Omg. Fred have bought the 2 flagships of Holland America! We finally get decent sized ships in the UK!

[Britboys]

1 minute ago, tring said:

I see the diagram for your cruise is interesting.  Returning through Keil, but taking two nights and a day to do so.  Good old Fred, his diagrams can be a bit haywire....

Yes, and if you look at the one for the cruise visiting Bassens/Bordeaux in July, it somehow goes around the whole of Iberia and sails up a river from France's Mediterranean coast 🤣🤣🤣

[tring]

48 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Yes, and if you look at the one for the cruise visiting Bassens/Bordeaux in July, it somehow goes around the whole of Iberia and sails up a river from France's Mediterranean coast 🤣🤣🤣

 

They have replaced Rouen and the Seine for Cherbourg and St Malo on that and not marked St Malo as a tender, which even Boudicca had to be.  I would not thank them to dump me in Cherbourg.

 

Can I ask if you have retained your original booking reference for your cruise  (I realise the cruise numbers have changed to T, so ours will prob be R)?  I have just been referred to a gynaecologist for something probably not dire, but as it is not diagnosed, our insurance will say the condition is not insurable.  Hence we cannot book any new holidays at present and could be in sticky water unless we can prove our cruise was booked before this needed attention. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by tring

[Britboys]

10 minutes ago, tring said:

 

They have replaced Rouen and the Seine for Cherbourg and St Malo on that and not marked St Malo as a tender, which even Boudicca had to be.  I would not thank them to dump me in Cherbourg.

 

Can I ask if you have retained your original booking reference for your cruise  (I realise the cruise numbers have changed to T, so ours will prob be R)?  I have just been referred to a gynaecologist for something probably not dire, but as it is not diagnosed, our insurance will say the condition is not insurable.  Hence we cannot book any new holidays at present and could be in sticky water unless we can prove our cruise was booked before this needed attention. 

Yes, our booking reference has remained the same and is the one we first had for our cancelled May cruise. As indeed you say, the cruise number has just been given a T prefix as opposed to a D.

Old town St Malo is pleasant but very small. Cherbourg and St Malo certainly no replacement for Rouen and gliding along the Seine....

[tring]

26 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Yes, our booking reference has remained the same and is the one we first had for our cancelled May cruise. As indeed you say, the cruise number has just been given a T prefix as opposed to a D.

Old town St Malo is pleasant but very small. Cherbourg and St Malo certainly no replacement for Rouen and gliding along the Seine....

 

Thanks for that.  We docked in St Malo on Black Prince in March 2006 (11,000 ton), but was quite a size to get into the harbour.  I expect it to be very busy in July, along with our other ports.  We do not normally travel in summer so will be a bit of a shock for us.

 

Regards the S. America cruise you mentioned from Buenos Aires, that is the price including flights and Fred charges a lot for them (presumably no clout given how few flights he runs).  If you click no flights the lead in is £3399.  We never take Fred's flights now and had much better prices with Emirates/Etihad for Boudicca cruises with daytime flights and stop overs where/when we want.  Do not know about the S. American flight prices though, but it is a very long way with bad flight timings from what I have seen previously, so not our style.  We had fancied around S. America as a complete cruise, and since MIL passed away in May, we are free to do one as long as that, but not easy in current circumstances and getting older so future years may not be easy either, but we will see.  Does not look like many, if any changes on that, but was on Black Watch, not Boudicca.

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by tring

[ovccruiser]

I have a copy of the deck plans but cannot find a way to post them,Deck Plans, it's a PDF sent by my agent

Email .pdf

 

Looks as though it has attached

Edited September 7, 2020 by ovccruiser

[Britboys]

33 minutes ago, ovccruiser said:

I have a copy of the deck plans but cannot find a way to post them,Deck Plans, it's a PDF sent by my agent

Email .pdf 1.01 MB · 3 downloads

 

Looks as though it has attached

These are the ones that are now available on Fred's website. They obviously haven't made final decisions yet on the public rooms.

[JMyrtle]

Well we are sorted out at last!

To give us the same position on Bolette as we had on Boudicca Fred wanted an extra £150.00 each so I have decided to move down a deck to deck 2 and accept a cabin right at the back of the block of front inside cabins so we are a good way back by the lifts. 

Not a good as what we had but at least we are not right at the back over the propellers and you know the saying " The more you pay the more you sway" 

My travel agent  also says the cabins are a lot bigger going from 140 on Boudicca to 180-230 on Bolette. 

The new deck plans are now on line and it looks like all the bars and restaurants are on decks 4 and 5 so we still only have two stops in the lift and the good news is there are 12 lifts and the ones nearest our cabin go straight up to the bars and self service cafe. 

