twotravellersLondon

13 hours ago, Triggertravel said:

Some great and useful guides and information on this Thankyou for posting , but why do you think p&o don’t include Guadeloupe  in their carribean itinerary instead of the normal same old same old itinerary . I know there has been numerous posts on p&o  itinerary selection  

As Guadeloupe is a French overseas territory... C'est la France... and as with the French mainland the situation in Guadeloupe is currently very volatile. It's best to check the UK's up-to-date Foreign Travel Advice. 

Since November there has been a continued increase in incidences of rioting and protests in Guadeloupe. Due to worker strikes and other forms of civil unrest, protests may occur in Guadeloupe from time to time. Demonstrations can get unruly. There have been; riots, burning barricades, buildings set-alight and burnt to the ground, roads blocked and attacks on the police.

These problems are ongoing and seem likely to escalate... as with the situation in France as a whole.

Tourists have rarely fallen victim to armed robberies or assaults... but it's so difficult to see into the future these days... one guess is as good as another.

That's probably why P&O give Guadeloupe a miss. Quel dommage!

1 hour ago, Grandad John said:

No Zap, I didn’t see ‘her’ advertised on a postcard in a ‘phone box!

I'm reliably informed that that particular mode of advertising went out of fashion at least 30 years ago!

The Cruise of a Lifetime?

The Balmoral has returned, the passengers have disembarked, the end of cruise survey has been sent out to the trusted customers who'd been onboard and almost 50 replies from passengers have been published on the FOCLs web-site.

Many didn't like the cruise... they loved it! Superlatives abound... "Superb," "Great," "Fantastic," "Amazing," "Enjoyable" and "Brilliant!" One trusted customer praised the professionalism of the restaurant staff despite difficult times. A number of trusted customers are looking forward to the next cruise with FOCLs.

Others were delighted to tick another place off on their list of things to see before they kicked the bucket... as the cruise "got to places" that they didn't think they'd ever see. (And without doubt the scenery in the Arctic regions can be stunning... we took this photo off the coast of Norway just a few weeks ago.)

Other trusted customers were less enthusiastic... and there were complaints that... 

The embarkation was a shambles, staff on board lacked training and were over-stretched, cabins were worn and shabby, there were leaks in public areas, flooded bathrooms, a smell of fuel and that the ship was in "bad condition."

The food, especially at dinner, came in for considerable criticism as... in need of improvement, sub-standard,  often cold, way below par, dinner service always slow, hit and miss,  poor, too spicy, too much vegetarian and at least one suggestion that the ship "ran out of a lot of things." However... others said that they loved the food!

The entertainment was described as not always that good, mediocre, repetitive and second rate. 

There are comments that the cruise was spoilt by too many extras, that drinks were exorbitant and Wi-Fi was still not included.

Excursions were described as ... very expensive, disappointing in general and the events at Ushuaia  were described as a shambles.

A number of people commented that the port information for independents was poor and about the lack of  shuttle buses. 

Several people commented that the ports left a lot to be desired...  too many were cancelled and that there were more tender ports than they had expected. Several trusted customers commented that too many ports visits were on Sundays when everything was closed.

Some commented that there were quite a lot of disgruntled passengers on board. 

While some trusted customers have already further cruises booked with FOCLs, others wouldn't recommend sailing with FOCLs and perhaps... and at least one respondent was exceptionally unhappy.

But... others loved the cruise!

So the question to those who were on the cruise and who loved it... how about some details/photos of what was it that made it so "Superb," "Great," "Fantastic," "Amazing," "Enjoyable" and "Brilliant?" 

6 hours ago, brian1 said:

She should come with a caviar.

I was sure that her replacement would be Ivar MacKerel.

2 hours ago, brian1 said:

Coquille st jacques

Bless my Dover Sole! Is that the plaice in France near to Calais where the Channel tunnel ends? Once a prawn a time we used to like going there... only cost a few squid.... used to crab a few bottles of wine and lobster them into the boot for the return ferry. Now with all of these delays and suchlike... we just hake it. Haddock been for ages. Can't believe I'm whiting this. Cod have been doing the garden. if I had been able to winkle the mower out of the shed. Getting a bit hard of herring these days and sometime flounder a bit to understand the wife... got to get my skates on though... if I don't cut the grass, she'll make me dory it or I'll be in turbot! So it's limpet off to the shed for me.

