My wife and I booked this cruise more than a year ago, whilst on a cruise with Olsen's ship the 'Braemar'. We had a good experience with the Olsen 'brand' then, although we found the Braemar, with its flat bottom, rather unstable in anything more than a Force 4 so thought this larger addition to the fleet would be worth a try. Our cruise was the first of the Mediterranean cruises undertaken by the Balmoral, a fly-cruise out of Rome. Balmoral was only on its 8th voyage, having been extended earlier in the year with an extra section midships, and partially refitted in other areas.
We are both 60+ retirees,and veterans of seven or eight cruises with various cruise lines over the last six years, and we mostly prefer mid-size ships rather than the newer leviathans.
We travelled from Bristol with a Titan charter flight - a premier charter company who also - on their smartest planes - fly pop stars, the UK Prime Minister and such like! Champagne served whilst waiting in line at the check-in. The plane was most comfortable, more legroom than most charters and exemplary service. Really nice cold meal.