richard_london

It looks like the future for the Braemar as a residence at sea is confirmed following this story:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/11/villa-vie-to-announce-ship-purchase-agreement-in-december/

The Villa Vie Residences website has been updated with ship plans and rooms renders. The ship profile clearly is the Braemar and the deck plans are lifted from FO originals.  From the initial profile image it looks like she will be going back to a light hull colour.

https://booking.villavieresidences.com/ship-and-listing

There are some interesting renders of how the cabins will look. It helps you imagine how a refitted Braemar could have looked in service with FO, but sadly that just remains a dream.

We've seen a number of plans for residences at sea come and go (now Ambassador's Ambience was going to be the Satoshi and more recently Aida's AIDAuara was going to become Life at Sea), so it will be interesting to see if this gets off the ground.  I say that because I recall the Miray (behind Life at Sea) originally tried to use the Braemar's sister ship, MV Gemini (https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/worlds-first-three-year-cruise-runs-into-rough-waters-executive-team-parts-ways ) but pulled out of using that ship because it would be unsuitable for the purpose.  I know the Braemar was lengthened by FO but I wonder if she is viable as a permanent residence at sea.

Anyway, for those who loved the Braemar and are interested, these are the changes I could seem compared to the old FO deck plans:

2 deck - Community storage added
3 deck - Culinary centre replaces arts and craft room
4 deck - Thistle Restaurant becomes Marina Diner
5 deck - Neptune Lounge becomes Theatre, Morning Light Pub becomes the Morning Light Club, Library remains, networking area replaces gaming tables, meeting areas replaces Bookmark Cafe, shops, photo gallery and guest services, Coral Club becomes Club
6 deck - Palms Cafe and Grill becomes Wave Cafe
7 deck - no significant changes
8 deck - Observatory becomes Villa Vie Lounge, Marquee Bar becomes Sun Bar, Grampian Restaurant becomes Gourmet Restaurant

On 10/17/2023 at 10:33 AM, tring said:

 

Apparently the quarter two accounts for this year have been published on the Bonheur website and I have seen reports that they are indeed doing better than last year, which is to be expected as all cruise lines are doing better this year then last.  I looked at them, but do not understand the business side really.  They will have paid the first payment to Carnival Corporation for the two new ships by now, so presumably that will not look so good on the balance sheet for this quarter, when it is published, but how business is progressing will be more important for the company going forward. 

 

Fingers crossed as good to have a choice of cruises, especially for those of us who live a distance from Southampton.

 

 

Yes, Southampton is best with me, but the Balmoral is doing very little in 2024 so I've booked one of the already announced 2025 cruises.  Seems an awfully long way off, I just hope she is still in the fleet by then.

On 10/7/2023 at 3:13 PM, Eglesbrech said:

@richard_london we have booked for 2025 as well. Let’s hope things don’t go downhill. While I swore I would never book early again this is one I think will be popular so rise in price.

 

On the bright side they seem to be doing the winter sailing this year at least, many were cancelled last year.

Yes, that's a good point, I had forgotten about those cancellations.  Let's take it as a good sign of things.

On 9/23/2023 at 8:28 PM, twotravellersLondon said:

FOCLs state that it will have enough cash to see it to the end of 2023 but "the continued uncertainty of availability of additional funding needed represents a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt upon the Company's ability to continue as a going concern." The auditors' report added, that in certain circumstances FOCLs "may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities as they fall due.'

On 9/25/2023 at 11:51 AM, twotravellersLondon said:

The wording in the report is... "An impairment loss has also been recognised during the year in relation to its subsidiary Balmoral Cruise Ltd, following a review of future strategic plans, trading performance, and longevity of the vessel bearing in mind environmental considerations with the age of the vessel." The amount would seem to be £17,966,000. However this suggests that no matter what the Balmoral's days with FOCLs are numbered.

I have a Balmoral cruise booked in 2025, slightly concerned now that there might not even by an FOCL let along the Balmoral in service.  Just have to keep my fingers crossed.

I am wondering, a few years ago had they made their new advert then Fred Jr would have undoubtedly featured, as part of the family history narrative.

But it seems the company is not doing well and the decision to buy the HAL sisters doesn't look like it was a wise one.

Was he forced out/made to carry the can for these problems, which is why his departure was rather under the radar, and with no fanfare announcing his departure?

On 9/25/2023 at 11:51 AM, twotravellersLondon said:

The wording in the report is... "An impairment loss has also been recognised during the year in relation to its subsidiary Balmoral Cruise Ltd, following a review of future strategic plans, trading performance, and longevity of the vessel bearing in mind environmental considerations with the age of the vessel." The amount would seem to be £17,966,000. However this suggests that no matter what the Balmoral's days with FOCLs are numbered.

