Balmoral Review

Staff cuts too far?

Review for Canary Islands Cruise on Balmoral
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sekrapdjp
6-10 Cruises • Age 80s

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Sail Date: Jan 2017
Cabin: Superior Suite

This cruise on Fred. Olsen’s ‘Balmoral’ (‘Canaries & Madeira Winter Sun’) was the third of a ‘three-for-the-price-of-two’ offer and followed voyages on the ‘Boudicca’ and the ‘Braemar’ – all in the space of nine months. The ‘Balmoral’ compared very favourably with the other two (smaller) ships, not having the tired appearance of the ‘Boudicca’ and being more elegant that the ‘Braemar’.

On all three ships we were located in a Superior Suite, but Cabin 9059 on the ‘Balmoral’ was the most ‘superior’ of the trio. The Starboard-side suite was spacious, well-appointed, and had plenty of storage space. The bathroom had a bath with an excellent shower which consistently provided plenty of hot water. The toilet, however, did not always flush thoroughly, but overall this was an excellent bathroom facility.

Despite having the two ‘Scandinavian’ duvets, the double bed provided a very good night’s sleep, aided by the fact that there was little extraneous noise. The lounge area had a large table with a settee and two comfortable chairs. The adjacent balcony was of an adequate size and was equipped with a small table and two chairs. There was often a smell from the ship’s engines on the balcony and, if frequent use of the balcony is important, it would probably be better having a similar grade of cabin farther forward.

Cabin Review

Superior Suite

Cabin SS

Port Reviews

Madeira (Funchal)

Very easy to do your own thing here

Southampton

We got on here!

La Palma

Excursion cancelled

Lisbon

Hop-on/Hop-off bus difficult to use as various lines did not have a common changeover point

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