Fred Olsen Nordic capitals

[Dairbear01]

 We are going on our first cruise in April with Fred Olsen on the Bolette, to the Nordic capitals.

 

Aarhus Denmark

Copenhagen Denmark

Helsinki Finland

Nynashamn Sweden

Oslo Norway 

 

Does anyone know if there is transportation from the cruise jetty to the individual capitals, if the ship is berthed away from the city centre.

 

If anyone has been on the Bolette and has any tips or positive feedback, that would be great to.

 

 

 

Thanks Kenny 

[1160451]

https://www.whatsinport.com
 

hi. We haven’t been to all those, but one of them, the place with the Mermaid, we walked in.

I use the What’s in Port site to get the information on the Ports of Call we are visiting.

I have attached it for you to look at.

Simple to use

Cruised on the Bolette when it was with RCI. Was a decent ship then.

I’m not sure if the two new ships are as “Fred” as the original Fred Ships. Balmoral ect.

Other people will advise.

Depends on what other cruise lines you are used to as to how you will like Fred I suppose.

Am sure if you trawl thro you will find reviews.

 

[tring]

On 3/9/2023 at 4:39 PM, Dairbear01 said:

 We are going on our first cruise in April with Fred Olsen on the Bolette, to the Nordic capitals.

 

Aarhus Denmark

Copenhagen Denmark

Helsinki Finland

Nynashamn Sweden

Oslo Norway 

 

Does anyone know if there is transportation from the cruise jetty to the individual capitals, if the ship is berthed away from the city centre.

 

If anyone has been on the Bolette and has any tips or positive feedback, that would be great to.

 

 

 

Thanks Kenny 

 

Fred generally provides shuttles if you are docked more than a kilometre from the town.  Not been to Aarhus, but are normally docked centrally in Oslo.  Helsinki depends on where you dock, but usually a shuttle, I think.  Copenhagen, (with mermaid) can often be walked to part of the town, but may be a shuttle to centre and again depends on docking location that day.  Not sure about your port in Sweden, we have not been there either.

 

If you booked Freedom fare, shuttles will not be charged for, but they are for passengers booked on a reduced saver fare, (when you do not choose your cabin number).

 

The Baltic ports are great, really interesting with lots to do, so you are unlikely to need any excursions, unless that is something you prefer.  Look at the "What's in Port" website as it has information about docking locations of and also about the ports.  Also go to the "Ports of Call" section on these boards - you can do a search for each of your ports and ask any remaining questions you may have there.  The ports do not really differ for the different cruise lines, though the bigger ships sometimes dock further out than smaller ones.  Excursions will be run by a land based company, so tend to be much the same on all cruise lines, though the US based companies charge a lot more than ones based in the UK.  Lots of other info on the Baltic ports on the net as many are big cities which attract other tourists.

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by tring

[Dairbear01]

Sorry just saw your message, thanks for the info, I was hoping there would be a shuttle, we weren't going to book any trips, as we felt it would be nicer to just wander round the city centres and take in the sights.

[tring]

21 hours ago, Dairbear01 said:

Sorry just saw your message, thanks for the info, I was hoping there would be a shuttle, we weren't going to book any trips, as we felt it would be nicer to just wander round the city centres and take in the sights.

 

I quite agree.  No problem then as shuttles into the ports will be available if they are not easily walkable (about 1 Km) as previously said,, they are included with Freedom fare fares, but you will be charged if on a saver fare.  Has usually only been £5 or so for the day, though may be a tad more if a bit further away, or they may have gone up since we last sailed mid 2022.  Not much anyway.  Enjoy the cruise, that is a good itinerary.

[Eglesbrech]

On 3/9/2023 at 4:39 PM, Dairbear01 said:

 We are going on our first cruise in April with Fred Olsen on the Bolette, to the Nordic capitals.

 

Aarhus Denmark

Copenhagen Denmark

Helsinki Finland

Nynashamn Sweden

Oslo Norway 

 

Does anyone know if there is transportation from the cruise jetty to the individual capitals, if the ship is berthed away from the city centre.

 

If anyone has been on the Bolette and has any tips or positive feedback, that would be great to.

 

 

 

Thanks Kenny 

Aarhus - when we were there we docked in the central port so it was a short walk off, charming little town. There is a port slightly further out.

 

Copenhagen - Lanagaline port (mermaid area) is walkable in to the city about 20 - 30 minutes and you see the mermaid, the Gyffen fountain, the palace, Nyhaven etc on the walk into the city centre.

 

If however you berth in the new port which is in increasingly in use by most cruise lines it’s a definite shuttle. HOHO buses are also available there and of course local public transport.

 

You can check your berth by looking at the port authority web site.

 

Helsinki - generally a shuttle is offered but if you are a reasonable walker then it’s actually not too taxing to walk to the city centre or the church of the rock etc.