 

How long will the Balmoral be with FOCLs? The report also indicates that FOCLs charters the MV Balmoral from its subsidiary Balmoral Cruise Ltd as a "bare-boat" charter (hiring of a ship with no crew or provisions included as part of the agreement) and that the charter can be ended with three months written notice by either party.  

Thanks as always for your insightful previous posts.  It doesn't paint a positive picture, the loss of the Balmoral would be terribly sad.  Since the Balmoral has spent most of her time recently cruising out of Newcastle and Rosyth it has not been practical for me to cruise from there, but I have fond memories of her from cruises before the pandemic.  Her removal from the FOCL fleet would be a mistake.

The "new" HAL ships were already much larger than the Black Watch and Bouddica and in an instant Fred elimated a lot of their nice itineraries those ships did, like the Kiel Canal transits.  I notice in their latest (heavily promoted) advert on television that in the attached screenshot the two images of the Balmoral show her doing two canal transits, something only the Balmoral can do now. 

They lost the Corinth Canal transits when they stopped using the Braemar, which I never managed to do, and really regret now having missed out.  If the Balmoral goes, any pretence of "small ship" cruising by FOCL will be pure fiction.

Can you get tables for two in the dining room for guests staying in suites?

Yes I had family on the cruise and it was due to the weather.  By all accounts it wasn't a pleasant experience and on the last day they came down with Covid. 

9 minutes ago, rolfecms said:

think your hunch is right on. Changing Sir Samuel's to a extra-charge steak restaurant gives Cunard revenue growth on their existing ships.

Every cruise line is trying to increase onboard spend with extra costs options.  It is easier for Cunard with a new ship under construction to add them in.

But looking at the QM2 deckplans (and this is pure speculation) would they take space from the Kings Court buffet and convert that?  I've seen reviews on Youtube, it was either the new Celebrity Apex or NCL Prima class ships that had smaller buffets than would be expected for a ship of that size to allow, presumably, for extra charge options.  I hope this doesn't happen. 

The current Sir Samuels looks small, there is that room next to it (I think it is for the wine tasting) so the two spaces could be cannibalised to make a larger extra cost restaurant.  But that would be a shame to loose the current Sir Samuels

Clearly extra pay options will come to the current ships, I guess once the QA is in service.  But I fear it would mean compromising existing venues to accommodate them. 

On 8/9/2023 at 12:58 PM, cmm398 said:

There is an interesting new topic coming up today where Cunard's UK Sales Director is quoted as saying Queen Anne will be targeting people new to cruising. Not discriminating against loyal passengers, but they need new customers to start cruising them them.

 

I would guess she may, therefore, have a few more differences coming so she isn't just a copy of the (much loved) existing liners, but launches new features for new customers.

 

I don't see this as a bad thing; you have to continually evolve and move with the times. The hard part is getting the right balance.

I don't think anyone has metioned this, apologies if repeating.   Seems strange to me the steakhouse on the QA will be called Sir Samuel's as Sir Samuel's exists on the QM2 but that does pastries, cakes and chocolates, but on the existing Queens the steakhouse is the Verandah.  All the other restaraunts are named consistently across the fleet.  I wonder if they will do some renaming on the current fleet to match the QA.

On 7/14/2023 at 11:40 AM, twotravellersLondon said:

FOCLs' earnings... the bottom line... for the first half of 2023 was NOK 12 million (about £1 million). Pretty encouraging for a company that made a NOK 19 million (about £1.5 million) loss in the first half of 2019.

On 7/14/2023 at 11:40 AM, twotravellersLondon said:

It cost FOCLs £11,164,274.30 but FOCLs obtained a mortgage for the same amount from HAL. No repayment is due until the 3rd anniversary of the delivery date... so September 2023. The first instalment is £3,721,424.77... and there is also interest at 2.5%. And of course, it's a very similar story with the Amsterdam/Bolette. So that's well over £7 million due in repayments this autumn, again next autumn and yet again the year after that.

So I check I understand correctly, even if the second half of 2023 they achieved, say double what was achieved in the first half (so £2 million) the repayments for the two ships will be wiping out any profit?

On 7/2/2023 at 3:34 PM, Eglesbrech said:

Embarkation was delayed on day 1 and from that point nothing was normal.

I think in your earlier post you said by 2 hours.  I've had cruises that have proceeded perfectly normally have that duration of delay in boarding, so 2 hours is no time to do a deep clean of the ship.

