Braemar 12/5/2007 to Baltic States

[zacca]

Anyone else going on this cruise? We just booked it today!

[zacca]

No replies to this post although lots of views so I guess no other cruise critics are going on this cruise?

[Dinkey]

No replies to this post although lots of views so I guess no other cruise critics are going on this cruise?

 

 

Hi,

 

Jusat like my cruise on the Northern Waters in July no replies, but this will be down to this board being new.

 

I am sure you will have a great time have you done this destination before?, one of my favourate cruises was the Baltics.:) So many different cultures my favourite Tallin, although would of loved to have visited Riga on my cruise on NCL Dream. I am sure you will have a fantastic time.

 

Just checked the pricing for this cruise amazing value, wish I had some holidays left we would join you!!!:D

 

If you need any info just let me know.

 

Trish

[Guest Anorak33]

Hi

We are on this cruise, Atlantic Deck Cabin 3023

 

Leave a note under the door if you would like to meet up or post on here a time and place. Are you any good at Trivia? We would like to form a team.

 

I have to agree that an outside, even one with just 2 portholes, is great value at £595.

 

We just couldn't pass it up as the ports of call are all new to us.

 

This will be our third time on Braemar, nice small ship and pleasant crew, but if you want to be able to have the same waiters for lunch and breakfast as at dinnertime do not accept a table at the back of the restaurant.

 

Also remember if you want an ice bucket in your cabin you have to ask your steward for it, preferably on the first day.

 

And no flying for us as we are staying near Dover right now for the summer.

 

 

Hope to see any members, anyone who is on this cruise don't forget to bring something patriotic to wear for Red White and Blue night, and something cowboy/girl for Western night.

 

 

regards

 

Mike and Wendy

[zacca]

Anorak33.....Hi Mike and Wendy, at last, I had almost given up hope of anyone else from cc joining this cruise!Welcome to you both. We are Andrew and Francesca, from Andalucia, Spain.We are going on this cruise with two friends Tim and Yvonne from West Sussex. For all of us this is our first time on FO. We are all frequent cruisers, our friends normally with Cunard and us with Celebrity.We are late seating for dinner and have requested a table for 8.We are in cabin #6003 on Lido deck (inside) and our friends are on the Bridge deck in an outside cabin. Yes, we would love to join up with you to make a team for Trivia.The destinations are all new for us, I have not had a lot of time to do much research on them but have made some plans for each stop. We are taking ship excursions in St Petersburg, I would have preferred to use a local operator but it was getting too complicated with such little time. Flying to England on Thursday night, driving to Dover on Friday, staying at a guest house overnight in Dover. Planning to arrive at the ship around midday. Our friends are staying over at the Ramada. We will meet up on the Friday night for dinner. Would you like to meet up for a sail away drink together? Looking forward to meeting you, Francesca.

[Guest Anorak33]

Well we all met up, did a few Trivia Quizes together and apart from the cold going round the ship most of the passengers had a pretty good time I think.

Some reduction in service evident on Braemar this cruise. No coffee/tea making equipment in the cabins any more as another member warned us was the case.

No coffee and biscuits with the morning and afternoon Trivia Quizes in the Coral Club any more.

Service in the Thistle restaurant was a bit too slow, might have just been that our waiter wasn't brilliant.

Like I have said before, don't choose to sit at the tables at the back of the dining room, but thats where we were put. The view is good but the waiters seem to leave a bit to be desired.

Food not quite up to what it was a year ago but still pretty reasonable, its the same head chef Siggi,one magnificent seafood lunch.

The ship was looking a bit tired initially but they cleaned the decks down, replaced worn carpeting here and there and painted up the rusty bits before Fred Olsen Senior came on in Oslo.

Jacuzzis were a bit cool in the beginning but warmed up after a week to around 34 degrees. Hardly anyone used them.

Swimming pool, (sea water) was around 25 celsius, the actual sea temperature was as low as 6 celsius. I saw 3 different people use the pool.

