Black Watch to the Azores on 1st August 2015

Been home a couple of days, and thought I'd give a quick report on how I'd found things on the Black Watch. We sailed from Liverpool and called at two ports in the Azores, Madeira, Lisbon and somewhere near Oporto.

Well ...... it was okay. Nothing to rave over (other than the staff), but no major niggles either (other than Fred putting a child on the late 8.30pm dinner and then wanting over £100 to change to the early sitting).

What made the cruise for us was the staff - Garden Restaurant (buffet), bars, the two Children's Club ladies, stewardesses - all were marvellous with passengers of any age. Apart from the one lady on reception who seemed to be very curt and rude with everybody, Fred should be grateful that the crew are so wonderful.

The ports of call were fine - Lisbon and Funchal are always interesting, but I think that calling in twice at the Azores was a little like visiting the Cape Verde Islands - they must be visited, just because they are there. They certainly aren't places to which I would want to return, but they did result in quite a lot of very good sea days getting there and back. I've seen that FredOlsen charge £5 to some passengers (I think the ones booking the cheaper fares) for the shuttle bus in one of the ports of call, but the location of the ship in Lisbon was amazing - right in the middle of the city!

The food was good and of good quality - always something interesting to eat, and we found the Indonesian, Indian, Chinese and World buffets to be highlights. The evening entertainment was a bit hit and miss - the miss being the Black Watch Show Company (very dated and not terribly good). There were individual shows from a female comedienne (excellent), male Frank-Sinatra-type singer (good) and a magician (good if magic is your thing). The show band, the Rosario trio in the Observatory Bar and the pianist in the Braemar Lounge were all beyond excellent. The best night ever was when the saxophonist from the band joined the pianist in the Braemar lounge for some unscheduled jazz - they'd never played together before and it was fantastic. The next night was even better because they'd had a practice!

There were three formal nights and one British night in the 13-night cruise. On the first formal night the majority of people made the effort to dress up, although you could only really tell with the men: black tie -v- something else. The ladies wore such a mixture that you couldn't really tell with many of them whether they were dressed up or not. The second formal evening, black tie numbers had fallen off, but then the level of "smart casual" had reduced too! By the third formal evening, many had given up totally. This casualness suited me fine, because although I wouldn't want to let down my fellow cruisers if they were wishing to parade their finery, I did enjoy things much better when they were low-key.

It was very surprising to see the number of 80+ year-olds (and apparently even older) and I wonder how the cruise line is doing in attracting younger passengers. Since they have made some of next years' cruises 18+ only, I think they might shortly be running out of potential cruisers. I can quite understand that they don't want children on board, after all they don't cater for them in the way that P&O do, but nearly all the <20 children on board on this cruise were there with grandparents, and presumably these grandparents would cruise at other times of the year without their grandchildren - we certainly do!

I hope I'm not sounding too down on Fred, but the ship is a bit tired and worn, and they do seem to be trying to screw the last penny from passengers. But that apart, we had a fine time. We hadn't been expecting much (having been on the Black Watch about ten years ago) but were not disappointed either. It was good value, very interesting fellow passengers and absolutely lovely staff.

Gosh, charging £100 for a child to switch to first sitting is incredibly mean in my opinion. :eek:

I assume that was for child and the rest of the group and was due to having booked an anchor fare which does not let you pick your sitting in advance.

In most of Europe, it would not be unusual to see children eating out at diner at that sort of time either, but I can understand the preference for the early sitting, but that is one of the things you have to roll the dice on if you don't book early.

Mark and Coravel, you are both quite right. Unfortunately I had not fully understood the consequences of booking an anchor fare - I had just assumed that on the first afternoon of the cruise, I would visit the maitre d' and request a change to the arrangements. I had always done this on previous cruises with Cunard and P&O, and it never occurred to me that anybody in the shore office would be unthinking enough to put a child on such a late dinner sitting. But they did, and the thought did cross my mind that perhaps it was deliberate so that they could gouge a little more cash from the customer. Not a pleasant thought, and a disappointment to see Fred acting in this way.

Been home a couple of days, and thought I'd give a quick report on how I'd found things on the Black Watch. We sailed from Liverpool and called at two ports in the Azores, Madeira, Lisbon and somewhere near Oporto.

