Newbie questions - looking at Scenic Isles UK June 22

[irvington]

I'm not new to cruising, but new to Fred. Olson, and from the US, which I take it is not the usual customer. I have a variety of newbie questions that I'm hoping someone can answer.

- I take it I can't use my travel agent to book this. I'm only bummed since I have a good friend who is a travel agent and a huge help, but I'm of course capable of figuring it out by myself.

- I'm hoping this will feel less like the mid-market US ships I'm usually taking - I mostly cruise for interesting itineraries, and this one intrigued my husband and older son, who are frankly not cruise fans (esp. my husband). I'm trying to tell them that this will have a different feel than a big cruise ship, and will be port intensive, but of course I don't want to do a complete bait and switch on them (maybe a small one...). I'm hoping it will feel more like a hotel at sea, where they don't have to participate in activities and can just sit on deck with a drink or something like that. They're very social, and love meeting people and talking, but the glitzy entertainment on most cruises turn them off. The advantage to this cruise as opposed to a land vacation is that we are all most interested in seeing some of the islands, and we like ferries, but the logistics are such that we can cover a lot more ground on this than trying to stitch together a ferry-type vacation in the same amount of time.

- This timing is good for my son so there will be 3 of us. I know 3 is a hard number for this type of travel. Has anyone booked a room for two and then a single? I suppose this is what to talk to the Fred people about, but curious if there are any insights. 

- I'm assuming we can do our own thing in port, subject to whatever pandemic restrictions there are at the time. I realize no one has a crystal ball, but any thoughts about the likelihood that this will be cancelled? Their cruises seem to fill up so I don't want to wait to reserve - unless that's a strategy I should pursue.

 

any other thoughts welcome as well, about this particular choice or Fred for newbies in general. 

[irvington]

another dumb question - I see that I can request a call back, or book online, but can I instead email with someone at the company to get more information?

[Izzywiz]

 

Good morning Irvington and welcome to the Fred Olsen Forum. I’ll do my best to answer some of your questions. We have sailed on many different cruise lines over the years including most of the main U.S. lines so have something to compare with FO. You do not say anything about your age and that of your son. You also do not say which ship, date and itinerary you are interested in so my replies are generic having just returned from Borealis and having also sailed on Braemar and Balmoral in the past.

1.     - I take it I can't use my travel agent to book this. I'm only bummed since I have a good friend who is a travel agent and a huge help, but I'm of course capable of figuring it out by myself.

A.     I think that your Travel Agent friend needs to answer this question. I know that I can book cruises on US cruise lines through my U.K.TA so it may be possible.

2.     - I'm hoping this will feel less like the mid-market US ships I'm usually taking - I mostly cruise for interesting itineraries, and this one intrigued my husband and older son, who are frankly not cruise fans (esp. my husband). I'm trying to tell them that this will have a different feel than a big cruise ship, and will be port intensive, but of course I don't want to do a complete bait and switch on them (maybe a small one...). I'm hoping it will feel more like a hotel at sea, where they don't have to participate in activities and can just sit on deck with a drink or something like that.

A.     Fred Olsen has wonderful itineraries, mainly because the ships are relatively small so they can access more unusual ports.

The ship will have a very different feel from the US based ships because it is very much geared to the British market and a generally older demographic.

There are wide ranging activities but absolutely no compulsion to join in. We do enjoy the varied lectures and classical music performances along with the trivia and craft sessions. I have always found the evening entertainment to be of a very high quality and always enjoy the production shows. The guest entertainers will be mainly British and will have a British bias to the content.

We find FO ships to be much quieter than their US counterparts although there is some poolside live music at certain times. It was not our preference so we moved to the aft pool deck which was quiet and peaceful. There are very few public announcements and none exhorting you to participate in bingo, art auctions, pool games etc.

My personal opinion is that Borealis had the feel of a country house hotel

 

3.     They're very social, and love meeting people and talking, but the glitzy entertainment on most cruises turn them off. The advantage to this cruise as opposed to a land vacation is that we are all most interested in seeing some of the islands, and we like ferries, but the logistics are such that we can cover a lot more ground on this than trying to stitch together a ferry-type vacation in the same amount of time.

A.     I think you will find the passengers to be very friendly. Although the majority of passengers will be 60+ they are very willing to chat and have a wealth of experience to share. You will not find many younger people and virtually no children.

B.     - This timing is good for my son so there will be 3 of us. I know 3 is a hard number for this type of travel. Has anyone booked a room for two and then a single? I suppose this is what to talk to the Fred people about, but curious if there are any insights. 

A.     I am sure that it is possible to book a double room + a single room. Fred caters well for solo passengers so there are a good number of single occupancy cabins available although at a supplementary cost. Sometimes Fred offers single cabins at no supplement prices.

