Internet and Drink Prices on Fred. Olsen

[Koz1]

We've just booked the Arctic Explorer cruise for July 2016. This will be our first Fred. Olsen cruise.

 

I have a couple of questions and would appreciate any feedback from previous Fred. Olsen cruisers.

 

On the Fred. Olsen website it lists internet prices as:

 

• 30 mins - £5
  
• 60 mins - £10
  
• 3 hours (180mins) - £20
  
• 24 hours (1440 mins) - £30
  

All charges are summarised at the end of each session and posted directly to your on board account.

 

 

If I buy the 24 hours (1440 mins) package can I log on for say one hour per day and the usage is totalled and number of minutes remaining from the original 1440 minutes is shown at each log in (It works this way on Celebrity and Princess)? Or does it have to be used all at once in one 24 hour period? I've seen some Royal Caribbean packages that offer unlimited packages and also offer smaller packages (like 60 minutes) that have to be used all at once. The price for a 24 hour package is very reasonable compared to prices on other ships if it can be used gradually.

 

 

 

We can buy an unlimited drinks package for £10 per day but are considering buying drinks as we go since we drink mainly soft drinks and juices. The website shows some prices:

a glass of house white costing £3.95, a pint of lager £3.25, and a gin and tonic also around £3.75 (depending on the brand of gin) but does not mention soft drink or juice prices. Does anyone know the approximate costs of a glass of soft drink or orange juice?

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[1160451]

Hi just back from a cruise. Bought three hours Internet. Used it over the last seven days. So time rolled over. One tip tho, you have to log off, do not just switch your I pad's wi fi off.

As for AI, I can not remember how much soft drinks are, but if you have say one glass of wine with dinner and one alcoholic drink at night that's £8, so if you have say four soft drinks thro the day then the AI is best.

We always get AI but we are drinkers.

Have a good cruise.

[Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines]

Good morning

In response to your recent post, a glass of fruit juice (150ml) is £1.65, a draught mixer such as Pepsi and Lemonade is £1.65 and a Mixer in a can again Pepsi, Lemonade, Ginger Beer is £1.85. Please note these prices are subject to change. I hope this helps.

 

Regards

 

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

[Broch]

Good morning

In response to your recent post, a glass of fruit juice (150ml) is £1.65, a draught mixer such as Pepsi and Lemonade is £1.65 and a Mixer in a can again Pepsi, Lemonade, Ginger Beer is £1.85. Please note these prices are subject to change. I hope this helps.

 

Regards

 

Thanks for posting. Can you please clarify what you mean by a draught mixer. I appreciate it is from the soda syphen but what size of a glass swould you get for £1.65

[Coravel]

A draught mixer will be pulled off the pump just like a beer and you can expect the glass to hold around 300 ml - sometimes more.

[Broch]

A draught mixer will be pulled off the pump just like a beer and you can expect the glass to hold around 300 ml - sometimes more.

 

Thanks

[Koz1]

Thanks for the replies. You've all been very helpful.

 

Ken

[tring]

We had AI for a Boudicca cruise to Greenland last year, then cancelled it for a Braemar cruise in Nov/Dec.

 

We drink a lot of diet coke (or diet pepsi) and foud that with AI we were being served small glasses that had a lot of froth, so we only had about 2/3 of a small glass, so nothing like 300ml as one person has suggested. When we paid for the coke/pepsi we were served a 330 ml can which was at least twice the size of the small glass served with AI. Considering that service can be very slow at times and that you can only order one drink each on AI and have to have finished it before you ask for another, we rekon we did by far the right thing to have cancelled the AI.

 

Also the cruise was in Hot climate and had a lot of ports, so we were off the ship a lot and even went out into port in the evenings when we were in overnight or late night. We were also picking up large bottles of water for cabin use for very little in the Canaries/Cape Verde and we would still had to have paid 1/2 Fred's price for bottles onboard to benefit from AI.

 

That puts more than just price into the equation.

