Unconventional passenger ?

Hi All

i'm considering going on the braemar with my elderly mother , she's been on several FO cruises before and loves them , which is why i'm considering going on the braemar with her to the Caribbean , but my major concern is ? ,

i'm rather unconventional middle aged woman with various tattoo's ,

not with green hair or anything that daft , but do have various tattoo's ,

and i'm somewhat concerned that i'm going to feel rather judged or receive bad vibes from various passengers because i don't conform to gender stereo types of womanhood ..

i have been on a couple of cruises before with her on thomson boats ,

to the fjords which i generally enjoyed and a med one that was abit of a nightmare tbh , i found most of the other passengers to be rude and ignorant , and i didn't appreciate the benidorm afloat entertainment ( Racist comedian , pumping supposedly feel good music around the pool , working mens club , annoying holiday camp style announcements over a tannoy ) atmosphere , as a passenger i felt like i was herded around like somekind of dumb animal , and generally couldn't really find anywhere to be comfortable where i could read a book in peace ( thomson destiny ) ..

i guess that makes me sound like a snob , though i'm really not ( more a left wing/creative type ),

another thing that drove me nuts was the usual topic of conversation

at the dinner table with the other passengers , which was usually either the EU or what other cruises people had been on , ok the cruise thing i can understand but this general obsession with the EU i found to be too much ,

the worst / funniest thing was being told by one passenger one day at lunch was " that living under the EU was like living under Adolf Hitler " ,

which was generally the last straw for me ..

anyhow i guess what i'm concerned about , " is the atmosphere on the braemar going to be very stuffy and judgmental ? " ..

i guess i'd also like to know if there's quiet spaces or lounges where i can chill out and read a book without anyone getting in my face ..

Thank you for your recent post. As you may be aware, our niche market is the more mature guest (average 65+ years of age) who enjoy our very traditional style of cruising with a conservative ambience.

All four Fred. Olsen ships – Black Watch, Braemar, Boudicca and Balmoral – offer a friendly and welcoming ‘country house’ atmosphere. The décor is stylish and elegant, and the crew quickly get to know guests by their name, in keeping with the Fred. Olsen ethos of ‘It’s all about the people!’ There is a notable absence of excessive tannoy announcements, and our ships offer a relaxed and informal style of cruising, yet retain those aspects that make a cruise such a ‘special’ form of holiday, such as dressing for dinner. Music on board is tasteful and understated, at specially appointed times by live performers, such as the Rosario Trio. Facilities on board Fred. Olsen ships include elegant indoor dining rooms – both formal and informal – a good selection of bars and lounges, an attractive show lounge for nightly cabaret entertainment, swimming pools and Jacuzzis, a Fitness Centre with gym and beauty treatments, a quiet and spacious Library – with plenty of seating – a Card Room, a shopping arcade and an Internet Room, so that guests can always keep in touch.

For more information please visit www.fredolsencruises.com

Regards

FOCL

With a lot of people you will always get the odd rude or ignorant person but I have found after 6 FO cruises that this is the exception. We have recently been on the Braemar and she is a lovely ship - you will enjoy it. Forget your Thomson cruises - FO is different - far more classy but without any snobbery. Don't worry about the odd tattoo - I have seen loads on the sundeck along with some piercings and wobbly bellies too!. You can have fun and enjoy yourself - I am sure your Mum will. Yes, at the dinner table others will talk about their cruises (maybe you will too) as obviously people are interested in them. I thought at first it was snobbery but I realise now that it is a conversation opener. Enjoy yourself and have a good time!

All I can say is I'd love to have your company on a cruise! (Unlikely this time though, as we prefer cruises out of Southampton).

Over the years of cruising we've learnt never to make snap judgements on fellow passengers because of the way they look. My outlook is - give everyone a chance, and you might be surprised. The table talk based on past cruises can be annoying, but it's obviously an easy way to get conversations started between a group of people who have never met before. After all, the only thing you immediately know that you have in common is that you are interested in cruising/

We like the Olsen way of doing things - relaxed and friendly. I hope you have a wonderful cruise if you decide to do it. Please let us know!

JB

I have no doubt that you will both be made welcome by both the crew and fellow passengers. I have only rarely come across the sorts of comments that you refer to - and I challenged them straight away (worked for CAB so used to doing so if necessary).

Have a great time.

We are going in Braemar for the first time at the end of April - so looking foreward to exploring a new ship.

Thanks for all the positive feedback ,

not sure if this trip is happening or not this time for us ,

though no doubt the opportunity will arise again ,

as like i said my mum loves going on fred olsen , so who knows ? ..

One thing we absolutely hate, is loud music blaring out on the sun deck. We like to relax on the sun loungers peacefully with just a general hum of conversation in the background.

We have just completed a cruise on the Braemar and one day, whilst on the sun deck we were disturbed by loud music blaring out and the only way to escape was to leave the deck. But.........the horrible racket was NOT from Braemar but from a P&O cruise liner in the next berth!!

Radio Braemar/Balmoral is forced on us on deck in the afternoons but only for about 45mins and I think this is more for the chap hosting than for the passengers.

You will find the Fred Olsen passengers generally very friendly, but when seated for breakfast with strangers the conversation is usually on the lines of "are you doing a tour today?" "have you cruised before with Fred Olsen" just pleasant general chit chat rather than sit in total silence. I don't think you will find many political discussions.

The library is very peaceful for relaxed reading and during the day you will find plenty of areas of quietness. Not so much in the evenings though. In most lounges and areas (except the library) there is someone singing,a group playing or some form of entertainment pretty much everywhere.

