Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

Senior Cruises

Southampton

Dover

Newcastle (England)

London (Greenwich, Tower Bridge, Tilbury)

Europe - All

Europe - British Isles & Western

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Norway

Mediterranean

Spain

Europe - Western Mediterranean

Arctic

Canary Islands

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Europe River

Norwegian Fjords

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Caribbean - All

Caribbean - Western

Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Africa

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Belgium

Croatia

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Rhine River

Thames River

Douro River

Seine River

Excellent

Average

Very Good

Poor

Balmoral

Braemar

Bolette

Borealis

Excellent Experience ! Refurbished 2022

Kusadasi

It seems we were pretty lucky going across the Bay of Biscay - other ships on the same night had real problems.  Perhaps our ‘luck’ was the result of the excellent stabilisers on Bollette.  

There were a lot of lectures which would appeal to passengers selecting a Cruise round Roman Spain. It was also useful that you could watch them live or recorded in your cabin. 

We stopped at some lovely places, and it was easy to get to the town.  

The daily quizzes were good but always full.  

The Neptune lounge is well designed so you have a good view from just about anywhere.  However, I found the cruise shows frankly disappointing though that’s perhaps a matter of taste (though I did speak to others who had left the show early). 

The food and service were both excellent.  

The free classes offered in the gym were really good.  They were oversubscribed initially but very few people signed up later in the cruise.  

The swimming pool near the spa was good but rather awkward to get into, even for someone who’s fairly fit.

A lovely cruse round Roman Spain

Occasions when all the Fred Olsen ships gather in one port are few and far between. We missed Bergen and Cadiz but were determined to do this one. Of course it was originally billed as 'Four Freds in Funchal' but the sale of Braemar has reduced the fleet to three. In fact the weather and various other unfortunate happenings meant that we on Bolette were the only ones who had a cruise that went to plan but, in the event, all three ships were in Funchal for the get-together and we all enjoyed a great day of fun and frolics. 

Bolette's itinerary took us to the South and East of Spain after a stop in La Coruna and, after a moderately bumpy ride for a couple of days after leaving Southampton, it was blue skies and pleasant warmth nearly all the way until we neared the UK again. For various reasons we wanted a sedentary, relaxing holiday so we weren't very adventurous in terms of going ashore and taking excursions but the ship's entertainment and some excellent travelling companions kept us occupied to the extent that we wished to be. We had some good guest speakers and shows - the resident performers were excellent and, as is usual on Fred ships, ran the quizzes in a competent and amusing way. In fact the quizzes were a sell-out on almost every occasion which meant that getting in was sometimes challenging!

We had been to most of the ports a few times before over the years although Tarragona and Malaga were new to us. The accessibility of the towns/cities varied dramatically. La Coruna, Cadiz and Cartegena were only a few steps off the ship but shuttle bus journeys of between 30 and 45 minutes were required elsewhere. It's apparent that the ports we visited are generally expanding to accept more cruise traffic and that the berths are therefore inevitably further out of town. Yes, Fred's smaller ships get into smaller ports but, in bigger ports, we have found that it's the big ships that inevitably get the better berths.  

As always on Fred ships, the crews are exceptional. The Filipinos in particular love service and older people(!) and, although it's apparent that many other nationalities are represented these days, the on-board atmosphere has changed little.  The passengers (including us!) are getting older and more frail but generally everyone was well behaved and were very matey and hospitable. The crew show on the penultimate evening was fabulous and quite emotional. Only Saga can match it. 

The 'Fleet in Funchal' event was very well organised. Being given free drinks vouchers to imbibe on other ships was a nice touch and it was great to meet up with a couple of crew member friends from past cruises on Balmoral as well as to have a good look at Borealis which we had not yet been aboard. She and Bolette are almost identical but it apparent that both ships are inheriting the eclectic artwork common to all Fred ships. We lamented the continuing erosion of the original stylish Holland America décor the two ships had in their early days in the fleet but that's only a matter of taste and we imagined the décor would inevitably change with the new ownership. Some things don't change - we had our cabin in mid-2021 and the clock still showed ten past ten!

The afternoon fun and games on the pier n Funchal was great fun and we were lucky to win a pen or two. The sailaway was most impressive and the aerial drone footage (included on the DVD) showed impeccable formation keeping both during the short but spectacular fireworks display and on our dispersal was most impressive. 

So we were very pleased to have enjoyed both a very good cruise and the opportunity to be part of an impressive and entertaining event, which is almost unique to Fred we'd imagine.

