I chose this cruise as it fitted in with school holidays and it was planned as a treat for my grandchildren. I booked a family cabin for my 2 granddaughters and myself and a separate cabin for my son - very expensive as charged full cost although obviously only half use of facilities and food. The family cabin was very cramped with uncomfortable beds. My son had to move cabins twice because of ...
Fred does not have big, all singing, all dancing ships but what he does have, is a service ethos that makes everything he does, all the more impressive.
We sailed Fred on the Borealis for two weeks and enjoyed every minute because the service onboard was fantastic. Everyone, from our cabin stewardess to the bar and waiting staff, were friendly, professional and I believe genuinely wanted to ...
Chosen for the itinerary - Iceland.
Fred Olsen is absolutely not worth the money.
Food is mediocre, drinks are expensive (particularly if you pay for their awful drinks package), entertainment is abysmal (apart from a fantastically talented bloke called Drew Levi), and they are clearly only interested in maximising profit and cutting customer benefits to the bone.
There was NO sanitation ...
We chose the cruise as it was easier for us to reach Liverpool and was less likely to be affected by an increase in Covid infections
The ship itself is very well refurbished from Holland America line. It is excellently appointed and did not disappoint in this regard. For health reasons we selected using the Freedom fare, a Premier Suite close to a lift and friends. We have mobility issues and ...
We chose this cruise because it sailed from Liverpool which is only thirty minutes away from were we live. We usually sail from Southampton. This is our 11th cruise and our first time with Fred Olson.
I would like to start with the positives.
Embarkation was quick. Our luggage was taken off us as we arrived and was in our cabin an hour later. We opted for an inside cabin. We usually have a ...
Last time we went on a Fred Olsen cruise I said never again; if Olsen could charge for the air we breathed he would. But I succumbed. When we booked again we were offerd a drinks package at £25 or £29 a night (can't remember which) which seemed very expensive. During the criuse we learnt that late bookers had been offere free drinks packages. The moral is don't book early with Olsen.
On ...
We stayed in the Travelodge, Cobalt Business Park before our embarkation from Newcastle, which was a fairly new hotel. It was really good with the room, hotel and staff being excellent, so I would definitely recommend that as somewhere to stay pre-cruise. We stayed three nights, taking the opportunity to go on a boat ride to The Farne Isles one day with Serenity, which again I would recommend as ...
My wife and I enjoy cruising on small ships and wanted to see Iceland, this is as honest an appraisal as I can give on the whole Fred Olsen experience.
Cabin.
We had a premier suite which was perfect.
Staff.
Absolutely fine with one or two exceptions.
Mask etiquette
Some clown thought it was a good idea to let people sit in crowded restaurants without masks and dance in large ...
we arrived today for our cruise on the Borealis, albeit it should have been the Blackwatch. The cruise has been booked for other 2 years and the only reason we booked it was that we had cruised on the Balmoral the sister ship to the Blackwatch and the balcony suite was exceptional, our friends had also cruised on the Blackwatch and they assured me the balcony suite on there was equally as good. ...
We chose this cruise for the itinerary, since we were visiting Amsterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp with an overnight in each base, so we were able to spend a lot of time ashore, including in the evenings. Amsterdam was particularly good regards this as we were there for the evening of St. Patrick's day, which seems a strange mix, but the vibe was even better than we have experienced in Amsterdam ...