Fred. Olsen Cruises - Braemar Cruises Reviews
Thursday 9th Feb 2012
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Amazon (sorry, Long And Waffly)
Amazon (sorry, long and waffly) |
5 of 5 people found this review informative
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Reviewed By: Taylor, Devon on 10th Mar 2010
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| Cruise Line: Fred. Olsen Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Braemar |
Sailed:
February,
2010 |
| Destination:
South America
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Age: 36-45 |
| Cabin: Outside |
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Wow, what an amazing experience. It started well and just got better and better. Our flight from Bournemouth to Barbados with Thomson Airways was excellent. We flew Economy and were pleasantly surprised by the spacious seats, amenity pack, free drinks throughout, complimentary wine with our meals, continuous in-flight entertainment and free headsets. We’ve flown Premium with Monarch a few times and the only differences I can see between Monarch Premium and Thomson Economy were that we didn’t get our own individual little salt and pepper pot with our meal, and we had plastic cutlery rather than stainless steel. I don’t know why they provide stainless steel cutlery in Premium and not in Economy. I’d always thought this was a safety issue, but maybe they assume terrorists wouldn’t bother to pay the extra for a Premium seat. The in-flight meals were typical airline food, but a couple of glasses of free wine before dinner made it all taste unusually palatable. When we booked we were advised that we might have to stop off at another regional airport en route, but it wasn’t until we had started to taxi to the runway at Bournemouth that it was confirmed we would be stopping off at Cardiff to pick up other passengers. After landing at Cardiff it was over 2 hours before we took off again, causing the Bournemouth passengers to feel a little subdued as we had thought that after three hours sat on a plane we would be well on our way over the Atlantic rather than still in the cold snowy UK.
On arrival at Barbados we were taken straight to the ship and our luggage was delivered to our cabins within a few hours. Check-in was quick and easy. Our first impression of the cabin was that it was fairly small but as we hadn’t brought a cat with us, the fact that we didn’t have room to swing one didn’t matter. It was a tight squeeze but there was just enough wardrobe/drawer space, and plenty of storage space in the bathroom. The shower cubicle seemed quite tiny and I got tangled up in the shower curtain a few times, but that is probably more to do with my backside being too big rather than the cubicle being too small. There were some nice touches in the cabin – a kettle and good range of tea/coffee, a hairdryer in a sensible place, a welcome pack in the bathroom (including a shoe shine kit!), and a drying line.
We had four sea days at the start of the cruise and four sea days at the end of the cruise. We were of course aware of this having seen the itinerary before we booked, but were confident that there would be classes, lectures and other entertainment put on during the day, not to mention sun beds, swimming pools and Jacuzzis. There were indeed a number of classes, lectures and other entertainment, but I was surprised at how lazy I became in the sunshine and I often just sat for hours on deck with a good book listening to Hubert the steel drummer. Of the few classes we did attend, all appeared to be aimed at retired folk. I’m not complaining. If the majority of passengers are retired folk, then putting on classes for retired folk is exactly what the ship should be doing. There were always enough sun beds available. It was more difficult to find somewhere to sit in the shade. The deck crew were on hand to cater for our every whim, and so I managed to develop lots and lots of whims. Topless sunbathing was permitted on the upper deck, which was the same deck that contained the golf nets. In all my previous cruises I’ve never seen the golf nets so busy.
On the fourth of our sea days we reached the Amazon and had a glorious day watching the scenery pass by. Bugs began to take an interest in us at that point, and the first giant moth that settled on the ship received a lot of attention from excited passengers. It seemed pleased (as much as you can tell with a moth) to pose for all our cameras.
We had booked five trips with the ship and for what they involved we found them very good value for money. In Santarem we did the Maica Lake Cruise which included the ‘wedding of the waters’ and fishing for piranha. We didn’t catch any piranha ourselves but the crew caught some which they then cooked and we ate. They’re bony little critters but quite tasty.
