Delayed departure - "Balmoral"

[Parsman]

Has anyone any idea of the reason for the delayed departure of the "Balmoral" from Dover? She arrived there very late yesterday and the company cited "bad weather". I understand that the ship had still not sailed mid-afternoon today. The same reason was given. There are no signs of wild weather in the Dover area so it raises the question of what has really gone wrong. I have friends stranded and very unhappy that one day of a seven-day cruise has already been lost.

[historyman]

It could have been bad weather in the Atlantic. We have just returned on the Black Watch which like the Balmoral was on a Canaries cruise (we were in Tenerife with the Balmoral and the Black Prince). Our return journey was affected by rough seas which meant that we lost our scheduled stop in Lisbon, although we did stop briefly at La Coruna and returned to Southampton on time. It could be that Balmoral which I believe had its final call in Funchal was similarly affected and with no way of making up time arrived in Dover late.

[wvdleek]

Has anyone any idea of the reason for the delayed departure of the "Balmoral" from Dover? She arrived there very late yesterday and the company cited "bad weather". I understand that the ship had still not sailed mid-afternoon today. The same reason was given. There are no signs of wild weather in the Dover area so it raises the question of what has really gone wrong. I have friends stranded and very unhappy that one day of a seven-day cruise has already been lost.

 

It was very bad weather indeed.

They tried to get into the port of Dover several times.

Late Saturday afternoon they were assisted by a tug, however, the lines broke and Balmoral collided with the tug.

Around 01.00 am Sunday they finally managed to get in port with damage at the portside of the bow.

Service by Fred Olsen were far below par, as they only provided addresses and telephonenumbers of the hotels.

Pax had to arrange everything by themselves and extra costs for hotels would not be paid by Fred Olsen. Please contact your insurancecompany.

For the one day missed they got an onboard credit.

During the cruise they skipped Bremerhaven and arrived at Amsterdam more than three hours delayed.

For a photo-report of my visit to the ship, please visit my website: http://www.vdleek.nl

[merecat]

Haveing just come back from this cruise ,I would like to correct a few points ,the weather in Dover was dreadful ,haveing attempted to dock with 2 tugs ,the bow tugs steel hawser snapped and surged forward ,holed Balmoral and was also put out of action.

Because 2 tugs are needed in Dover the port was shut by the authority and the tug Captain sacked.

However the port authority not FO in the form of a young lady with no customer relations training virtually told everyone you are on your own ,represent next day for 2pm boarding .FO would refund reasonable expences,we sailed at 9pm on the Sunday after major repairs and new safety certification.

We were given a full CASH refund for time lost and arrived 2 hours late in Amsterdam not 3.

Lots of miseries and moaners on this cruise.I had a very generous refund as I presume others did as well.:)

[Parsman]

All reports from passengers whom I know support the last comments. It's sad that cruise ships seem to attract more than their fair share of "moaning minnies"! Some people never seem more content than when finding fault. It's difficult to explain to some people that the sea gets rough in Winter!

[keltic]

Yes....live from the Spanish northwest coasts, where we are having a perfect storm. It seems that Balmoral had a terrible time over here, some passengers left the ship, some other were taken to hospital. A local helicopter took this picture of her.

 

http://www.infocruceros.com/foros/showthread.php?t=42854

[Norfolk Brit]

Just out of interest, is anyone able to start a new thread entitled "Balmoral Departs on Time?";)

 

Mary

[welwyngirl]

Just out of interest, is anyone able to start a new thread entitled "Balmoral Departs on Time?";)

 

Mary

 

Hopefully, Mary, I will on Tuesday!!

[Norfolk Brit]

Hopefully, Mary, I will on Tuesday!!

 

I hope you do. I've just noticed that you are on the cruise that we wanted to book, but there were no balcony cabins left by the time we got round to it. Looks like a lovely itinerary. I'll try and post a review of sorts before you go, but in case I don't I'll tell you now that the food is good.

 

One other quick tip is to have lunch in the Ballindalloch - we normally have lunch in the buffet and avoid the main restaurant at lunchtimes as we don't want vast amounts, and don't want to waste a couple of hours on waiter service. What they offer in there, though, is a choice of either waiter service or buffet, or a combination of both. It's much quieter than the Palms, service is excellent, super food, and you can whizz in and out within half an hour.

 

Mary

[Parsman]

I agree with the comments in lunch on board the ship. I almost always lunch in the Ballindalloch reataurant.

Does anyone know if the ship came throught the enormous storms in the North of Spain unscathed? Pure self interest as I am sailing on part of the world cruise.

It's been a bad time for FOCL ships recently with the damage to the "Bouidicca" abd the earlier incident with the "Balmoral" and the tug. I hope their luck changes.

[merecat]

Balmoral is in Cherbourg today ,looks like the cruise has been curtailed because of the dreadful weather.

She should be in Dover early .

I agree about lunch .:)

[dsk663]

Can anyone tell me what the main entertainment is like on Balmoral?

We are due on the Ship on 14th February.

[Parsman]

The entertainment is similar to the other ships in the Fred. Olsen fleet. The daytime events usually include lectures, some music and the traditional cruise-type entertainments. The evening cabaret acts were only fair on my last cruise on the ship. I felt the cruise director on that cruise left a lot to be desired in her organisation and presentational skills. However, it is to be hoped that standards will be raised for the world cruise. Iam joining the ship in Singapore.

[dsk663]

Thanks for your comments - looks as though we may not need to rush to the Theatre every night!:)

[welwyngirl]

I hope you do. I've just noticed that you are on the cruise that we wanted to book, but there were no balcony cabins left by the time we got round to it. Looks like a lovely itinerary. I'll try and post a review of sorts before you go, but in case I don't I'll tell you now that the food is good.

 

One other quick tip is to have lunch in the Ballindalloch - we normally have lunch in the buffet and avoid the main restaurant at lunchtimes as we don't want vast amounts, and don't want to waste a couple of hours on waiter service. What they offer in there, though, is a choice of either waiter service or buffet, or a combination of both. It's much quieter than the Palms, service is excellent, super food, and you can whizz in and out within half an hour.

 

Mary

Thanks for the info, Mary. Duly noted. I don't really like self-service and really think I eat less in the restaurant!