My experience of norovirus on a FO cruise (also on the Balmoral) was that our cruise was curtailed a day eary to get back to Southampton so the company could do a "deep clean".  I don't know if the problem originated on our cruise or continued to the next.  But what I do recall is going to dinner on the second evening to find the dining room decimated with people absent, and that's when we found out there was a norovirus outbreak.  So two hours is a woefully short amount of time for the crew to fix things.  Clearly, given it originated on the previous cruise it wasn't stopped by whatever they did.

On 7/2/2023 at 3:34 PM, Eglesbrech said:

The restrictions became increasingly tight as the week went on so

 

That was my experience too.  Too all intents and purposes it looked like an uncontrolled outbreak and nothing could do done to stop it.  I managed to avoid it (the worst I experienced was red-raw hands from all the hand gel and handwashing we had to do), but there were people I met early on during the cruise, who came down with norovirus, recovered, and then caught it again before they disembarked!  It was a pretty disasterous cruise and particularly unpleasant.

I'm sorry you had a such a bad experience, anecdotally it does seem to be on FOCL ships that this seems to happen.  It's always brought on board by a passenger, according to the Company.

But the CDC in the US connects norovirus not to guests, but to ill workers in food production (https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/norovirus/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1S8XZVtJa7M8sFavTu68aEZaPgy7GRIK-u7ZWEHAVuF6Ds3YBY6kj-NEQ).  The article says "Infected food workers cause about 70% of reported norovirus outbreaks from contaminated food".  Given that crew members rely heavily on tips to supplement their wages, you can understand them not reporting ill, but if they are in food handling and preparation then that is going to have potentially serious consequences.   Until crew have better working conditions and pay I don't see this particular problem going away. 

On 6/22/2023 at 8:51 PM, Britboys said:

Fred's launch and early prices are crazy - and even moreso for solos. I totally agree with many comments above that the strategy doesn't seem to be working.

In my case, the same.  The single supplement applied to solo cabins really does infuriate me.  The room is designated a single, it wouldn't be me occupying a double room on my own.  The fact they drop the supplement on some cruises and not others shows how very unfair it is.

But on a more general point, it's physically and mentally exhausting for anyone to have to track Fred.'s prices to make sure you are getting the best deal possible.  Cruising is meant to be relaxing.  I like to book a cruise as soon as they are announced to get the cabin I want and then not to have to worry about it (until payment day!). The whole Fred pricing strategy causes too much anxiety, stress and worry so at the moment I'm not considering their cruises right now until someone decides to do somehing about this strategy.

On 5/4/2023 at 3:40 PM, Eglesbrech said:

A very good deal. It could drop to a saver but these ones are usually pretty popular. Check how many cabins they have left of the ones you want
 

My next Fred cruise has dropped by 33% in the sale and I’m not happy. Won’t be booking early ever again.

I'm sorry, that's so unfair on you.  I can understand why you wouldn't want to travel with them again.

On 6/14/2023 at 2:13 PM, LandC said:

Probably!  After being stung last year by booking early, we have decided that unless we’re interested in a very unusual itinerary, it’s better to wait until a few weeks prior to departure in order to secure the best deal.

I think this pricing strategy has created a rod for their own back for Fred.  From visiting this forum its clear there is dissatisfaction with the policy and you're not the only ones adopting a wait and see policy.  Until they revise this policy this will just situation will repeat and repeat with cruises being advertised and people waiting for the last minute details.  It's far from ideal.

On 6/10/2023 at 4:37 PM, twotravellersLondon said:

The Borealis and the Bolette have both been fitted with Artificial Intelligence systems to save fuel and reduce costs. This calculates the most fuel-efficient route based on weather forecast, currents and sensors installed on the ships. These AI systems calculate average speed needed and if speeds are deemed too high the itinerary is changed to allow for slower speeds... in order to reduce fuel consumption. FOLC may plan "hand crafted itineraries" by experienced journey planners... but at sea... it's machine based Artificial Intelligence that determines the route, the speed and the ports!

I didn't know that.  Thanks for sharing.  I've been on cruises before that have had ports of call curtailed at the last minute (a couple of times and if I recall correctly down to industrial action by dockers), but to have a port of call cancelled this way would be very frustrating.  I know delays can happen, but there should be enough flexibility in the originally advertised schedule to visit all of the planned ports of call.  If things are going to be subject to change at the last minute it does make a mockery of the hand crafted concept Fred like to project, as that suggests a human touch.  Perhaps now it is all done by AI.

On 6/10/2023 at 4:37 PM, twotravellersLondon said:

All that despite glowing reviews on the company website from many of FOCLs' "trusted customers" who are quite honest in their comments that they had a wonderful time at value for money prices and would book again.