 

Nynashamn - it’s been a long time since we were there and at that time it was a tender port so we booked an excursion. My information may be out of date by now.

 

Oslo - walk off

 

I’m just off Bollette and after a really enjoyable holiday my tips would be:

 

Pre book the speciality restaurants, they are both excellent and £10 if you book before you go, £15 once onboard.

 

If you have shuttle ports get up and ready to go early and get a shuttle ticket if you want some time in the port. Ours took ages, they only had two shuttles buses and they did not start an open shuttle service until 12 noon, it started at 9.45 am. 
 

If you are back late from port / a trip they offer a small menu of hot food up at the magra dome pool area. It’s not like most ships with self service pizzas and burgers. You get proper table service for food and drinks and the food comes out freshly made and hot. The fish and chips were excellent.

 

We booked the martini tasting experience (£22pp) and it was really fun. They tell you the history of each martini etc and let you shake a martini. I’m not a spirit drinker but it was nice to try a a sip. They make 8 and you get to select 4 to try. They come out properly made and garnished but obviously smaller versions. 

 

 

[Dairbear01]

Thank you for the information.

 

We will definitely book shuttles if they are available and hoped to maximise the time in port by getting up and out as soon as possible. 

We weren't sure on the Indian speciality night as we aren't keen on fish and my wife is gluten intolerant, so didn't know if they would be flexible, or just bring out the full menu.

 

Kenny 

 

[Eglesbrech]

51 minutes ago, Dairbear01 said:

Thank you for the information.

 

We will definitely book shuttles if they are available and hoped to maximise the time in port by getting up and out as soon as possible. 

We weren't sure on the Indian speciality night as we aren't keen on fish and my wife is gluten intolerant, so didn't know if they would be flexible, or just bring out the full menu.

 

Kenny 

 

Re the shuttle tickets you can only collect them at the venue when all of your party are ready to go. You may get lucky and get straight off then again you may have a wait. We went up early and still had a wait quite a while but my sister got ticket 20 and was ages.

 

Free shuttles generally only go to the local place named so in Copenhagen it’s Copenhagen but in Nysalmn it would just be the local town, so if you want to see Stockholm you need transportation or a tour.
 

On cruises always look at the name of the actual port. Fred Olsen is usually pretty good and gives a fair description. Some companies can  be a little disingenuous about where they are taking you so the brochure says in bold Edinburgh but in brackets South Queensferry or Paris but in brackets Le Harve.

 

Re food they asked at the start of the meal if anyone had any allergies in both restaurants, if they don’t then tell them. May be worth adding in the notes when booking as they may be able to do something gluten free (I added in an allergy for one of my party, it wasn’t in any of the food but they had checked).

 

In Vasco they brought out the breads and 6 dips first.

 

They then brought out all the starters on the menu so you got to taste them all. Some would not be suitable for your wife. We got little mince balls, coated muscles, chicken samosas and ricotta and spinach balls

 

You got to choose your main dish. On the menu we had (they change every 4 days so check which one once onboard) we tried one of each as we were a bigger party, so one prawn, one beef, one lamb and one pumpkin. Sharing sides came along in separate dishes with that eg rice, dal, paneer saag etc.

 

Just  a bit of information about replying on cc. If you want someone to see your reply either use the quote button at the bottom left of their post or use the symbol @ and start to type in the screen name and it will come up. That way you notify the person you have replied to them or they may miss it. See below, Hope this helps

 

@Dairbear01

[Dairbear01]

@Eglesbrech

Thanks again, we have flagged up gluten free, so I believe my wife will get to speak to the maitre-d, for her meals, the Vasco might be to problematic.

 

We are already on a massive learning curve with it being our first cruise, so trying to keep it as problem free as possible 

[Eglesbrech]

@Dairbear01

 

Yes the ships are great for people with food requirements, generally much better than hotels. On Bollette they even had a separate section for GF sandwiches and cakes in the buffet for afternoon tea - I just happened to notice it in passing.

 

The folks on here are helpful so just ask, someone can usually help.

 

You are doing a wonderful first cruise. The capital cities in particular are amazing with so much to see and do, you’ll be spoilt for choice. I’m sure you have already done your research about what you want to see and do.

 

Just one tip that might help if you plan to buy anything substantial. You get your tax back in some places depending on how much you spend and it can be quite a good refund. We were in Copenhagen last year and bought some things from the main Georg Jenson shop and the tax came back onto our credit card about a month later - but make sure you ask about it. My sister bought a fancy Norwegian jumper last week and is getting the tax refund for that. They sometimes bring a tax representative onto the ship at the last port but if not just fill in and post off the form they will give you.

[Dairbear01]

@Eglesbrech

 

That's good to know about the gf afternoon tea and the shopping, we can hopefully start passing on our knowledge, rather than keep asking everyone, hoping it will be the first of many  cruises