Balmoral Norway 28 August

[1160451]

Just back after a fantastic cruise.

Not cruised with FO for two years and forgotten how good they are.

Ports of call, Olden, Flam, Bergen and Stananger great, Haugesund not as good.

We took two trips with Fred Olsen. Flam railway and Olden Glacier hike, both fantastic. We did our own thing for the other ports.

Inside cabin on Atlantic deck clean and tidy.

Food was fine.

We were on AI drinks and the house drinks available were ok, the whisky took a couple of days to get used to but after that it was fine.

Formal, strict tempo dancing was good with hosts available.

Later in the night up tempo dancing with one of the best bands we have danced and listened to in 10 cruises. Called 4th dimension.

I thought the age range a little wider than usual for Fred Olsen. Everybody seemed up for a great cruise and the bars and dance venues were still busy well past midnight.

I think the waiters struggle in the MDR since they stopped using wine waiters at Dinner.

Entertainment was spot on with the usual dance group, comedian, singer and various piano and string performers.

Two theme nights Rock and Roll and British, we love them.

The Balmoral is still a lovely ship and suits us fine.

Weather warm and sometimes rain sometimes sun. Couple of choppy evenings but the ship handles it fine.

 

Right complaints, where was The Dolphin Racing and the Juice at breakfast is 'orrible. .....:)

 

Never stopped smiling all week a fantastic cruise and I will be telling Fred Olsen direct.

 

Happy cruising.

[RivaDiva]

I love the Balmoral too. We did that cruise two years ago and enjoyed it very much.

We are due on the Balmoral in three weeks. Can you tell me who is playing in the

Morning Light Bar?

[1160451]

Hi there Riva,

 

I can describe him but for the life of me can not remember his name. Throw the daily itinerary away which had his name in.

Tall well built guy with jet black longish hair.

Always dressed in black.

Have a great time.

[tigernut]

Hi there Riva,

 

I can describe him but for the life of me can not remember his name. Throw the daily itinerary away which had his name in.

Tall well built guy with jet black longish hair.

Always dressed in black.

Have a great time.

 

Was it Pat Shannon?

[tigernut]

Just back after a fantastic cruise.

Not cruised with FO for two years and forgotten how good they are.

Ports of call, Olden, Flam, Bergen and Stananger great, Haugesund not as good.

We took two trips with Fred Olsen. Flam railway and Olden Glacier hike, both fantastic. We did our own thing for the other ports.

Inside cabin on Atlantic deck clean and tidy.

Food was fine.

We were on AI drinks and the house drinks available were ok, the whisky took a couple of days to get used to but after that it was fine.

Formal, strict tempo dancing was good with hosts available.

Later in the night up tempo dancing with one of the best bands we have danced and listened to in 10 cruises. Called 4th dimension.

I thought the age range a little wider than usual for Fred Olsen. Everybody seemed up for a great cruise and the bars and dance venues were still busy well past midnight.

I think the waiters struggle in the MDR since they stopped using wine waiters at Dinner.

Entertainment was spot on with the usual dance group, comedian, singer and various piano and string performers.

Two theme nights Rock and Roll and British, we love them.

The Balmoral is still a lovely ship and suits us fine.

Weather warm and sometimes rain sometimes sun. Couple of choppy evenings but the ship handles it fine.

 

Right complaints, where was The Dolphin Racing and the Juice at breakfast is 'orrible. .....:)

 

Never stopped smiling all week a fantastic cruise and I will be telling Fred Olsen direct.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Hi :)

 

Pleased to hear you had a great time on board Balmoral.

 

I shall be sailing on her at the end of the month, it will be my 7th cruise on the ship. I've sailed on many ships, but I keep coming back to Balmoral, as it's such a friendly ship with great staff.

 

I hope 4th dimension are still on board when I sail, they sound really good. The best band I ever heard on one of Fred's ships was the 'Steve Love Band' a great group of guys who played covers. Every time they played the floor was packed with couples jiving and doing Ceroc. I love to dance and I shall be up in the Observatory enjoying a boogie until the early hours.

 

We have three theme nights on the next cruise and I'm busy finishing off my outfits. I love to dress up and join in with the theme and the staff love it when you make the effort.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience of Balmoral.

[1160451]

Hi Tiger,

No wasn't Pat I remember him from the Breamar.

Hope you have a great time, we wish we were joining you.

Take it easy.

[heywood]

Thank you for your post. We are going on our first FO cruise on Balmoral in a few weeks and are looking forward to it so it is good to hear such positive views.:)

May I ask about hairdryers? Am I best to take my own - I have read that Balmoral's hairdryers are the old fashioned type- fixed to the wall in the bathroom - is that right?

[RivaDiva]

The hairdriers are in the bathroom and are pretty basic. Best to bring your own. Everything else is great though. Have a lovely cruise

[tigernut]

Thank you for your post. We are going on our first FO cruise on Balmoral in a few weeks and are looking forward to it so it is good to hear such positive views.:)

May I ask about hairdryers? Am I best to take my own - I have read that Balmoral's hairdryers are the old fashioned type- fixed to the wall in the bathroom - is that right?

