Balmoral BL0914

[ppickles]

Hi all,
Just got home from my first fred olsen cruise which was the on the balmoral baltic experience. What an experience it was!!

I honestly did enjoy my holiday and appreciate that I am in a different age range from most on the ship ( however was not quite expecting the amount of zimmers, sticks and mobility scooters that I did see). I would not go on fred olsen again.

I personally found the ship too small, and although the staff were great the food was not always as good as on other ships, sometimes a bit cold.
There also seemed to be to many hidden extras with this particular cruise line.
Buffet was too similar everyday in fact exactly the same.

I found the first week great but found myself completly bored the last few days. I found that there was very little to do when the weather was bad, i am afraid not everyone wants to read.

The photographs were awful. Everyones with the captain were a disaster.
I think fred olsen should give everyone a personal apology for the disgraceful pictures taken that night.

With regards to the ports we seemed to get the most uninteresting industrial places to dock whilst other liners had got much nicer places.
I was unimpressed with most of the stops I thought Russia a complete waste of time, the only nice places were strokholm and helsinki.

Thought the crew shows were a lovely idea and a great way for us passengers to show how much we appreciate their hard work. Most of the other entertainment was ok. Not entirely convinced on the dance troop.

A few interior and design faults as well a lot of ramps were blatantly more than 1:12 signs in wrong places etc.

Other than that it was good.
I was there with my boyfriend and family and we did have a good time, but for me i need a massive boat with lots to do and preferably in the Caribbean.

I love cruising but this just did not float my boat.

However the Captain was a hoot. Loved his morning announcements.

[flea b]

Personally I loved this cruise, I was grateful for some sun, thought the staff & crew were the friendliest ever and will definately sail with Fred Olsen again. After the disaster we had at Christmas with P&O & Ventura I will steer clear of large ships. Sorry you did'nt enjoy as much as we did. flea b

[RayF]

ppickles, are you sure you were on the same cruise as we were ? I don't remember any bad weather. And, other than Travemunde, where were these industrial areas ? In Copenhagen we were near the Little Mermaid and the other ports were fine.
You need to do a bit more research before booking a cruise - if you want a giant ship in the Caribbean, don't book a medium sized ship in the Baltic.

[ppickles]

My Mum wanted to treat us all to a cruise, initially it was to be a transatlantic crossing, however this transpired to a Fred Olsen cruise.
None of us would have gone had she not already booked and payed for it as its just not our thing.
However we were all open minded and looking forward to it.

Like I said the first few days were really good ( the first day at sea crossing the north sea the weather was not great). But the second part of the week dragged a bit.

For food celebrity and Cunard absolutely blow Fred out the water

Ports tho, RUSSIA, wasn't bloody finished what a dump.
The little mermaid statue what a disapointment a tiny statue.
I had done my research before going we loved Copenhagen, and Stockholm and Helsinki just thought the other places were a bit boring.

[Kez100]

My Mum wanted to treat us all to a cruise, initially it was to be a transatlantic crossing, however this transpired to a Fred Olsen cruise.
None of us would have gone had she not already booked and payed for it as its just not our thing.
However we were all open minded and looking forward to it.

Like I said the first few days were really good ( the first day at sea crossing the north sea the weather was not great). But the second part of the week dragged a bit.

For food celebrity and Cunard absolutely blow Fred out the water

Ports tho, RUSSIA, wasn't bloody finished what a dump.
The little mermaid statue what a disapointment a tiny statue.
I had done my research before going we loved Copenhagen, and Stockholm and Helsinki just thought the other places were a bit boring.

Oh dear. Has Russian history completely passed you by? Until 1991 it was under Soviet rule and there would be no reason to have any cruise ship ports at all! I grew up being scared of Russia - to think I could even step safely on their soil is a wonderful thing. It's a country with a past, where they spent millions on opulance for the few. Any wonder there were socialist revolutions? The ports growth and development is part of Russias history; hopefully a sign of a much happier and free-er future for Russians.

I know it's different when you are young, as you clearly are. However, it really isn't FO's fault that your 'port view' wasn't as pretty as you may have liked when you picked an essentially city break cruise.

Many of your other complaints just weren't fair either. The weather was good. If you think that the North Sea wasn't great going out may I warn you that was gentle for what the North Sea can throw at you.

Buffets were 'always the same'. Much as I would beg to differ, you conveniently forget that in addition there was a full waiter served lunch menu in the Ballindalloch and additional waiter order breakfast items in the restaurants. The food was great and you are expecting the same as Cunard when that is clearly sold as a 5 star ship, and none of FO's ships are sold as such. Yes, the food on Cunard etc may be better - bet your bottom dollar so is the price to cruise with them. Obviously not paying, that might have passed you by.

The Little Mermaid has always been little (clue in the title). It's not FO's fault she is little, just your preconception of what you would see.

Tallinn Old Town and Gardens were lovely. I assume it's scenic buildings and Russian history was also lost on you and you never found the park/gardens to walk through?

I would also be interested in what all the hidden extras were. We paid once for a shuttle bus which we had expected but you may have not. What on earth were 'all the hidden extras'?

As for an apology for the photographs.....you didn't have to buy them - apology for what? FO doesn't take them anyway, it's a franchise, and I had a problem with our DVD last year (once I got home) and have to say the company were absolutely brilliant in putting it right.

I quite understand this cruise wasn't for you and you might have preferred a different one (which would be quite likely twice the price), but it was a wonderful opportunity for someone your age to experience many different countries and cities and I hope you were rather more appreciative to the person paying for you to go than you come across as on here.

[ppickles]

I dissagree with paying more to go on more expensive cruise lines.
If you do your research you will find that you can always get good deals with other cruise lines.
I am not criticising the cruise line at all. They have their identified market and cater to it well.

You should not have to pay for shuttle buses at all , and with regards to paying for teas and coffee. Yes ok there was a station offering tea and coffee all day but really having to pay for drinks like that at all.

Sorry but no soups spoons how much of a standard thing is that ,no soup spoons but soup everyday.
Whiping plates out before you have finsihed your meal, or breakfast.

Yes I agree there were a number of places for lunch but if you have a sit down meal for dinner you dont always want to at lunch.

and for heavens sake how many cheese and ham sandwiches can one person take.

Russia was not lost on me I am an Architectural Technician.

Architecture is not lost on me but with a more perfessional opnion happened to think it was garish and not to my taste.
I prefer much more modern architecture.

I was annoyed at the port as it seemed a cheaper alternative for the company rather than docking somewhere nicer.

Like have said twice I did enjoy my cruise and had a good time. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion sorry if mine upset the apple cart.

For the Photograpghs no i didnt buy them, not the captains one anyway. But they still represent the company and I think fred olsen need to be made aware of this.
There are other companies they could use.