Well, Fred have form in the past for "mysteriously" not sending the Feefo survey emails out on cruises that don't go well.  Can't remember the year it was but I was on a Balmoral cruise with a big outbreak of norovirus and for some strange reason no one got the email asking to review the cruise.  Funny that!

Also, you never know from the reviews what price the person paid versus the lowest price that Fred ultimately sold that cabin grade at.  Because as we all know there can be a big difference between the two.  If you get a cheap last minute deal then you would be more forgiving and also more likely to give a good review.

Just now, Milaandra said:

I'm not used to cruising without knowing exactly what the storage situation is, the layout and where the power points are.

Yes, in the junior suite there seemed lots of storage but the power points seemed to be on the dressing table/desk, so I wonder where in other cabins.

If you look in Go With Jo's video also of a Junior Suite you can see her room is set up with twin beds and not double like the in the other video.  There are no power points visible by the beds on this set up either. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R20Vl_2To5I

On 5/22/2023 at 11:20 PM, Milaandra said:

Cruise Buoys have a couple of youtube videos about the launch event, if you want to see a review of the ship and what it has to offer. 

I watched their videos with interest as I was due to sail with CMV twice during the pandemic but both were cancelled and then the company collapsed. They would have been my first cruises with the company, so with Ambassador emerging with so many former CMV people involved I have been following, and was interested to see the Amibition.

I watched the cabin tour video and I was pleasantly surprised with the overall standard of the cabin and it looked light and fresh, but two things bothered me.  At the very start of the video when outside the cabin you can see one large dent and lots of smaller indentations all over the door and then when inside the cabin, there is the cupboard door that is a bit broken/hanging off.  I would have thought these things would have been fixed since she's been under refit.  Disappointing they haven't been, so will wait until the first full reviews come in.

4 hours ago, twotravellersLondon said:

14 hours ago, FangedRose said:

They acted no different from any other UK based cruise line. No other UK cruise company will give you any redress if the price drops after booking.

 

Not sure about that... one of FOCLs closest rivals will reimburse customers if their cruise is later sold for less than they bought it for originally.

Fred do like to portray themselves as a family company, and used to leverage Fred Jr's involvement an awful lot in brochures and publicity.  Curating their image will have convinced many passengers and loyal guests that they had their best interests at heart and I'm sure ARDXXX felt that too when they were assured by Fred about the upgrade.

Unfortunately, from my own experiences on Fred ships and from reading this forum I've realised that Fred's customer service can drops any pretence of being a family company and act like so many other companies and sticks rigidly to their T&Cs.  Whilst they are perfectly entitled to do so, and they aren't a charity, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect some goodwill from a company to which they and others have shown such loyalty over the years.  As twotravellersLondon points out, Fred's ships are sailing well below full capacity, so what harm in giving an upgrade to a loyal customer?

If loyal Fred cruisers are being disenfranchised (if that is the right word) with the Fred experience, and with the cruise market saturated with so many different companies that we can easily book as alternatives to Fred, Fred are doing themselves a disservice by alientating their already dwindling number of repeat guests.  I've learnt that many cruisers are incredidbly loyal to their preferred cruise lines and it's sad when promises get broken, and I can completely understand their reluctance to every cruise with that company again.

On 5/7/2023 at 10:46 AM, Yaldi said:

Although I was content with the original date, perhaps the push back to May is advantageous in respect of longer daylight hours and realistic opportunities to sample the outdoor facilities and spaces.

Yes, that was my thought too.  According to https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/portugal/lisbon?month=5&year=2024 we get an extra three hours of daylight in the evening before dusk at 8.30pm and about 1 1/2 hours in the morning, so that would be much better.  It's a shame we don't get to overnight in Lisbon but the extra port of call is appreciated.

In the float out videos I could see where my cabin is for two cruises I have booked on board the Queen Anne so I allowed myself to feel a bit more excited about the prospect. 

I always take one of these type of block adaptors that work fine on Cunard ships.

Found this listing on Amazon which is quite similar (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-TESSAN-Worldwide-International-Countries/dp/B0BNB7F2FJ/)

The one I have connects fine to the US outlets on Cunard ships and mine has four USB connections on the top.  I charge my phone and multiple cameras at the same time (overnight) and have not run into any problems.

On 5/5/2023 at 2:52 PM, siforest65 said:

The platform at Southampton station was full of cruise passengers with luggage and there wasn’t much storage available onboard. 

I would agree and emphasize this point - if you have large suitcases I would caution against using the train, especially if you get there with all the other disembarking passengers.  If there are other ships disembarking on the same day then the station platform and trains will be very full.

