Fred Olsen Borealis.

[Topdeck, London]

Hi AaS
The word might come to you in your dreams.
JC

What happened to Appromt

[jc, liverpool]

Hi JC, We love doing the quizzes but no way can we remember answers from previous ones. Dare I say that it's an age thing.

You and I both know that you are not thick. If there was a quiz on politics, you would probably win hands down every time. I do now who the Little Sparrow was and OH gave me the answer to the Mercury compound. We obviously make a good team.
If the 'Easy Peasy' question master is who I remember from a few years back, I found him irritating, Maybe it's someone different now though.

Hi Jill
Tall black guy with a huge moustache called Herbert.
I find him irritating too.
JC

[jc, liverpool]

What happened to Appromt

Hi TD


I asked the quizmaster,he took it away,came back and said you can’t use it in scrabble so he’s not allowing it.
I didn’t even get the original question.
JC

[jc, liverpool]

Hi all
Went into a wet Kirkwall,,one of the highlights of this small town is the memorial in St Magnus Cathedral to the sailors who lost their lives when their ship HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a German U boat in Scapa Flow in 1939.
The ships bell is displayed.
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Stopped at the Highland Park whisky shop for a quick taster,,,,then into the Orkney Gin Distillery.
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Where JC who hates Gin had a beer…
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Last time I was in Kirkwall we tendered in this time we came alongside at the pier about 2 miles away,,,the local council put free shuttle buses on.
The Borealis through the mist and rain…
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JC

[tiggertom, Cumbernauld]

Great reading this review, jc. I was on Borealis a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Have you tried the Asian fusion restaurant Colours and Tastes? Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Smith7]

Hi Jill
Tall black guy with a huge moustache called Herbert.
I find him irritating too.
JC

Yes that's him. I'm glad he is on Borealis and not Bolette or Braemar.

[tiggertom, Cumbernauld]

Yes that's him. I'm glad he is on Borealis and not Bolette or Braemar.

You’d think someone would tell him, so many people thought he was annoying 😠

[annie, Glasgow]

Hi Jill
I knew you would get it…..
Last night we were better with 10/15 but the teachers still won with 14/15.
Im sure thes e are regular Fred cruisers and they know the answers from past cruises…or is that me making excuses for being thick..
A couple of questions from last night…
Who was the ‘Little Sparrow’?
What do you call a compound that contains Mercury?

As one of the question masters continually says ‘Easy Peasy’……you may know him.

JC

Hi Im sure thes e are regular Fred cruisers and they know the answers from past cruises…or is that me making excuses for being thick..



I have met a cruiser who instructed his wife to write down every question and answer of all the quizzes he attended. He admitted that he then studied and remembered them for his future cruises.

Annie

[annie, Glasgow]

Hi all
Some more.
Aft deck 8 garden area,,,did this used to be a pool when it was HAL ship?
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JC

Hi JC

Most likely it was the Sea View Pool.

Annie

[jc, liverpool]

Hi all
Well I’m home,,that was easy,,,breakfast at 07:30 off the ship for 08:00,shuttle bus to the car park at Kings Dock and home by 09:00.
Very long line for the mini bus ride up to the terminal (tent),the tide was out and the walk up that ramp is a killer.

Did I enjoy the cruise.? Yes I did,,with reduced capacity of 700 it was very relaxing,no pushing or shoving ,no queues and the lifts I thought was for personnel use.
The cabin,a restricted Oceanview on Deck 3 aft was very comfortable with plenty wardrobe and drawer space,and a bathroom with the biggest shower I have ever had on a cruise.
One downer was sailing through the Scottish Islands at 10 knots it was very quiet,,once in the open sea at 15-18 knots there was quite a bit of engine noise.
If I booked this ship again I would go for a different section.

Entertainment was pretty good,,music for most tastes,,,,,5 piece group who played for ballroom type dancing.
A good sounding string trio,,,two pianists playing various bars and a guitar/singer playing regular spot in one of the lounges.
A pop trio called Ocean Wave was the regular spot for late night music in the Observatory,,,,late night meant finished by 23:30.
The production team put on x3 very good shows during the cruise.