A great 'Fleet in Funchal' cruise on Bolette

Venice and Split have long been on our list to visit and when Fred sent us an offer, we just couldn’t refuse. Getting to Southampton was a little frought as it entailed an emergency visit to the dentist and a pile up meaning a long diversion. Thankfully, we still managed to get there around an hour before our designated time which was 3.30pm (rather late in our opinion when last onboard was 3.45pm!) and were onboard in no time.

As we approached our cabin, outside was a picture of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum which completely made our cruise (like them, we're also a same sex couple) and it will be the main reason we think of this cruise so fondly for years to come. 

The cabin itself was very spacious with enough room for our two huge suitcases along with the “just in case” case of things we might need “just in case”. This went under the bed and came out when we needed something, giving us two extra very large drawers, not that we needed them as there was plenty of storage.

Our previous cruise had been on Saga so it’s best not to compare the two, just treat them as different holidays, but the one thing Fred did better than Saga was to provide a little dish for used tea bags in the cabin. We’d actually brought redbush tea, but were very pleased to find them – along with a huge range of other teas – available in the buffet. Unlike Saga, children are allowed as passengers, but there aren't any facilities for them, the ship is definitely designed with a more mature clientele in mind which suited us.

We decided not to have a drinks package as we’re not big drinkers – our bar bill was around £100 for the whole cruise – and that included buying our table a bottle of fizz on my birthday. We tended to get a cuppa from the buffet, and had a refillable bottle for water. We just used the tap in our cabin, not the greatest tasting water in the world, but perfectly adequate. 

The only time we called maintenance was when there was a sewage smell in the cabin. This wasn’t confined to our cabin and it came and went during the cruise.

An oddity of the ship was that the lift could be very confusing – the panels hadn’t been changed since its Holland America days, so the names were different on the panel to the electronic display. We simply used the deck number and didn’t bother about Marina/Dolphin deck etc. The lifts were exceedingly efficient, and every time we went to the buffet on deck 8, we would laugh when it said “liddo deck, rather than leedo deck”! Another quirk was that the Captain’s message would tell us about where we’d been, rather than where we were going. This even got pointed out at the Captain’s Q&A, and we didn’t really understand is response.

After watching the safety video and going to our muster station, the first thing we did was to go on the ship’s orientation tour. We found one tip especially useful - the food is at the back and the entertainment is at the front”. We also went to the spa (mainly for a free glass of bubbly!), but our intentions of using the gym or spa facilities never really worked out – we did think about using the hydrotherapy pool, but it was a bit convoluted as you had to book it for an hour and then you had it to yourselves. Even on a 26 day cruise, there never seemed to be enough time to slot this in.

Along with sitting outside at the back of the buffet, we loved the promenade deck, but rarely made it round the whole circuit as we’d tend to stop and natter to fellow passengers!

We were on second sitting which suits us better, not having to rush from a tour, although it’s fair to say there’s not much to do after 4pm unless you like dancing. To “keep us going”, we might have a light something from the buffet from 6pm, or perhaps share something like a prawn and salmon skewer from the Poolside. Food is a very personal preference and there were mixed reviews around our table, but on the whole we enjoyed most things (although my husband did send back the tempura veg as the batter was too chewy – it got replaced almost immediately with salmon). 

For some reason, the app stopped showing what was available in the restaurant at lunchtime, but the ship is so small that it was easy enough to go and have a look at the menu.

Our waiters made a great double act, although dishes sometimes had items missing that were stated on the menu, but on the whole were more than acceptable. I particularly liked the inclusion of local dishes and often had them, however, I did go and get the Head Chef, Michael, a jar of ajvar as their version was, let’s say, “deconstructed”. It also made me laugh that his geography wasn’t the greatest, for example, while we were off the Sicilian coast, the “local dishes” were Spanish, at least he wasn’t in charge of getting us anywhere! One thing I enjoyed very much were the soups, especially the cold fruit soups, which our waiter kindly served in a glass rather than a bowl. I enjoyed the soups so much that one day I had all three on the menu!

Until about 4pm, there was always a lot to do on sea days, including a cookery demonstration (with a sample!) at 10am, then a quiz at 11.15am. At 3pm we’d go to the ukelele lesson which was very enjoyable, but then it seemed to fizzle out – we would have welcomed the afternoon quiz being at 4.15pm, rather than 4.00pm. Also, being on second sitting meant we missed some evening entertainment and were generally pleased when there was something in the theatre at 7.15pm (along with something different at 10.30pm). Unfortunately, the masquerade ball was the night before we had our earliest start meaning a 6.45am alarm, so although we had bought masks with us, we didn’t stay too long in the theatre (where they’d taken away most of seating) and we didn’t take advantage of the free flowing drinks on offer. 