That makes for one happy Irishman! 

Glad we are on Braemar to go to Seville next autumn though, although to be honest I'm not that keen on the layout for Braemar as you have to walk the length of the ship to get from the bar to The Palms buffet restaurant. 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by JMyrtle

[tring]

52 minutes ago, JMyrtle said:

Well we are sorted out at last!

To give us the same position on Bolette as we had on Boudicca Fred wanted an extra £150.00 each so I have decided to move down a deck to deck 2 and accept a cabin right at the back of the block of front inside cabins so we are a good way back by the lifts. 

Not a good as what we had but at least we are not right at the back over the propellers and you know the saying " The more you pay the more you sway" 

My travel agent  also says the cabins are a lot bigger going from 140 on Boudicca to 180-230 on Bolette. 

The new deck plans are now on line and it looks like all the bars and restaurants are on decks 4 and 5 so we still only have two stops in the lift and the good news is there are 12 lifts and the ones nearest our cabin go straight up to the bars and self service cafe. 

That makes for one happy Irishman! 

Glad we are on Braemar to go to Seville next autumn though, although to be honest I'm not that keen on the layout for Braemar as you have to walk the length of the ship to get from the bar to The Palms buffet restaurant. 

 

 

 

The deck plans for the new ships start at deck one, so if you were looking at deck 3, they are  grade G cabins, so 2 grades up.  Deck one and two are more comparable, but would still be expecting a mid ship cabin though if we are to keep our booking.  Can I ask what Bolette cruise you are booked on and if there was an itinerary change as well?  At first I thought you meant you are in the front midship block (cabins 2554 - 2574), but having read your post again, you appear to be in the very front block, which are all to the front of the front lifts - is that correct?

 

This is the link to Fred's deck plans, which have now been published:-   https://68c8648dbe66747498d1-6027f91c84d2b73bebfc9b6bc4f4a0ac.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/5f55e84c9ff5671fe47374cb/Bolette_Deck_Plan_V1_.pdf

 

Our cabin on Black Watch has now come up as being available for sale, so I think we have been re-allocated, so may know where to in a day or two 🙂 

Edited September 7, 2020 by tring

[JMyrtle]

Hi Tring, we are going to Iceland in June 2021 and as far as I can see there are no itinerary changes. 

We originally had cabin 3046 on Marina Deck 3 booked on Boudicca which is as near as whatever exactly in the middle of the ship. 

We now ha ve cabin 2527 on main deck 2 booked on Bolette which is about one third of the ship down from the bow. 

My agent told me she has made at least half a dozen call to Fred over the last week and they are totally unmovable on the subject, if you want mid ship it's now £150 more each and no financial compensation unless there is a substantial change in the itinerary., take it or leave it, the new ships attract higher fares! 

She says she, and the rest of the Travel Agency sector, are amazed that Fred are taking this stance with existing bookings, particularly in the current financial climate. 

I'm just glad it's all sorted out but even though I dislike the ship I wish Braemar was based at Dover, there doesn't seem much sence as having a big ship based in Dover and a smaller one at So'ton.

I also noted on the website that Fred has invented a new word "deboat", presumably that is an inherited Americanism meaning disembark and I hope it is changed to proper English quickly. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by JMyrtle

[JMyrtle]

Sorry should have said we were also offered 3397 on deck 3 but that is much further back towards the bow so we went for the deck 2 option to be nearer the middle.and away from the propellers. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by JMyrtle

[JMyrtle]

Sorry should have said we were originally given cabin 3425  last week right at the end of the block over the propellers and then offered  a choice today of either 2527  on Main Deck which we accepted or cabin 3397 on deck 3 but that is much further back towards the bow so we went for the deck  2 ption to be nearer the middle.and away from the propellers. 

[tring]

19 minutes ago, JMyrtle said:

Sorry should have said we were also offered 3397 on deck 3 but that is much further back towards the bow so we went for the deck 2 option to be nearer the middle. 

 

Thanks for the reply.  Sorryto hear it has not gone well for you, but I think at least the Iceland ports should be fine for the new ships. Fred's stance really does sound unbelievable and I am surprised more people have not cancelled, given they have the legal right to do so, but I think many just want something to look forward to after this year.

 

We get very annoyed with P&O's use of the word debark, but deboat really takes it.

 

Hope you enjoy the cruise,

 

Barbara

[cruzingnut]

2 hours ago, JMyrtle said:

I also noted on the website that Fred has invented a new word "deboat", presumably that is an inherited Americanism meaning disembark and I hope it is changed to proper English quickly. 

