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Around The World (North) |
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Reviewed By: Sands, Kirkham on 20th Jun 2009
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| Cruise Line: Fred. Olsen Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Balmoral |
Sailed:
February,
2009 |
| Destination: World Cruise |
Age: 65+ |
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Prior to our departure from Dover in February 2009 on Balmoral's Around the World (North) Cruise there had been extremely bad weather in Europe. However, we were extremely lucky that we left Dover in good weather - not only that, it stayed with us the whole way around the world. We were on the starboard side of the ship and had sun every day on our balcony. We had wonderful views of the wildlife and amazing scenery, particularly in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and the Inside Passage.
Although expensive, the Port Tours were very good. From Alexandria, we visited El Alamein. We were very lucky that the Ship's Chaplain was with our group that day. He had planned a very short service in the little chapel there and it was delightful to be a part of that. After Suez, we proceeded to Jordan where we visited Wadi Rum by taxi as it was half the cost of a ship's Tour. The scenery was magnificent with amazing shades of sand dunes from pale to brilliant red. In the Gulf of Suez, we had an "added extra" of a "Pirate Incident" off Somalia. Our Captain handled this situation superbly. His instructions were clear and he kept passengers informed and procedures were followed.
We left the ship for 3 days in India to go on a Group Tour to Delhi and the Taj Mahal, which was most enjoyable. The Far East followed; South Korea was most interesting and Japan delightful. It was disappointing that Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam was cancelled and to which many people were looking forward. Prior to sailing also, Russia had been cancelled. We now had an 8 day crossing of the North Pacific to the Aleutians, but despite its currents and swells it was a reasonable voyage for this area. We had a short visit to Dutch Harbour, followed by Kodiak Island, Alaska and the Inside Passage. Due to the loose timing of the schedule, there was a lot of reduced speed and wasted time at sea on occasions. We then sailed the west coast of America before the transit of the Panama Canal to the Caribbean. Our crossing of the Atlantic was like a mill pond and at times the water looked like glass - amazing.
We were extremely satisfied with our Suite (in the new section) and this made all the difference to our experience of the cruise. However, we feel that "the stretch" to the ship has spoiled it and resulted in limited public and deck space. The extra cabins installed means too many passengers for the size of the ship. For this reason, we would not like to sail on this ship without a balcony. The administration/organisation badly needs addressing too. Instead of dealing with problems as they arise, the mantra is "write to Ipswich". They are unable to cope with special diets; food is average and variety limited. Bread and Butter Puddings seems to be a permanent fixture - after a month this is tedious, after 104 days it's diabolical. Also, the tipping structure seems to be treated as "big business" amongst restaurant and cabin crew and makes passengers feel uncomfortable. In this world of financial difficulties the recommendations are completely out of proportion.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Avon Restaurant | | Entertainment | |
| Balmoral Show Company very good.
Too many Artistes on board with repeat performances seen on previous occasions (over 3 years ago) with Fred Olsen ships. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| El Alamein; Delhi/Taj Mahal; South Korea; Japan; Alaska all very good | | Staff | |
| Restaurant Staff | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
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| Daily Programme poor especially when we had long periods at sea. | | Cabins |  |
| Yes | | Overall Rating |  |
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