 

Hi Heywood, :) Unless the hairdryers have been renewed in the past few months, they are the old fashioned type attached to the wall. Pretty useless actually, I always take my own.

 

Incidentally, are you on the cruise that departs on the 27th September?

If so, I'll see you on board.

[heywood]

Thanks for the replies- I'll take my own hair dryer then :)

 

Tigernut - we are onboard end of October so we will miss you. Enjoy your cruise!

I am quite excited now. I was always wary of FO but unlike others, I quite enjoyed the recent programme so we have booked!

[seymour12]

We were also on that cruise and was our first trip with Fred Olsen.

We attended the first ports talk only to find that the speaker read word for word from information already supplied by the company!

A word of warning. If any of your party has a mobility disability and booked on an organised excursion, you are on your own finding your way to the disembarkation point. There are only two lifts available adjacent to the Neptune Lounge (the assembly point for all the organised tours) and on one occasion one of the lifts broke down with passengers inside. After about 15 minutes we eventually had access to the only working lift and on trying to report the fault to the cruise excursion staff on the quay side were told "hurry up we have all been waiting for you". On attempting to explain the problem and that there may be passengers trapped inside the broken lift received the reply "that is not our problem, please get on your bus".

Having said all that the actual excursions were very good value for money with extremely courteous and friendly tour guides and coach drivers but then we did not expect anything else from Norwegian people.

Any queries about apparent excursion description issues received the answer "that is not our problem, the company cannot be responsible for what passengers may decide to read into excursion descriptions".

The quality of the food, although edible was very bland, and the food service in the Palms Restaurant was chaotic.

After hearing and having read apparent glowing reports on Fred Olsen's Customer Service we were very disappointed with what we found.

The ship itself was equipped to a very high standard with the cabins and public spaces very clean and very well maintained.

The cabin staff and waiters and waitresses could not be faulted, however, the company attitude betrayed all those folks efforts.

Suffice to say we will not travel again with Fred Olsen.

[tigernut]

Thanks for the replies- I'll take my own hair dryer then :)

 

Tigernut - we are onboard end of October so we will miss you. Enjoy your cruise!

I am quite excited now. I was always wary of FO but unlike others, I quite enjoyed the recent programme so we have booked!

 

Hi, :) I'm sure you will have a great time and you should get some decent weather in the Canaries.

 

No need to be wary of a cruise with Fred, I've sailed on Fred's ships fourteen times, so they must be doing something right. Far friendlier ships than Cunard, brilliant staff and much better food than P&O.

 

With regard to the TV programme, I too enjoyed it. I wish people had realised it was produced by the 'BBC Religion & Ethics' department and entitled a 'Parish at Sea', to show the important role of the minister on board. It was not meant to reflect life on board a normal cruise, or we would have seen much more of the wonderful staff, the shows and the daily activities. Fred Olsen had no input in the content of the problem, they merely allowed the ship to be used.

 

Enjoy your cruise and have fun.

[bobstheboy]

Thanks for the replies- I'll take my own hair dryer then :)

 

Tigernut - we are onboard end of October so we will miss you. Enjoy your cruise!

I am quite excited now. I was always wary of FO but unlike others, I quite enjoyed the recent programme so we have booked!

 

We are on the same cruise and like you the program didn't put us off.

 

The first couple of days at sea could be interesting at that time of year but after that it should be fine.

 

First cruise with Fred and looking forward to it. Will make a change from over sized American ships, with diners going into dinner in baseball caps.

[ladylemondrop]

I love the Balmoral too. We did that cruise two years ago and enjoyed it very much.

We are due on the Balmoral in three weeks. Can you tell me who is playing in the

Morning Light Bar?

 

The Morning Light Bar entertainer for that cruise was Will Bailey, glad you had such a nice time!:)

[triplets+1]

Thank you for your review! We are considering this cruise for next summer. Did you notice any teenagers onboard? We would have ages 15 and 17 and wonder if they will have activities suitable for their age. Thank you again.:)

[1160451]

Hi Triplets.

Sorry and I hope I don't put a a damper on this but there were hardly any teenagers or children on the cruise.

I think maybe 4 or 5 teenagers and maybe a dozen children that I saw.

We have cruised with Fred Olsen four times and to be honest there are never that many children or teenagers.

I think it's pretty well known that Fred Olsen clients are predominantly adults and 50 plus.

That's a generalisation and I am not saying Fred doesn't cater for children. Or are made welcome.

On the Norway cruise I couldn't think of any activities apart from the quiz that a teenager would be specificly interested in.

Of course there are the Shows, Talks and the fantastic scenery.

As a family we often traveled to places that were not child specific, so I am sure you and your family will have a great time if you decide to cruise next year.

Sorry I can't be more positive.

Happy cruising.

[triplets+1]

Thank you - appreciate the viewpoint. I think I have understood that Fred. Olsen is for later, when the kids are up and out of the house and vacationing with their own families! Norway cruise will happen, but on another line...

Thanks again!