 

Well ...... it was okay. Nothing to rave over (other than the staff), but no major niggles either (other than Fred putting a child on the late 8.30pm dinner and then wanting over £100 to change to the early sitting).

 

What made the cruise for us was the staff - Garden Restaurant (buffet), bars, the two Children's Club ladies, stewardesses - all were marvellous with passengers of any age. Apart from the one lady on reception who seemed to be very curt and rude with everybody, Fred should be grateful that the crew are so wonderful.

 

The ports of call were fine - Lisbon and Funchal are always interesting, but I think that calling in twice at the Azores was a little like visiting the Cape Verde Islands - they must be visited, just because they are there. They certainly aren't places to which I would want to return, but they did result in quite a lot of very good sea days getting there and back. I've seen that FredOlsen charge £5 to some passengers (I think the ones booking the cheaper fares) for the shuttle bus in one of the ports of call, but the location of the ship in Lisbon was amazing - right in the middle of the city!

 

The food was good and of good quality - always something interesting to eat, and we found the Indonesian, Indian, Chinese and World buffets to be highlights. The evening entertainment was a bit hit and miss - the miss being the Black Watch Show Company (very dated and not terribly good). There were individual shows from a female comedienne (excellent), male Frank-Sinatra-type singer (good) and a magician (good if magic is your thing). The show band, the Rosario trio in the Observatory Bar and the pianist in the Braemar Lounge were all beyond excellent. The best night ever was when the saxophonist from the band joined the pianist in the Braemar lounge for some unscheduled jazz - they'd never played together before and it was fantastic. The next night was even better because they'd had a practice!

 

There were three formal nights and one British night in the 13-night cruise. On the first formal night the majority of people made the effort to dress up, although you could only really tell with the men: black tie -v- something else. The ladies wore such a mixture that you couldn't really tell with many of them whether they were dressed up or not. The second formal evening, black tie numbers had fallen off, but then the level of "smart casual" had reduced too! By the third formal evening, many had given up totally. This casualness suited me fine, because although I wouldn't want to let down my fellow cruisers if they were wishing to parade their finery, I did enjoy things much better when they were low-key.

 

It was very surprising to see the number of 80+ year-olds (and apparently even older) and I wonder how the cruise line is doing in attracting younger passengers. Since they have made some of next years' cruises 18+ only, I think they might shortly be running out of potential cruisers. I can quite understand that they don't want children on board, after all they don't cater for them in the way that P&O do, but nearly all the <20 children on board on this cruise were there with grandparents, and presumably these grandparents would cruise at other times of the year without their grandchildren - we certainly do!

I hope I'm not sounding too down on Fred, but the ship is a bit tired and worn, and they do seem to be trying to screw the last penny from passengers. But that apart, we had a fine time. We hadn't been expecting much (having been on the Black Watch about ten years ago) but were not disappointed either. It was good value, very interesting fellow passengers and absolutely lovely staff.

Don´t want to return to the Azores ? Why ?

One of the most beautiful places in the world ? What did you see ?

Nothing ? No tour ? Only walking in the cities?

You went to Terceira and didn´t like Angra do Heroísmo ? A Unesco world heritage site.

Thank god 99% of the people don´t agree with you

AzoresW, you seem to be reading a lot more into my post than my comment that I do not want to return to the Azores implied.

Indeed, the Azores are beautiful, like Wales and New Zealand I think, but that doesn't mean that they warrant a second visit when in competition with all the hundreds of other beautiful, interesting, important places elsewhere on the planet. My first visit was quite enough to satisfy any interest I had in the history of sea exploration and, with hindsight, I now know the anticipation of the visit was more exciting than the reality. As part of this cruise the islands fitted in well (although visiting just one of them would have been sufficient), since their distance from the UK gave us more sea-days, something I enjoy in preference to doing a Mediterranean-style itinerary with a new port every day. However, some cruisers prefer a new port of call with breakfast every morning, so they would not have enjoyed this itinerary as much as I did - 13 days altogether with 8 sea days and five ports of call, one of them only a half-day.

AzoresW, you seem to be reading a lot more into my post than my comment that I do not want to return to the Azores implied.

