bobby67

There was some poor Lido Entertainment & Observatory Entertainment when we were on the Balmoral in August too - 2 of the 'Acts' had no life whatsoever - I have seen better visiting entertainment in the Nursing Home where I work! Some of the Acts were good however and as I said earlier so were the Showteam. As for one of the Comedians, well he should have retired years ago!!

Who was entertaining in the Lido? The duo on Boudicca were dreadful, shabbily dressed and the male had more tattoos than "skin". Gave them a second chance one evening but left early.

The male/female duo in the Lido were dire, I agree, but the piano player/singer was quite good. Definitely not as good as Thomson entertainment but I understand that Thomson take some beating. We lasted only one race of the Dolphin racing.....:eek:

 

We had the outstanding Michael Christian Durrant a classical guitarist, who played to packed out audiences on sea day afternoons. Think he was only on for the Baltic cruise though.

We have only been on Thomson celebration once, last year, and thought the entertainment outstanding. We had been told by previous cruisers it was first class and we were not disappointed. We are sailing on her 1st October for 2 weeks hope to see the same standard. Fred's faithful clients, like us, are going to be looking elsewhere.

I understand that Fred used Peel for the Balmoral who are excellent but now use Mirage. Who did they used to use for the other ships?

I assumed the ships used the same agent. I didn't really think about it as it was unusual to see a team that weren't good. The entertainment in the Lido was also poor, we have seen some first class acts in the Lido in the past, which brings me to think if using another Agent we can't expect to see them again.

Do you remember who were the agents on your Feb/March Braemar cruise?

The agents on Braemar were Explosive Theatre agents. I asked the members of the team because they were outstanding and wanted to tell their boss now good they were. The singers and dancers were first class and the costumes fitted well and were good quality. To be honest I thought Fred would use the same agent for all ships. It was only because they were so poor last week I asked if the Agent had changed. One of the singers told me they were going to be taking over all the ships and my heart sank. Hopefully Mirage have some better artists in their company.

We were on the Baltic cruise before yours, and I fully agree with your comments.

 

However, the Showteam had just arrived on 29th August and I think they did well to say they had had only 6 weeks rehearsals before arriving. This was my first Fred Olsen cruise so cannot compare with previous Fred cruises but thought they were fine compared to 9 Thomson cruise show teams I have seen. My main disappointment was in the content of the shows as they seemed to be all song and dance from the 50s, 60s and 70s and little, or none, from film or theatre.

 

The resident band was excellent especially when they played at the two Sailaway deck parties. It was a shame that they didn't play more in the Neptune lounge.

I agree with you with regard to content, on previous Fred cruises we have seen some wonderful excerpts from theatre. We were on Braemar four weeks in February/March and looked forward every evening to the first class shows. Don't know why Fred has changed agents. Very disappointed. The Boudicca orchestra were good.

Sadly I think what you saw is going to be typical of the other groups from the new Agent. The ones we had on Balmoral last month were not much better.

 

Not even close to the standard we've seen on Fred in the past.

Sorry to hear they were poor on balmoral, we are on Balmoral for 46 nights in January and I would not like to watch such a low standard show team for such a length of time. The singing was not good and the dancing was poor, needed a good choreographer, it looked like a team that had been put together with the "leftovers" . Certainly not what we have come to expect from Fred.

Just returned today from Fjords. This was our second cruise on Boudicca, being on all Fred's ships a number of times. Norway is a beautiful country and the scenery amazing. We had mixed weather but nothing too bad to spoil anything. Captain was amazing in negotiating the narrow fjords taking us to see wonderful sights. The food was good, as we know and expect from Fred. The waiters as usual very friendly and obliging. We had a very quiet cabin which was cleaned well by our cabin stewardess. The only disappointment was the entertainment. The show team were very amateurish, costumes shoddy, certainly not up to Fred's normal standard. To say they hadn't been together long, it appears they arrived the beginning of August, which to me is long enough to gel. Apart from that, they are a professional group and should be able to perform like one. I understand Fred has changed Agents and I do hope this group do not represent what is to come on other ships as the quality of entertainment is an important factor of a cruise. We did enjoy our cruise and met some lovely people as is the norm on Fred, but felt badly let down by the entertainment.