4.     - I'm assuming we can do our own thing in port, subject to whatever pandemic restrictions there are at the time. I realize no one has a crystal ball, but any thoughts about the likelihood that this will be cancelled? Their cruises seem to fill up so I don't want to wait to reserve - unless that's a strategy I should pursue.

 

A.     At the moment, passengers may only disembark at port if they are on a ship’s tour. Some of these tours allow independent time within a confined area such as at the Tresco Abbey Gardens. This may change at any time depending on the situation and Government regulations.

I’m not sure about the cancellation policy so you would have to check the T&Cs on the web site.

 

5.     another dumb question - I see that I can request a call back, or book online, but can I instead email with someone at the company to get more information?

A.     Irvington, no question is dumb!

 I found this information on Fred’s website so you can certainly email as your first point of contact.

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

Please call us on +44 (0) 1473 742 424 or
e-mail guest.services@fredolsen.co.uk

I wish you all the best and hope, if you do decide to go ahead, that you have a good experience. It would be lovely to have a more international demographic on our cruises with Fred.

 

[irvington]

Thanks, this is super helpful. My husband will be 60 and I will be 58 at the time. My son is 23 and is something of an old soul. He spent last summer cooking, and baking as much as he could from the Great British Baking Show, for example, and is a big history fan, though he's ended up majoring in biology and art in college. The older demographic won't bother him. He's taking some time off before medical school and plans to meet some friends for backpacking in Europe after this, so he knows this phase of his travels will be more of a mom-and-dad speed. He's gotten very interested in types of whisky so originally proposed a distillery trip around Scotland, but neither my husband nor I really wanted that to be the main/sole focus. 

 

We're looking at the following one, because the timing and locations seem to be perfect for what we want.

Scenic Isles of the UK | Fred. Olsen Cruises (fredolsencruises.com)

My younger son is on an entirely different school schedule so he will still be busy at college. He's the biggest cruise fan in the family, ironically, but it can't be helped.

 

For us, it is a plus that the ship won't be all Americans. It often feels a bit weird when we seem to have brought along most of the fellow tourists. We've traveled a lot and it is always fun to meet people from all over. What you say about the entertainment and activities sound perfect. Lectures and classical music and nice scenery appeal to all of us. My husband has an image of cruises (from one we did with friends when our children were little) of Americans overeating and drinking to excess and loud, tacky music and activities. We're not above pub trivia or a show of some sort, and we enjoy living in a foodie part of the US. I just was trying to make sure that it wasn't going to fulfill his worst imaginings. 🙂 

 

Thanks for all your help! Emily

[tring]

21 hours ago, irvington said:

another dumb question - I see that I can request a call back, or book online, but can I instead email with someone at the company to get more information?

I have found Fred to be very responsive to emails in recent months, so a good first contact after searching his website.  Sorry for the terminology, but that is how Fred cruise lines tend to be spoken about here, though may seem odd to you.

 

Your agent question was answered by a US customer recently, so a read of the titles of recent threads (next couple of pages should do it easily), will likely pick that question up as it was from someone in the US considering Fred.  Also can ask Fred by email.

 

Regards independent exploration it really does depend on how thing go with the pandemic, but over here cruise lines are advised by Gov and CLIA, though hopefully better for next year.  We are not feeling hopeful for the rest of this year on international cruises and we were speaking to a member of staff on board Borealis this morning, who thought likewise.

Edited August 8, 2021 by tring

[irvington]

Thanks, so more questions if anyone is listening. I am in email contact, a bit slow but overall okay. My TA friend says they only work with 2 resellers in the US, so I am just thinking we will book directly.

 

I realize that this may all come crashing down because of the pandemic, but have some hope that things will be better by next June and we will be able to do this. Would love to hear more about excursions or doing without, assuming pandemic restrictions are over in terms of being able to go ashore independently. That may be impossible to answer since their itineraries are so varied. I'm hoping we will be able to go onshore independently but it seems like the one described in another thread was a good value if we have to go that route.

 

My husband is also trying to understand the drinks package versus ordering a la carte versus taking a bottle on board. I've told him the last option may be prohibited but I don't know. It isn't like we need to go crazy, but on vacation we might have a cocktail and a glass of wine or beer with dinner, maybe 2. I can't really tell from the website what the pricing is for that. or what the pricing is for excursions, which is what prompts the earlier question.

 

This isn't a criticism of Fred - I've noticed many cruise lines have websites that don't make it easy to get questions answered.

[Izzywiz]

Hi again Irvington.

I’ll try to assist with your new queries as best I can.

Q. I realize that this may all come crashing down because of the pandemic, but have some hope that things will be better by next June and we will be able to do this. Would love to hear more about excursions or doing without, assuming pandemic restrictions are over in terms of being able to go ashore independently.