 

Indeed, the Azores are beautiful, like Wales and New Zealand I think, but that doesn't mean that they warrant a second visit when in competition with all the hundreds of other beautiful, interesting, important places elsewhere on the planet. My first visit was quite enough to satisfy any interest I had in the history of sea exploration and, with hindsight, I now know the anticipation of the visit was more exciting than the reality. As part of this cruise the islands fitted in well (although visiting just one of them would have been sufficient), since their distance from the UK gave us more sea-days, something I enjoy in preference to doing a Mediterranean-style itinerary with a new port every day. However, some cruisers prefer a new port of call with breakfast every morning, so they would not have enjoyed this itinerary as much as I did - 13 days altogether with 8 sea days and five ports of call, one of them only a half-day.

The Azores is composed of nine Islands.

You spent a couple of hours in 2 of them.

Something was missing in your tours or there is something else. If you like beaches, high temperatures and a lot of sun, then i understand.

Maybe you don´t know that the Azores are considered by many as one of the best destinations in the world

But we live in a democracy so i respect your opinion nonetheless

Some links:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-3199142/Hidden-paradise-Inside-stunning-Portuguese-islands-volcanoes-shining-lakes-lie-undiscovered-tourists.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2403206/Holidays-Azores-Thermal-pools-lava-tunnels-high-octane-adventure-S-o-Miguel.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2591823/A-green-bubbling-land-This-young-family-adored-volcanic-Azores.html

AzoresW, I can see that most of your previous posts are made in defence of your belief that the Azores are the best and most beautiful place in the world. I can also see from those threads that many other members of this forum disagree with you. I am one of them. It seems that our common position is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the islands, it's just that they are not quite so exciting or beautiful as we had expected ...... and it's posts like yours that have caused some of the disappointment.

You have oversold the Azores, so that when cruisers actually arrive in the islands, they are disappointed with the reality. Do you work for the Tourist Board? Or have some other financial interest in the area? Whatever your reasons for limiting your posts to the single subject of the Azores, you are being rather patronising, not to say insulting, in your replies! Do you really think that if I liked "beaches, high temperatures and a lot of sun" (as you put it) I would have booked a cruise that floated round the Atlantic Ocean for a fortnight?

In case you've forgotten, here are some of the this forum's comments about the Azores from previous cruisers. The replies are all from threads in which you have posted your defence of the Azores. It seems your misguided attempts to make the islands seem better than they are, are actually having a negative effect on many people's opinion.

"I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy the Azores, they just wernt as pretty as I thought. "

"We also went on the scenic island tour at £26 each and were so disgusted that we complained bitterly to Destinations. They cancelled the following days tour in Ponta Delgada and refunded that trip but got nothing for the Horta trip. Perhaps they didn't want to risk anyone voicing their opinions again! I know that 5 or 6 couples complained."

"Don't get what you mean? That is my opinion, I didn't say that they were horrible I just didn't enjoy them as much as done of the other ports "

"I realise the Azores are a lot larger than this one island. Have to say that having done a trip round the island I didn't see anything which would make me want to return."

"We too weren't too fussed on Azores, they were ok but not wow."

"Would I visit the Azores again? NO."

As you can see, nobody is being rude or nasty about the ports of call ...... just a little unenthusiastic. Please don't take people to task for having an opinion different from your own.

My problem is because you had a bad experience you think that the Azores are not a good destination. You only visited 1% of the places. If you said i went to a city and didn´t like, or a church, etc... then that's fine.

But to say that all the Azores are bad ? No. Imagine going to Calais in France and then write that Paris sucked.

And again i ask what did you see that was so disappointing for you ? Let's try to make things better.

AzoresW, you are obviously having difficulty in understanding my post. I did not say I had a bad experience. I did not say that all the Azores are bad. I did not say that I was disappointed in what I saw. What I did write in my opening post was "I think that calling in twice at the Azores was a little like visiting the Cape Verde Islands - they must be visited, just because they are there. They certainly aren't places to which I would want to return."

Admittedly I was luke-warm about the place because to me I found it on a par with Wales, somewhere equally beautiful, interesting, historic - and a lot nearer! The Azores does not stand out as a world-class, must-see destination, merely a pleasant diversion as part of a longer cruise. Please don't take that as negative comment, I realise that you are rightly very proud of the land of your birth, but I'm afraid that does not make it a world-beating location.