We only made it to the Observatory late evening once for Abba night, but we had an early start the next morning, so didn’t stay long. We thought the Observatory had a strange layout, with the dancefloor shoved to one side.

On port days at 5pm, the sommelier gave a talk (and a free glass of fizz), but we only managed to get there once. It didn’t help that we had a run of 10 port days in a row, so were generally exhausted with all the wonderful places we visited. We went on lots of ship excursions which were all run very well, the only problem we had was on my birthday when we went to Ronda and the guide lost one of the passengers. The “whisper” system was used extensively and perhaps it might be an idea for the ship to issue one set of earpieces to reduce wastage as we got new ones for each tour. When we had an early start, we would get breakfast delivered to our cabin – we found the pastries, cereal etc enough to keep us going and appreciated it being included in the cruise fare.

A couple of other things that Fred might look at are timing information – unlike for most other lines, port timings are given as early am, late pm etc, rather than actual (albeit estimated) timings. This makes it more difficult to arrange to do your own thing – for example, we met our Slovene friends in Koper and couldn’t really tell them when the ship arrived and departed without going to Guest Services to confirm it. Another thing we would have appreciated are port talks. The excursion desk did their best, but didn’t really know much about the ports as most of them were maiden stops - their information was sparse unless you were going on a tour. For example, we couldn’t make sense of the arrangements for Venice, so did ship tours, but our first day tour didn’t set off until 1.30pm (you only find out when you’re onboard), so we wasted half a day. Maps were available from reception – on our last Fred cruise, maps were included in the really lovely booklet which is sent out before the cruise, it’s a shame this is no longer the case. The only other thing that would have been nice would have been to include an LGBT meet up in the daily planner.

The cruise now seems like a dream, one we can relive when we look through our photos and watch the DVD we bought from the photography department. Would we sail with Fred Olsen again? Absolutely!

One thing was even better than Saga!

Second Fred Olsen cruise  had something to live up to. Chosen because another Fred ship had relatively poor cruise critic reviews but Bolette reviews were very good. A good decision.

 We chose grade E deck 2 outside cabin which was always clean and always comfortable with no extraneous noises. Parking in Southampton was easy and free, embarked without delay close to dock. Returning to Southampton was a bit of a pain while we all waited for our bags but really?  It was fine. 

We chose a dinner table for 2 only because of potential risks but we would have been happy whatever. We also decided to visit both speciality restaurants plus we chose 1 night casual. 

We decided against a drinks package as my wife drinks little alcohol and the need to buy packages 2 at about £37 each made no sense. We charged whatever drinks we fancied and tipped on every drink. Service was always quick and efficient. Our total drinks bill came to about £450. Drinks prices are sensible. 

Sometimes at dinner the waiter didn’t manage to get our chosen drinks right but mainly it was great. A bottle of wine not completed was kept ready for the next night. Final Tipping was suggested at £5 per person per night which was acceptable but we did wonder about the £50 or so we volunteered as we signed from drinks every day. Never mind we thought everyone deserved the tips. Restaurants excellent and varied. 2 speciality restaurants at £10 per head per visit were absolutely outstanding. Casual dining both on the buffet area and outside near a pool were very high standard plus after tea and scones were not to be missed. 

The gym looked excellent but to keep the calories relatively good I chose to walk 12-15 Laps of the promenade deck ( approx 4 miles) each day. 

We only went in 1 organised trip in Flam , the others didn’t appear great value but can’t be sure. We did our own including ‘ hike like a local ‘ at about £85 each but we found the 5k route and did it alone- as others seemed to do. Most docking ports were very small villages of about 1000 people or less so the ship was a big part of the local economy. 

We shall go again on the Bolette but we just hope that the head chef and team remain. Doubtless a less able chef would change the excellence of our food at every meal. 

The Captain was interesting but not exciting and difficult to her and understand in most areas of the ship. 

Evening entertainment was good in the main but not so good some evenings. Since we chose second sitting at 20.30 our entertainment didn’t start until 22.30 so we missed several.

Exceeded expectations 

Having never wanted to go on a cruise and only booking because our 12 year old daughter was dancing on the Bolette with Mayhew School of Dance I have to say I had a wonderful time.

My only regret is that I didn’t find the dance class sooner. 

A special thank you to Patrick who was so kind and patient with me when I stepped onto the dance floor for the first time in around 30 years. You have rekindled my absolute passion for dance and I looked forward to time with the dance hosts each day. I’m missing you all already! 

The other highlight for me was the super talented pianist Reis Taylor Dixon, we’ve already purchased ‘Awake to Dream’

Food was far better than I expected, bottle of wine took a long time to arrive at the table the first night but our waiter was fantastic once he got to know us.

