First time aboard a Fred Olsen ship and overall, I would say it is good value for money but it depends what your expectations are. I would also say that the crew - with only a few exceptions - are outstanding and deserve some recognition for their tireless work & infectious happiness...particular thanks to Jean, Christine, Gerome & all in the Lido Bar for putting up with us! There are many ships where the crew to passenger ratio is a lot higher but the service does not necessarily go up accordingly; this crew work very hard to deliver good service - they remember your cabin number within a day, your name..your children's names, everything!

The consensus is that Fred ships are floating retirement homes - not entirely untrue but in the event, I will take a Fred Olsen ship as mine - far cheaper for sure. As we were amongst the youngest, we did receive quite a few bemused stares for the first couple of days but soon managed to pally up with some people reasonably close to our age and some far older - we met some really lovely folks so don't let the 'nursing home' jibes put you off too much; some of these elders had far more stamina than me and were hilarious fun. Unless of course you particularly want a 'proper' disco & steamed up Brits every night...

CABINS: We were Deck 3 midships- totally fine; not noisy, beds comfortable & attended to twice a day by a lovely cabin steward named Na. Read more