I wrote as a UK-based cruiser, and intended my comments for other cruisers who were not native to the Azores (or any other port of call), so that they could be more informed when comparing itineraries to choose future trips. And I'm sure that others reading this thread are by now quite fed-up with our little spat, so shall we just leave it that you and I differ in our opinions of where to go for our next holiday?

AzoresW, you are obviously having difficulty in understanding my post. I did not say I had a bad experience. I did not say that all the Azores are bad. I did not say that I was disappointed in what I saw. What I did write in my opening post was "I think that calling in twice at the Azores was a little like visiting the Cape Verde Islands - they must be visited, just because they are there. They certainly aren't places to which I would want to return."

 

Admittedly I was luke-warm about the place because to me I found it on a par with Wales, somewhere equally beautiful, interesting, historic - and a lot nearer! The Azores does not stand out as a world-class, must-see destination, merely a pleasant diversion as part of a longer cruise. Please don't take that as negative comment, I realise that you are rightly very proud of the land of your birth, but I'm afraid that does not make it a world-beating location.

 

I wrote as a UK-based cruiser, and intended my comments for other cruisers who were not native to the Azores (or any other port of call), so that they could be more informed when comparing itineraries to choose future trips. And I'm sure that others reading this thread are by now quite fed-up with our little spat, so shall we just leave it that you and I differ in our opinions of where to go for our next holiday?

I guess we're talking principally about the island of San Miguel and it's capital, Ponta Delgada. It's a regular stopping place when returning from the Caribbean.

We've stopped there on numerous occasions and we really like the place and the people. I like to wander up beyond the terminal and see the narrow streets, not so my OH!!!

Earlier this year, on Black Watch we had an overnight stop there (not sure why, maybe Fred was trying it out for future reference). Anyway, it was thoroughly enjoyed by most of the passengers I spoke to.

A longer holiday there? I wouldn't rule it out, it would provide the opportunity to see the rest of the island without having to worry about the time restrictions on an organised tour.

I guess we're talking principally about the island of San Miguel and it's capital, Ponta Delgada. It's a regular stopping place when returning from the Caribbean.

 

We've stopped there on numerous occasions and we really like the place and the people. I like to wander up beyond the terminal and see the narrow streets, not so my OH!!!

 

Earlier this year, on Black Watch we had an overnight stop there (not sure why, maybe Fred was trying it out for future reference). Anyway, it was thoroughly enjoyed by most of the passengers I spoke to.

 

A longer holiday there? I wouldn't rule it out, it would provide the opportunity to see the rest of the island without having to worry about the time restrictions on an organised tour.

Exactly!

And Ponta Delgada it's complety different from the rest of the island. The rest of the island is much better than Ponta Delgada. Ponta Delgada still has many abandoned buldings, not many hotels, etc...

The other 8 islands are algo amazing.

If you like beaches, night clubs and sun, the Azores are not a good destination.

Visting one or 2 islands in a rush doesn´t give you a full scale of the things that they offer.

I always recomend private tours in the Azores. All very high rated

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g189123-Activities-Azores.html#TtD

It's possible that WFT's suggestion about Ponta Delgada that the "Black Watch had an overnight stop there (not sure why, maybe Fred was trying it out for future reference)" might explain why my recent cruise visited two islands on consecutive days. Fred might be considering the two options to see which is the most popular: one port for two days, or two ports for a day apiece. I suppose much will depend on the port costs compared to the sailing costs.

Although two different ports might look more impressive when advertising the itinerary, my vote would be for the overnight in Ponta Delgada. It was a more interesting place than the first island we visited, Terceira and the port of Praia da Vitoria. On this island Fred was able to come up with only ONE tour - a most unusual occurance because in most ports of call they are happy to offer a greater selection of places to visit. I did think that the single tour might have summed up the number of places they considered worth visiting on the island. This tour was to the old capital of Angra do Heroismo, interesting enough but for me not a "must-see", even though a world heritage site. To judge by the comments at the sail-away party, it seems many others felt the same way, especially those who actually took the tour!

It will be interesting to see what ports Fred's 2017 cruises include.

