Berlitz Guide to Cruising

Overview

Acquired by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines in 2005, this well-proportioned ship, originally built for long-distance cruising for the now-defunct Royal Viking Line (it was built for one of the three original shipping partners who formed the line – Bergenske Dampskibsselskab), has a sharply raked bow and a sleek appearance. The ship was “stretched” in 1982 with the addition of a 27.7-meter (91-ft) mid section.
The outer styling is quite handsome for an early 1970s-built vessel. The single funnel bears the company’s starfish logo, and balances the profile of this attractive (now contemporary-classic) ship. The name Boudicca (pronounced Boodicker) comes from the Queen of the Iceni tribe that occupied England’s East Anglia; she led a dramatic revolt against the Romans in AD61, and her body is supposedly buried under Platform 10 of London’s King’s Cross Station.
The ship has a good amount of open deck and sunbathing space; in fact, there is plenty of space everywhere and little sense of crowding because the ship absorbs passengers well. There are port and starboard walking teak promenade decks outdoors, although they no longer wrap around the front of the ship. Before the ship commenced cruising as Boudicca, and extensive refit (included was the creation of a number of cabins for those travelling solo) and re-engining took place.
The interior decor is restful, with a mix of English and Norwegian styles (particularly the artwork) with wide stairways and foyers, good passenger flow, soft lighting and no glitz anywhere. In general, good materials, fabrics and soft furnishings add to a pleasant ambiance and comfortable feeling experienced throughout the public rooms, most of which are quite spacious and have high, indented ceilings. There are lots of (small) public rooms, bars and lounges to play in, unlike the newer (larger) ships built today, including a delightful observation lounge, a small casino, card room, large library, and the Secret Garden Lounge (with its integral café).
Boudicca is an extremely comfortable ship in which to cruise, with a moderate standard of food and service from a friendly, mostly Filipino staff, featuring extremely good value for money cruises in a relaxed environment that provides passengers with many of the comforts of home.
For the ship’s mainly British passengers, the National Express bus operator works in conjunction with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines to provide a dedicated Cruiselink service via London’s Victoria Coach Station to the UK departure ports of Dover or Southampton.
Although the ship has benefited from an extensive refit and refurbishment, do remember that it is more than 30 years old, which means that little problems such as gurgling plumbing, creaking joints, and other idiosyncrasies can occur, and air conditioning may not be all that it should be. The onboard currency is the British pound and port taxes are included for UK passengers. Gratuities of £4 ($7) per passenger, per day, are suggested.
Passenger gripes include: noticeable cutbacks in food variety and quality, an increase in the use of paper napkins, packets of butter, margarine and preserves, the lack of choice of sugar, very poor coffee, long lines at the cramped buffet, and poor wine service (not enough wine waiters). Other gripes: the smell of stale cigarette smoke in lounges and bars, not enough staff for the increased passenger numbers following the addition of more cabins, and a poor selection of hardback books in the library (many paperbacks), poor service levels.


Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2008

Ship Facts

Mid-Size Ship: 28,388 tons
Lifestyle: Standard
Cruise Line: Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Former Names: Grand Latino, SuperStar
Capricorn, Hyundai Keumgang, SuperStar Capricorn, Golden Princess, Sunward,
Birka Queen, Sunward, Royal Viking Sky
Builder: Wartsila (Finland)
Original Cost: $22.5 million
Entered Service: June 1973/Feb 2006
Registry: The Bahamas
Length (ft/m): 674.1/205.47
Beam (ft/m): 82.6/25.20
Draft (ft/m): 24.7/7.55
Propulsion/Propellers: diesel 13,400kW)/2 (CP)
Passenger Decks: 8
Total Crew: 320
Passengers
(lower beds/all berths): 839/900
Passenger Space Ratio
(lower beds/all berths): 33.8/31.5
Crew/Passenger Ratio
(lower beds/all berths): 2.3/2.5
Navigation Officers: European
Cabins (total): 437
Size Range (sq ft/m): 135.6–579.1/12.6–53.8
Cabins (outside view): 363
Cabins (interior/no view): 39
Cabins (for one person): 35
Cabins (with private balcony): 59
Cabins (wheelchair accessible): 4
Cabin Current: 110 and 220 volts
Elevators: 5
Casino (gaming tables): Yes
Slot Machines: Yes
Swimming Pools (outdoors): 2
Swimming Pools (indoors): 0
Whirlpools: 2
Self-Service Launderette: Yes
Dedicated Cinema/Seats: No
Library: Yes
Classification Society: Det Norske Veritas


BERLITZ’S OVERALL SCORE: 1,375 (OUT OF A POSSIBLE 2,000 POINTS)

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2008