My Wife & I , both OAP's, and Cruise enthusiasts, have last week returned from our first ever `Fred Olsen Cruise' experience, aboard the newly converted and extended ship MS `Balmoral' and feel that we should express our extreme dissatisfaction, unhappiness and total disappointment that this three weeks `Back- to Back' Cruise to the Caribbean & Central America's has been for both us, and so many other largely disgruntled passengers, such a unsatisfactory experience, which resulted in such very poor , uncomfortable and unhappy conditions, aboard this very overcrowded and poorly organized ship. Many like ourselves, who have cruised with other reputable Cruise companies before; we have come to expect professional standards from leading operators like `Fred. Olsen Cruises' , who we had understood could offer a reasonable degree of good service and value for money Holiday Cruise?

I would confirm that the unfortunate experiences aboard the M S`Balmoral' has proved to be the worst Holiday Cruise experience that we have ever undertaken!

The first day of embarkation in the port of Miami Florida, was without doubt a truly horrific experience starting with over 2.½ hours of seemingly never ending queue's whilst we were all herded like `Cattle to Slaughter', through the terrible `US Immigration & Customs' Investigations and checks , treated like Alien Terrorists, instead of welcome visitors from England , who are supposedly the USA's main supporters and long term friends, currently supporting this apparent ungrateful nation in both `Theatre's of War ',in Iraq & Afghanistan. Read more