We chose this cruise for the chance to see LA and San Francisco. what did we see . More sea than expected.
All went well until we exited the Panama canal then an argument with a fishing net ( we lost) reduced our speed to 8 knots and our itinerary was lost as well , missed ports, reduced time in port and more tendering . LA no chance ,San Francisco 3 days down to 1and a half , We went to El ...
We have just returned from a trip with Fred Olsen, I hesitate to call it a cruise because as far as we were concerned (and other passengers) this was not a cruise, we booked this quite late as we had some A/L to use up and this fitted the dates, when I booked I was told that we would be getting the 'Anchor fare' and therefore we were getting it cheap, they went on to explain that because of that ...
The background for choosing this cruise, was a family bereavement. The purpose was to have a relaxing cruise to somewhere new. The Braemar cruise of "cruising the Seine" to Rouen then down to Honfluer, prior to return to Southampton, we thought would fit the bill. How wrong can you be.
We booked via a travel agent, a suite on a guarantee bases at what we thought was a good price, then came the ...
We chose it to see if the small ship experience was to our taste with Fred Olsen having sailed on many other small ship cruises and also for the Ports that we wished to visit.
Apart from from the first day there was no afternoon tea and cakes etc unless you were prepared to pay for them, and in fact it felt as if you had to pay for everything including the water. The ship itself was in good ...
We chose this cruise for its itinerary and the Orkneys and Shetland were great and well worth visiting. We took a shore excursion at Inverness which was informative and well organised by our guide. Check in at Newcastle was fast and efficient. We booked an inside superior cabin on Bridge deck and it was OK with a larger than average bathroom. However, there were none of the touches such as ...
Here goes, firstly the good points…the food was very good and the waiting staff where on form and attentive. The room was as expected and overall the interior of the ship was good. The entertainment from the guest performers was excellent, Steve V King and Barnaby were fantastic.
And then the negatives…I thought the class system was fading out but how wrong, we wished to change our dining time ...
The prospect of seeing the Northern Lights was the main reason for choosing this cruise and, to be fair, we did see them. Unfortunately the experience was spoilt by poor itinerary planning (e.g. an afternoon call into Trondheim, where attractions are only open in the morning) and a general sense that Fred. is nowadays only out to extract as much money as possible from you. The tours were grossly ...
On the first night a burst pipe on the tenth floor flooded our cabin on the ninth floor and the hallway carpets were soaked. Noisy machines to dry out carpets. Took 5 days.
At breakfast we were served cold tea and breakfast. Dirty breakfast plates. Complained to manager. Not enough seats for entertainment in the Neptune Lounge.
Probably due to wet carpets husbands pneumonia kicked in. 2 hour ...
The ship had been in dry dock prior to the cruise. The work had not been completed on time and the swimming pools were out of operation for most of the cruise. Lifts were not working for a large part of the cruise and areas were cordoned off for maintenance and painting works. The cruise should have been cancelled and money returned. £75 compensation was a derisory amount.
The food at evening ...
For the Mardi Gras Celebrations in New Orleans - which were tremendous.
The voyage started 7-8 hours late, this did not really affect us. Many passengers travelled down by pre-arranged coach from Scotland, Wales & North of England and these passengers were held for 7 hours or so at Southampton departures terminal as the coaches would not/could not change their schedules. Very few disabled ...