Second deposit on cruises over 28 days

Our travel agent phoned today to tell us that we will have to pay a second 15% deposit on a 60 night cruise booked for January 2019 on the Balmoral. It must be paid 180 days before sailing.

What on earth are they playing at??

Yes we have to as well for Black Watch WC!

I remember reading about that clause coming in for the longer cruises - I think it was a year or two ago, so probably before you booked. You could check Fred's T&C's which were sent with your email or postal confirmation of the booking. Must admit I would be complaining if the clause has come in after you booked - probably not enforceable. I suspect that is not likely though.

Big problems on Black Watch world cruise at present because Fred has stopped waiter service options at breakfast and lunch (I am not sure if it is affecting the other ships yet, but suspicions are it will do). It is not right changing the goalposts on cruises after they have been booked, but looks like they have that sort of change covered in their T&C's, so nothing can be done, except complain bitterly. Current travellers need to make sure it is mentioned in reviews as well. Everyone reads reviews, but most people do not bother writing them.

The new brochures refer to buffet service for breakfast and lunch in the list of what is included for the cruise - so def looks that is on long term plans.

Thanks for that information Barbara. Our travel agent has fought tooth and nail to get them to rescind the second deposit idea but FOCL won't hear of it. The withdrawal of waiter service for breakfast and lunch may be a ploy to deter disabled passengers who use the service as a matter of course. Perhaps FOCL plan to change to demographics of its passengers to a younger clientele.

Thanks for that information Barbara. Our travel agent has fought tooth and nail to get them to rescind the second deposit idea but FOCL won't hear of it. The withdrawal of waiter service for breakfast and lunch may be a ploy to deter disabled passengers who use the service as a matter of course. Perhaps FOCL plan to change to demographics of its passengers to a younger clientele.

They are offering more fly cruises, which could back up your view - some are very like to old VOD/Swan itineraries as well which is interesting.

Seems there are very long queues for the buffet in the main restaurants, which does not surprise me considering how long Fred passengers can take at a buffet counter. I suspect Fred just thinks he can get away with it as a cut back, but it makes him out of line with other similar priced cruise lines, including even Thomsons. Personally I think he has lost it!

I have begun to think that for some time now. We are sailing on the Black Watch on the 23rd of next month and really hope they have sorted out the TV issue by then. It would be very frustrating not to get our daily news fix.

I think the TV's are working now - Fred's brain might be another matter

Thanks for the reassurance! For the forthcoming Black Watch cruise to Italy and Croatia we are going with friends so we are pretty much confident of having an enjoyable time whatever Fred throws at us. We only meet up on cruises and we have very little communication in between so there is usually a lot of catching up to do. As we all know, a holiday is what you make of it. Look for faults you will find them. But Fred has started to become quite expensive compared to other cruise lines so we will have to shop around.

Enjoy your cruise,

Barbara

Thanks for the reassurance! For the forthcoming Black Watch cruise to Italy and Croatia we are going with friends so we are pretty much confident of having an enjoyable time whatever Fred throws at us. We only meet up on cruises and we have very little communication in between so there is usually a lot of catching up to do. As we all know, a holiday is what you make of it. Look for faults you will find them. But Fred has started to become quite expensive compared to other cruise lines so we will have to shop around.

We have two cruises booked with Fred and have noticed that the prices do seem high in comparison to some of the other cruise lines. We have cruised with Fred for some time now and the product he offers suits us very well but I am not sure we will be willing to pay a premium to sail with Fred for much longer. We will have to give some serious consideration to booking the late bargains on cruise lines such as Cunard and Princess. Going back to a previous reply I do hope that Fred is not going to remove the breakfast and lunch waiter service from all his ships as we are not keen on buffet service for any meal be it on a cruise ship or in a hotel. with regard to your comment about looking for faults, sometimes you don't have to look for them they just jump out and bite you. We have had problems on previous cruises with Fred but not bad enough to spoil the overall cruise experience or deter us from booking further cruises with him. Hope you have a very pleasant cruise.

Pugwash123

Just booked the same cruise direct with Fred and was told we need to pay another 15% in July

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