 

No way that came from Holland America.  I've never even heard of that but I agree, it's pretty ridiculous sounding. It's always been called "disembark". 

 

I checked out the deck plans for her a Bolette.  Saw the 4 "single" balconies forward on deck 6.  Those cabins are the same size as the neighboring ones so there will be lots of space for just one person.  Interesting that they don't have the rest of the plans filled in though.  I found Amsterdams deck plans still online so if you want to have an idea of whats above/below you can still find out for planning purposes.

 

 

[Britboys]

58 minutes ago, cruzingnut said:

 

No way that came from Holland America.  I've never even heard of that but I agree, it's pretty ridiculous sounding. It's always been called "disembark". 

 

I checked out the deck plans for her a Bolette.  Saw the 4 "single" balconies forward on deck 6.  Those cabins are the same size as the neighboring ones so there will be lots of space for just one person.  Interesting that they don't have the rest of the plans filled in though.  I found Amsterdams deck plans still online so if you want to have an idea of whats above/below you can still find out for planning purposes.

 

 

With regard to the rest of the deck plans,. I think Fred has really rushed all this through and consequently have not yet finalised the public areas. They will be renaming some of those to fit in with the rest of the fleet and at the least, I suspect, will do some rejigging to replace the casino with just a few gaming tables in a different area. I'm guessing that maybe the casino area could become the Morning Light pub.

[AnnieC]

On 9/5/2020 at 10:58 AM, tring said:

 

Perhaps I was in a system that gave details for the ship in her original guise from a Borealis link.  I was using a fairly new phone and I am new to a smart phone, so gets very confusing.  Have not really used it for calls and my GP rang yesterday morning for a bboked telephone appt and I did not even know how to answer the call - I was frantically trying to 'click' the green phone image, but I found my husband who told me I need to swipe up.

 

I still use the desktop for most postings and usually sit at it for some time late morning (or later) on most days and I do think it is far easier to use.

What a relief to read your post! I've also recently acquired a smartphone (only because the writing was on the wall that we will all need one for tickets etc. in the not too distant future), but cannot understand why anyone would use that fiddly keyboard in preference to a desktop/laptop with a proper keyboard and mouse (unless away from home, of course). 

 

I don't give out the number, just in case someone rings me...🤣

[tring]

1 hour ago, AnnieC said:

I don't give out the number, just in case someone rings me...🤣

 

Me too.

 

I can cope with texts which can be picked up at leisure, but seeing people out and about spending so long on their phones is a sad thing IMO.  Must admit it has started me checking the web more regularly when at home as I tend to keep it near my "comfy seat" in the lounge.  That also means I do go out without it quite often, which is a nuisance at times when I need to keep in touch with someone.

[ovccruiser]

18 hours ago, tring said:

We get very annoyed with P&O's use of the word debark, but deboat really takes it.

 

Hope you enjoy the cruise,

 

Barbara

I hate these US wordings, as far as I am concerned, Debark is on Detree and Deboat is in Desea 😄

[JMyrtle]

I had to give up my laptop when Windows 7 became unsupported and windows 10  was not compatible with it because it was too old and I have no use for a mobile

I have a 10" tablet which is too big to carry about and also  no longer have use of a printer so everything is hard copy now. 

When Saga and Fred send me stuff by email I call them up and ask for hard copy in the post., my contact preference on Saga is by post but they keep changing it to email without asking. 

The banking regulator has also stated that banks have to make provision for customers without smart 'phones so no one will be sending me one time passwords by sms message any time soon because you cannot sms a land line apparently. 

On another subject do you think Fred are hoping that HALcustomers who like Amsterdam and Rotterdam will change to Bolette and Borealis instead? 

Fred also probably sails from more ports than HAL which may also make them more attractive so maybe they are dumping the least favourable cabin off on us in the hope that Hal customers that book  will be asking for their usual ones. . 

I love a conspiracy theory🙄

Edited September 8, 2020 by JMyrtle

[tring]

4 hours ago, ovccruiser said:

I hate these US wordings, as far as I am concerned, Debark is on Detree and Deboat is in Desea 😄

 

That tickled me.  You have a similar sense of humour to my husband, whose view is that you would debark a dog, not a ship, though your examples are far better. 🙂

 

[tring]

2 hours ago, JMyrtle said:

I had to give up my laptop when Windows 7 became unsupported and windows 10  was not compatible with it because it was too old and I have no use for a mobile

I have a 10" tablet which is too big to carry about and also  no longer have use of a printer so everything is hard copy now. 

When Saga and Fred send me stuff by email I call them up and ask for hard copy in the post., my contact preference on Saga is by post but they keep changing it to email without asking. 

