Omg. Fred have bought the 2 flagships of Holland America! We finally get decent sized ships in the UK!

[tring]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

Seems that Amsterdam/Bolette doesn't like the look of Rosyth 😀. She was sailing slowly toward the bridges but has now turned tail and is sailing away from the bridges at 16 knots... 🤔

 

Oh dear.  Not long woken up to come here and see pics of the event I missed.  At least the tides get more extreme over the next week so they will be lower ones than this morning.

 

This afternoon's tide is not so low if I remember.

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by tring

[showingdiva]

2 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Oh dear.  Not long woken up to come here and see pics of the event I missed.  At least the tides get more extreme over the next week so they will be lower ones than this morning.

 

This afternoons tide is not so low if I remember.

 

 

Yes, tonight's low tide is a bit "high" if that makes any sense.

 

Very blustery here today.   She didn't fancy Fife this morning, so is going to sit at the Alpha anchorage on the East Lothian side until a suitable low tide.

 

[tring]

The tide times link I posted previously:-

 

https://tides.willyweather.co.uk/dg/edinburgh/river-forth----forth-road-bridge.html

 

This morning was 0.9m, which is much the same as when Borealis went through, but 1.2m this afternoon.  There is one about 0.5m tomorrow about 9.15am and then Friday there is one about 0.3m at 10.15am, plus others.  The tides later in the day get lower by then as well.

 

Does prove a point that she will not be sailing out of Rosyth, despite people on social media hoping one of the new ships will.

Edited September 16, 2020 by tring

[showingdiva]

[tring]

36 minutes ago, showingdiva said:

 

Thank you for this.  It does look a bit murky, so may get better pics tomorrow 🙂

 

[Britboys]

She's looking good, even through the murk. Here's hoping the winds cooperate with the low tides soon!

[Britboys]

Amsterdam/Bolette was obviously determined to be captured by the webcam in almost the same spot as her sister ship when she went under the bridges this morning at about 0900!

[tring]

49 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Amsterdam/Bolette was obviously determined to be captured by the webcam in almost the same spot as her sister ship when she went under the bridges this morning at about 0900!

 

Thanks, just on our way out for the day so  missed it.  My husband has just said on seeing the pic, "Hello little boaty woaty".  🙂

 

She does look small given the surroundings.  Now off to Wales while we can.

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by tring

[Britboys]

6 hours ago, tring said:

 

Thanks, just on our way out for the day so  missed it.  My husband has just said on seeing the pic, "Hello little boaty woaty".  🙂

 

She does look small given the surroundings.  Now off to Wales while we can.

 

Hope you don't get quarantined in Wales Barbara 😱

[tring]

6 hours ago, Britboys said:

Hope you don't get quarantined in Wales Barbara 😱

 

N Wales is not a problem but we could be in lockdown by tomorrow.  I do not see how the suggested changes will make a lot of difference to the rate of increase though, which has taken off in the north and seems to be steadily spreading south.  Our numbers had been steady for a couple of months, then took off a week or so ago.  

 

Went to Bodnant Garden today then on to the coast for a few hours and a meal.  We are not badly placed at home though as can get views over the River Dee to Wales just walking distance from home, though if we intend to go all the way down to the shore we tend to take the car as it is a long, steep walk back up, which I find very difficult now.

Edited September 17, 2020 by tring

[Britboys]

11 hours ago, tring said:

 

N Wales is not a problem but we could be in lockdown by tomorrow.  I do not see how the suggested changes will make a lot of difference to the rate of increase though, which has taken off in the north and seems to be steadily spreading south.  Our numbers had been steady for a couple of months, then took off a week or so ago.  

 

Went to Bodnant Garden today then on to the coast for a few hours and a meal.  We are not badly placed at home though as can get views over the River Dee to Wales just walking distance from home, though if we intend to go all the way down to the shore we tend to take the car as it is a long, steep walk back up, which I find very difficult now.