Missing the ballroom/Latin dance hosts and pianists already

Crete (Heraklion)

We chose this cruise because it departed from Newcastle upon Tyne, which is only 12 miles from home. Much better than hanging around airports, as so many people also commented .Embarkation was orderly and efficient. Luggage taken care of early on and delivered to door of cabin.

For all we have been on a number of cruises before we were impressed with both the size of the cabin(suite) and its balcony. It was very well appointed with settee, table ,two armchairs, large bed, walk-in dressing room with 3 wardrobes and well appointed shower room.A drawer at either side of bed on top of bedside cabinet would have been very useful. There were plenty of other  drawers and cupboards. A small 'fridge filled with cans of soft drinks.(To be purchased) Kettle, coffee and tea provided.Bottles of wine available to be purchased.Large TV, which we found did not receive signals in the ports, only when sailing at sea. Very poor selection of channels although there was a large selection of  films to choose from.Our particular package included fruit basket topped up every couple of days,  litre bottles of Whisky and Baileys.A welcome site was a mini safe mounted in a cupboard on a shelf instead of the floor as in many hotels.

We had only chosen to go on one of the daily trips. They were quite expensive for what they were. The one we chose was the most expensive £119 each. A trip to the ABBA museum in Stockholm. Absolute ripoff! We found out afterwards that the cost of the museum was £19 each.For all a bus load of passengers had booked this trip, when we got to museum we had to queue for over 10 minutes. (Good job it wasn't raining!) The organisation fell down at that point. It is quite a small museum and very, very popular.Overcrowded , then discovered cinema room, no seats standing only in small  room. with 5 minutes of 3 second bursts of Abba music. Quite distracting and not entertaining. Then about two hours of back in bus going round city with a visit to the Hard Rock cafe and a drink included. Many people voiced their disappointment with the tour.

At Skagen, our first port of call, the local council had provided shuttle buses to the town from the dockside. Fred Olsen obviously considered it close enough to walk! I would point out that the ship was not full . The average age of the passengers must have been over 70 and over 20% must have had walking difficulties.At 16.27 that day an announcement was made by the entertainments officer that in 3 minutes the local brass band was playing on the dockside to wish us Bon Voyage. Many passenger gathered on the promenade deck to listen to the band. The band was very good and played many popular tunes. They were applauded and cheered on by the passengers until 17.00 when the Captain started to make an announcement in the middle of the music, when it became virtually impossible to hear his broadcast or the band.

Most rude of him. I wrote a request to him to suggest he should make an apology to the local Mayor. I have not received a response!

On deck 4 there is much confusion because of a cast iron clock type monument stretching through 3 decks which means it is impossible to walk from rear to front without using lifts or stairs to get passed the monstrosity.

The projector didn't work in Auditorium(cinema) so two small TV sets were used.

The food was good and plentiful and the crew were exceptionally polite and obliging.

Cruise from Tyne

Chose this cruise as a replacement for a covid cancellation,  the duration and departure port were right for us but we had visited the destinations before.

Newcastle is easy to get to with plenty of secure parking near the terminal. Check in was quick and efficient. A friendly welcome.  Our porthole cabin on deck two was a good size and very comfortable,  better than some of the so called superior cabins we've been in on other ships. It had a large walk in shower and the bed was made up as a double as requested. 

The bollette is a beautiful ship, not too big but plenty of room to move around. Always able to find good seats in the bars and theatre. Enjoyed the lido pool deck with sliding roof.

Staff, as usual  were excellent and friendly at all times. Particular mention for our waiter Socrates and Alvin, recognised us from previous cruise and made every meal a pleasure.

At the risk of sounding petty, we had some slight issues, which it's only fair to bring up. Not complaining,  just some positive criticism for feedback. 

As for the destinations, Amsterdam was busy and lively, but we were struck by how dirty the city was. Bins overflowing with rubbish and we even saw dead rats in the streets. We were there on Saturday evening and Sunday. Most of the venues were closed on the Sunday so options were limited. Antwerp is a beautiful city and the ship is docked only yards from the centre. We were there on a public holiday so, again  options were limited for things to do. Only two stops on the cruise and the were mostly closed.

Food on board was generally excellent but we felt that the portion size at the "buffet" restaurant was so small that it was almost misely. Always having to go back for more to be satisfied. This was the same at the late night buffet which had a very limited choice, basically just sausage chicken wings and chips, and very small portions.  You don't help yourself at these restaurants, the staff give you your food.

I must commend the entertainment staff and musicians in the Neptune lounge  and Oceans bar, excellent quality. 

