet, but I prefer Balmoral, as there is more entertainment in the evenings. I've enjoyed some very memorable late nights in the Observatory disco up on Deck 11. The staff are wonderful, as indeed they all are on Fred's ships.

My last few cruises have mainly been with Azamara Club Cruises. They have some very interesting itineraries. I have sailed on so many cruises with Fred, that it's difficult to find ports I haven't already visited several times.

It's a shame you missed docking in Stornaway. I have spent two holidays on the Isles of Harris and Lewis. The islands have the most amazing, pure white sandy beaches, but, sadly, the weather can be very unpredictable.

I live in Bampton, the village famed for the filming of the village scenes in Downton Abbey.

Happy cruising! :)

Regards, Jan

I am thinking of doing a round Britain next year on the Balmoral. Could anyone recommend a good area for a standard outside cabin?

 

F grade is mainly deck 3 and only have portholes. E grade is mainly at the back and are, I believe, quite noisy. So looking at D grade and above, but don't want to pay to much :o

 

Also, are all the cabins fixed twin beds? I don't mind that, but they all seem to be L shaped cabins. Is this corect?

Hi Linda,

I've sailed on Balmoral many times and have been allocated cabins on different decks and areas. I usually avoid Marina deck, as cabins on that deck can be quite noisy.

I have stayed in the following cabins: 4032, 4094, 4097, 4105, 4130, and all were fine with no problems. As I travel as a solo passenger, some of the cabin numbers I quoted, are probably allocated to single passengers.

In addition, I have stayed in Superior Grade C and B cabins on Atlantic and Main decks. The Superior Outside Cabins on Atlantic deck are good, as they are midship cabins and better quality. I don't spend a lot of time in my cabin and to keep the cost down, I'm happy to stay in a standard outside cabin. On occasions I have been upgraded.

I have no knowledge of the cabins with an L shaped configuration and fixed beds. I know some of the cabins are set up in this way, but I have never personally stayed in one. You would need to check individual cabin numbers with Fred.

I've just noticed we are probably near neighbours. :)

Have fun on Balmoral, it's my favourite ship in Fred's fleet.

Three days in Lisbon flew by for us and finally it was time to pack up and get ourselves to the ship. One thing that Azamara truly delivers on is its promise to get you as close to the action as humanely possible. We've been to Lisbon before on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and both times we docked closer to Belem than Lisbon. The Azamara Journey, in contrast, was parked right at the foot of the city. It was marvelous! We took a taxi to the port, boarded, had lunch and a drink, and at 1:30 pm dropped our hand bags in our cabin and went for a last minute stroll in the city. It took us all of 25 minutes to walk from the pier to Rossio Square where I bought a beautiful pair of sandals for sightseeing. Thank you Azamara for getting me so close to the shopping! :D

 

The Journey docked opposite the Military Museum, which is the building you see in the left hand of my photo. http://www.golisbon.com/sight-seeing/military-museum.html

 

I think the port is called Santa Apolonia, much closer to the city than the other port and an easy walk to town. Santa Apolonia station is the blue building on the right of the photo.

An interesting trip if you have been to Lisbon many times before, is a visit to the Oceanarium, it's the largest indoor aquarium in Europe. Buses to the Oceanarium stop directly outside the cruise port.

After all the negative publicity about Azamara just recently. You will be pleased to read that Azamara Club Cruises won the award for 'Specialist Cruise Line of the Year' at the TTG Awards night in London.

Travel Trade Gazette is the UK's leading publication for travel agents and the travel and tourism industry.

Does anyone know what Azamara's current single supplement policy is?

I know some cruise lines offer less than 200% on some cabin categories.

I have paid just a 25% solo supplement on almost all the Azamara cruises I have taken. In some cases I was able to combine it with the double cabin upgrade.

There is only a limited amount of cruises offered to solo travellers with a 25% solo supplement. You often find the TA's are on a special deal and this attracts a large number of solos on board. :)

Not worked up. Dish is probably absolutely fabulous. Would love to try it. I love italian food. But it is not Vitello Tonnato. A variation, nope,- the original is not even close to this. You cannot serve a pork chop and call it a wienerschnitzel.

Call it something else.