In Parintins we wandered around by ourselves for a few hours and then attended the Boi Bumba Festival which was incredible, really colourful and a joy to watch.
We spent two days in Manaus. On the first day we did a Jungle Trek in the morning which was fascinating. Among our little group we ate from one tree and drank from another, and one brave man ate a worm. We learnt some jungle survival techniques, including how to light a fire with a small piece of wire wool and a battery. Very useful to know if we’re ever stranded in the jungle without our matches but we’ve cleverly remembered to bring along a brillo pad and a triple A. In the afternoon we wandered around Manaus enjoying the markets. That evening we did the Caiman Spotting trip. We only managed to spot one tiny caiman, but it was worth venturing out into the jungle at night to hear all the weird and wonderful jungle sounds. The following day we did a Jungle Exploration trip, the highlight of which was a trip on a canoe down small tributaries of the Amazon. During all of these trips we had excellent guides and saw some wonderful sights including giant water lilies, a toucan, a sloth, fluorescent butterflies, and a huge tarantula (which I didn’t find quite so wonderful), and we experienced a rainstorm that would have made Noah quiver. It’s not often I think excursions booked from the ship are worth the money, but in my opinion these definitely were.
The only currency that seemed to be accepted in the Amazon was the US Dollar. If we attempted to pay by Brazilian Real it caused so much confusion that we didn’t even bother to take any Real out with us in the end.
We enjoyed walking around the deck at night to listen to the amazing jungle sounds, with squeals, squawks, croaks, cries, wails, whines, chirps and cheeps. I half expected Tarzan to come swinging down from the ship’s rigging. The huge moths and crickets that settled on the deck remained there long after we’d left the Amazon, so they must have had a bit of a shock when they finally decided to return to the forest only to discover they were in Tobago.
In Scarborough (Tobago) we took a taxi to Mount Irvine to do some snorkelling. This was a pleasant little beach with good facilities, good snorkelling, helpful and attentive staff, and snorkelling equipment for hire. In the afternoon we wandered around Scarborough taking in the sights and doing a little shopping. The locals were all very friendly but not overbearing and we enjoyed their company.
Life on board the Braemar was very relaxed. We ate breakfast and lunch at the Palms Cafe buffet. There was always a good selection of dishes and any number of gloriously unhealthy puddings to satisfy even the fussiest sweet tooth. There were healthy options too, but I had arranged my clothes in the wardrobe with the tightest outfits near the front so that I could work my way back to the loosest outfits as the cruise went on and my waist expanded, so I didn’t feel the need to sample any of the healthy puddings. I did sometimes dish myself up some fresh fruit salad on top of my chocolate-based dessert, or have the orange and pineapple cake, as a psychological gesture to make me feel I was at least contributing a little towards my ‘five fruit and veg a day’ quota, but these uncharacteristic healthy moments were few and far between. The food in the buffet was always hot and always tasty. The best thing about eating in the Palms Cafe was that there was no scrabbling around looking for a table whilst trying to balance a rapidly cooling plate of food and a dribbling cup of tea in one hand and a napkin containing cutlery about to fall out in the other. On arrival at the Palms Cafe we were greeted by a member of staff and then taken to a table already laid out with cutlery, cups etc. We were then able to obtain our food with the knowledge that we had somewhere to sit. Waiters came around to the tables to supply us with tea/coffee and water. Other drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were also available.
We opted for first sitting dinner in the Thistle Restaurant. Our waiter and his team were delightful. The menus offered a wide choice, with the usual ‘always available’ dishes. The food was without fail hot, beautifully presented and, more importantly, absolutely delicious. Our water glasses were re-filled throughout dinner with such efficiency that it seemed they were being topped up faster than we were emptying them. After dinner complimentary tea and coffee were served.
The Welcome Cocktail Party was not the usual long, drawn out affair. We didn’t have to wait very long for photos with the Captain, but it took me so long to glide gracefully (like that was ever going to happen) to the Lounge in my new high heels that it might just be that we were so late arriving we missed the long queue. Champagne and nibbles were plentiful, and the captain’s speech was fairly short and quite witty.