Have a wonderful time on Braemar it's a lovely ship with warm and friendly passengers, a fantastically hard working staff who are delightful.

Hi All

i'm considering going on the braemar with my elderly mother , she's been on several FO cruises before and loves them , which is why i'm considering going on the braemar with her to the Caribbean , but my major concern is ? ,

i'm rather unconventional middle aged woman with various tattoo's ,

not with green hair or anything that daft , but do have various tattoo's ,

and i'm somewhat concerned that i'm going to feel rather judged or receive bad vibes from various passengers because i don't conform to gender stereo types of womanhood ..

 

i have been on a couple of cruises before with her on thomson boats ,

to the fjords which i generally enjoyed and a med one that was abit of a nightmare tbh , i found most of the other passengers to be rude and ignorant , and i didn't appreciate the benidorm afloat entertainment ( Racist comedian , pumping supposedly feel good music around the pool , working mens club , annoying holiday camp style announcements over a tannoy ) atmosphere , as a passenger i felt like i was herded around like somekind of dumb animal , and generally couldn't really find anywhere to be comfortable where i could read a book in peace ( thomson destiny ) ..

 

i guess that makes me sound like a snob , though i'm really not ( more a left wing/creative type ),

another thing that drove me nuts was the usual topic of conversation

at the dinner table with the other passengers , which was usually either the EU or what other cruises people had been on , ok the cruise thing i can understand but this general obsession with the EU i found to be too much ,

the worst / funniest thing was being told by one passenger one day at lunch was " that living under the EU was like living under Adolf Hitler " ,

which was generally the last straw for me ..

 

anyhow i guess what i'm concerned about , " is the atmosphere on the braemar going to be very stuffy and judgmental ? " ..

 

i guess i'd also like to know if there's quiet spaces or lounges where i can chill out and read a book without anyone getting in my face ..

Of course you don,t sound like a snob ,more a bigot.

Well that was nice - NOT ...

O P - you sound like a with it, know what you want, out there person - slightly introverted, but introversion rules :cool::cool:

Wish u the best and have fun...

Of course you don,t sound like a snob ,more a bigot.

thanks , but your comment is so wide of the mark it's laughable ..

Well,I,m glad I,m wide of the mark but your comments on Thomsons passengers,probably didn,t sit well with them either.:)

We liked the Fred Olsen experience and had a great time with very happy and laid-back passengers......but another person might have hated it, depending on their outlook on life. I believe that you get out of a cruise what you put into it. If you set out knowing that you're going to enjoy it, they you will, but if you're looking for problems from the start, you will definitely find them.

Well,I,m glad I,m wide of the mark but your comments on Thomsons passengers,probably didn,t sit well with them either.:)

oh i see , no it wasn't so much the passengers ,

more the Thompson cruise experience ,

ie , the racist club comic , the inappropriate use of music ,

like the sky high cocktail bar with mainly middle age couples ,

blasting euro disco music , same thing down at the pool ,

10am impossible to have a quiet breakfast with a megamix of supposed feel good music , similar thing on a fjord cruise i went on ,

60's mega mix to watch the mountains go by ..

it sounds daft , but when you're trying to enjoy your time on board

to have things like the constant happy music piped at you is akin to

CIA siege tactics , i complained to the cruise director and thankfully

the morning megamix got binned , but i just got this sense that i was constantly being prodded to enjoy my self , buy another drink , buy the video , watch the terrible entertainment , go on one of their over priced day trips , i just felt like i was herded around like somekind of dumb animal ..

plus i don't know how they do it but the casino croupiers definitely seem to have the upper hand , on the first cruise i watched some folks playing blackjack , it seemed like they were having fun and winning , when i went on the thompson med cruise , i thought i'd learn how to play and have a go , even from the free learn how to play session , i watched some rather dubious goings on , and chipped in a comment to a croupier one evening he was having unbelievable good luck , to which he gave me a kind of wry smile , one of those "yes indeed but i'm not going to let on how" ,

as i'm busy fleecing passengers ..

anyhow i guess thats just a feeling on my part ,

but my beef ,

is with thompson cruises not the passengers really ,

though receiving hostile treatment from some passengers didn't help ..

oh i see , no it wasn't so much the passengers ,

more the Thompson cruise experience ,

ie , the racist club comic , the inappropriate use of music ,

like the sky high cocktail bar with mainly middle age couples ,

blasting euro disco music , same thing down at the pool ,

10am impossible to have a quiet breakfast with a megamix of supposed feel good music , similar thing on a fjord cruise i went on ,

60's mega mix to watch the mountains go by ..

We were on Boudicca last year and we weren't bombarded with music. Any that there was, was definitely background stuff and not intrusive. The main thing that will have us sailing with F.O. again was the passengers all seemed very laid back and were intent on enjoying themselves (as older people know how to do). The elderly couple on the table next to us in the MDR were a really crazy couple, and laughed most of the time, but they were lovely and so friendly. We never saw any passengers getting up-tight about anything and even the main reception area had an air of calm...far from those we have seen on other ships.

We sailed with P&O two years ago to Greenland, Iceland and Fjords and again, it was nice to stand out on deck watching the scenery pass by in silence...other than the chattering of passengers and the swish of water. We didn't notice any piped music on deck other than when sailing out of Geiranger in Norway, and that was classical music...for about 10 minutes.

I detest intrusive noise as well and we both need a lot of peace and quiet in our lives...so we'll not do Thompson...thanks for that.