Live from the Bramaer 19.11.13.

[papcx]

I'm currently sat in a Dover hotel, overlooking the port, drinking a beer and looking at the Braemar all lit up.

 

Tomorrow we embark on a 7 nighter to Tenerife.

 

Wifi permitting I will try and do a live review.

 

Our first FO cruise so looking forward to it.

[tiggertom]

I'm currently sat in a Dover hotel, overlooking the port, drinking a beer and looking at the Braemar all lit up.

 

Tomorrow we embark on a 7 nighter to Tenerife.

 

Wifi permitting I will try and do a live review.

 

Our first FO cruise so looking forward to it.

 

Have a great cruise on my favourite ship.....enjoy :D

[papcx]

Thanks Tiger. There's a few of us from CC. 14 I believe on the roll call.

[Skipper Tim]

I'm watching.

 

Enjoy!

 

Tim.

[papcx]

I'm watching.

 

Enjoy!

 

Tim.

 

Welcome Tim. I'll make sure DW gives me info on the wines!

[dancourt]

Hi papcx, We have just done 22 nights on the Braemar and had a brilliant time, it was our 3rd cruise on her.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time and I look forward to reading your live blog.

 

Susan

[papcx]

Hi papcx, We have just done 22 nights on the Braemar and had a brilliant time, it was our 3rd cruise on her.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time and I look forward to reading your live blog.

 

Susan

 

Hi Susan. 22 nights on a cruise. How did you cope? Your 3rd Braemar cruse so she can't be bad.

[heywood]

Thanks for this. I am looking forward to reading your reports. We enjoyed the Balmoral recently so it will be good to consider another ship.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Have a wonderful cruise papcx. My favourite ship too! Glad you are taking her down to the Canaries, as we are going to be on her in February for my birthday :) Our third time on her too :)

[AmoMondo]

Have an amazing time. Looking forward to hearing all about it

[moomoocow]

Got my popcorn, ready and waiting!

 

Don't forget earplug and white noise app on your phone. ;-)

[Willow1686]

I hope you are having a great time; the weather in London today has been awful -high winds and torrential downpour- so Heaven only knows what it's like north of Watford Gap.

 

I'm boarding the Braemar on 6/12, and I'm really looking forward to it as well; any reports you can provide will be gratefully received...

[Skipper Tim]

According to Fred Olsen's ship locator, the Bramaer is currently off the coast of Brest heading SW at a fuel-efficent 16 knots. With no contact from Papcx, and heading towards South America, do you think they have been hijacked?

Edited November 21, 2013 by Skipper Tim

[Willow1686]

According to Fred Olsen's ship locator, the Bramaer is currently off the coast of Brest heading SW at a fuel-efficent 16 knots. With no contact from Papcx, and heading towards South America, do you think they have been hijacked?

 

I do hope not; of course Papcx may have been the person doing the hijacking, in which case we may never see the Braemar again...

[Skipper Tim]

I do hope not; of course Papcx may have been the person doing the hijacking, in which case we may never see the Braemar again...

 

Or perhaps their communicating device has gone over the side?

 

Either way, this is the least lively live review I have come across for a while. At least we can talk among ourselves.

 

They are in Lisbon today where it is currently 10 degrees C with a 50% chance of rain.

[Willow1686]

Or perhaps their communicating device has gone over the side?

 

Either way, this is the least lively live review I have come across for a while. At least we can talk among ourselves. .

 

I have solved that problem by reading your live blog on your last voyage; I am always fascinated by descriptions of ships which I will not set foot on. I have an unfortunate tendency to get lost, even when I am completely sober, which makes me unsuited for a solo trip on any ship above 1000 passengers.

 

You didn't comment on the whole "ship within a ship" concept from the perspective of someone travelling steerage; I am somewhat baffled by the whole idea but presumably it works for whoever it's designed for.

 

It is bright and sunny in London, though clouds seem to be drifting in; all I need is to put the temperature up to 30 C and I would not be living vicariously through your live blogs...

[papcx]

Hi guys. Sorry it's taken a few days to get wifi. Here's first 2 days.

 

Braemar 19.11. Embarkation.

 

Wake in Dover to bright sunshine streaming through the windows. Anyone looking for a hotel in Dover I can highly recommend the West Western on Marine parade. The rooms are spacious and clean and the breakfast selection is superb. Prices are only slightly more than the budget hotels. I'll post a trip advisor review when we're home.

