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arround gb with fred olsen
 
Reviewed By: colman, thornbury on 4th Feb 2010
Cruise Line: Fred. Olsen Cruises Times cruised before: 1-2
Cruise Ship: Black Watch Sailed: August, 2009
Destination: British Isles Age: 46-55
Cabin: Outside
Booking / Boarding arrangements
I only decided to go on the cruise about 4 weeks beforehand. The administration however worked well. There was a long wait (standing) to obtain boarding passes.

The Ship
The Black Watch is a small ship that lacks all the up to date facilities of the very large boats (cinema, climbing wall, water skiing etc) but is friendlier than most.

Room
The late booking enabled me to have a twin outside cabin for sole use at a reasonable price; a rare luxury for a single traveller. My room was kept clean and service was not obtrusive. The next day’s activities were left each night. There was plenty of storage space and the bathroom adequate . The safe facilities consisted of a locked drawer.

The itinerary
The planned itinerary was Guernsey, Dublin, Liverpool, Stornaway, Kirkwall & Edinburgh. There were a few problems however as the boat was not able to call at Guernsey because of the weather (sea too rough to us the tender- worth bearing in mind for future cruises) and it couldn’t reach Stornaway in the time available. Instead we had an extra day at Dublin and went to the Island of Mull.

The talks on the ports of call were a bit scripted and the lecturer didn’t seem to have any in depth knowledge of the places.

Fred Olsen provided good bus links to the city centres at all the ports. The only excursions I went on were on the Scottish Islands where making your own arrangements was harder. The excursion around the Island of Mull was criticized by many passengers because deemed to expensive and had to use the same road on both parts of the journey to the other side of the island. Fred Olsen responded by cutting the price of the excursion in half. Liverpool was the surprise of the package with a many more interesting places to visit than expected. It was possible to use outside sightseeing buses so the cost of travel around the cities was kept reasonable.

On-Board
The food on board was very appetising, varied and plentiful. The evening service was attentive and friendly and the company convivial. Fred Olson cruises are formal so a evening suit is necessary to fit in with everyone else. The evening show afterwards was entertaining and included cabarets, musicians and magician acts. It seemed to be enjoyed by all on board.

On some bits of the journey the wind was fairly strong so it wasn’t possible to use the outside facilities. The ship did then become a bit crowded inside with places to sit at a premium. I am not a fan of all the daytime entertainment but the talk and musician was very good. The availability and choice for afternoon tea was often not as high as previously experienced.

Summary
In summary therefore the cruise was very enjoyable, the food of a high standard, the staff and atmosphere on board friendly, entertainment good and the ports of calls readily reached on one’s own.
Quality of Food4
Entertainment3
Shore Excursions3
Staff5
Children's Facilitiesn/a
Onboard Activities2
Cabins4
Overall Rating4
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Question by stacey, bristol (28 Feb 10 11:59) about this REVIEW
What do you mean by evening suit. D>J> or just a jacket and tie?
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Comment by Crawford, Isle of wight (11 Feb 10 20:49) about this REVIEW
We were also on this cruise. We had a super time despite the variations in the itinery.The food was exceptional as were all of the staff. we did not partake of shore excursions, not really our thing. I would agree that Liverpool was surprisingly interesting and the sun shone too. We watched a James Bond film in the cinema so it does have one. We both used the gym, swim pools daily. Alex the hairdresser cut my hair really well, I wish that I could have his cutting at home. The Leith port was fascinating, the Royal yacht Brittania was a very good value for money visit-allow half a day. Captain Lunt's broadcasts provided us with information and a gigggle, he was a great amusing host at dinner too.
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Comment by Miller, Hamstreet (04 Feb 10 17:23) about this REVIEW
It does have a cinema
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