Fred Olsen Balmoral

So I have just come back from a fabulous 4 night cruise on-board the Balmoral with Fred Olsen. The cruise itself was due to leave Southampton on the 24th of October 2014 for 10 nights, visiting Oslo, Amsterdam and Antwerp. However I joined the cruise in Amsterdam on the 30th of October for 4 nights. The picture above was taken when we were joining the cruise after a canal boat trip.

The 1st night night we joined the cruise we had enough time to unpack and explore the ship, getting our bearings. Although in my opinion this is probably one of the smallest ships I’ve ever cruised with making it so much easier to explore and remember where everything was (and your cabin).

The 1st night we all sat down to diner in the Ballindalloch Restaurant, which again was very small compared to what I have experienced on-board other cruise ships. However it really did not make any difference what so ever as the food on-board was out of this world, and I even tried a 4, 5 and 6 course evening meal which is not like me at all.

As you can see from the pictures above the canal boat ride was very spacious and the tour guide was so informative. I have been to Amsterdam several times but even the tour guide taught me a thing or two.

So after our evening meal I took a few of the staff out in to Amsterdam as I know the city so well and stayed out for a few drinks. Most of the customers on-board asked us if we were going to the Red Light District, as they said it is a must, which we thought was very funny coming from the more mature customer.

So as you can imagine, the food being so lovely it was so hard to stay away from. A typical English breakfast in the morning, with cereal, toast, fruit and yogurts. Lunch in the Avon Restaurant was pretty darn good as well with a buffet style, so giving you plenty of choice. Although admittingly I did find the gym from an early stage of boarding the ship as I knew I would be eating plenty. The gym and spa area again was not the biggest I have seen but for a small ship was adequate enough. And I made sure I used the gym plenty as well as trying a back, neck and head massage as for 30 minutes this was only costing £35 – bargain. And one of the great things about cruising with Fred Olsen is that it is all in UK Sterling.

As you may or may not be aware, most cruise lines have formal evenings which gives you the opportunity to dress up, so I certainly did in this case. We had one formal evening where we all dressed to impress which is great to see everyone looking so classic / swarve.

So after spending a few days on-board getting to know customers and their opinions and experiences it does sound like Fred Olsen are more geared up for the more mature customer, although I did not find this a problem what so ever as everyone on board was so friendly, polite and courteous, which was lovely.

In the early evenings I would spend some of my time in the pool and sauna area as this was not very busy. I got to spend some time with 2 of the on-board Fred Olsen escorts who were so down to earth and friendly. I spent time with them every now and then having a beverage and also understanding their views on how well things work on-board.

This is a picture I took of the Bon Voyage Farewell party from Antwerp. All the staff were joining in, dancing and even had a professional singer on-board specifically for this party. Lets put it like this, there was no one sitting down including myself. Everyone was up on their feet joining in which I absolutely loved.

The disembarkation has to be one of the quickest I have ever experienced. From packing, passport check and then disembarking and going through security. Would I ever cruise again with Fred Olsen? Of course I would, but it would definitely need to be with the right crowd of people who would enjoy the benefits of a smaller ship, older generation entertainment and someone who knows great food.

Anyone wanting to know more about Fred Olsen’s Balmoral, please feel free to contact me directly on 0800 408 6116 or [email protected]