Booked this cruise over a year ago to go in search of the northern lights. Relocation cruise prior to ours was cancelled due to an outbreak of gastrointestinal cases. This meant some hygiene restrictions were still in place for first few days. This did lead to some inconvenience and slow service. Some toilets were closed. After three days the restrictions were lifted and everything got back to ...
Chose this cruise as a replacement for a covid cancellation, the duration and departure port were right for us but we had visited the destinations before.
Newcastle is easy to get to with plenty of secure parking near the terminal. Check in was quick and efficient. A friendly welcome. Our porthole cabin on deck two was a good size and very comfortable, better than some of the so called ...
Wanted the opportunity to visit Iceland and the Faroe Islands, to learn about the geology, history and way of life of the people who live there. Enjoyed the dramatic scenery. Also liked being able go sightseeing in the places visited and to try some locally brewed beers. In particular liked having overnight stops in Reykjavik and Akureyri.
Well organised with friendly staff. Comfortable cabin ...
We chose the Fred Olsen Cruise Line and especially the Balmoral because it could cruise right up into the fiords that we wanted to see. Some of the larger cruise lines cannot do this.
Excellent food and service in the Ballindalloch restaurant. Especially from our waiters Pat & Anthony.
Excellent service in the Observation Lounge where we spent evenings drinking a cocktail before dinner ...
Absolutely no disrespect meant to elderly people but this cruioplpse had a lot of partially disabled elderly people on board bless them I admire the fact that they can still get out and about
Getting on and off the ship was not easy not enough wheelchairs, a stepped gangway,
Dropping anchor in open water and getting on off a tender in ruff water again not easy.
Mooring at a pier that ...
The ship was great the embarkation was good and the disembarkation was a very smooth operation and crew could not do enough for us. I could not fault the quality or quantity of food on board and the entertainment was really good. There was also a well equipped gym and many treatment rooms. There was plenty of information in the cabin and the Daily Times news letter was very helpful.
The Cabin ...
For the itinerary and time of going. The entertainment in the Observatory lounge was excellent, Adam Reece who even played requests, did a great job despite people talking over his music which is very rude. The other musicians around the ship were equally as good. The staff in the Lido lounge were very pleasant and friendly, nothing was too much trouble for them. Also the girls in the Casino who ...
We chose this cruise because it was easy to get to the port from Scotland. The itinerary was good as we had never been to Bremen, Kiel or sailed the canal. The late embarkation didn't suit everybody and the first evening was a free for all. The cruise settled down and we quickly found our sea legs.
After a day at sea we got to Bremen. Deciding not to take a ship tour we made our way through a ...
This is our second cruise with Fred Olsen Cruises, we have been on five different cruise lines, and would say they are all pretty good. We like Fred because it probably has the the most friendly crew, smaller ship catering mainly for a British passenger, entertainment was excellent in the Neptune show theatre, a little disappointed with the bar entertainment, although they were generally alright, ...
As a present for a special birthday, we chose Fred and the Fjords. We always read reviews before booking and after eliminating the best and worst decided to sail with the Balmoral from Newcastle.
Embarkation went smoothly after leaving our luggage with the handlers, checking in to receive our pass cards and taking a short bus ride to the ship.
Our luggage arrived soon after we found our ...