 

A wander through Dover, spot of lunch and start thinking about getting to port. A taxi from the hotel takes about 5 minutes and is £5.50, plus tip ( I always think the 50p bit is to force you to break a note, and therefore leave a tip)

 

A porter meets us at the taxi, takes our bags and tells us the last passenger he did was non other than Des O'Connor. He directs us to reception and our bags disappear into the distance. A nice lady meets us to say the next lady will give us a health questionnaire to complete before checkin. The questionnaire is a simple "have you got Norovirus" which we thankfully can answer no. We move to checkin conscious not to cough or sneeze. Checkin lady is nice and polite and the process is easy. Check passports, take the usual picture with a webcam and swipe debit card. Didn't even look at cruise tickets. We receive our cruise card and boarding number and move on to the waiting hall. It's packed!

 

We meet our new friends Clive, Anne and Jean. New CC roll call friends Michelle and Rob are also there. Apparently boarding for the higher decks should have started at 12:30. It's now 13:50. Numbers start to be called from about 14:10. I don't like waiting at any point, especially when I'm not exactly mega-early so I muck about by taking the embarkation photo lady's camera and taking her picture for a change. She's a good sport and plays along by posing.

 

Our little group has a number called so we give the announcer a round of applause. He says he didn't expect that (no one else had) so I walk to him and tell him I'll give him a kiss if he calls my number next. He calls my bluff by asking what my number is. I show him and tell him I can't reach over the counter so I'll high five him instead if he says that's you Jean and Paul for our number. Fair play he does so I go back to high five him. I later learn from a crew photo board he's the deputy cruise director. We've had to wait a while (but no longer than I expected based on an embarkation time of 14:30) and already I'm impressed by Fred Olsen's' crew friendliness.

 

Up the ramp and get scanned on board. Walking to our cabin there are lots of crew greeting us with a smile or saying hello or good afternoon. They're very impressive in smart looking uniforms. Even more impressed.

 

To the cabin to dump our carry on and to the bar! We've gone for the all-inclusive package (which to be honest seems quite limited) so we grab a Carlsberg Export each. They're 330ml cans (a std coke can) so it's only a half pint. Back to the cabin so Jean can unpack and I stay out of the way by reading up on the ships stuff.

 

15:45 is muster drill. Let me tell you MSC can learn some lessons here. Everyone goes to their assembly point and listens to the PA announcements. Crew demonstrates how to put on a life jacket and then we crocodile (hand on the shoulder of person in front) to your life boat, where a crew member explains what would happen if it was needed. About 35 mins on total and very thorough. Good job.

 

Dump life jackets in room and grab a drink for sail off. It's cold and dark in Dover, we're stood on the back of the ship, with a beer, in coats and gloves. At least it's not raining / snowing so it's quite good.

 

Back to the cabin to finish unpacking. It's a good size cabin. A 4 berth so it's 2 single beds pushed together and 2 bunk beds folded away. 1 bedside cabinet, 4 wardrobes and a little dresser. The safe is hidden in one of the wardrobes and is an old fashioned key operated type. TV is a flat screen, but is above your head when your lying in bed! Bathroom has a shower, which is good and powerful, and plenty of storage space. Overall a nice cabin.

 

Change and go down for dinner. Bump into Clive and Anne at the lift so we go to the Coral bar for a drink 1st. Most of the bars and lounges are quite full at this point.

 

To dinner in the Thistle restaurant. We're on table 40, for 6. We've been really lucky on our cruise with our able mates. This time we have Angela and Paul from Aberdeen, this is their 3rd cruise and Laura and Steve from Northampton who are on their 20 something cruise, their 15 with FO. Conversation flows easily and the time flies.

 

The number of beers at this point has taken its toll on my memory. I can defiantly remember having 3 courses and they were good. I'm afraid that's all I can remember.

 

We then go to the theatre with Angela and Paul. The theatre is a lovely, compact, intimate lounge meaning everyone is very near the stage, which is basically a dance floor. The show is West End to Broadway, which is just show tunes. The singers are excellent and the dancers superb. A really good show. I really enjoyed the show, even if I didn't know all the words, much to Jean annoyance.

 

To the bar, on the way we somehow unfortunately lost Angela and Paul but found Clive and Anne. Sometimes you meet people and it feels like you've known them all your life! The bars and lounges are very quiet. FO does not have "late" ships, most people have gone to bed. Somehow it's 2:30 and time for bed.

[papcx]

Braemar 20.11. Day lost at sea aka The Bay of Biscay bites back.

 

Overnight the sea gets a lot rougher. Our hangovers are immense, and as they calm the motion sickness takes over.