The last night’s Baked Alaska parade was not too self-congratulatory, just a quick parade, a bit of clapping, a few photos and then eating. Gala evening was excellent with some wonderful carvings made of fruits, ice and a particularly impressive mermaid carved from cheese. I’m tempted to have a go myself.
The photographers were friendly, quietly efficient and didn’t loiter sneakily behind pillars to snap us unawares.
There were three theme nights but as I don’t possess any tropical or cowboy attire (not much need for either in Devon) I didn’t dress up. On British night I wore a red top, white pants and blue eye shadow so at least I made a bit of an effort on that occasion. Only about 40% of passengers dressed up for the theme nights so I didn’t feel like a miserable stick in the mud.
For the size of the ship the Library was fairly large with lots of comfy seats. There was a wide choice of books and games. The daily quiz/crossword/Sudoku was very popular.
The gym was small but well enough equipped. There were a few treadmills, cross-trainers, two exercise bikes, general gym equipment (don’t know what they were but they looked pretty scary) and various weights. It was never busy during the times I was there, presumably due to the age of the majority of the passengers. The gym was situated in the middle of deck 3 so rather than glorious sea views, all we had to look at were four not so glorious walls. There were two TVs above the treadmills and cross-trainers but the sound of the machines drowned out the sound and they were difficult to see unless you happened to be on the machine directly in front of them. I had a slight mishap the first time I used the treadmill. I keyed in the same speed that I use at home but stupidly didn’t check it first so didn’t realise the speed was in MPH, whereas the speed I use at home is in KPH. My aim was to expertly stride onto the treadmill looking cool and casual and jog along coolly and casually for 15 minutes before stepping off lightly whilst still remaining cool and casual. Unfortunately, as the treadmill was running at a much much faster speed than I’m used to, what happened instead was that I expertly strode onto the treadmill and immediately shot off the end with a loud shriek landing face down about five feet away looking decidedly uncool and definitely uncasual. So yes, if you were in the gym and saw an idiot fall off the end of the treadmill, it was me.
Both the Neptune Lounge and Coral Club had some form of entertainment each evening. Unfortunately unless passengers sat in the front row or were over nine feet tall, it was difficult to see very much. The layout of both venues, but especially the Neptune Lounge, meant that we often had to clamber over tables, chairs and other passengers in order to find a space in which to sit. If the only empty seats were in the centre of the row we almost needed a set of crampons, a harness and some pulleys to reach them. And then after all that, when we finally got settled, we found that the reason nobody else had sat there was because there was a big pillar in the way.
The dance floor in the Neptune Lounge was a fair size and we managed to do a little dancing. I don’t think we left anyone with broken toes or bruised shin bones but at times it was quite crowded. On the sea days the floor was moving a fair amount so we had to be a little creative and somehow incorporate a sudden lurch three paces to the left into a nice gentle waltz. Not exactly elegant and probably not something Arlene Phillips would approve of.
The shows performed by the Braemar Show Company were excellent. The two male and two female singers had beautiful voices. My partner (male) appreciated the dancers’ skimpy attire and high leg kicks slightly more than I did. The singers seemed obsessed with shouting for the audience to clap along (nine times in a 25 minute show on one occasion – yes, I’m sad, I counted).
The Resident Band The Rosario Trio played in the Braemar Room, which is actually just a long corridor with chairs in it. This band sounded fantastic, although at times it was difficult to hear them as the singer’s voice from the Morning Light Pub often wafted in and drowned them out. The band that played in the Coral Club, 4th Dimension, sounded great until the singing started. Unfortunately their lead singer/keyboarder did not have a good voice. In my opinion every one of the crew who performed at the crew cabaret sounded better than he did. The base guitarist sometimes sang and he had a much nicer voice so it would be better if he took over as lead vocalist and the current chap sticks to playing the keyboard. The band’s patter with the audience was also terrible, so much so that at times it was just plain embarrassing.