Thank you Fred. So pleased you have listened to your clients.

A good tip given to me by a hospital employee, to prevent dry skin, is to use hand cream or moisturiser before applying anti bacterial gel. It does work.

After a long cruise i do like to wash daywear items myself in the laundry to bring home clean. My husbands good shirts I get laundered and his trousers I get cleaned. Can't remember the cost per item but when considering the cost of water, drying if it is winter I decided it was worth it. The cost of cleaning trousers is cheaper than at home. They come back on hangers, shirts and trousers, in plastic covers straight into suitcase. In fact some are still in plastic ready for next cruise next next month. Definitely recommend.

We were left sitting on the coach until the queue reduced. Certainly not in the sun. Everything went smoothly.

Thanks for the pictures, we love all Fred's ships and to see them together must have been brilliant. We are on Boudicca in September and she is in Bergen on 18th Sept. with Black Watch. Happy sailing

Perhaps it should be made clear to cruisers if they do not adhere to the rules of the ship, putting others in danger of being ill, they will be asked to leave the ship at the next port. Fred Olsen does more than any other line I have sailed on to prevent norovirus.

AI means cruisers can purchase a drinks package. Usually included when booking early, but after a while cruise price comes down and you can add Drinks package. Swings and roundabouts comes to mind. (£210 per party was price at that time)

Hi pension cruiser. It is our golden next year, time flies doesn't it. Bet you didn't think you would be cruising sometime in the future when you got married. Please let me know how you enjoy this one, and who the entertainers are carolyn (bobby67 OH)

Hi pension cruiser noticed you were going on 10th Sept. As that is our wedding anniversary. We are going to the Fjords on 11th Sept. Hope you enjoy yours. Hope to meet cruisers going on 1st October.

Just booked this cruise. Second time on Celebration. Fabulous itinerary. Anyone else booked.

Where whatever you feel comfortable in you will see cocktail, long, dresses and also evening trousers with nice tops. People are generally smart on all evenings on Fred

Hi Linda, no we had the same cabin for both cruises and asked at reception twice and were told yes you have to attend muster again. Carolyn

couple of good points about btb you only do one emergency drill (so you can look smug on the second week when all the others are doing there's) and you get a nice full day in the turn round port.:)

Did a b2b with Fred in the Caribbean earlier this year and we had to do emergency drill at the start of both cruises.

We were on Braemar Feb/March and show times were changed. 7.30 for late diners, which we didn't like, as we like lots of others, like a quiet drink before dinner and then go to the show. On leaving the Neptune after the first show the queue waiting to go into the second sitting went right through the Morning Light into the casino area. Difficult to get past to go for dinner and most uncomfortable for people in the bar having a drink. Hope Fred realises most people do not like this arrangement and leave things as they were.

Hi. When cruising from Newcastle the ship actually leaves from the Port of Tyne which is in North Shields. If you google hotels in North Shields you may find something. There is a Premier Inn in North Shields you would probably have to ring to arrange longer parking. Hope you are successful.

Hi Lanky Lad,

 

You mentioned elsewhere that it didn't live up to your expectations. Was this due to the disappointment over the eclipse or something to do with the ship or the rest of the cruise?

 

I'm curious as we're booked for the Caribbean & Cuba next Jan.

 

Regards, Colin.

Hi Colin, we did Caribbean and Cuba this February and had a wonderful time as I am sure you will too.

We did a b2b in February this year and the wifi package carried forward. I still had some left and gave it to the cabin stewardess who was really grateful.

We have just done B2B Barbados to Cuba and other Caribbean islands and then back Barbados, more Islands and sail back to Dover. On March 10th going through English Channel we were still sitting on deck. The sea like a mill

Pond, hope you are as lucky Carolyn