All done without the use of alcohol! 

3 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

First up best dressed, stunning morning here with clear blue sky and a light frost. ASDA run this morning as we have friends coming to dinner. If it is anything like yesterday we could be having it outside? Enjoy your day wherever it takes you.

 We have lovely clear skies... no rain forecast ...but only 2˚C!

22 hours ago, Denarius said:

Are the books back yet? When I was on SofD in February we were told that the books would be back on both ships by early March. Are they?

Spirit of Adventure mid March...

Library very busy on sea days, coffee station popular, lost of collaboration with the jigsaws and real books on shelves.

4 hours ago, CruiseMark said:

Thank you for the excellent insight. Could you please PM me the name of the company you used to get such a great price?

 

We used SAGA. We booked at the beginning of the booking period and had a 35% discount. We have compared next seasons prices on the basis of a balcony cabin... the entry level on SAGA.

Also included in our price was visits to the speciality restaurants... one example...

Compared with the main dining room...

These are pics of other included visits...

Bryggen in Bergen...

Northern Light Cathedral in Alta by free shuttle bus...

Arctic "Cathedral" In Tromsø...

After between 25 and 30 cruises with "Fred" & FOCLs as well as cruises with the likes of SAGA, P&O, Princess & Cunard, we shopped around... and find that on a like for like basis... FOCLs is now just so much more expensive for a less good offering... so we've found that it really helps to compare the market. 

We would always take a balcony cabin because probably by the time a cruise ship reached Alta and most certainly by the time it reached Honningsvåg it would be further North and closer to the Pole than any other cruise ship or expedition ship on earth. By the time that it rounded the North Cape it would be further North than even the Hurtigruten ferries. At that Latitude of well over 71˚ North the decks on cruise-ships may well be closed because it's too windy, too wet, too snowy or the sea's too high and so the only sheltered, safe, dark spot... to patiently look out for the Aurora is the balcony.

This is important because, the most likely place for the Northern Lights to be seen on a cruise is while the ship is travelling off shore. (That's because the sky is likely to be clearer, the ship often travels at night and the fact that he ships spend more time at sea than in port.) Often ships try to increase the chances of possible sightings by spending some time just off the Norwegian coast in sea areas such as Lopphavet, which is a stretch of open sea along the border of Troms og Finnmark. It's a fairly open area of sea off the entrance to the Altafjorden. P&O's Aurora is currently just leaving that area.

I was brought up in a seaside village in the North of Scotland where the Northern Lights were common in the dark of winter.  Over more than a quarter of a century we've successfully seen the Northern Lights dozens of times in Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the sea areas in between. They can last for seconds or for hours, be as faint as smoke trails or as bright as neon lights, vary from a light green haze to startling shafts of light and create the illusions of anthropogenic forms of the faces of animals, trolls and all manner of other things. While it's possible to see the effects of the northern lights during the day... the blue of the sky can change to a translucent turquoise... the one thing that's certain the human eye needs to be well adjusted to the darkness of the night sky to see and appreciate them in all of their glory... (these days it can take us up to 30 minutes in the dark if the lights are faint... young eyes can adjust quicker!) Anyone inside a ship or behind reflective glass is far less likely to see the light in their true intensity or colour.

The HD Northern Lights images that we see in the media have often been taken on highly sensitive cameras on solid tripods set on viewing positions with little extraneous light to allow for timed exposures of 15s or more. On many occasions the pictures have been digitally enhanced.

What passengers on a cruise ship are more likely to actually see with the naked eye is... something like these that we took a couple of weeks ago.

On a good night (Five solid hours) on Fred's Boudiccain 2015 while cruising Lopphavet... this is the type of thing that we saw from the deck.

This "Troll" came out of nowhere almost frightened the living daylights  out of those of up on deck and, then vanished in an instant. You can see the goatee beard on the chin, the well define pointed nose, the deep hollow eyes, the Troll-like ears and the hair blowing away into the distance. Ten seconds of intensely exciting, awesome Primeval Fear... it left us all gasping!

The Friend in the red jacket was also with us on our last cruise!

And the Northern Lights excursion...