Food was a mixed bunch,,some good (Lamb Shank) some not so good (Mai Mai fish),,,,lots of pasta type.
A few of those around us and myself sent the Always available Rump steak back one night,,,didn’t matter what you asked for you got it well done,,,,but the Fillet Mignon on Thursday dinner was superb.
Buffet was pretty decent with good choice (alas we have been spoilt with Celebrity),,with all food served by staff except small plates of smoked salmon and meats etc.

Drinks…this is where I part company with the good bits.
All drinks where waiter served no bar service,,,this worked great and staff all over the ship were brilliant,especially my favourite Warisa in the Ocean Bar,,she asked my cabin number on the first night and never asked me again…
But oh!! Those drink prices,,,,,,£4.35 for a can of Guinness or John Smiths……but £7.70 for a large Jameson’s or over £7 for a glass of Prosecco is too expensive for me especially with the tiny 25ml UKmeasure for spirits,,,a large 250ml glass of wine was £8.05.
The Drink Package pre cruise was £24.99 on board it was £34.99 but this only included House drinks,,,,no good to me.

Would I sail Fred Olsen again?
Yes I would if it was from Liverpool,at a good price (very rare) with the right itinerary but I would have to take into account including drink prices in with the cruise price,,,,in some cases Celebrity are better value for me,,,and X still remains my favourite.

The itinerary.
It was relaxing sailing through the Scottish isles an the Captain and CD kept us informed of what we were looking at,,love Belfast but a pity Rothesay in the Isle of Bute was cancelled due to the weather.
The weather,,,,,,it was cold (12-13 deg) windy and wet everyday of the cruise but these things happen and didn’t spoil the overall enjoyment of the cruise,,,,,,it was great to get away,especially sailing from Liverpool.

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JC

[Wilba]

Thanks for the review JC. I’m rather taken with the idea of a Fred cruise.

I recognise they ain’t cheap, so can I expect more than meat and two veg in the food stakes? i.e will the menus excite me or bore me into submission?

TBH the drink prices you quoted didn’t seem too bad compared to so some lines.

I got interested in a Princess cruise recently until I checked the current price of drinks. Wines starting at just under £10 a glass, going up to £15 for something better than the basic. No Thanks.

The entertainment looks good. How would you compare the whole experience to your favoured Celebrity?.................Wilba

[jc, liverpool]

Thanks for the review JC. I’m rather taken with the idea of a Fred cruise.

I recognise they ain’t cheap, so can I expect more than meat and two veg in the food stakes? i.e will the menus excite me or bore me into submission?

TBH the drink prices you quoted didn’t seem too bad compared to so some lines.

I got interested in a Princess cruise recently until I checked the current price of drinks. Wines starting at just under £10 a glass, going up to £15 for something better than the basic. No Thanks.

The entertainment looks good. How would you compare the whole experience to your favoured Celebrity?.................Wilba

Hi Wilba
My wife and myself are split on this one.
She says Fred Olsen Borealis and I say Celebrity Silhouette.
I like the All Included on Celebrity,,,my wife enjoys AI on Fred because I’m paying.

I actually like the size of the Solstice Class Celebrity ships against the smaller Fred ships,,and i do like a balcony.
I also like the International passenger mix and lower age demographic on Celebrity.
I put the average age on Borealis at my age,,75…but younger at heart.

This is Fred’s idea of a balcony…….on Borealis.

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But I do like a wrap around Promenade Deck.
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You will be glad to know that Fred keeps up the P&O tradition of coming around with bowl full of extra veg if you want any extra with your Main.
Always carrots and a green but never sprouts for whatever reason.

[Wilba]

Thanks JC, looks worth a punt if the right deal comes up...................Wilba

[annie, Glasgow]

........

This is Fred’s idea of a balcony…….on Borealis.

2AA00258-3E49-445F-8259-E11806207D06.jpeg
But I do like a wrap around Promenade Deck.
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.

Hi JC

JMO cheeky of FO to classify those cabins as Balcony.

HAL always priced them as OV cabins admittedly a higher grade.

Annie

[jc, liverpool]

Hi JC

JMO cheeky of FO to classify those cabins as Balcony.

HAL always priced them as OV cabins admittedly a higher grade.

Annie

Hi Annie
They call them Terrace Balcony.

ps.looking through photos,,,,one of your pop groups.
The Kirkwall Pipe Band at sail away……..
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JC