Last week the final episode of Cruise : A Life at Sea was shown on BBC2
I don’t know if you have been following this but a camera crew has been on board the Fred Olsen Balmoral filming during the world cruise.
There has been a mixed response to this and personally I would have liked to have seen more of the ship and cruise experience rather than the individuals and their personal lives.
When looking for deals for customers recently, as soon as I mention Fred Olsen they say no thank you I’ve seen the programme and it’s not for me, so I wonder if this has had a negative affect for Fred Olsen. I hope not because from working in this industry for 23 years one thing I do know is that Fred Olsen must be doing something right because they have a huge amount of repeat business and the response from my customers when they return from their cruise has always been very positive.
I wish the same could be said for other well known cruise lines.
I am not saying that it would suit everyone, of course I would not recommend anyone travelling with children should go on Fred Olson or anyone looking for lots of acitivities.
These are small size ships offering a traditional cruise experience. The emphasis has always been about good food, good service and a friendly and welcoming atmosphere on board.
In fact the main comment I have heard from returning guests is how friendly the crew and other passengers are. People make life long friends from their cruises and often ask for the same waiter that they had on their last cruise because the service was so memorable.
It was really refreshing to see the passengers all joining together to make their own entertainment and to join in the fundraising for an orphanage in Asia.
I have never cruised with Fred Olsen myself but I am going on the Balmoral in September for a few days. I am really looking forward to having the opportunity to experience this myself so if you would like to know more please feel free to contact me on my return.
I will of course be writing about this so watch this space..