And the Northern Lights excursion... this is when we were on "Fred" at Alta in 2014... (Again on the Boudicca) almost knee deep in snow on a green on the local golf club. Five coaches went... the great majority were too cold to stay out and retreated back to the coaches or the club house where there was ample supplies to hot drinks and chockie cake. About a dozen of us braved the weather and we rewarded with this beautiful Aurora Bow rising majestically behind the clubhouse. It was awesome... and nobody in the light and warmth of the clubhouse had any idea that it had ever been there. However... folks who had stayed on board the Boudicca and looked out from the ship's decks saw it... despite the lights of the town.

You've probably guessed that we find the lights exciting and we're willing to wrap up very warm and have the patience to stay out in the cold for ages to watch and wonder.

Good luck in selecting your cruise. We hope that you will have a wonderful time, that you'll see the lights and that you'll have memories that will last a lifetime.

On 3/29/2023 at 12:21 PM, CruiseMark said:

I’m considering a Norway Northern Lights cruise in December. Both Fred Olsen Borealis and P&O Aurora get good reviews and the itineraries are somewhat similar. 

3 hours ago, sleepingcat said:

just in case you are not aware, there is also the Norwegian Company Hurtigruten.  Its not a cruise as such, as their ships service the ports up the Norway coast.  but it is a good way to see the Northern Lights, and they guarantee you a further trip for free if you dont see the lights. My bro and Sis in Law went with them in November and had a wonderful trip including 2 nights of Northern Lights.

It's good to compare what's on offer and in addition to Hurtigruten, SAGA are also offering cruise as far North as the North Cape.

We've done the Hurtigruten trip in winter and it was excellent. Local museums opened for us, very reasonably priced excursions were put on, the food was some of the freshest, healthiest and tastiest afloat... in our experience. We visited many places that cruise boats never touch... it was possible to go ashore night and day... at stops... even just for a bit of snowballing on the quay in the Arctic night  And for an "interesting itinerary" it's unbeatable. Just don't hope for a roomy cabin or cruise-style entertainment! We saw the Northern Lights in Ålesund Harbour from the deck! They covered the entire sky!

However, we've just come back from a SAGA cruise where we saw the Northern Lights on five consecutive nights... and, unlike FOCLs these days, we  travelled as far as Honningsvåg, visited the North Cape, and sailed around the Cape itself! The cruise was all inclusive with door-to-door transfers, Wi-Fi, speciality restaurants, gratuities and excursions included. It also included premium drinks in the restaurants and bars.

The same cruise as we did a couple of weeks ago or so is available for next year from the company that we used at £3,000 less than FOCL's current price for a similar but less exciting itinerary based on a similar cabin. Interesting, we had three (included) dinners in the speciality restaurants with folks that we'd originally made friends with on FOCLs in the days that we all trusted "Fred" to show us a good time at value for money. Like us, these émigrés were enjoying better food, better entertainment, better accommodation and a far better itinerary than FOCLs are putting on now... and we were all saving a small fortune by not booking with FOCLs.

By the way... the ship we sailed in was smaller than anything that FOCLs can now offer but had a real theatre and large areas of public space over several decks. From day one... the staff in the restaurants, bars etc knew us by name but no-one presumed that we would choose the same "drink" each time. The staff were excellent, nothing was too much trouble. The ship was virtually full, there was bubbles and fruit in our room on arrival, the toiletries were in large bottles and what was left was complementary. All shuttle busses were free to all passengers to use and, unlike FOCLs, we didn't have to go through the painful security check every time that we returned to the ship... will FOCLs go to any length to prevent a passenger who's already paid the fare from taking a bottle of booze on board! Just such a pain.

After between 25 and 30 cruises with "Fred" & FOCLs as well as cruises with the likes of P&O, Princess & Cunard, we shopped around... and find that, in our opinion, on a like for like basis... FOCLs is now just so much more expensive for a less good offering... so we've found that it really helps to compare the market. 

These are some pics that we took just a week or two ago of the bits that FOCLs have recently missed out of their winter itineraries...

And our trip to the North Cape was included... even a nice warm jacket for us to keep... delivered to our cabin at the start of the cruise. Even the coach journey to the North Cape was amazing.

The scalloped snow shows the line of the road that we travelled on.