Check the Southampton VTS website to see what other ships are in dock when you are due to arrive (https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/)

I live in London and it means the default option is to use the train but I curse it every time.  Last summer coming back from a QV voyage was a nightmare because of cancelled trains, so two train lots of passengers on one train.  It was horrendous.  I try to travel light and use the overhead luggage racks but these will only take the aeroplane carry-on size, nothing larger. 

If you are after peace of mind, I would go with what options you can organise for Cunard.  At least on the coach you are guaranteed a seat and there will be space for your luggage, whereas on the train neither is certain.

I went back and looked at all the quarterly reports to see what statements FOCL were making, and I have copied out the positive spin they have been putting into their reports.  What strikes me is how repetitive they are, with the same text recurring in consecutive quarterly reports.  But despite all these positive reports occupany as you point out is 66%.  And I see they now have up to £500pp off on 58 cruises as part of the "Cruise Summer Sale" and then on some you can get an extra £150 off with their Coronation offer.  I can't square the demand highlighted in the quarterly reports with the need to discount fares so much.  I suspect many have cottoned on to Fred's pricing strategy and are just not booking and looking for last minue deals which are more realistic in terms of their pricing.

Q2 2021: .....a substantial increase in demand for cruises.

Q3 2021: From Spring/Summer 2022, and going forward, FOCL is experiencing substantial demand at normal prices for it’s [sic] cruises.

Q4 2021: FOCL is experiencing good demand for cruises in 2022 and 2023.

Q1 2022: FOCL is experiencing good demand for cruises in 2022 and 2023.

Q2 2022: FOCL is experiencing good demand for cruises for the summers of 2022 and also for 2023

Q3 2022: No "positive" statements.

Q4 2022: FOCL has seen improved booking numbers in recent weeks, with January 2023 being the best booking month ever.

Q1 2023: FOCL has seen improved booking numbers in recent weeks, with January 2023 being the best booking month ever.

I wasn't sure if our question is about boarding, I looked back at records from my 2019 cruise and this is what I found.

For Passengers of MS Queen Elizabeth
•    Complimentary Shuttle Service to Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal
•    Meeting Point：1F Lobby at Yokohama Information Cultural Center
Access information:
•    From JR: Kannai Station south gate ‐ 10 min on foot
•    From Subway: Kannai Station No.1 gate ‐ 10 min on foot
•    From Minatomirai Line Nihon‐Odori Station No.3 gate ‐ 0 min (direct access)
•    Shuttle service starts from 11:15 am. Please avoid arriving too early.

This was text copied from a Japanese PDF I found at the time, but I don't have the original.  It is for 2019, so might not be accurate for 2023, but this was where they boarded us all on the coaches with our luggage.

If it for going ashore during the cruise, while I was trying to find that PDF online when I did some Google searches Icame across this file.  It is dated for 2023 so is current:

https://www.cunard.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/横浜港大黒ふ頭シャトルバスとドライブ＆クルーズについて.pdf

If you save it as an image and run through Google Translate you get a reasonably good translation, which says the shuttle runs to and from Yamashita Park.

I have attached the output that Google produces.  Hope this is of help.  Have a great cruise!

I chose one on my last QM2 specifically because of the bulkhead for the same reasons. I have in the past in the standard cabins had noise, but I am a light sleeper.  I would choose one again.  The only thing I would say is that with a metal fronted balcony and one slightly deeper, it can make the cabin a bit dark when it isn't a bright day, but that isn't an issue for me.

8 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

We haven't been asked our opinions in years now but then we always have quite a few booked cruises so maybe Cunard feel as we're committed Cunard passengers, there's no need to ask our opinion.

 

 

You have to set your permissions in your Cunard account to receive the survey invites.  Other family members who cruise with Cunard who have opted out don't. 

If you are logged in click on where it says Hello and your name and then click My Prefences.

Then I imagine under the one that says the following, you would need to tick the box:

Cunard would also like your permission to contact you from time to time with communications that we feel will be of interest to you, such as our Cunarder magazine and information about our services, news, updates and promotions. Our communications may also include offerings of exclusive benefits, privileges and personalised offers including those within search engines, third-party sites with adverts, and on social media.

I had a survey invite at the start of March.  I thought, "here we go", the usual survey questions (like about dress code and dining choices) but this was one i've not done before.  It was about cruise affordability and whether I was going to spend more or less on cruises in the coming years.   I persisted with it, but this wasn't the typical questions. The previous surveys seem to be trying to see if there is justification for diluting the dress code and adding extra costs for speciality dining, this one seemed to be checking that if prices went up would I still cruise with Cunard (probably not is the answer, they have gone up enough already).  Did anyone else get this one?