[Coravel]

Very worthwhile information Tring! I've always doubted the usefulness of AI myself and I'm very glad we have never paid for it. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. ;)

[1160451]

Hi guys, from our point of view AI is fantastic. It all depends on how much alcohol drinks you partake of doesn't it. We calculate that we are drinking for free by Dinner on Sea Days. On Port days by the finish of Dinner.

On other cruises where we have to pay for the drinks we budget at least £50 plus per day for drinks. So you can see AI for us is great.

I generally agree with the "if its too good to be true ..." But there is always the exception.

On our Breamar cruise a couple of weeks ago, I think we got the AI for £6.50 which was even more attractive.

We were on the Greenland cruise Tring and with lots of sea days we were well in pocket.

Happy cruising everybody.

[Coravel]

We always buy a couple of bottles of so-called 'duty free' at the start of the cruise. OK, it's £18 or so for a litre of spirits but it's cheaper than bar prices. You are allowed to bring mixers such as large bottles of coke on board from local shops and also bottles of water. Having to drink it in the cabin may not suit everybody but we don't mind.

[tring]

I aggree about the Greenland/Iceland cruise as it is not cheap to buy drinks there, so you are much more likely to drink onboard (even coke) and we were spending a lot of time in the observation lounge. There was also no rush, because of the many sea days, so service was not a great issue.

 

We did more than 'get our money back' on that cruise, although we were tempted to drink alcohol when we would not have done otherwise and the extra alcohol intake did not actually improve our holiday experience, even though we did not overdrink by many people's standard. My husband was looking a bit brown at the end of the cruise and his liver function tests did not read well. He does not take alcohol well and does tend to have a fairly iffy liver with little provocation, so if he has a drink 2 or three times a day on a regular basis it makes him bad. I never feel particularly well if I drink alcohol daily either.

 

I aggree, it depends on the individual and also the specific cruise, but many of Fred's customers do not drink a lot of alcohol, so not everyone will benefit that much, which is why Fred can provide the package for the price they do (I agree good value if you drink a lot). On Braemar in Nov/Dec there were a few individuals who were drinking too much and at least one even vomited because of it. Most people were responsible though.

[highlandlassie]

I would go for the AI at £10 - this will include your no alacholic cocktails for 1/2 price as well - well worth the money

[1160451]

As ever Tring your spot on. Although I have never seen anybody worse for wear on Fred, a touch loud maybe, there again that might have been us.....😄

We were docked against an American ship in the Carribean a few weeks ago and the behaviour and soberierty of some of the passengers was behind belief. If I had to cruise on those ships I would stop cruising.

Fred and P and O may not be perfect but we feel comfortable on them.

As for the AI We always think based on us, how can Fred offer such a deal, but as you say probably many people take the AI and don't maxamise it.

[tring]

We are probably a 50-50 couple. We are booked on an 8 night Balmoral to the Fjords in May and we have left the AI on for that. With prices in Norway we will be looking to drink onboard as much as possible and there is a lot of scenic cruising when it is nice to sit with a drink in the observation bar or on deck - being served small drinks will not be a problem then.

 

We are also off to Canada on 22nd May for 28 nights and have not booked AI for that. All new ports to us and relatives to meet up with in 2 ports, so will not have much time to drink on the ship at that time. There are a lot of sea days for the crossing, but we would need to drink quite a bit on those days and the temptation to drink too much alcohol (by our standards) will be too much I think. It does not mean we will not hit the bar if there is a chance of a disco at some stage, but that can be sadly lacking on Fred's ships. We do have habit of trying to alter that situation by being first up, but there was a definate objection to us trying to use the dance floor in the Coral for disco dancing prior to 10.30pm in Dec. The resident singer even spoke to us over the tannoy on one occasion and said she had tried to stop us getting on the dancefloor 'with her eyes' whatever that meant, and then said they were doing a slow one next to reinforce her point. When I mentioned that to the CD he said it was a time thing - it was about 10.15pm!! The other entertainment lounge is advertised as ballroom and the dance hosts are there, so we do not see why Fred cannot allow an alternative. Given the conversations we had with 'new to Fred' people, I know we are not alone in that thought.

