Booking while Onboard Fred Olsen Ships

[TheGardener]

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

[ovccruiser]

I think there is always some sort of offer, but unsure as to what it may be. I know on other cruise lines I have used there is on board credit given, I cannot think Fred would not offer some incentive, but may vary as to time of year etc.

[Pentlands]

That offer is past. We got 5% off and an upgrade. Then transfered back to the TA who booked the cruise we were on (at a good price) who gave us a further £100 and a case of wine!

[TheGardener]

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

 

[Coravel]

We did just that last week on the Black Watch and had an extra 5% discount.  You have 14 days cooling off period during which you can change your mind after the cruise ends.  This deal is always available.  

 

[ovccruiser]

I think you can also put it through your favourite agent, may get a little more £££££ LOL

[Coravel]

Yes, you can do that.  

[tring]

Yes an extra 5% reduction along with any other offers (or Oceans discount) which are available at the time to anyone booking their cruises, though certain offers are highlighted in regular junk mail to the cabins 🙂  We disembarked Boudicca last week and they were also offering a cooling off period as mentioned by Coravel.  We have not seen the cooling off period as being after the end of the cruise previously, though there was always chance to cancel before you disembarked.  The extended cooling off may well have become a standard offer for all on board sales now, but worth checking that when you book - we have not booked on board for a couple of years, so I may well be outdated in my knowledge about that.

 

Three for two often comes out with the new brochure release and that is due within a week or so now.

 

To confirm another point you can only pass the booking to an agent if you used that agent for the cruise you are travelling on at the time.  I suspect you would not be able to get the on board 5% discount to book saver fares, but never tried it ourselves.  The upgrade offer on our recent cruise was only for suites (i.e. book a suite and you get an upgrade) - I have not noticed an upgrade offer for other cabin grades when on board, other than what may be offered for any booking on a specific cruise. 

Edited February 27, 2020 by tring

[teedam]

As a solo cruiser I have often found better deals onboard and they do always transfer to my agent. Sadly my last couple of cruises were cancelled so I'm not booked up so far in advance this year. Always worth checking what's available before boarding so that you know the costs upfront.

[Pentlands]

I think that you can transfer to a different TA, if you have had problems with the one you booked the cruise with and certainly Fred's T/Cs do not say that you have to tansfer to the one you booked through

 

"!3.5 Where a Passenger has made a Booking directly with FOCL, such Booking may not be transferred to a travel agent unless the following criteria all apply:

3.5.1 The Booking was made on board a FOCL Vessel;

3.5.2 The Booking is transferred on board a FOCL Vessel; and

3.5.3 The travel agent to whom the Booking is transferred is approved by FOCL at the time of the transfer.  "  

http://fredolsencruises.com.au/page/fred-olsen-terms-and-conditions 

[tring]

2 hours ago, Pentlands said:

I think that you can transfer to a different TA, if you have had problems with the one you booked the cruise with and certainly Fred's T/Cs do not say that you have to tansfer to the one you booked through

 

"!3.5 Where a Passenger has made a Booking directly with FOCL, such Booking may not be transferred to a travel agent unless the following criteria all apply:

3.5.1 The Booking was made on board a FOCL Vessel;

3.5.2 The Booking is transferred on board a FOCL Vessel; and

3.5.3 The travel agent to whom the Booking is transferred is approved by FOCL at the time of the transfer.  "  

http://fredolsencruises.com.au/page/fred-olsen-terms-and-conditions 

 

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.

[TheGardener]

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

[tring]

3 hours ago, Pentlands said:

I think that you can transfer to a different TA, if you have had problems with the one you booked the cruise with and certainly Fred's T/Cs do not say that you have to tansfer to the one you booked through

 

"!3.5 Where a Passenger has made a Booking directly with FOCL, such Booking may not be transferred to a travel agent unless the following criteria all apply:

3.5.1 The Booking was made on board a FOCL Vessel;

3.5.2 The Booking is transferred on board a FOCL Vessel; and

3.5.3 The travel agent to whom the Booking is transferred is approved by FOCL at the time of the transfer.  "  

http://fredolsencruises.com.au/page/fred-olsen-terms-and-conditions 

 

This also seems to be from the Oz site.  Cannot see this on the terms for our recently booked cruise either.  Different terms could apply to different nationalities, partly because of different legislation.

Edited August 18, 2020 by tring