Fred Olsen line - anyone know Black Prince please?

[DSM]

Just booked last minute on the Black Prince for a cruise in the Med. from Southampton this month. Has anyone any experience of this ship please, it has not yet been reviewed on this site. We had a disappointment with the QE2 on 4th September and have now booked a substitute cruise in a hurry. I know it will be a more "intimate" experience with only 450 passengers, which I think we will enjoy. I'd like to know how good the air-conditioning is, etc.

Thanks,

Diana

[seabourndt]

hi mentioned my cruise from hell on cunard site sorry to hear about your situation hopoe you get refund or somethuing, def good idea wruiting as i was delayed on qm2 got 400£ cruise credit. air cond was okj i thing, personally in did not like the ship very small. no telephoneb in cabin not miner anyway. did not find much to do on her. entertaiment was quite good thoiugh and food good in alt rest. found tghe other rest more buffet most of the time and no coffee offered after mealsd, very strange. any other questions let me knmow. i just toured the black watch and loved her doing a mini cruise on her in dec. where do you live?

[seabourndt]

let me know

[Arubalisa]

Any info on this ship or line?

If anyone knows of any US booking agents pls. email me at arubalisa@gmail.com (arubalisa@gmail.com)

Looking at Black Prince August 30, 2005 Lisbon, Madeira & the Azores

Anyone know of any other Azores intensive itineraries?

[dougnewmanatsea]

If anyone knows of any US booking agents
The official US sales agents for Fred. Olsen are Borton Overseas (http://www.bortonoverseas.com/fredolsen.htm).

If you order a brochure on the Fred. Olsen site and give a US address they automatically send you the US brochure from Borton Overseas which includes prices in US$ etc.

[mancunian]

Having had a terrible cruise in April on Black Prince I would not recommend anyone to consider this ship. Although we enjoyed her a few years ago she is getting very long in the tooth and it is showing badly. The cabin we had was shabby, the plumbing bad and the whole front area of the ship smelt of diesel. She is also a bad ship in a rough sea.

However, I can recommend Black Watch and Braemar both of which we have had very successful mini cruises on.

[dougnewmanatsea]

BLACK PRINCE has a great reputation but I've heard several recent reports including Angela's that personally give me some pause. (To be fair, I know many people who absolutely love her.) At the very least she has proven rather mechanically unreliable lately.

I have a feeling that her days in the fleet may be numbered as Olsen have just announced the purchase of another ship, Iberojet's GRAND LATINO, the former ROYAL VIKING SKY and sister ship to Olsen's flagship BLACK WATCH which was formerly ROYAL VIKING STAR. Whether this will mean the end of BLACK WATCH's almost 40-year career with Olsen remains to be seen but I have to wonder if perhaps 2005 will be her last year...

[mancunian]

That is very interesting news. She must be going to replace Black Prince because they are spending a lot on Black Watch - new engines and renovation of cabins. Braemar is then presumably going to be the small ship of the line for the Black Prince followers. We liked Black Watch very much and presumably the two ships have very similar layouts. Looking her up the Grand Latino seems to have more cabins and they must be using a lower deck. Possibly of course Fred Olsen will not do this.

[Magwa]

After the engines problems last year, which I think you were a victim of Angela, FOCL spent a lot of money on a mechanical overhaul of Black Prince, and announced that her planned retirement for 2007 would be extended to 2010. So it seems FOCL will be operating 4 ships at least until then*. BP is either a love or hate ship it seems. With the repeaters/lovers making up the majority of her passenger base, it would seem best for FOCL to keep her sailing as long as they can. She is a 'breed' for which there is no similar newer replacement.

* The official press release from FOCL announcing the purchase of Grand Latino states " Fred. Olsen Jnr., said, ?This decision reaffirms our commitment to the very buoyant British cruising market. A fourth ship, very much in keeping with our unique product style, will allow us to operate an even wider choice of itineraries and home ports for both repeat customers and newcomers to cruising.? He continued ?Operating two sister ships will create synergies in terms of both technical costs and marketing activities.?

Pam

[dougnewmanatsea]

After the engines problems last year, which I think you were a victim of Angela, FOCL spent a lot of money on a mechanical overhaul of Black Prince, and announced that her planned retirement for 2007 would be extended to 2010.
Thanks Pam for the info. I'm glad to hear that her mechanicals should be back up to snuff... She is certainly a unique ship, for better or for worse, and really replacing her would be pretty much impossible.

[Arctic]

I understand that there are no plans to take Black Prince out of service for the forseeable future.

Regards

David