It was such a wonderful day... fresh snow, brilliant sunlight, calm seas and relatively balmy day for the northernmost point (almost) on the European continent... the North Pole is just 2,000 km or so over the horizon.

Forget about list of things to do before kicking the bucket... even our bus driver said... "Just enjoy!"

Other included trips were to the Arctic "Cathedral" in Tromso and the Bryggen in Bergen.

10 hours ago, wowzz said:

Looks like some really bad weather coming up in the Atlantic. Sky Princess cancelling two port stops,  and heading straight for Southampton,  hooefully arriving on Thursday, as opposed to Saturday. 

At the moment there is a strong anti-cyclone with up to 49 knot winds due to be in the South-west approaches by mid-night on Friday. That's Storm Force with waves up to 9 m but reaching up to 12.5 m. Tad bumpy... best not to order soup that evening at dinner.

5 hours ago, brian1 said:

Hi Harry,I'm a bit OCD with my routines,very frustrating.Very painful first couple of days,then when it burst,a bit more relief.Then it went black and blue.This is where Google is not your friend,I was looking up things like necrosis,lol.4th day now on meds,still filling and draining but can walk in crocs or sandals.Looks bad but improving.Hope you've all had brekkie.

You're fortunate that things seem to be on the mend.

There's a story about one man who went to the Doc. with a sore toe... "Oh Dear!" said the GP... that's bad, really bad ... amputation is the only answer! No fear said the Bloke and hobbled off for a second opinion... in Harley Street none-the-less.

It was the same story except that the doc said... "This is really very urgent." We'll need to fit you in tomorrow as a matter of priority!" No fear said the Bloke and hobbled off to his local Chinese herbalist too seek some sort of remedy.

The Bloke explained the problem and the reply was.... "Oh! So they say you need an amputation! How silly! There's just no need... Just leave it for another three days and it will drop off of its own accord.

So nice to know that you'll be back to rights soon! 

2 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

and then looks up the appropriate medication in a book😒

Avril

When In was but a lad I caught something nasty and ended up in hospital for a month. After a couple of weeks in a NHS single room I was transferred to a general ward. The bloke in the bed next to me was a retired doctor ... a 100+ year old retired doctor. When the rounds were done he would prescribe for himself half a dozen "medications".... each one was an alcoholic spirit. When the Registrar protested and explained that it would be bad for his health... the robust reply was... "Well at least I won't die before my 100th Birthday!" The good doctor got his medication!

13 minutes ago, arlowood said:

Word on FB seems to suggest that the summer 2024 cruise schedules are available to book today if you phone up.

 

Seems the online version will not be released until tomorrow or maybe Wednesday

 

 Already booked Canada/USA 2024.

54 minutes ago, JoJo1947 said:

We've not had a brochure for 2024 and we are Britannia Members

Ours arrived today.

On 3/23/2023 at 1:45 PM, Sarnia 432 said:

NARSARSUA, GREENLAND

There are three very similarly spelt places within a few miles of each other and on the same Fjord system. Narsaq is the furthest South and 10-15 years ago was a popular stopping off place for smaller ships which allowed cruisers to enjoy excursion on a fleet of local boats to visit the spectacular ice-bergs which had, at that time, become stranded in the fjord.

Narsarsuaaraq is about 8 km to the North-west and is only visited by expedition ships.

Narsarsuaq is about 45 km to the North-east in what was once known as  Eirik's Fjord or Tunugdliarfik but is now known as Tunulliarfik Fjord... and that's where FOCLs' current itinerary suggests that the Bolette will visit on 9 August 2024. Narsarsuaq's main claim to fame is that, for all practical purposes, it's currently the only international airport in Southern Greenland. It's simply a hub from which passengers transfer to helicopter hubs. However it's in a bit of a decline and is due to close soon. 

We've visited Narsarsuaq three or four times over the years... including once with FOCLs when it really was "Fred"... and last July with a different cruise line.

Try to be on deck for the sail in through the ice flows... it's great.

FOCLs will most probably tender from the centre of Tunulliarfik Fjord to the Narsarsuaq main dock. From there, it's usual for cruise ships to provide a shuttle bus for the couple of mile journey to the far end of the runway. Last season there was a small museum open, some buildings remaining from the USAF base that was there in the 1940s and not much else... was a café. 

