Christmas on Borealis -newbie questions!

[Lobbylin]

Hello, we have cruised a few times, but this will be our first Fred Olsen cruise. We’re booked on Borealis in an Oceanview 1863 on Marina deck. 
- is that location noisy with the ships engines?

- what can we expect on 14nt Xmas & New Year to the Canaries, how many formal nights? 
- will people be a bit more dressier as it’s Xmas etc? 
- any top tips for Xmas, fireworks at midnight in Funchal in New Years Eve?

- we have a drinks package, are the house wines decent enough, or should I bring my indigestion tablets😉😂?

- can we expect a lot of kids on board? We learnt a lesson on a previous cruise not to be adjacent to 3-4 berth cabins as we were surrounded by kids who ran amok whilst their parents were elsewhere in the ship!

- we love good food and seafood - will we get the odd lobster night in the main dining room?

- do we need to pre-book speciality dining, are they very busy? 
- what is the average arrival time back into Liverpool? Our flight is 14.20hrs on disembarkation day. Will it be easy to get a taxi to the airport or can/should I book in advance, any recommendations?
 

thanks for any help/advice 

Linda

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

I have answered the questions I can in bold below, others may be able to fill in the gaps.
 

Hello, we have cruised a few times, but this will be our first Fred Olsen cruise. We’re booked on Borealis in an Oceanview 1863 on Marina deck. 
- is that location noisy with the ships engines?

 

- what can we expect on 14nt Xmas & New Year to the Canaries, how many formal nights? 

 

The number of formal nights will be shown on your cruise personaliser as will some of the pre bookable excursions and onboard activities. Most will be there by about 13 weeks before your cruise.

 

Fred also sends a very nice brochure for your specific cruise nearer to the sail date detailing what events you can expect, onboard speakers, the tastes of the region cookery demos etc etc.

- will people be a bit more dressier as it’s Xmas etc? 

yes probably

- any top tips for Xmas, fireworks at midnight in Funchal in New Years Eve?

- we have a drinks package, are the house wines decent enough, or should I bring my indigestion tablets😉😂?

 

The house wines are absolutely fine. We like the chillian Chardonnay for white and the Shiraz for red however the others are fine too. They also offer a decent cava as the house fizz.

 

They do a really very good mulled wine on Fred ships and while it is not included in the package it is half price with it. £7 the last time I had it so £3.50.

 

- can we expect a lot of kids on board? We learnt a lesson on a previous cruise not to be adjacent to 3-4 berth cabins as we were surrounded by kids who ran amok whilst their parents were elsewhere in the ship!

 

I have never seen many children on any Fred cruise and they have generally been very well behaved however I have not done a Christmas cruise with them which could be different.

 

- we love good food and seafood - will we get the odd lobster night in the main dining room?

 

Yes there is lobster on the dinner menu on one of the formal nights. There is sometimes also a seafood lunch but not always. If they do it, it is well worth attending to try the wide variety provided. There is a relatively recent thread on here about it.

 

- do we need to pre-book speciality dining, are they very busy? 
 

The speciality restaurants are excellent, very good value for money and yes popular. If you pre book in advance then the charge is £10 while it is £15 pp if booked onboard.

 

- what is the average arrival time back into Liverpool? Our flight is 14.20hrs on disembarkation day. Will it be easy to get a taxi to the airport or can/should I book in advance, any recommendations?

 

On our cruise from Liverpool disembarkation started at 7.30am though self disembarkation was offered at 7am. The process was quite slow, we did not depart until 8.30 and there were lots of people still waiting to depart so you could be as late as 9.30 and that’s if there are no specific delays. 
 

The port is right in the city centre and the traffic was horrendous. We had our car parked with CPS and the mini bus took 15 minutes just to get out of the port as there are banks of traffic lights. Personally I would pre book a taxi but arrange the collection point across from the port, not in the port area. Someone local to Liverpool may be able to suggest an appropriate place.

[Lobbylin]

Thank you Eglesbrech👍

[Eglesbrech]

@Lobbylin I take it you have found the personaliser on line in the Fred website. From memory you can book speciality restaurants before the 3 month period and the odd excursion they out up sooner than the bulk at the 13 weeks before, worth a look to see what it there.

 

Fred also offer other pre bookable events for example we did a German beer tasting on our German cruise, Irish whiskey in Ireland and Aqua vit cocktails in the Arctic. They generally also offer a martini event (which is fun) wine tasting and rare tea tasting. While none of these are included or reduced in price if you have the drinks package they are great fun and informative.

 

As the ship docks right in the heart of Liverpool, next to the Liver buildings if you get there early on embarcation day you can drop your cases and have a chance to see parts of the city. The museums and Albert dock are just a 10 minute walk away and the Beatles experience about 15 minutes and the shopping district about the same.

 

[Lobbylin]

@Eglesbrech - yes, I did logion but there was nothing showing at this stage - no tours, speciality dining. Hopefully there will be something uploaded soon.

thanks… I will definitely pre-book tur speciality dining.