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 ...
We chose this cruise because it departed from Newcastle upon Tyne, which is only 12 miles from home. Much better than hanging around airports, as so many people also commented .Embarkation was orderly and efficient. Luggage taken care of early on and delivered to door of cabin.
For all we have been on a number of cruises before we were impressed with both the size of the cabin(suite) and its ...
As first time cruisers we wanted a relatively short cruise to try it out and equally we wanted a 'ship' not a floating tower block and as such to be able to go where larger vessels could not, nor swamp destinations with thousands of passengers.
One benefit of this was that leaving and returning to the ship when visiting ports was a nice simple affair. Similarly joining the ship in Newcastle was ...
We have recently come back from a 5 day cruise travelling to and around the Norwegian Fjords with stops at Bergen and Flåm. It surpassed our expectations in every way!
It was our first time on a cruise. The reason we chose it is because we both love an all inclusive holiday but get bored in one location. 5 days was a good amount of time to see if it was something we would want to do again and ...
This was our 3rd Fred Olsen cruise. First time on Bolette but from experience of the other 2 ships we knew what to expect. We’ve sailed all sizes of ships from the massive to small and really do prefer these small to midsized ships.
From parking up in Newcastle, we were onboard and at our cabin in under half an hour and went for a delicious lunch as the poolside café before departure. What can ...
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 stayed in the Travelodge, Cobalt Business Park before our embarkation from Newcastle, which was a fairly new hotel. It was really good with the room, hotel and staff being excellent, so I would definitely recommend that as somewhere to stay pre-cruise. We stayed three nights, taking the opportunity to go on a boat ride to The Farne Isles one day with Serenity, which again I would recommend as ...
Always wanted to see the Fjords and this ship seemed like a good size to experience this .We has a good midship cabin near to lifts etc . the dining onboard we could not fault exceptional . The shows were all very good the service of bar staff and restaurant staff again excellent . The only complaint we had that our drinks package which we paid for did not include Sherry yet its cheaper to buy ...
Very dated ship. Mainly elderly passengers. Nothing on during the day except bridge bingo and handicrafts. More like a floating care home. Tour operator extremely unhelpful.. Don't book flam railway through olsen it's a lot cheaper to do yourself and there were plenty of seats. Guest service manager very helpful as had to move cabins as extremely noisy. Noticed a lot of cutbacks. Eg no conditioner ...
Been with Fred before and loved the friendliness of the staff, the food, the service and the Balmoral is not too massive and plenty of room to sit and relax. The excursions were very disappointing. This is not a cruise for wheel chair users. Malmo had many cobbled streets which make it very hard for the pusher and very uncomfortable for the sitter. It was a bank holiday so 90% of the shops were ...