The banking regulator has also stated that banks have to make provision for customers without smart 'phones so no one will be sending me one time passwords by sms message any time soon because you cannot sms a land line apparently. 

On another subject do you think Fred are hoping that HALcustomers who like Amsterdam and Rotterdam will change to Bolette and Borealis instead? 

Fred also probably sails from more ports than HAL which may also make them more attractive so maybe they are dumping the least favourable cabin off on us in the hope that Hal customers that book  will be asking for their usual ones. . 

I love a conspiracy theory🙄

 

Must admit before I succumbed to the new phone, I had a definite superiority feeling about not owning one.  Having emails as notifications can admittedly be a pain, but you can get information more quickly that way and it is useful if you have gone off for a distant holiday for about 4 or 5 weeks which we have done over the last few winters.

 

It has also given me our notification from Fred earlier as it arrived by email through our agent this afternoon, but not had a letter yet (from what has been said about Fred's letter it may well have been a disadvantage to him as it could well have got our backs up).  I will give full feedback on that later today or tomorrow, but basically there were more changes than we expected (4 ports out of 5 and the 4th will be a second tender port - though Fed has forgotten to mark either of them as so on the revised itinerary Mmmm).  Hence we now have no ports which are an easy walk from the ship - welcome to the world of bigger ships, even if Fred still calls them small!!  He has, however, saved our booking by allocating an H grade cabin on deck two in a position we would have  happily chosen if we had the choice of any cabin (very central with cabins to all sides and one below us as well).  MInd you our cruise was one of the most expensive originally at £150 pppn for a bottom grade inside, before a couple of discounts we got (e.g. Oceans), which I suggest is not warranted with the new itinerary.

 

I am sure Fred will have an eye on previous HAL cruisers and I think he will pick up some, though perhaps mainly on sectors of the "world or similar"  cruises and the ship purchases have been good publicity for him.  He has also, according to one of the recent videos by Peter Deer, picked up some CMV customers and a small discount for people who lost cruises after the crash will have helped that a bit (and was our other discount), though not as well as the -25% given a few years back when All Leisure collapsed.  He then picked up Swan and VOD customers who still sail with him, though not all were new to Fred entirely.  If successful, It could also mean his prices are not reduced as they previously have been nearer to cruise dates, but then again he does have to fill bigger ships.  It remains to be seen, but then we do want him to survive and I think that may well be the future of all smaller ship cruises, though admittedly I would like to be wrong on that.

 

Regards the cabins grades, I am sure he wants to keep the best cabins he can as they will sell at a better price to whoever he can get to pay for them.  I am still amazed that he does not seem to have had wide scale cancellations, given his attitude to this.  We could easily  have paid bit more for our cruise, but would have had no intention of doing so and had made the clear decision to cancel if we were not reasonably satisfied with the cabin, we could obtain along with our itinerary.  After all a decision to buy anything is largely to do with how much you are prepared to pay for it.

Edited September 8, 2020 by tring

[Britboys]

42 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Must admit before I succumbed to the new phone, I had a definite superiority feeling about not owning one.  Having emails as notifications can admittedly be a pain, but you can get information more quickly that way and it is useful if you have gone off for a distant holiday for about 4 or 5 weeks which we have done over the last few winters.

 

It has also given me our notification from Fred earlier as it arrived by email through our agent this afternoon, but not had a letter yet (from what has been said about Fred's letter it may well have been a disadvantage to him as it could well have got our backs up).  I will give full feedback on that later today or tomorrow, but basically there were more changes than we expected (4 ports out of 5 and the 4th will be a second tender port - though Fed has forgotten to mark either of them as so on the revised itinerary Mmmm).  Hence we now have no ports which are an easy walk from the ship - welcome to the world of bigger ships, even if Fred still calls them small!!  He has, however, saved our booking by allocating an H grade cabin on deck two in a position we would have  happily chosen if we had the choice of any cabin (very central with cabins to all sides and one below us as well).  MInd you our cruise was one of the most expensive originally at £150 pppn for a bottom grade inside, before a couple of discounts we got (e.g. Oceans), which I suggest is not warranted with the new itinerary.

 

I am sure Fred will have an eye on previous HAL cruisers and I think he will pick up some, though perhaps mainly on sectors of the "world or similar"  cruises and the ship purchases have been good publicity for him.  He has also, according to one of the recent videos by Peter Deer, picked up some CMV customers and a small discount for people who lost cruises after the crash will have helped that a bit (and was our other discount), though not as well as the -25% given a few years back when All Leisure collapsed.  He then picked up Swan and VOD customers who still sail with him, though not all were new to Fred entirely.  If successful, It could also mean his prices are not reduced as they previously have been nearer to cruise dates, but then again he does have to fill bigger ships.  It remains to be seen, but then we do want him to survive and I think that may well be the future of all smaller ship cruises, though admittedly I would like to be wrong on that.

