Mrs Tinkywinky

Those photos are beautiful. I have visited Norway quite a lot and have never used cash. Two years ago we were on a Fred summer cruise and I took £20 of NOK in case I may have needed cash and came back with the £20. I am going this summer and will be taking the £20 again !!

Thankyou Tring. It looks like the lay-out is very similar to Borealis which we went on 2 years ago . I'm sure it will be ok. Only been on two other ships but I like the fact Fred goes from Liverpool as we are only 35 mins away and I was impressed overall with the ship.

Thankyou for the reply , that is really helpful. I have looked at the deck plans and I think a Deck 2 cabin midships may be better. We were on Borealis last time on Deck 6 but I could hear the bar music upto about 24.00 I am quite a light sleeper

We are about to book  Bolette from Liverpool in June.

Has anyone been in a cabin on Deck3 which has a fully restricted view? I assume the view is restricted due to the life boats. 

For anyone else going from Liverpool , there is an update. The ACC Arena Kings Dock is no longer being used so there is no need to go there now but instead go straight to the Cruise Terminal if you are arriving by taxi or getting dropped off.

You only need to go to the King's Dock if you are parking at the CPS Carpark there and there will be someone there to porter your luggage and take you on the shuttle bus to the Cruise Terminal

Thanks that's useful to know. We may end up going over to the Kings Dock to get picked up or call for a taxi so won't need to self disembark. 

I may well be back with more questions , going at the end of August and really looking forward to it

Thankyou for the replies. I assume that you need to tell reception the night before if you self disembark? I would prefer as I travel fairly light but my friend doesn't! I assume also that the higher decks get to disembark first?

This is only my second cruise and my first from Liverpool and with Fred. I know Liverpool port well but on Fred's website , I can't find if we can do self-disembarking. 

I don't really need to have my luggage transported over to the King's Dock . Can we get a taxi next to the berth? Many thanks

Yes I saw that in the Times today. I like the odd gin now and again.......Best to taste them neat . They do not all taste the same once you add tonic terrierjohn

Hi Libby3723

From my knowledge of Liverpool , there is a bus stop opposite the pulled down bus station on the other side of the road. Norton Road is busy , 3 lanes going past the old bus station but only 1 going back into Liverpool on the other side and if it is on the opposite side of the road to the now knocked down bus station , then the stop is outside a grey building. ( Sorry I don't know what the building is ). If you can look on google street map then it may be clearer. We have not been picked up there but I assume there will be others there and the coach knows who they are picking up.

Dragons fan , we caught an Intercruise coach last year from Chester Holiday Inn which was very good. We were picked up at 09.00 and eta was 14.45. We actually arrived at 14.30. so 5.5 hours which included a 10 min stop at Knutsford and a 50 min stop at Warwick. It was a Sunday and thankfully no hold ups. Of course the big advantage is that if you are held up , the ship will wait.

Sweep2907 , exactly my thoughts. Please get a life!!! Smacks of "Four in a Bed" Probably done solely for some sort of compensation.

For what it's worth , last June we had a cabin on E restricted view on Arcadia , select , and our embarkation time was 2pm . Of course may have changed.

So all the germs from your once worn clothes are now on the chair so wouldn't fancy being in a cabin after you if you do that on board as well. .This thread makes good bedtime reading , I'm hooked

Yes as others have said , the tables fill up very quickly and when the table is full , they take orders. I always choose freedom dining and as it is a table of 6 or 8 , we are seated immediately.

Enjoy your cruise

It depends how long you have but there are several port lodges to visit ( that is only if you like port

I find that really annoying. It’s bad enough having to do muster drill ( I know it’s essential and God forbid if we ever had to put it into practice) but to have to wait for latecomers really cheeses me off. It’s really inconsiderate to those already there.

Last year on our cruise we had to wait over 30 minutes once we had all got to the muster station as one coach had been delayed. We were informed that there would be a wait but there were still those who moaned and groaned. So sometimes there may be a valid reason for the lateness.

We had no problem at all on freedom dining on Arcadia. We varied our times and sat on tables of 6-8. Perhaps more people are choosing freedom for one reason or another. We also were not bothered about going to the entertainment. On the one occasion we went at 6:00 , the queue was down to the photo gallery. I also can't understand why those who want to dine early every night don't go on the 6:30 sitting.

I have been racking my brain to try and remember a speaker we saw several times last year on Arcadia around the Baltic. He was formerly in counter espionage and did several excellent talks on spying in Sweden. I am sure someone on this board will remember him

Sorry . What has happened to the OP , Clarets then?

I am confused!!! You said that you are visiting 5 countries with 4 currencies in your original post! Are you actually going on a cruise ........?

There is no way my OH would wear a dj , hasn't got one and isn't going to buy one. On our table of 8 last year , 2 out of the 4 men wore a shirt and tie and on one of the formal nights , we went to Sindhu and there were shirt and ties there. Don't worry what others think.

Sorry can't answer the kid's club question

Yes I used to go up to the Crow's Nest on Arcadia for my morning coffee hit. Much more relaxing . No freebie cake or biscuit but didn't want those anyway.

Photocopies of your passports. Easier to carry round with you and useful as id

Last year I went to the Baltic , bought £50 euros and £20 each of Danish Krone , Swedish Krone and Russian Roubles. You can buy Roubles here before you go, no problem. I didn't use the Swedish Krone at all , Sweden is moving towards a cashless economy . I spent the other currencies and also used a Santander zero card which is like a Halifax Clarity.