Would you be tempted to try Fred Olsen? World Cruise is half the price on ex-Rotterdam for 2022 vs Zaandam?

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

For 113 days, I required three large suitcases, one carry-on bag, and one (to use the airline term) personal item (which was a HAL cloth type bag that they provide for guests).  I was over-packed, I discovered, because I regularly used my "free laundry" benefit.  I also shipped two medium sized boxes with personal toiletry items and over the counter type medicines and first aid supplies.  Most of those--with the exception of most of the medicines (i.e. Excedrin, first aid supplies, etc.)--returned home with me.  

 

Is there such a thing as a packing list or recommendations for packing for a world cruise?

[KirkNC]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Is there such a thing as a packing list or recommendations for packing for a world cruise?

No, on our first we over packed, now two of us have two suitcases each, not huge ones either.  You can wear the same things over and over, mix and match.  This last one we had extra suitcases because of Antarctica.

[oakridger]

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Is there such a thing as a packing list or recommendations for packing for a world cruise?

 

Have a look at the Cruise Critic forum specifically for World Cruising....lots of info there!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/674-world-cruising/

 

~Nancy

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, KirkNC said:

You can wear the same things over and over, mix and match.  This last one we had extra suitcases because of Antarctica.

 

Mix/match--again and again--and who cares?  At least from a man's point of view.  The thinking of the ladies might differ.  I didn't pack an extra bag than usual for Antarctica and discovered that I packed more cold weather gear than I needed.  

 

Using the ship's laundry during a long cruise is worth whatever it costs if it is not included in one's booking.  

 

22 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Is there such a thing as a packing list or recommendations for packing for a world cruise?

 

There is often luggage discussion on the World Cruise Forum of CC, but I don't recall seeing any type of a definitive packing list.  Such would be too personal, I would think.

[KirkNC]

We spent a lot of time on deck in Antarctica and from previous visits had learned it’s better to be warm.  Between us we had one suitcase with “warm weather gear”.  If not for the visit to Antarctica most of those items would have stayed home.  One example was two Hurtengruten jackets we had been given on our visit to Svalbard, they are great in wind and/or rain.

Edited October 4, 2020 by KirkNC

[Roz]

Can Fred Olsen cruises be booked with US-based TAs, or do you have to book with Fred Olsen directly?  

[cruisemom42]

47 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

We spent a lot of time on deck in Antarctica and from previous visits had learned it’s better to be warm.  Between us we had one suitcase with “warm weather gear”.  If not for the visit to Antarctica most of those items would have stayed home.  One example was two Hurtengruten jackets we had been given on our visit to Svalbard, they are great in wind and/or rain.

 

If my Greenland cruise actually goes in May, I guess I will have one of those Hurtigruten jackets as well. Nice to hear they are worth keeping.

[KirkNC]

39 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If my Greenland cruise actually goes in May, I guess I will have one of those Hurtigruten jackets as well. Nice to hear they are worth keeping.

They actually are pretty good, water and wind proof and not too heavy.

[Sir PMP]

14 hours ago, Roz said:

Can Fred Olsen cruises be booked with US-based TAs, or do you have to book with Fred Olsen directly?  

I believe only through European agencies, all pricing in UK pounds..

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, Roz said:

Can Fred Olsen cruises be booked with US-based TAs, or do you have to book with Fred Olsen directly?  

 

I have made attempts to obtain cruise information from Australian and European cruise lines by using my agent who works for a very well known cruise oriented agency located in the State of Washington.  She was able to obtain next to no information and determined that she would not be able to make a booking for me with any of them.  

 

I have not made any attempt to specifically book or obtain information with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. 

 

There is an agency whose name begins with the letter "B" whose e-mail list I am on.   Appear to work with "foreign" cruise lines, but I don't know which; I have done no research on them and am not sure how I got on their e-mail list.  

Edited October 5, 2020 by rkacruiser

[gadabout60]

I’m in the UK and have cruised FO once - and never again. 

It was on a ship called Braemar which was really old and with poor facilities.

We went because of the itinerary- mostly in France and sailing down some rivers. Truly the itinerary was the only good thing about it

i would describe the food as fairly old fashioned British - lots of stodgy pies  and desserts. Heavy bias on seafood which doesn’t agree with me so I had omelet a lot (and I must admit it was a good omelet!) I would say that the quality of the food was good but variety poor. In eight nights there was never steak on the menu. There was no speciality restaurant on the ship - only other choice was the buffet which served similar food as MDR with salads.

Lots  of people had a wine package but the house white was truly dire. One night at the table I ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio and it was not nice. I gave it to our waiter and he told me the next night that he couldn’t drink it either!

There were no theatres but two lounge rooms which were full of uncomfortable chairs and badly in need of update. The entertainment was poor - was like watching your teenagers in a school show.

The reason we were on this cruise was that a similar cruise on a P&O small ship had been cancelled as P&O sold the ship. FO marketed this to those disappointed pax and all of those I spoke to hated the ship. I couldn’t wait to get off.

We were in a balcony cabin so badly fitted out that the bedside tables for the two single beds were at the foot of the beds and there were no light switches near the head of the bed.

The cabin stewardesses were dressed in old fashioned pinafores. It felt very odd.

Yet FO has a very loyal following in the U.K. amongst older cruisers. They do decent deals for singles. This cruise for us was the most expensive per night as there are few balconies- most of my cruises have been with Celebrity- the rest with P&O.

