Fred. Olsen Southampton Cruise Reviews

For our first cruise post covid we chose to return to our favourite ship, Balmoral, to celebrate our joint 80th birthdays. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement! The cabin was tired and the bathroom was really dated with a chipped sink and ancient shower controls. We found the air conditioning in the Ballindalloch to be so fiercely cold that we had to wear our going ashore clothes ...

I chose this cruise because it was offering the three Fred’s in Funchal. The meeting of all three of Fred Olsens ships. I obtaienes a late solo traveller saver plus and was allocated a twin cabin for sole use on deck eight. Comfortable and spacious, well serviced but with an obscured view. Meals were taken in the Spey on deck ten. Good choice at breakfast, buffet or serviced. Ditto for the four ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Back to cruising finally after pandemic, despite saying l would not travel with Fred again due to previous disasters, having acquired 2 newer ships we were tempted again, so we booked a short 7 day Norway trip, three weeks to go Fred rang and told us our cabin was a disaster zone and they'd have to move us, would we accept an upgrade to a Premium suite, well after a lot of thought (2 ...

I wanted a winter getaway and had enjoyed a previous cruise (on Balmoral) to this area. Because of other commitments, I was limited on dates and this cruise met my availability and offered a chance to see the Northern Lights again. The itinerary was a bit thin and the cruise was not cheap but I decided to book. I had a few pre-cruise issues with errors on Fred's website, which I fortunately ...

We chose this cruise because it offered destinations we wanted to visit at this time of the year. Regrettably by choosing this cruise line we made a very costly mistake in terms of what it cost us and a detriment to our health. We left Southampton as healthy individuals and returned home having become contaminated with the COVID Virus. Prior to embarkation I telephoned through to customer ...