A. As you say, it is extremely difficult to predict what will happen next June as far as being able to go ashore independently but, should it be possible, then you will find it quite easy to access tours locally. There is a section for ‘Britain’ on the ‘Ports of Call’ part of the CC forums where you will find plenty of advice.

I have posted my experience of tendering at the Scilly Isles and my excursion to Tresco Abbey Gardens on the Just back from Borealis. The 8-day Scenic Islands with Cowes Week - part 4 on this forum. The excursion was £35pp which was about average for the ones on offer at the other ports.

There is also some information about the scenic cruising around Fingal’s cave etc. Unfortunately, the weather was poor and not conducive to spending time on deck or getting good photographs of this very beautiful area.

Q. My husband is also trying to understand the drinks package versus ordering a la carte versus taking a bottle on board. I've told him the last option may be prohibited but I don't know. It isn't like we need to go crazy, but on vacation we might have a cocktail and a glass of wine or beer with dinner, maybe 2. I can't really tell from the website what the pricing is for that. or what the pricing is for excursions, which is what prompts the earlier question.

A. As far as I’m aware Fred doesn’t allow passengers to bring alcoholic drinks on board but

I think that you will find the drinks prices on FO very reasonable compared to those on the US cruise lines. FO offers a drinks package, if booked before sailing, for £19.99 pppd = approx. $28pppd (all adult passengers travelling in the same cabin must purchase the package). This rises to £29.99pppd = $41 if booked once on board. I have been quoted over $70 pppd on RCI.

 

Individually purchased drinks reflect British pub prices so a pint of beer is approx. £4.00 = $5.50, glass of wine - £4.75 = $6.50, cocktail - £5.30 = £7.30, soft drink - £1.30 = $1.80, Cappuccino £2.30 = $3.17. There is no added tax either. House wine started at around £18 = $25 for a bottle

.

You will find a hostess tray in your cabin with a kettle, mugs, spoons, coffee sachets, tea bags, milk sachets and sugar packets. These are replenished each day depending on usage. We bring our favourite instant coffee granules and our favourite tea bags as we prefer to make our own rather than waiting for room service.

 

The daily gratuity per person that is added to your On-Board Account is £5 = $7, and covers your cabin attendant and wait staff. Tipping is not expected for anything else…it is not part of the culture in Britain although people will often add a small amount when using a taxi or in a restaurant.

This isn't a criticism of Fred - I've noticed many cruise lines have websites that don't make it easy to get questions answered.

I absolutely agree with this statement. The thing that most annoys me is the lack of precision for arrival and departure times which does make it difficult to organise independent tours. I do find, however, that the tour operators know the times and are there at the port when we disembark.

 

 

[irvington]

thanks, this is super helpful. and reassuring!

[Britboys]

http://www.fredolsencruises.3dvp.co.uk/bar_list/page_1.html

 

Hopefully this link will work and take you to the bar list.

 

[irvington]

yes thanks - that's helpful! Emily

[tring]

On 8/13/2021 at 11:13 PM, Britboys said:

http://www.fredolsencruises.3dvp.co.uk/bar_list/page_1.html

 

Hopefully this link will work and take you to the bar list.

 

 

Useful, I had not seen that previously.  The prices appear to be a tad different though as the majority of the long cocktails, (which are priced at £5.05 on that list) were £5.30 on the list used on board last week (though came up as £5.03 on our bill, probably because of our 5% Oceans discount).  Useful to have the list though as it takes a wee while for someone to bring a list now, since they are not left out on the tables due to covid restrictions.  One of the bar staff in the Crow's nest did kindly take to bringing me a bar list soon after we arrived in the early evening though, as I was clearly working my way through the cocktail list 🙂  I tried to compare the price of other drinks, but complicated as we did not see those drinks on the price list, though as we seemed to have payed similar prices to on the list, it would appear prices were roughly 5% higher, then we got the 5% discount on our bill prices.The slightly higher prices last week may be because of that sailing not leaving the UK, rather than a long term price rise.    

 

We were not on the AI drinks package for this cruise though, so I cannot confirm if the AI list is the same as previously, though the AI list is on the back page of the list posted by Andrew above.  Those of us who have cruised with Fred previously will know that there is a limited list of drinks which are available free on the AI package, whilst other bar drinks are available half price (apart from some exceptions, such as champagnes, which are only available at full price even if on the package).  One notable exception is that hot drinks served in the bars are not available at all on the AI, even at the half price rate, which we always felt was a great shame - I am assuming that is still the case, but as I say we did not see the AI list.  Hot drinks are freely available for all from the self service restaurant though (until midnight, I think) and tea/coffee making facilities are in the cabins.