 

I have heard about the big American ships and we have never been tempted to find experience them for ourselves!!! It is the unusual ports and proximity to the towns etc. that keep us on Fred - oh, and the multibuy offers that they have had in the last year. We must stop booking a load of cruises though as some places are much better seen on a land holiday.

 

Cheers,

 

Barbara

Edited February 9, 2015 by tring

[nb125]

We thought it was a good deal at £10 but we actually got it for free so even better:) We mainly drink red wine and would probably have a gin and tonic before dinner and a beer at lunchtime on sea days. Reading that back it sounds as though we are big boozers but we are well behaved honestly:D

[Sewso]

We had the AI package on our last Baltic cruise in 2013 and found it a good deal. At dinner we bought a more expensive wine since we got that half price. Most afternoons on sea days I would have a tonic water with lime juice which was included in the AI deal or a cappuccino at half price. After dinner port was half price too.

 

I have no idea about internet charges.

[Koz1]

This has been a very interesting discussion. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts.

 

Since I now have diabetes I have to be careful with what I drink. I don't drink much alcohol, just an occasional beer, and while I will drink some Sprite or Fanta I have to watch my sugar levels so shouldn't drink a lot of it. I tend to mainly drink orange juice or water at home and shouldn't have much juice either, even though I really like it. My wife will drink an occasional wine when we are travelling but she mainly likes coffee and tea, and will have an iced water with dinner.

 

Do they serve iced water with meals and if so do they charge for it? We're thinking that in our circumstances we won't buy the AI package and just pay as we go with our drinks but we may still change our minds in the next year and a half before the cruise and add it to the booking.

[Coravel]

The waiters will bring you as much iced water as you can drink and it's definitely free.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Coravel

[1160451]

We are probably a 50-50 couple. We are booked on an 8 night Balmoral to the Fjords in May and we have left the AI on for that. With prices in Norway we will be looking to drink onboard as much as possible and there is a lot of scenic cruising when it is nice to sit with a drink in the observation bar or on deck - being served small drinks will not be a problem then.

 

We are also off to Canada on 22nd May for 28 nights and have not booked AI for that. All new ports to us and relatives to meet up with in 2 ports, so will not have much time to drink on the ship at that time. There are a lot of sea days for the crossing, but we would need to drink quite a bit on those days and the temptation to drink too much alcohol (by our standards) will be too much I think. It does not mean we will not hit the bar if there is a chance of a disco at some stage, but that can be sadly lacking on Fred's ships. We do have habit of trying to alter that situation by being first up, but there was a definate objection to us trying to use the dance floor in the Coral for disco dancing prior to 10.30pm in Dec. The resident singer even spoke to us over the tannoy on one occasion and said she had tried to stop us getting on the dancefloor 'with her eyes' whatever that meant, and then said they were doing a slow one next to reinforce her point. When I mentioned that to the CD he said it was a time thing - it was about 10.15pm!! The other entertainment lounge is advertised as ballroom and the dance hosts are there, so we do not see why Fred cannot allow an alternative. Given the conversations we had with 'new to Fred' people, I know we are not alone in that thought.

 

I have heard about the big American ships and we have never been tempted to find experience them for ourselves!!! It is the unusual ports and proximity to the towns etc. that keep us on Fred - oh, and the multibuy offers that they have had in the last year. We must stop booking a load of cruises though as some places are much better seen on a land holiday.

 

Cheers,

 

Barbara

 

Hi Barbara ,

It's very odd sometimes on Fred ships regarding dancing.

We are formal dancers and dance in the Neptune to the formal music, then shoot off after the Show to the Coral for Jive, Cha Cha and Disco etc.

Well we often find the bands in the Coral almost resent you dancing, it seems they like to show off their musical skills and dancing takes away the spotlight from them. Our last cruise two weeks ago was a prime example.

We have danced formal in the Coral when there is nobody else dancing but we don't hog the floor.

We realise formal dancers can intimidate the non formal dancers, so that's why we like the Coral later as its a bit lively, or it should be.

We are thinking of a Norway cruise in May ourselves.

Happy cruising.