Gwaijai

On our Fred cruise we dined only in The Palms as, in the process of emigrating, we didn't have the capacity to pack suits, dresses etc. Even so, we tried our best to look 'acceptable' on formal nights with shirt and tie as standard and perhaps a polo shirt on casual nights. I agree with the jessybell that hot weather can be quite arduous in formal wear.

Have only cruised on Fred and Cunard and reckon that Fred more than adequately measures up. Ships, especially Balmoral, are smaller and more intimate than newer versions and actually retain the atmosphere of a traditional ocean-going vessel. We did a long leg on last years 'Far East Explorer' and were more than happy with price, service, food etc - no complaints at all !

it's worth mentioning that some cruises can be heavily discounted and consequently very good value. On Fred Olsen's Far East Explorer last year the return leg from about Thailand to UK was dramatically discounted and considering these things are all-inclusive (except booze of course) probably cheaper than staying at home !!

We only seem to go on cruise ship to move house/emigrate ! Great fun though !

Looks like you had a great time in Japan, some great photos too - thanks for sharing. It's a fascinating country to travel in, quite unlike anywhere else. Noticed you had a bottle of Yebisu too, one of the best beers !

All cabins come equipped with a kettle so you could boil up some tap water and let it stand a while - we did that and it worked quite well !

It's always good to know these things but I guess nowadays we have to accept that some people's hygiene standards may be lacking and that regardless of the efforts of a cruise line this sort of virus will remain commonplace. I despair at the number of times I have been into the loo be it restaurant, pub, cafe, ship and witnessed people exit without washing hands - I did once suggest to someone that they should wash their hands but they told me in no uncertain terms where to go !!

How ironic it would be (though not at all surprising) if some of those victors in the court case were partly responsible for spreading the virus !!

PS Having said that we survived a wonderful Fred cruise on Balmoral last year and had no problem !! Great ship, great staff, great service !!

Have to admit that we try to avoid going anywhere during school holidays mainly because it can get very busy and sometimes a little costly too. Fortunately, with neither of us working we can take advantage of low-season offers and no longer have to travel at Easter, summer or Christmas and especially at Chinese New Year !

Hi Lincslady, we did the section Southampton to Hong Kong on Fred's Balmoral last year. I felt similarly re DJ/suit, in fact we were emigrating so didn't want to clog up useful luggage space with such. Consequently we dined in the casual restaurant every night and really enjoyed it - food + service were great ! Funnily enough a lot of folks would come in later, after eating in their assigned restaurant, to cadge yet more food (a testament to the quality ?) - amazing ! Anyway, I'd wear a shirt/polo shirt with chino trousers sort of thing, comfortable, casual and smart - did the job ! Happy cruising !

We used the self-service restaurant on Balmoral and it is fairly relaxed in the evenings. I did wear smartish polo shirts or open-necked shirts with trousers but certainly no shorts, sandals or vests. It's worth pointing out that in the day time beachwear is not tolerated even in the self-service area, a chap coming in from the pool area in only a vest (and shorts of course!) was quickly frog-marched out. The shorts were fine, it was the vest wot done it ! Enjoy !

I have to agree, Ithink it is a very generous offer !

Even though it is free of bugs now does not mean it will stay that way - these things are usually brought on by passengers so stay vigilant, pay attention to hygiene and enjoy the cruise !

Funnily enough I've heard from a reliable source that on BW's current round the world trip a similar outbreak has occurred and those infected have been confined to cabin and threatened with being chucked off next port if they resist (good !). Some of those infected have even been offered discounts on future cruises as some sort of compensation. Of course, then there's a few crafty boggers who feign illness in the hope of bagging a similar deal - would you credit it ??

We did a section of last year's Far East Explorer on Balmoral and loved it, food, restaurants and staff were brilliant. Of course a few folk got ill but not as many as in your case though we had a few airlifts/diversions for those who needed hospitalisation, admittedly not for any food-related problems - or so we were told.

Happy cruising !

Nicely written travelogue, enjoyed reading it - happy travels !

On last year's Far East Explorer I'd say it was predominantly the crew/entertainers who dressed up for themed nights.

We had cabin 4150 for part of this year's Far East Explorer and we found it great, very well-designed with good storage space and comfortable layout. Some noise but nothing too serious and mostly when speed changes on entry/exit of ports. Would be happy to take this cabin again.

You are right of course Parsman, they are very iffey, in fact the agents say that if you want to catch such a ship you have to allow a couple of weeks either side which is okay if you don't have schedules to meet. We booked our container ship travel via Strand Voyages in London but even then we had to change a few things as the shipping company changed route - ha ha, the joys of international travel, take care and best wishes !

You're so right Parsman it was a great way to go, slow is best ! We were really quite surprised how we got all the stuff in the smallest of cabins, it absorbed all that baggage without trace ! Ship was the only way we could have done this journey, we have done a container ship in the past but their timing can be a bit loose and Fred was perfectly placed. Another good thing was arriving in HK without jetlag and being able to gad about easily - in fact after dropping all our stuff at a hotel we had a nice day with two shipmates as we showed them a bit of 'remote' Hk - great !!

A little progress report for those who might remember us from Balmoral's wonderful 'Far East Explorer' earlier this year. We had decided to leave UK and chose this particular cruise as the most exciting and cost-effective conveyance. For us therefore, the journey, one-way with 190Kg of stuff, still remains a 'Far East Explorer' as having jumped ship in Hong Kong (March) we're still there ! Travel by ship is a great way to emigrate (shades of a bygone era) and if anyone's interested I've started a monthly contribution to the Nottingham cultural magazine LeftLion, here's the link to the first which mentions Fred and the journey. Do get in touch if you remember us, enjoy !

http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/title/hong-kong-diaries-1--far-east-from-notts-/id/7547