 

St Petersburg was the highlight of the cruise for us, what a brilliant city. terrible traffic, great architecture. We certainly intend to go back there one day.

 

The Russian dancers (the Nevskis) who came on in St Pete were fun, rest of the entertainment much as you would expect on a small ship.

 

I would recommend any cruisers going to Russia to splurge the small cost of a Visa, then you can go ashore as you want. You can apply online in advance and it can cost about £15 or so. Otherwise you are stuck on the ship except for going on tours with little or no free time ashore.

 

Absolutely no kids on board (except us!) many passengers a bit doddery and 70plus (or 80plus or 90plus)

 

Dolphin Racing was great for us, we ended up by £10, one of the dancers rode Flipper and got a bit carried away.Do they do Dolphin Racing on all FO ships?

 

Its nice that FO don't make money out the Dolphin Racing or the Bingo, its all shared out amongst the winners. Bit different to the big ships!

 

Anyway we have a few days in UK then its back to Florida for us Tuesday.

 

See you all sometime I expect!

 

Thanks for your company Andrew, Francesca Tim and Yvonne. (alphabetical order)

[zacca]

Back home again! Caught the cold that was going round the ship, well it was more like flu, at least I didnt get it whilst on the ship! It was a good cruise overall, it took me a couple of days to settle in and accept the differences from my usual cruise line! We knew beforehand that the majority of the passengers were very elderly and some infirm and this was reflected in the entertainment programme. I missed the after dinner dancing but it meant early nights and I slept so well. Our cabin was spacious and kept clean by our efficient stewardess, who never introduced herself to us, we only knew her name because she left a card in our cabin. Likewise our waiters at dinner, they learnt our names but we never knew theirs!On sea days I did arts and crafts classes which were excellent, some yoga and pilates at the gym and used the outdoor pool. We did some Trivia in the evenings after dinner, finally winning a bottle of champagne on the last night which meant Bucks Fizz for breakfast on debarkation day! Overall it was a friendly happy crew on the ship.The ship´s officers were somewhat aloof.The ship is well maintained. In my opinion it needs a smoking policy onboard, separate smoking areas on decks etc.The food was good overall, the prices of drinks reasonable compared to other ships.I thought the Palms Cafe was well presented for a casual eating venue with tablecloths etc.This cruise exceeded our expectations,it represented good value for money, however for those who paid full brochure price, they would have had a more luxurious cruise, with better service for less cost on a premium cruise line. Having said that, the majority of passengers are repeat clients that love the product that FO offers. FO know their market.

 

Anorak33: I agree with all your comments, it was nice to get to know you and Wendy, we enjoyed sharing our table with you and being in your Trivia team!Have fun in Florida, keep in touch!

[cyclist]

I'm doing the Baltic on the Black Watch departing 28 August. I'm interested to know if you stopped at any of the less well known ports we are calling at: Mariehamn in Finland, Gdynia in Poland and Sassnitz in Germany. If you were at any of these I'd really appreciate knowing what you did and your opinion of the tour or doing it yourself.

[zacca]

cyclist... not able to help you as we didnt go to any of the ports of call you mentioned, we did Bornholm,Riga,Tallinn,St Petersburg,Copenhagen,Halmstad and Oslo.However it sounds a very interesting itinerary! There is a new website dedicated to the Baltic Sea region http://www.cruisebaltic.com/uk which may help.

[cyclist]

Thanks zacca, I will take a look. That's a very diffferent itinerary. We do Mariehamn, Helsinki, St, Petersburg, Gdynia, Sassnitz, Copenhagen and Oslo.

[Guest Anorak33]

zacca, we just booked Norwegian Gem from Barcelona to Boston, inside cabin was only £250 each. 9 nights and I can get cheap oneways on Virgin back to UK if needed.

Interested at all?

[zacca]

anorak33... what a steal! what are the dates?better to email me, rossiteresp@ctv.es