Fair enough! :)

I was wondering if I was the only one affected by the scent. There were so many people coughing on my last cruise. Maybe those people also were affected by the scent...or just had a cold. I am not alone. Before they started using About Rose, the Elemis products were excellent. I have also stayed at hotels and on other cruise lines that use L'Occitane products....also good.

I have to agree regarding Elemis and L'Occitane products, they are both superior products.

The About Rose Room Spray definitely gives me a pain in the nostril passages and brings on a migraine. :(

On my two forthcoming cruises, all the About Rose products will be left unused, as they have been on previous cruises.

The Vitello Tonnato is not correct. If you want to serve the above dish then you should do it correctly. Thinly sliced veal with a tuna and capers sauce. For gods sake. Get it right. You don't fool around with italian classics. Fabio should know better.

The headline states 'Aqualina with an Italian Twist'.

Why get worked up over a variation on a classic dish? Why not just choose a different one to suit your taste.

As I'm a vegetarian, not a problem for me, I will not be eating it.

Does anyone here have any experience of or views about how well Azamara caters for vegetarians?

Although I'm a fan of Azamara, I have never found their vegetarian food to be particularly good.

As Ellbon has already mentioned, if you give notice, they will produce something to order.

In my opinion, if you choose to be a strict vegetarian and do not eat meat, fish or eggs, the vegetarian food on most cruise lines is unimaginative and can be quite boring.

The vegetarian starter and main course in the speciality restaurants on Azamara have remained the same for several cruises.

If you are a pescatarian and not a vegetarian, you will find a choice of fish dishes.

So good old Fred has followed the example of the Carnival groups sub standard offering, also known as saver fares, by introducing their own version called the wa sorry anchor fare.

Here's my take on a fictitious cruise company board room meeting.

Minion to Fat Cat " Sir/Madam the peasants are revolting"

Fat cat to Minion " I know but as long as they keep paying their money who cares?"

Minion " No sir/madam they're revolting because we keep ripping them off by raising our prices whenever we feel like it"

Fat cat " The ungrateful bar stewards! well if that's the way they want it I'll call there bluff, we'll charge them our normal fare and give them nothing in return for it and we'll call it a saver/anchor fare then what we'll do is we'll really stick it up them and charge them even more money for things they used to get for nothing and call it a standard fare!

Minion " Genius Sir/Madam the fools are sure to fall for it"

Just a thought.

Is this supposed to be news?

Fred implemented Anchor fares more than a year ago. The first departure offering Anchor fares was 6 April 2013.

If passengers wish to choose their dining time, they have the choice to pay the full fare with Fred, or choose a different cruise line.

How soon up until sailing can you add insurance?

It's in your own interests to take out insurance as soon as you book the cruise, otherwise you are not covered for cancellation.

At least take out the insurance before you pay the balance as it could be very costly if you are unable to take the cruise.

With most cruise companies you have to provide your insurance details when you book, or when completing your details on line.

Back out of current page by clicking on back arrow top right hand corner

Will take you to page with all reservations on. Then click on one you want info on. This worked for me.

Thanks for the tip Diane, it works for me too. How long did it take you to figure that out?

Unfortunately, my first cruise is still showing as 'guarantee', no cabin number as yet. I'm still hoping for an upgrade. The other one was booked with the double upgrade promotion. Jan :)

Can someone please advise me under what circumstances the Azamara open passage vouchers are valid. We have just booked our 4th cruise with Azamara, and have been told that it cannot be used.....frankly, at the moment we are £150 out of pocket, and rather more than frustrated and puzzled!

Thank you.

Hi Christine848, I had a similar problem with the same TA earlier in the year. I was told that as the cruise was already heavily discounted by the TA, I would not be able to use the Open Passage voucher.

I booked, but once on board I queried it with SaraLou in Future Sales. After she had spoken with Azamara, I was told that acceptance of the voucher is entirely at the discretion of the individual TA.

I booked another cruise while I was on board and I was able to use the £75 voucher for the deposit.

Thanks everybody, we'll get straight on to the frozen house.

I hope you manage to get the problems resolved.

I'm also booked with the 'frozen house' and the day after my final payment was made to them, I was able to print out my Express Passes. Incidentally, I don't sail until October.

Have a great cruise!

Hi fellow cruisers, we have not sailed from Southampton before so just wondered what time we may be allowed on the Balmoral, we are sailing this Sunday 20th July, apparently the ship sales at 16.30. We will be in Southampton early so wondered at what time we can board. Any ideas?