Disembarking was super efficient and we were off ship and back in our car by eight o'clock. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and will definitely sail with Fred Olsen again. If the food issues can be improved then I'll give five stars.

Excellent cruise with just a couple of minor issues.

We have recently come back from a 5 day cruise travelling to and around the Norwegian Fjords with stops at Bergen and Flåm. It surpassed our expectations in every way! 

It was our first time on a cruise. The reason we chose it is because we both love an all inclusive holiday but get bored in one location. 5 days was a good amount of time to see if it was something we would want to do again and the Fjords is also on our bucket list. 

We chose the all inclusive drinks package as our add on and so we barely spent a penny onboard.  The quality of the food in the buffet surpassed any all inclusive hotels we’ve been to and we actually preferred it to the restaurant.

The gym was well equipped, the spa treatment and thermal suite was amazing! We booked the couples package for the Sunday eve and part of that was 1hr in the thermal suite which was right at the front of the boat. Sat in a hot tub, looking out the windows while sailing down the beautiful Fjords. Heaven.

The staff in all areas cannot do enough for you! So polite and attentive. Special mentions go to Govind - piano bar, Ramu - salad/ice cream  and Hamim - chef in the buffet for being simply incredible at your job! We spent most evenings in the Piano and Ocean Bar. The live music was great and there was a selection across the time we were on the ship.

The rooms were kept lovely and clean too. 

The stops in Bergen and Flåm were also perfect; one a city and the other a beautiful little village.

All in all we really can’t fault our first cruising experience and have already started looking to book another

Unforgettable Cruise Experience 

Wanted the opportunity to visit Iceland and the Faroe Islands, to learn about the geology, history and way of life of the people who live there. Enjoyed the dramatic scenery. Also liked being able go sightseeing in the places visited and to try some locally brewed beers. In particular liked having overnight stops in Reykjavik and Akureyri.

Well organised with friendly staff. Comfortable cabin with picture window.

Good range of hot and cold buffet food available in The View. Would normally drink Real Ale, but, since none was available, drank mostly bottled Adnam’s Ghost Ship bitter, which was available in all bars onboard. This was good, but a range of different beers would have been appreciated.

Interesting relevant talks given by enthusiastic speakers. Also excellent classical piano recitals by acclaimed musician, Motoki Hirai.

Didn’t take part in formal proceedings, but plenty of different activities available for people to take part in, including some for solo travellers, giving the opportunity to meet up.

Local guides used on organised shore tours friendly and informative giving explanations about places visited and the local way of life.

Overnight stops enabled time to explore Reykjavik and Akureyri, and to visit some bars to try some Icelandic beers. Also found time to try some Faroese beer in a bar in Torshavn during our stop in The Faroe Islands. Enjoyed being able to sample some local beers.

Would recommend to others.

Cruise to Iceland and Faroe Islands with magnificent scenery. Well organised with interesting guest speakers.

This was our 3rd Fred Olsen cruise. First time on Bolette but from experience of the other 2 ships we knew what to expect. We’ve sailed all sizes of ships from the massive to small and really do prefer these small to midsized ships. 

From parking up in Newcastle, we were onboard and at our cabin in under half an hour and went for a delicious lunch as the poolside café before departure. What can I say – while the heavily patterned carpets are a bit harsh on the eyes, the ship is very well maintained and all of the public areas are clean and comfortable. 

During a ten night cruise to Iceland we ate everywhere apart from the buffet. The main dining room (second sitting) was always good. The food was hot and varied and there was always something to choose. Vascoe speciality restaurant and the afternoon teas are well worth paying a little extra for. Book these in advance of the cruise to enjoy a reduced rate. I enjoyed all the in house entertainment and an excellent guest singer – but the magician and comedian were not to my taste.

We knew by going to Iceland in the spring that we were bound to encounter rough seas and we certainly did. I noticed though that the ship handled them really well, especially when the speed was kept under 15 knots. There was one night when we had to cruise at 18 knots and I found that a lot bumpier, but the following night when we were back to a slower speed the ship remained stable despite the bad weather. We had a midship cabin on deck 2 and barely noticed any movement when in the room.

The only minor moan I have is about the temperatures about the ship. The Morning Light pub was often too hot to sit in, especially during the day. The other bars were still hot, but a lot more comfortable. If you don’t cope well with the heat, I suggest taking a fan. I won’t ever be boarding without one.

A lot of people complain that Fred Olsen is too expensive these days, but I thought we got what we paid for. I couldn’t complain about the quality of anything throughout the cruise. The food, drinks, staff, entertainment and accommodation were all first class.

Wonderful 10 night cruise to Iceland

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