On this ship you were allowed to smoke on the balconies which was something I didn’t know until we boarded.

I am actually looking at world cruises and as I am in the U.K. this would potentially be a possibility but I am afraid there is no way I would  set foot on a FO ship again.

[Sir PMP]

1 hour ago, gadabout60 said:

I’m in the UK and have cruised FO once - and never again. 

It was on a ship called Braemar which was really old and with poor facilities.

We went because of the itinerary- mostly in France and sailing down some rivers. Truly the itinerary was the only good thing about it

i would describe the food as fairly old fashioned British - lots of stodgy pies  and desserts. Heavy bias on seafood which doesn’t agree with me so I had omelet a lot (and I must admit it was a good omelet!) I would say that the quality of the food was good but variety poor. In eight nights there was never steak on the menu. There was no speciality restaurant on the ship - only other choice was the buffet which served similar food as MDR with salads.

Lots  of people had a wine package but the house white was truly dire. One night at the table I ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio and it was not nice. I gave it to our waiter and he told me the next night that he couldn’t drink it either!

There were no theatres but two lounge rooms which were full of uncomfortable chairs and badly in need of update. The entertainment was poor - was like watching your teenagers in a school show.

The reason we were on this cruise was that a similar cruise on a P&O small ship had been cancelled as P&O sold the ship. FO marketed this to those disappointed pax and all of those I spoke to hated the ship. I couldn’t wait to get off.

We were in a balcony cabin so badly fitted out that the bedside tables for the two single beds were at the foot of the beds and there were no light switches near the head of the bed.

The cabin stewardesses were dressed in old fashioned pinafores. It felt very odd.

Yet FO has a very loyal following in the U.K. amongst older cruisers. They do decent deals for singles. This cruise for us was the most expensive per night as there are few balconies- most of my cruises have been with Celebrity- the rest with P&O.

On this ship you were allowed to smoke on the balconies which was something I didn’t know until we boarded.

I am actually looking at world cruises and as I am in the U.K. this would potentially be a possibility but I am afraid there is no way I would  set foot on a FO ship again.

Thank you for this eye opening report..

[oakridger]

Hi gadabout60.  Thanks for your report.  What year was your cruise?  It sounds like something I imagine from long, long, ago in steerage class!

 

~Nancy

[prescottbob]

Out of curiosity, we’re pillow chocolates included?

 

Be well. 
Bob

[gadabout60]

The cruise was in 2018

Can’t honestly remember about pillow chocolates - don’t eat them anyway!

There were lots of other worrying elements like a poor and ineffective muster drill.

I did write a letter to FO afterwards but they just batted back my concerns

 

One annoying thing I remember was shuttle buses. If you wanted to get on a shuttle bus you had to go to reception and queue up for a voucher - ours were free as we were in a balcony cabin. We then had to go to another desk - I think on the next floor - to exchange this voucher for a ticket for a particular bus. We then had to go into a lounge to wait for our number to be called. The system didn’t work as those in the lounge waited  a long time to be called while buses sat outside empty 

Took about an hour from leaving cabin to board the bus. Madness.

[Tampa Girl]

On 10/3/2020 at 10:02 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

How much luggage do people usually take on a world cruise?  What's considered packing light for that amount of time?  (Genuinely curious as I am a light packer for most travel but have never taken a trip approaching that length....)

 

We took the 2018 89-day Grand Asia.  We each had a carryon, a 28" and a 25", plus a cardboard box for a supply of drugs, cosmetics, multiple garment hangers, etc., etc.  All of this was shipped at HAL's expense.  Had we paid for it, I suspect we would have eliminated a couple of suitcases.  I have a very low threshold for boredom, and I want a frequent change of clothing and colors.  And, don't forget, a world cruise usually visits different climates, so one needs both warm weather and cold weather clothing.  I don't think a WC is the time to stingy with luggage.  If one can afford such a cruise, one can afford to pay additional shipping costs - at least, that is my justification.

[Tampa Girl]

On 10/4/2020 at 7:32 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Mix/match--again and again--and who cares?  At least from a man's point of view.  The thinking of the ladies might differ.  I didn't pack an extra bag than usual for Antarctica and discovered that I packed more cold weather gear than I needed.  

 

Using the ship's laundry during a long cruise is worth whatever it costs if it is not included in one's booking.  

 

 

There is often luggage discussion on the World Cruise Forum of CC, but I don't recall seeing any type of a definitive packing list.  Such would be too personal, I would think.

 

Actually, there were two or thee WC cruisers who published their lists.  That was most helpful because many of the items one would not have  considered taking.  I think the lists that I used were from the 2018 WC cruise.

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Actually, there were two or thee WC cruisers who published their lists.  That was most helpful because many of the items one would not have  considered taking.  I think the lists that I used were from the 2018 WC cruise.

 

I have seen those lists and have never really found them of much benefit for me.  Good suggestions for those individuals and others like them, to be sure.  But, each of us have "needs" and "requirements" that don't match some others.  

 

 

[kevingastreich]

On 10/3/2020 at 7:02 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

How much luggage do people usually take on a world cruise?  What's considered packing light for that amount of time?  (Genuinely curious as I am a light packer for most travel but have never taken a trip approaching that length....)

 

You can ship your luggage home separately.