Fred Olsen Braemar...anyone been aboard lately?

[Goldryder]

Has anyone been aboard Braemar recently, please?

 

I am now booked for a 16 night cruise on her next year and doing the homework about her.

 

The itinerary is something a little different from the usual Transatlantic too. Fly out from the UK to Montego Bay, Jamaica, spend a night in Jamaica on board ship, then sail across to Santiago, Cuba, then onto Nassau, Bahamas and Hamilton, Bermuda and then onto Horta, Azores and finally Dover, UK.

 

Going to be a wonderful way to spend Easter :)

 

I have a single outside cabin assigned already. :)

 

 

Any information about the ship or itinerary will be gratefully received, thanks :)

[Sekhmet]

We sailed Braemar last August for a week out of Dover to the Norwegian fjords. Presumably you know enough about it's size, age, facilties etc.? We found it clean and comfortable, with decent albeit unadventurous food, and good value wines available.

You are probably aware that Fred. Olsen generally targets an older demographic - at 58 we were amongst the youngest passengers. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does mean the entertainment and activities are targetted appropriately.

Hope this helps a bit; if you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer.

[Goldryder]

Thanks for the reply :)

 

If you were classed as young at 58, then I will be a mere baby at 41 :D

 

I prefer the small, older and more intimate ships and the food...well as long as I don't have to do the washing up, then I am happy with whatever they put infront of me :)

 

I am an old fashioned cruiser, one who likes to relax on deck, have a chilled drink by my side and watch the scenery passing slowly by.

 

I am interested in finding out about the formalities and the average dress standard on the cruise. My cruise is a 16 night one and I will be taking 3 cocktail dresses and two long formal dresses, will that be sufficient with semi-casual skirts/tops for the other nights, please?

 

I am also looking forward to spending Easter on board, having just spent Christmas and New Year on NCL's Norwegian Crown around Cape Horn. Are there any special events on Olsen ships at all?

 

Any assistance in getting the feel of the ship would be very much appreciated, thank you :)

[Sekhmet]

I prefer the small, older and more intimate ships and the food...well as long as I don't have to do the washing up, then I am happy with whatever they put infront of me :)

 

I am interested in finding out about the formalities and the average dress standard on the cruise. My cruise is a 16 night one and I will be taking 3 cocktail dresses and two long formal dresses, will that be sufficient with semi-casual skirts/tops for the other nights, please?

 

As far as your first question is concerned, for a 3+ star ship (Berlitz 2005 rating), we thought the food was a cut (no pun intended) above what we expected, and the wine and drinks prices were pretty reasonable.

 

The dress standard is something else. There may be some difference as yours is a transatlantic, whereas ours was round trip from Dover, but maybe partly because of the target passengers, the dress code was rigidly adhered to. On the formal nights, literally everyone was in smart dress, and I would estimate that 85% of the men were in dinner suits/tuxedos.

 

I am one of those 85%, so you will understand if I elect not to offer too much advice on your packing plans :) but judging by "she who must be obeyed"'s norm, it looks just fine.

 

As far as general ambience is concerned, it is quite a small ship, of course, (tiny by RCCL new-build standards!), so there aren't too many alternative lounges and so on, and on our cruise it was quite sedate, although again it was a (relatively) cold climate voyage. The excursions also tended to reflect the age group, with plenty of coach tours and few "active" trips - a one hour walk up a glacier was about the most strenuous.

 

Hope this helps; I'm sure you will enjoy it. You sound like us - we tend to research holidays and be aware of what we may or may not find, then the abscence of a climbing wall or some such isn't a disappointment.

 

Richard

[Goldryder]

I am dead against the mega ships and their rock walls :)

 

Not my idea of real cruising at all.

 

The shore excursions include horseriding in the surf at Montego Bay and going to the top of a volcano on Horta in the Azores....so I guess there will be a variation for all ages...in theory at least.

 

The cruise is ID# BM168 in the current brochure and website. I have been able to take advantage of the early booking discounting, which is 45% on this cruise. I am certainly looking forward to flying out from Manchester next March and into the warmth of the western Caribbean.

 

Your description of the ship and her ambience definately sounds exactly what I like, so this will be a very enjoyable way to spend Easter next year :D

 

Thank you, Richard, for all the encouraging information about her and also the information regarding the formalities too...very handy to know whats expected before you actually get there :)

 

Ally :)

[the balrogs]

Hi we went transatlantic in oct05 on the braemar and will be again this oct. I needed 4 long dresses for the 17 nights and there was a British night which, if you wish, you wear either red, white or blue. We are also in our 40s found it much quieter than the big american ships i.e night life but we still had a ball and meet some wonderful people. Enjoy:cool:

[Goldryder]

Hi we went transatlantic in oct05 on the braemar and will be again this oct. I needed 4 long dresses for the 17 nights and there was a British night which, if you wish, you wear either red, white or blue. We are also in our 40s found it much quieter than the big american ships i.e night life but we still had a ball and meet some wonderful people. Enjoy:cool:

 

 

Thanks so much for the info :)

 

Its all very much appreciated. I have a white formal dress which will be useful for the British night :)

 

 

I am taking 5 dresses for the formal evenings, so hopefully will be covered for those evenings. I am really looking forward to this cruise alot. I would appreciate any other tips that you might have about life aboard Braemar, thanks again :)