Topic: Fred Olsen Balmoral

Hi folks, Going on the Xmas cruise with Fred Olsen over Xmas and New Year. Have booked a single cabin. Fred Olsen is one of the better cruise lines for the single traveller as their single cabins are a bit better priced than the rest. Been on 2 cruises before and the only thing I do not like is the formal wear. I know most people go cruising for this but I am different. I go for the relaxation and that means to me being casual. On the Boudica last year I never went to the formal restaurant one, preferring to eat in the secret garden. The only thing I thought was funny was some people went to the formal restaurant and complained of not getting large enough portions and ended up in the secret garden restaurant as well. Never mind we are all different. Looking forward to Xmas, Ian

We thought Blamoral was the worst ship we have ever been on - putting the new bit in the middle the way they planned it has not worked -too many cabins for the amenities, and the shortage of lifts is laughable - Hogsthorpe Cruiser

Hey, no problem with the lifts, use the stairs and keep fit! As long as I get a seat at the bar I will be happy, (Hic)!

QUOTE:

Hey, no problem with the lifts, use the stairs and keep fit! As long as I get a seat at the bar I will be happy, (Hic)!

Lol!

Agree with you about using the stairs..............keep fit and leave the lifts free for those who need them.

I've been on Balmoral twice and she is my favourite ship after Oriana!

I'm sure you'll have a super time!

Yep, looking forward to it. I am not a whinger and can put up with most scenarios without overreacting. So bring on the cruise with the big extended ship without enough amenities. Will make everybody more friendly being stuck together. Ian

QUOTE:

Yep, looking forward to it. I am not a whinger and can put up with most scenarios without overreacting. So bring on the cruise with the big extended ship without enough amenities. Will make everybody more friendly being stuck together. Ian

Balmoral in my opinion has plenty of open space everywhere. As on all ships it can be difficult to get seats to shows but arrive early and getting a seat is no problem. The only thing I wasn't so keen on was the Morning Light pub being a walk through to the buffet restaurant. Having said that loads of ships are the same. On Ventura Las Ramblas is a walkthrough from the theatre. I'm sure ships are planned that way so you stop for a drink!

QUOTE:

Hey, no problem with the lifts, use the stairs and keep fit! As long as I get a seat at the bar I will be happy, (Hic)!

I agree with you about using the stairs but when accompanying my Mum who had to use a lift there was a lot of demand on Balmoral. I wonder how many actually needed to use them.I was on Vision of the Seas last week and did sometimes use the lift to get to decks 9 & 10 but was surprised to see young people who got in at one deck and out at the next. You should be fine on Ballmoral it is a lovely ship. We were a group of eight and usually found seats together without too much difficulty in the main venues. The Palms cafe is a nice alternative to MDR if you prefer a more informal mealtime.

Just to clarify - we always use the stairs and are gratrful we can. My point was on behalf of those who can't - it could be any of us one day. We had 1 lift out of action from day one, and another regularly out of action and they had to put chairs in the lift lobbies. It didn't help the ship was riddled with a massive outbreak of Norovirus.

We also possibly suffered because it was new and full over Christmas/New Year - It may not be that bad on other timesw, but it won't see us again.

Talking about shows - Have you noticed how some people are so sad they even miss half of their dinner to race each other to get the front seats in the show lounge? - Annoyingly they are often the tallest people on the ship! Much prefer ships with a theatre. Hogsthorpe cruiser