The outside entertainment was really good. I enjoyed Bob Taylor (comedian) and Andrew Skrimshire (cellist). I didn’t find Stuart Gillies (singer who sounded a lot like Neil Diamond) to my taste but he did have a certain amount of charm and I noticed most of the more mature female passengers went a little weak at the knees every time he started crooning and I’m pretty sure this sudden weakness had nothing whatsoever to do with dodgy patellae. The Braemar Orchestra were excellent even though the loud and high trumpet sometimes reverberated unpleasantly through my fillings.
Following the long and heavy downpour in Manaus I was left with wrinkly trousers so I popped down to the Laundry Room to use the iron. I didn’t spend too long in there as I tend to shy away from domestic chores when I’m on holiday, but from what I saw it seemed to be fair sized and have what appeared to be good quality washing and drying machines.
Disembarkation was well organised. The night before our departure we left our suitcases outside our cabin and the next time we saw them was at Bournemouth airport. Our boarding passes were delivered to our cabins meaning that we didn’t need to get to their airport early to check-in.
On the day of our afternoon transfer back to Barbados airport we were allowed to use all facilities on board and come and go as we pleased. We walked to Bridgetown and pottered around for an hour or so then returned to the ship for lunch. Rather than having to haul our carry-on bags around with us we were able to leave them securely in the Neptune Lounge. Our flight was delayed by two hours but we could stay on board for the extra time rather than wait at the airport. A large supply of towels had been placed in the changing rooms so we could shower and change into our travel clothes just before our departure, something that was appreciated by everybody who either had a shower and/or would otherwise have had to sit next to grubby passengers for the next nine hours on the plane. We had been assured by our Bath Travel Rep who accompanied us on the cruise (I was really impressed with Bath Travel) that we would not be staying at Cardiff Airport for any more than an hour this time, which must have been reassuring for the Cardiff passengers as there had been threats from the Bournemouth passengers that they would throw them out of the plane while it was still taxiing along the runway following touchdown so that it could take off again immediately. True to their word, we only stayed in Cardiff for about an hour. It was an overnight flight and pillows and blankets were provided even for us poor Economy passengers. Different films were shown, but the TV programmes were the same as on the outbound flight, so I’ve now watched the American version of The Office about half a dozen times. It’s quite good really. As we approached the UK the captain announced that the temperature was -5o, which resulted in a collective gasp of horror among the passengers and a stampede to the overhead lockers to reach our hats and coats.
We found the Braemar to be a very well organised ship with happy, helpful and friendly staff. I liked having a chocolate on my pillow every night. Tea and coffee were available 24/7 in the Palms Café. Ice cream was served on deck sometimes. It was nice being able to walk right to the bow of the ship. The Observatory was quiet and calm and offered panoramic views. On other cruise ships I’ve been freezing in the lounges during the evenings, so I came prepared with shawls and cardigans only to find it was beautifully warm inside and I didn’t develop a single goose bump despite wearing even my thinnest sleeveless tops.
This was the first time we have cruised with Fred Olsen and I don’t know that we would cruise with them again, at least not for a few years anyway. This was the only Amazon cruise that we could do due to work commitments, and we booked it fully aware that the Braemar “is geared towards the middle-aged and older British passenger” (Berlitz Guide). However, we still weren’t expecting quite so many “older” passengers. Please don’t think I’m being ageist because I’m not. I like old people and I hope to be one myself one day. Having said all that, we thoroughly enjoyed the company of everyone on board and many of the “older” passengers were far sprightlier than us.
Before the cruise I had asked several questions on the ‘Cruise Answers’ bit of this site and I’d like to thank everyone who responded, but especially Glitterbabe who must have taken a lot of time and trouble to answer my questions so comprehensively. The answers and advice that she gave certainly put my mind at rest and enabled me to look forward to the cruise without worry.
I’m off to the shops now to get myself half a pound of mild cheddar and a carving knife.
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