Fred Olsen are having to advertise greatly. Are they losing customers for the way in which they treat customers sailing ' Anchor Fare ' ?
Yes, the fares are a bit cheaper but you are treated as second class. As members of Fred Olsens ' Gold Oceans Club ' ( which, in fact means nothing on anchor fares ) we were forced to pay £52 just to change our dining times from late evening to a civilised ...
This was my 2nd trip with F.O. first on Braemar. It was excellent !. My previous voyage on Boudicca. My wife's first cruise with Fred, not to sure what to expect. But she was pleasently surprised. Braemar was in very good condition and spotlessly clean throughout. Late deal on an Anchor fare which was excellent value. The food would be my highlight for the entire fortnight. Special mention to ...
The flight out was total chaos. We arrived at Manchester airport at 6.30am for our 9.30am flight with Condor (Thomas Cook group). Check in had commenced, yet we stood in the queue for an hour before we reached the check in desk and the queues got even longer during that time. Soon after we were through security the flight was soon showing as delayed for half an hour (10.00am). We were called ...
We have cruised with FOCL many times, several times on Braemar. Thomas Cook chartered flight from Gatwick two hours late so not a great start! Embarkation fine though. Cabin OK, but don't expect the space or luxury of larger ships.
Food in Thistle Restaurant was great, breakfast lunch and dinner. Far better than we have had on other cruise lines. P&O last year was awful! All staff, without ...
This was our first Fred Olsen Cruise although we have cruised previously with P&O. The food was excellent and superior to any we have had before from the point of view of variety, quality, temperature and service. Although people's opinion of food can be rather subjective we could not fault it in any way. The waiters were efficient, cheerful and friendly as were the rest of the crew who almost ...
This was our first cruise with Fred Olsen and we booked it because of the itinerary and because it got us away from the madness that is Christmas in the U.K.
The initial itinerary was changed and the Gambia and Senegal were dropped from our original ports of call due to worries about the Ebola virus. This is quite understandable but the replacement ports of call, in particular Proto Novo in Cape ...
Having done a similar cruise last year on the braemar and had a really lovely time, I decided to book a similar one which also took in the Cape Verde Islands.
This turned out to be a mistake, largely because of a vile sewage stench which pervaded my superior suite cabin on and off throughout most of the cruise and which was never resolved. On the next to the last night, the sewage smell was ...
Got off Braemar 30th December doing Cape Verdi Islands. After 20+ cruises have to say this was the worse cruise we have had. At 64 years old I felt like a teenager there was no atmosphere bars were empty all day and after the mediocre entertainment everyone went to bed. Beware if you book an inside double cabin. Our cabin had double bed with Pullman beds overhead which meant it was basically a ...
I went on this cruise with quite low expectations but would cruise with Fred again. In fact, already booked next January on Braemar from Jamaica to Barbados.
The ship was beautiful, the staff very friendly and efficient, and the food, in Grampian, ranged from good to excellent. We enjoyed playing Bridge on sea days and met lots of very nice people, sharing a large table with a pleasant and ...
On the positive side, the cruise was very enjoyable, with the more unusual Canary Islands being visited - La Palma & La Gomera and also Madeira, Lisbon & Oporto, all very interesting venues. The size of the Braemar helped in being able to get into the smaller ports. Oporto berth (port Lexioes) was quite a distance from Oporto itself, about 30-40 minutes by train.
The entertainment for a small ...