We have taken a helicopter jaunt from the airport over the ice, up a glacier and onto the Greenland Ice cap. Friends who did the same excursion last year while we were independently looking for eagles... saw beautiful humpback whales in the Fjord below the helicopter.

In the past there has been a reasonably moderate trip of about four miles to "Flower Valley." And, believe it or believe it not, to the ..... Arboretum!

From "Flower Valley" there's a hike for the fit and active 300m up the mountainside to a great view and then a half-hour's hike onto the Narsarsuaq/Kaigtuul Glacier... not for the faint hearted... we had to virtually abseil down a moraine on ropes... exhilaration to say the very least.

When we were in Narsarsuaq a few months ago, one of the excursions was a small speed boat trip of about 8 miles to the front of the Qôroq Glacier. Negotiating through the ice at speed was sensational but cold... we were glad we had wrapped up warm (thermals and windproof jackets, trousers, gloves and hats!)

On our ownsome we explored the slopes around the Narsarsuaq main dock... and found all manner of beautiful Arctic/Alpine flowers... some song birds, hooded crown and a White Tailed Eagle... around Narsarsuaq the only place in Greenland that they're found.

However, more sensationally, the top of Eirik's Fjord is where Erik the Red and his cousin Thorkell reached in the summer of AD 986 with the 14 of the 25 remaining ships carrying about 750 settlers that had survived the crossing from Iceland. The Bolette should anchor just off the site of Erik's manor of Brattahid which remained the most powerful chiefly estate in Greenland for over 400 years. (It was from this spot that Left (Erik's son) sailed when he discovered the North American continent over a Millennium ago.) If FOCLs don't put on a transfer it might be possible to arrange a trip across from Narsarsuaq main dock in advance.

As you can probably see... we think that Narsarsuaq is an exciting place to visit and have done so several times from the 1990s... It's best to be "in the know" about what's there... that's how we can really appreciate it.

Hope that we've whet you appetite! Have a great cruise.

21 hours ago, brian1 said:

Out in the wilderness with an injury.Aren't you supposed to wee on it.

Those were the days... when helicopters were 'whirlybirds' dolphins spoke to humans and Skippy (the bush Kangaroo) would leap off to the pharmacy on your behalf, explain in detail to the chemist what you needed and carry it back to you in his pouch!

Fred's site has reviews of the last cruises to these places and so that may give a clue... the links are usually at the bottom of the pages.

On 3/18/2023 at 11:30 AM, david05 said:

Even though we always have a private transfer we let Saga know the number of bags but it doesn't always work out.

On our last seven SAGA cruises we've asked for a private transfer and SAGA obliged each time. The last time we had a bit of a problem fitting in all of the luggage on the way back... but we've let SAGA know about the potential problem.

1 hour ago, Cee_Jay said:

If going ashore can I wear jeans?

Have a look at what we've all been wearing in the last few days...

You may need something warmer!

Today... it would be S deck...now renamed as "Snow Deck!"

Spectacular landscapes, sensational weather, great food and snow, snow, snow... just a great arctic experience.

On 3/1/2023 at 4:46 PM, richard_london said:

They are bigger, but therein lie the problem.  They aren't Fred's ships as they don't fit the ethos of small cruising.  They are HAL ships that have had a change of soft furnishings basically.  They don't look like part of the family. 

 

“Managed” decline?

Successful companies have clear, concise, credible unique selling points. The fact that FOCLs have a long, confusing ten point “The Olsen Way”, which we feel is full of contradictions suggests that the FOCLs is unclear about what it offers, what space the company occupies within the industry and it is unable to clearly identify a market.

Having watched a long and rather tedious interview with the FOCLs’ managing director about the acquiring the two redundant HAL ships, our impression was… that he wanted bigger ships so that he could make more economies of scale and that he also wanted to use them to charge more premium rates. The customer experience just didn’t seem to feature much and neither did the idea that the company’s loyal club members were stakeholders.

Offering members only bookings day and then selling the same grade of cabin at significant discounts with added extras to all comers weeks later seems to be the best way possible to drive away loyal customers.

Selling “balcony cabins” with no balcony is a sure fired way of losing creditability and making new prospective customers question every single claim made in the company advertising.

Advertising an “from” price and then allowing those people who take it to feel like third-class passengers seems likely to deter passengers who need to stick to a budget.