Thank you

As Mark T has already said, there is no rush to get to the terminal, as lunch is never served on Fred's ships on embarkation day. If you are on late sitting for dinner, I suggest you have lunch before arriving at the terminal. Once on board, afternoon tea is usually served about 3.30pm onwards, just beverages, sandwiches and cakes.

Passengers travelling in suites and in cabins on higher decks, normally board first. I have rarely boarded before 1.30 - 2.00 pm.

Enjoy Balmoral, I've sailed on her many times, she's a lovely ship.

Has anybody stayed in cabin 3002 (or any cabin) on Marina Deck, how is it for noise and vibration?

I have had a cabin on that deck when I got a late deal. I'm sorry I can't remember the cabin number. No negative comments to make about it.

I usually prefer to have a cabin on Coral or Atlantic decks.

My cabin, on whatever deck I'm staying on, is just for sleeping and getting ready. I would sooner be out and about enjoying the rest of the ship.

Have a great cruise!

That's so helpful thank you very much.:D

Enjoy your cruise. Cheers! :)

That was hard to find, well done!!!

Yes, I have to agree, they don't make it easy.

Enjoy your cruise. :)

I sail in 2weeks. Where do we find this list of comp wines and cocktails? All I find on the website is wines by the glass and bottle.

You need to click on the web link shown on Bonnie's post above 'New & final wine lists'.

Go to 'Dining & Wines', then 'Save on Beverage Packages' and 'Complimentary Beverages'.

The entire list of the included drinks is shown.

I am so confused about included drinks on Azamara - are the wines by the glass listed here the ones included or is there a separate list? If we have the upgraded drinks package do we get a better selection of wine by the glass.

 

It is difficult to understand for a newbie to Azamara and I haven't had a drink yet!

 

Help!

The included wines are shown on the section 'Complimentary Beverages', scroll down through the spirits, cocktails and beer and you will see the heading 'Boutique Wines'. There are 19 wines on the list.

At lunch and dinner you will be offered the 'Wine of the Day', white, red or rose. If you prefer a different wine from the 'Boutique Wines' list, the waiters will usually be able to find it for you.

I never find it necessary to buy an upgraded drinks' package, so I'm afraid I can't help with your other question.

Well, this was my first experience of Fred Olsen & it certainly won't be our last.

 

We had such a good time from start to end. Food was superb, entertainment was excellent, staff were so lovely & friendly, all the passengers we met onboard were great - loved the smaller, intimate ship feel; loved all the lounges & bars & public areas, cabins were good. Really cannot fault it.

 

Feel completely 'partied out now' - my friend & I had such a good time. Good move Fred - I have already recommended you to a lot of my cruising friends who have never cruised with you before; we have already booked for next year but may have to squeeze another one in before then!

Hi, I'm pleased to hear you had such a good trip.

I've sailed with Fred many times and had some really great holidays. My favourite ship is Balmoral, but I've sailed on all ships in the fleet and they all have something different to offer.

My three girlfriends and I are planning the short break in November on Braemar. May see you on board.

Yes, drop Mr. Twynam a line. You'll hear back from him or someone from his team. [/quote

 

Thank you Bonnie for suggesting I email Mr Twynam. I had a very prompt response from him, advising a member of his team would be in touch.

 

I am pleased to confirm that I had a call today and the transfers have now been booked.

 

I am grateful for your assistance and the friendly and efficient help I received from Liz of the RCCL team in Weybridge, UK.

Hi

Jen here from Newcastle. We sail on Quest at the end of July and although I have completed on line check in and printed out the xpress pass I cant find this elusive button? There is, as part of the xpress print out a very 'home made affair' of a luggage tag, which is better than nothing but Im concerned we dont have any documentation relating to our transfers. Maybe I dont need to be!

I wouldn't worry too much about the elusive luggage tag button. Before my last cruise on Quest, I attempted four times to order luggage labels and I never got them. I printed off the on line labels, laminated them and stapled them around the case handles. They were still intact on arrival in Miami.

Included in the on line documentation you print off, there should be a page of coupons for the hotel, if one is included and also airport transfers. Sometimes they ask for the coupons, other times they don't bother.