Interesting New Cruise on Braemar from Rosyth

[tring]

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/cruise/revisiting-prussia-m2223

 

Many will have already seen this, but I find it interesting in two respects.  One they are still looking at doing smaller ports and more unusual destinations, but secondly it is on Braemar sailing from the north.  Braemar is the only really small ship left in the fleet, so hopefully we will see more cruises sailing form the north, rather than have her just based in the south.  Rosyth would mean about the same journey from home for us as it is to Southampton, but would be a much more pleasant journey and would cut travelling times on the ship to many good cruise destinations going north by at least a day each way. Fred has always been known for his good cruises when going north as the itineraries have always been excellent, so looking hopeful IMO.

 

I messaged Fred on FB if the new (ex HAL) ships could still go up the inside passage of Norway, like his previous cruises have done, and it seems that has yet to be determined.  If they cannot, it would be a major difference with those ships going out to sea rather than having 'sea days' that are in fact scenic cruising up the inside passage.  I can see the advantage in the new ships for some itineraries, but could end up very limited compared to what we have been used to in the past on other itineraries.

 

We will not be booking any new holidays at present, but we will be keeping our eye out for this sort of itinerary when we are ready to do so.

Edited December 10, 2020 by tring

[comcox]

I agree the more small, out of the way ports, the better for those of us who have traveled and cruised a lot.

I wish Fred Olsen would duplicate the CMV Hidden Baltic itinerary which went to lots of smaller Baltic ports (not just Poland) as this new Prussia one does.

[Britboys]

Yes, it is nice to see three rather unusual ports of call on this itinerary.  Braemar attracts me least of the ships in the fleet, so as a 'Southerner', I am quite happy to see her being based 'up North' 😁.  Rosyth as a departure port is not attractive to me as I can get to Southampton, Portsmouth and Dover with relative ease.

I do hope Fred continues to visit smaller, more interesting ports as that is a major attraction along with the size of the ships.

Of course, as always, there is a drawback for solo cruisers in terms of the launch prices - in this case from £244 per night ☹️

[comcox]

22 hours ago, Britboys said:

Yes, it is nice to see three rather unusual ports of call on this itinerary.  Braemar attracts me least of the ships in the fleet, so as a 'Southerner', I am quite happy to see her being based 'up North' 😁.  Rosyth as a departure port is not attractive to me as I can get to Southampton, Portsmouth and Dover with relative ease.

I do hope Fred continues to visit smaller, more interesting ports as that is a major attraction along with the size of the ships.

Of course, as always, there is a drawback for solo cruisers in terms of the launch prices - in this case from £244 per night ☹️

That's a bit better than Saga.  I just priced a solo cruise there for 2022 and it came to £352 per night!  And one for 2021 on Hurtigruten that started at £536 per night for the cheapest cabin.  But yes, I agree that solo prices are rising a lot--possibly because CMV no longer offers any competition, but also because the cruise companies have lost so much money this year, they are going to have to make it up somehow.  

[tring]

Fred has made singles offers in the past (often twin for single occupancy) much nearer to the sailing date and some of those offers are around for next summer.  They only come up on the cruises which have not sold well mind and who knows what will happen after this, but he still needs to sell the cabins somehow - we will see.

 

Fred's cruises have always been relatively expensive at launch, with various offers brought in as the cruise date gets nearer.  He used to be quite good at upgrading those who booked early, though still allow choice of available cabin numbers, though regulars did better with that.  More recently he seems to have offered reduced price upgrades rather than free ones and some people have not been amused at the prices asked, though we have done fairly well on a few occasions compared to what the cabin would have cost up front, though sometimes after ringing in in ourselves or asking on the ship.  TBH the only reason we tend to book a Fred cruise early is if it is to an unusual long haul destination and we know we would want to arrange flights and land stays for the same journey.

 

It is without doubt that his prices are increasing though, whilst the run of the mill lines are keeping prices really low with the economy of scale of the new ships and their spending opportunities.  Our instinct is to stick with smaller cruise ships for most cruises, but have gone a bit mad having replaced a P&O cruise with a one week Fjords on Iona, though have got a very well placed balcony for the price of an inside on many Fred cruises, so could spend a lot of time sitting on it.  We made the transfer to retain our deposit for a longer cruise which could have become an expensive disaster and waiting longer may have meant we could only transfer for another long cruise which we did not want.  The new one is within a month of a Fred cruise next summer, so will be interesting to compare the experiences at the time.  I just wonder what will happen to cruising in the future with all these new ships in the pipeline, could be a very different experience to what has gone before, in which case I am sure we will do more land holidays.

Edited December 12, 2020 by tring

[Britboys]

On 12/12/2020 at 10:59 AM, comcox said:

That's a bit better than Saga.  I just priced a solo cruise there for 2022 and it came to £352 per night!  And one for 2021 on Hurtigruten that started at £536 per night for the cheapest cabin.  But yes, I agree that solo prices are rising a lot--possibly because CMV no longer offers any competition, but also because the cruise companies have lost so much money this year, they are going to have to make it up somehow.  

It is a bit difficult to compare Fred and Saga prices at a "from" point of view as Saga's new ships are all Balcony Cabins, fully all-inclusive and in most cases include insurance and transport from home to port.  I normally book inside cabins and so Saga's prices are not attractive to me at all.

[comcox]

13 hours ago, Britboys said:

It is a bit difficult to compare Fred and Saga prices at a "from" point of view as Saga's new ships are all Balcony Cabins, fully all-inclusive and in most cases include insurance and transport from home to port.  I normally book inside cabins and so Saga's prices are not attractive to me at all.

I noticed the balconies, which looked wonderful.  However, as an American I am not eligible for their insurance and I don't drink so those all inclusive items are a waste for me unfortunately.