Renaming a balcony cabin as a “jun. suite” and then charging so much extra for it than a similar sized cabin… is likely to alienate those who find that paying more for the same amount of space, the same food and the same entertainment is not for them.

We’re currently on a cruise on a ship where, unlike some of FOCLs ships, balcony cabins do have balconies. The fare is about the same as FOCLs with FOCLs add ons. The difference is that the food, the entertainment, the cabins, the public spaces and the ambiance is better than what FOCLs is currently offering. Every time that we sit with people over a meal, or drinks, or in the proper theatre… it’s the same story… we used to travel with “Fred.” In fact we’ve just arranged to meet people for dinner that we’ve known for over 20 years from “Fred” and who, like ourselves, have been driven away.

Why are so many people moving away… we can only speak for ourselves… it’s the management… the people who count the cost of the coffee beans instead of appreciating the value of an exciting, exhilarating, enticing cup of coffee to their potential customers.

We’ve lost Freddy Jun. that so many hundreds of thousands of happy holiday makers fondly knew as “Fred.” We’ve lost our smaller ships… Black Watch, Boudicca and Braemar. We’ve lost our “Baked Alaska on Parade” our “Gala Midnight Buffets” and our Lobster dinners that made travelling with “Fred” so good. We’ve even lost our unrestricted access to the chairs on the prom decks of a couple of the ships.

Result… a company that was once worth a small fortune is now very seriously in negative equity. A company that once made modest profits has seen decades of profits totally wiped out by a massive debt. A company that once had full ships has vessels out of service because of lack of sales.

The FOCLs’ management can always blame international changes, the war in the Ukraine, Covid and the cost of living crisis but the plain facts for us are that... we’re still cruising with FOCLs competitors in a ship that is pretty full and we’re meeting people at every meal, every drinks reception and everyday on deck… that we’ve either met before on a “Fred” cruise or who happen to mention that they used to cruise with “Fred.” Like for us... FOCLs' approach has been a great big turn-off.

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

Same here in Stoke, I have been to Tesco and got everything on my list and few things that I didn't have on the list.  There were no signs saying that there were limits on anything. Plenty of all types of vegetables including swedes and turnips.

Where I was brought up... we just called them things "neeps." Given that the present in the Christmas stocking was the once yearly orange and the present from the Sunday school was the once yearly apple... neeps were'n too bad.R he local doctor had a campaign to have everyone in the village eat more fruit and insisted that they had a fruit bowl in the house... well it happened and often in pride of place in the front window for all to see. But... It was all plastic.

3 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Morning all - anyone manage to see the Northern Lights last night?  Quite a show for Scotland, but visible as far south as Cornwall!

Hints over London... nothing spectacular but we're in Norway over the next couple of weeks ... so will look forward the the possibility.

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

They were however, extremely good company, well read and well travelled, and I had a very enjoyable cruise.

That's very much how we find SAGA. The idea that age is only a number is probably an over used cliche but we have generally found SAGA passengers to be far better company and far more sociable that those we've met on some other lines. We really don't like generalisations and there are always exceptions... but on the Discovery, the Sapphire and the Pearl we've often found that those "golden oldies" have not only entered in the spirit and joy of any occasion ... they've often been at the forefront and their enthusiasm and zest for life has been wonderfully infectious... and has really lifted the atmosphere.

On 2/18/2023 at 1:13 PM, Eglesbrech said:

I’m not a Fred loyalist by any means, I travel with several lines. I would not however wish to see them fail.

On 2/20/2023 at 12:18 AM, richard_london said:

So given what you said about vessels out of use not figuring in the occupancy figures the figures are 64 per cent of two ships, not three?  That's not many passengers sadly. 

Talk about Chocolate on the pillow!

In the many years that we chose to cruise mainly with "Fred" we met and chatted with lots and lots of pretty like-minded folk for whom "Fred" provided a lovely holiday, where they felt, safe, welcome, well looked after, regally catered for and they could enjoy entertainment that they normally wouldn't find outside major cities. 

These folk were fans rather than fanatics, loyalty members rather than loyalists. They quite correctly surmised that in taking an informed choice to buy a cruise with "Fred" that they could trust the real Fred. Olsen Jun, Chairman of the company, to make sure that they weren't likely to be disappointed. That was probably why... the ships were often full.