 

The captain comes on the PA for his noon report. Basically, it's speed, heading, weather etc. the bad news, the sea is rough and going to get worse. The CD then comes on to say most events are off and the formal night will be moved to tomorrow!

 

Other than Jean venturing out for at half hour walk, we spend all day in the cabin.

 

Deciding we're not going to risk dinner, we order room service at 18:00. I think most of the ship had the same idea, because it doesn't turn up until 20:00. The sandwich stays "down" for about 2 minutes.

 

Back to bed. The days been lost!

[papcx]

Braemar 21.11. Day at Sea, recovering.

 

We wake at 8:00 after a restless night. The cabin "talks" in rough seas. The walls and fixtures seem to click, crack, pop, shake, rattle & roll.

 

The sea feels calmer so we decide to suck it up and go for breakfast. A shower clears the head, it's a good powerful shower and good and hot, but yes, a curtain that sticks to all your bits, and it's a bit small.

 

A walk down the promenade deck (yes, it's a full walk around promenade, like some CC members like so much.) clears the head even more. We go the Grampian restaurant for breakfast. Very nice. Shown to our table, fully laid out and offered tea / coffee straight away. We go to the self serve buffet section. I have cornflakes (a safe bet) but Jean goes for full English! Toast offered by the waiters and drink top ups. Very good.

 

Then we go for walk, to look at the shops. Usual stuff, duty free, excursions, future cruises and so on.

 

We take a seat at the back of the ship, at the wonderful layered stern. She's a lot calmer today, but looking at the wake, you can tell she's still moving about. Jean is brave and grabs a beer to complete her recovery, I'm still not to sure. We sit for a while and I begin to feel hungry. We'd basically had nothing to eat yesterday, so I take this as a good sign.

 

We go to the Thistle restaurant for lunch. We both have smoked fish mouse, strips of beef in a dressing and smoked salmon with poached eggs. They're all good and I consider my recovery to be on course.

 

Another walk and a siesta.

 

3 o'clock and up to the observatory bar for afternoon tea with sandwiches and cakes, plus cream teas! It's all excellent, with a pianist playing softly in the corner. A wonderful view over the bow of the ship and dolphins jumping in front of the ship.

 

A beer each, our recovery is complete and it feels like holiday.

 

To be continued.....

[papcx]

Actual live update!

 

We are in Lisbon today and it's just like Manchester, cold and wet, and so is the beer.

 

We're still having a good day walking around and seeing the sights. DW was overjoyed to find the apartment she stayed in when see worked her 15 years ago.

 

Heading back on board now, sailing for Portimao.

[Willow1686]

Thank you for this!

 

I'm so sorry to hear about the awful combination of a hangover and bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, and happy to hear that things have improved; I bit the bullet of flying both ways to/from Tenerife on December 6th because I'm keen on getting somewhere hot as soon as possible but Lisbon is a beautiful city, even in the rain!

 

And it's difficult to imagine anything more symbolic of the sea than dolphins...

[dancourt]

Loving your blog papcx. I am sorry to see that your Biscay crossing was even rougher than ours was just a few weeks ago when we were on the Braemar. I had never done that crossing before, always gone north.

 

I hope, now that you are back on your feet, you will enjoy the rest of your cruise and I look forward to reading all about it.

 

Susan

[Skipper Tim]

Many thanks. I am relieved to hear you are alive, with communication device and have not hijacked the ship. The worry I have had....

 

I would love to hear about your fellow guests. This is always the most interesting to a people-watcher. I have heard things about Fred Olsen but never experienced the line so I don't want to colour or influence anything you might have to say.

 

You have a couple of people from your next cruise (for those who don't know - an MSC repo from Gran Canaria to Venice), following your adventure over here on the FO forum. Perhaps, you could describe the difference of the experience for both the Fred Olsen and MSC followers? And don't be diplomatic :).

 

Nothing has to be done that does not have to be done - to misquote John Lennon. Enjoy regardless!

 

Tim.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Skipper Tim

[moomoocow]

Glad to hear you're on a firmer footing now!

[papcx]

Okay!

Let's be honest, this is the worse "live" review ever.

 

Myself and Jean are now in Tenerife (were we're staying for a few days) and have parted company with our new friends, some of which are still talking to us after Jean gave them all colds!

 

I didn't keep up with typing my thoughts so I'll wave the white flag and admit this is now a review rather than live blog.

 

The headline feature is Fred Olsen are very good! The crew and service is top notch if very English.

 

I'll try and get settled in a wifi spot tomorrow and post a bit more detail.