Solo Cruiser

[ballymount62]

Dear Sir,
I had my first cruise ever on the Balmoral to The Azores and North Africa on the 27th of april 2013 for 17 nights.I really enjoyed the experience and met some lovely people. The Balmoral was getting back to Southampton on the morning of the 14th of may. It was then going on a 10 day cruise that evening to the Norwegian fjords. As I had some free time I decided I would like to stay on Board and do the Norwegian cruise.I went to see the Lady who was dealing with future cruises a few days before we got back to Southampton and told her I would like to stay on Board and do the Norwegian cruise. I asked were there any free cabins,She said there were over 50 cabins free, so I asked her what deal she could do me as a solo . I had already seen on the internet they were offering this Cruise for £499 pp. As there were plenty of free cabins I thought I would get the cruise for about £600 and then I would stay on board. But unfortunately she said the cheapest Price she could do was £799. I was quite disappointed with this especially as there was plenty of free cabins.I decided not to go at that price.When I got back home I got on the internet and saw that the Royal Caribbean independence of the seas was doing a cruise to the Norwegian fjords on the following saturday the 18th of may. I got on the phone and got a wonderful cruise for 8 days for £489 to the Norwegian Fjords.When we got into Flam a few days later it was amusing to me to see the Balmoral there. I can not understand why as I was already on board that I was not offered the cruise on the Balmoral for a better price. Anyhow the end result is Fred Olsen lost out on my custom and the Royal Caribbean benefited from it.
Kind Regards. Francis Brennan.

[Nathan Philpot]

Thank you for feedback. I am very pleased to hear that you enjoyed your experience onboard Balmoral. On occasions our Pricing team are able to offer special deals for 'back-to-back' guests and these prices are then given to our team on board the ships. With regards to the price quoted to you, (£799), this is equivalent to £80 per night and although this may not have been the cost you were expecting, it is still a fair price for a 10 night cruise and was in fact, at the time, the most reasonable price we were able to offer. The cost of £499 which you will have seen on the internet was based on 2 people sharing a twin-bedded inside cabin. For sole occupancy of a twin-bedded cabin, at that time, there was a charge of 100%, meaning the cost to you would have been £998. We do now offer twin cabins for sole occupancy, with either no supplement or a reduced supplement, ranging from 50% to 75%, on selected twin grades, however this was not possible at the time you were onboard.

Our customers and their experience with us is paramount and although we were unable to deliver a price that you deemed suitable on this occasion we hope that the personal and friendly service that we offer at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, on our smaller, more intimate ships will encourage you to cruise with us again.

We are very proud that, in 2011, cruise experts at this very website, Cruise Critic, voted Fred. Olsen ‘Best for Solo Cruisers’ in its third annual ‘Editors' Picks Awards’, and described us as ‘the line most committed to keeping the solo traveller happy’.