 

Regards the cabins grades, I am sure he wants to keep the best cabins he can as they will sell at a better price to whoever he can get to pay for them.  I am still amazed that he does not seem to have had wide scale cancellations, given his attitude to this.  We could easily  have paid bit more for our cruise, but would have had no intention of doing so and had made the clear decision to cancel if we were not reasonably satisfied with the cabin, we could obtain along with our itinerary.  After all a decision to buy anything is largely to do with how much you are prepared to pay for it.

Well, I am pleased to hear that you were notified by email - I only got mine by letter, despite the fact that all previous correspondence had come by email. Maybe they have had plenty of negative feedback about Mr Deer's letter!

So, not withstanding the access to the ports, are you less or more happy with the revised itinerary - compared to what you were expecting?

[JMyrtle]

I am reasonably happy with what we have ended up with although we could be a little more central I suppose. 

The two Fred cruises we have booked this year (Iceland in June and Spain in November) are both full price as, like everyone else, we have not been able to go anywhere this year so there is more money than usual in the travel fund. 

Being so close to Dover we normally wait for Anchor Fares and book a basic inside cabin, we can go at short notice, catch the 'bus to Dover outbound and book Dover Cars to get us home with what ever we have bought on the trip. 

We travel light because we "don't do" formal so a couple of cases will do us. Working this way we can usually go away three of four times a year rather than just twice. 

On Boudicca all interior double cabins were mid ship so it didn't matter if you left it until the last minute because all the cabins were the same, that will not be the same on Bolette I fear.

This is why I have made more of a fuss about which cabin we have been allocated in the change of ship than I would have done had they been Anchor Fares. 

[Britboys]

7 hours ago, JMyrtle said:

I am reasonably happy with what we have ended up with although we could be a little more central I suppose. 

The two Fred cruises we have booked this year (Iceland in June and Spain in November) are both full price as, like everyone else, we have not been able to go anywhere this year so there is more money than usual in the travel fund. 

Being so close to Dover we normally wait for Anchor Fares and book a basic inside cabin, we can go at short notice, catch the 'bus to Dover outbound and book Dover Cars to get us home with what ever we have bought on the trip. 

We travel light because we "don't do" formal so a couple of cases will do us. Working this way we can usually go away three of four times a year rather than just twice. 

On Boudicca all interior double cabins were mid ship so it didn't matter if you left it until the last minute because all the cabins were the same, that will not be the same on Bolette I fear.

This is why I have made more of a fuss about which cabin we have been allocated in the change of ship than I would have done had they been Anchor Fares. 

The important thing now is to put this bit of hassle behind you and start looking forward to the cruise. On the plus side, your cabin will be bigger and hopefully more comfortable. The new ships have a very good reputation and loyal HAL fan-base. As well as the mdr, it looks like Fred will keep the Italian restaurant as well as having the Grill. It will be an extra charge but will give you more choice for casual eating.

You have hit the nail on the head with the inside cabin situation on the new ships. Hopefully Fred will rotate the ships so that Balmoral and Braemar will get outings from Dover for you in the future as they also have a selection of midships inside cabins.

[JMyrtle]

Yes as you say onwards and upwards but unfortunately we can only eat in the self service because I am type 2 diabetic controlled by a strict no carbs diet which unfortunately means bread, pasta and potatoes are strictly off limits. 😢

I live on protein, vegetables and salads and also need to be sure there are no "hidden carbs" anywhere, did you know for instance that the catering scrambled egg on board Boudicca was made from a packet mix thickened with potato flour? 

No neither did I until my blood glucose reading hit the roof one morning 🤔

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, JMyrtle said:

Yes as you say onwards and upwards but unfortunately we can only eat in the self service because I am type 2 diabetic controlled by a strict no carbs diet which unfortunately means bread, pasta and potatoes are strictly off limits. 😢

I live on protein, vegetables and salads and also need to be sure there are no "hidden carbs" anywhere, did you know for instance that the catering scrambled egg on board Boudicca was made from a packet mix thickened with potato flour? 

No neither did I until my blood glucose reading hit the roof one morning 🤔

Oh gosh, what a pain for you. It might still be worth checking out the Italian once on board as I am sure they will do some meat/fish dishes. Have you tried the mdr in the past? They are normally very good with dietary requirements.