Somewhere around the mid-Twenty-teenies things began to change. 

On every cruise and at every opportunity we were given the same mantra by cruise directors, Ocean's reps and even comedians about how we didn't want to sail on a block of flats and all manner of other things. The atmosphere became more and more "Hi de Hi" than Hilton, the food became more lasagne than lobster and members of the show companies were less and less able to perform the same shows (that we'd seen again and again and again) as well as previous troupes. 

Casual conversation that were once full of animated, excited, exhilarated discussions about where we'd just been, were we were going to next with lot of tips, suggestions and amusing anecdotes... were increasingly replaced by boring bucket lists of previous cruises. 

And even worse... the "one-up" brigade began to emerge... folk on the rail would be approached by people they'd never met with the opening conversation stopper... "we were invited out for dinner on shore last night by the captain and senior officers and we had an excellent meal and show in a local restaurant... but head's a bit thick this morning after too much vino." In our opinion...competitive cruising at its very worst!

It was off-putting. Ten years ago the occupancy rate was over 90%. That fell in 2013, again in 2015, again in 2017 and by 2019 it was just over 70%. The results was that the company cut back on the offering and increased prices... it became a bit of a downward spiral.

When we go on a cruise we don't want to be constantly drilled  in the "Olsen Way" mantra as if it was some dogmatic catechism or party line propaganda. Neither do we want to be bored by, what we see, as the  pointlessly banal "branding" efforts. (Why brand a product that's been on a slippery slipway of decline for over a decade? We do want to be presented with; an immaculately clean and comfortable cabin: well-served, fresh exciting food: relaxing lounges where we can chat over a drink and still enjoy the background music: interesting and affordable excursions and the opportunities to have things like cabarets, deck BBQs, small drinks receptions with the officers and such like. 

The majority of people that we meet who have had an experience with FOCLs have fond memories and might best be described as critical friends... concerned about the company's declining fortunes and, out of a sense of loyalty and self-interest. Often they would like to give friendly suggestions as to what might encourage them to carry on booking... because they would like the company to succeed and make a profit as it did in the past... and they would really want to "go forward to the past" and to re-experience the golden days of "Fred" when ships were full, food was good,  entertainment was exciting, excursions were affordable and folks on board were there to really enjoy the experience.

There is absolutely no doubt that FOCLs has its "Top Fans" who do most sincerely believe that FOCLs is "Fantastic," "First Class," "Five Star" and that many often can't wait until their next cruise with FOCLs. They describe the food as "Excellent" the entertainment as "West-End quality" and do still book again and again and again. But there are far fewer of these very immensely appreciative and loyal supporters than there used to be.

A test of FOCL's success is the bedtime chocolate count. In 2010 "Fred" gave away about 1.3 million "chocolates on the pillow.'' In 2013 that dropped dramatically to about 1.2 million. By 2015 it was about 1.1 million and by 2019 it was only about 1.0 million. The figure for 2022 suggest that it might now be as low as about 0.9 million. The pillow "Chocolate test" shows that one of the main reasons that FOCLs is making such a staggering loss these days is that the company just can't find enough passengers! We even know of one group which will transferred to and from Surrey by coach to a cruise in Newcastle.

FOCLs say... "We are proud to sail our own course." There's the old joke that does the rounds. The Commander of the Fleet, seeing something on the radar ahead, radioed demanding it change its course. The response was that the Fleet should change its course. Again the Commander of the Fleet demanded that the object in front change its course. The response was the same as the first time. The Commander of the Fleet responded... "This is the flag-ship MS Bolette, the second largest ship in the FOCLs fleet. We are accompanied in line by the Black Watch, the Boudicca, the Braemar, the Borealis and the Balmoral. We are proud to sail our own course. I demand that YOU change your course or we will run you over!" The reply... "Commander... this is the Longships Lighthouse... continue on your present course and you will lose your ships one after the other and most of your passengers... it's your decision!"

The concern of many isn't that they want "Fred" to fail... it's that they're worried that unless the company changes course very, very soon... that it will fail.

This was taken from the Braemar in September 2018. The Braemar is up for sale. The Boudicca was scrapped in 2021. The Black Watch's last known position was at the Alang Ship Breaking Yard in India. Last in Line... the Balmoral.