We also visited the Azores earlier this year and I cannot say we saw anything of major interest that cannot be seen in many other places of the world. However, more to the point, this site is made for tourists and it should be possible for everyone who wishes to give their own individual opinion, so that can be considered alongside other opinions that are expressed by other people.

I must say that one great put off for me is the fact that AzoresW has placed some very aggressively opinionated posts. If that poster is a true representation of people who have connections with the Azores, I am now thinking it is the last place in the world I would want to revist - just my opinion of course, although I do wonder what other readers will make of those posts. I do not see that poster are actually giving a good view of the Azores as the people of a country have a lot to do with impressions gained.

This thread had been started by someone who has very kindly posted an opinion on a cruise, with most of the text being about the ship and other ports and I do not see why that cannot be appreciated.

Thank you for your review, Notatsea - do you realise it is possible to post reviews on the review section of this site, so they can be seen along side other reviews and it would not then be possible for bad mannered people to hijack the review in such a way as has happened here.

A friend of mine used to take his young family to the Azores for two weeks every year and claimed it was the best place he has ever holidayed in. It was always camping holidays and they enjoyed hiking and climbing. He enthused about many of the better known sights and I was quite excited to be able to tell him that I would be calling in to Ponta Delgada on my way to the Caribbean some years ago. Unfortunately we were very disappointed with our experience and have no wish to return. Although we are in fact returning on October 15th on the Balmoral as it's the last port of call from a cruise to America. A forum is for discussion and all points of view should be accepted without resorting to attacking people you don't agree with. I live in a seaside town and would not bat an eyelid were you to criticize it.

A friend of mine used to take his young family to the Azores for two weeks every year and claimed it was the best place he has ever holidayed in. It was always camping holidays and they enjoyed hiking and climbing. He enthused about many of the better known sights and I was quite excited to be able to tell him that I would be calling in to Ponta Delgada on my way to the Caribbean some years ago. Unfortunately we were very disappointed with our experience and have no wish to return. Although we are in fact returning on October 15th on the Balmoral as it's the last port of call from a cruise to America. A forum is for discussion and all points of view should be accepted without resorting to attacking people you don't agree with. I live in a seaside town and would not bat an eyelid were you to criticize it.

What was disappointing ? That´s the only way to improve.

I suspect the call was made in the winter months (Oct-Apr)

To be honest, it didn't seem any different to lots of other places we've been to but that's not to say we didn't enjoy it. We went to Sete Cidades where it drizzled so we were unable to detect the difference in colour between the two lakes. But if you had visited my town yesterday you would have been equally disappointed because of the rain spoiling the beautiful views over the bay.

To be honest, it didn't seem any different to lots of other places we've been to but that's not to say we didn't enjoy it. We went to Sete Cidades where it drizzled so we were unable to detect the difference in colour between the two lakes. But if you had visited my town yesterday you would have been equally disappointed because of the rain spoiling the beautiful views over the bay.

That's fair criticism in my opinion.

If it is cloudy and drizzling it is a waste of time going to Sete Cidades.

Ponta Delgada itself it is not great.

If you have time take a private tour to Furnas or Lake of Fire (in the last case only if the weather is good)

Off course i didn´t want to be rude with the first poster. But i know very well the people that live here and what tourists say and i also know that there is lack of information about the Azores in the UK. This is why some people get disappointed, because they think that the Azores is like the Canaries or Madeira but also many that come here and have a bad experience think that it represent the Azores.

How many cruisers from Fred Olsen have tried these atraction in Furnas/Nordeste in their tours ?

Furnas and Nordest (Thermal Pools, Luxury Hotels, Botanical Gardens, etc..)

Furnas Lagoon

Terra Nostra Park/Botanical Garden

Nordeste

Thermal Pool

Hot Springs were food is cooked in holes.

Hotel Restaurant

I could give you many more in this tiny village alone. This is why your friend liked it so much.

I only hope that your future experience will be better. My advice is if you have some time take a private tour with the best rated.

Thanks very much for sharing such beautiful photos. I have to say that is what I had expected to see after my friend had enthused so much about his favourite holiday destination. I shall send him your photos as today is his 80th birthday and they are certain to bring back wonderful memories for him.