Sounds lovely. I hadn't been to North Wales for many years until spending last Christmas on Anglesey. Had a great time in unbelievably good weather. I was also surprised at how good the A55 is now!

[tring]

3 hours ago, Britboys said:

Sounds lovely. I hadn't been to North Wales for many years until spending last Christmas on Anglesey. Had a great time in unbelievably good weather. I was also surprised at how good the A55 is now!

 

It is a good road, but does get busy at times - we would not go that way in school holidays, especially at busy times of day.  We tend to go out later morning and do not return until after 7pm, so not too bad then.  Has been like it is now for a long time, but certainly a very big improvement on the 60's and 70's.  We just hate busy roads though and tryo to avoid them whenever we can.

[rkacruiser]

Remembering that I am a citizen of the "colonies" across the pond, why does Fred. Olsen use Rosyth if there are tidal issues with which to contend relating to the bridge?  

 

I know nothing about the Port of Rosyth.  

 

 

[tring]

11 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Remembering that I am a citizen of the "colonies" across the pond, why does Fred. Olsen use Rosyth if there are tidal issues with which to contend relating to the bridge?  

 

I know nothing about the Port of Rosyth.  

 

 

 

There were not tidal issues with the other ships, but the new ones are a lot bigger.  Fred only takes one ship to Rosyth at certain times of year - part of the summer when he has 4 ships sailing out of the UK.  He does a number of cruises from ports around the UK, so means passengers do not all need to travel to Southampton, which can be a long journey for some and presumably helps sell the cruises as well.  He still has two ships that can sail out of Rosyth, so no problems with the normal operations as far as that is concerned.

 

There are also going to be restrictions on which ports can be visited by the new ships, as quite a number of itinerary changes have had to be made on cruises to be taken over with the new ships.  Three out of the five ports have had to be changed for a cruise we have booked for next year.  Personally I find it sad, though I do appreciate the new ships will help to keep the business viable and are presumably able to go to the more eco sensitive areas that he often visits, e.g. the polar regions which were becoming non viable with the older ships due to new rules on emissions.

Edited September 18, 2020 by tring

[Eglesbrech]

18 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Remembering that I am a citizen of the "colonies" across the pond, why does Fred. Olsen use Rosyth if there are tidal issues with which to contend relating to the bridge?  

 

I know nothing about the Port of Rosyth.  

 

 

Tring is correct. Rosyth is just fine for the smaller Fred ships.
 

Sailings from Scotland are usually full and sell at a premium price as there are very few cruise lines offering Scottish departures. Fred used to also offer the port of Leith in Edinburgh but I suspect that Fife is much cheaper and there is the added attraction of sailing down the Forth and under the iconic bridges, passing by the rocks etc.

[showingdiva]

4 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Tring is correct. Rosyth is just fine for the smaller Fred ships.
 

Sailings from Scotland are usually full and sell at a premium price as there are very few cruise lines offering Scottish departures. Fred used to also offer the port of Leith in Edinburgh but I suspect that Fife is much cheaper and there is the added attraction of sailing down the Forth and under the iconic bridges, passing by the rocks etc.

 

Yes, we used to have Braemar in Leith every year, part of the itinerary being a visit to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.  I enjoyed working on her - friendly crew and engaging passengers.   Fred prefer Rosyth when doing their series of turnarounds, as Leith has locks, which add approximately 50 minutes in each direction and a sharp turn in the Western Harbour to the cruise berth.  This would require more tugs than Rosyth, even for Fred's ships which are considered older tonnage.   The other thing about Leith is that during the months that Fred do their series of very popular cruising from Scotland, the premium lines such as Azamara, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea and Grand Circle monopolise their preference to be there.

 

[rkacruiser]

Thanks to those who responded to my question about the Port of Rosyth.  I appreciate you doing so.

[electricron]

Come on guys, can’t anyone in Britain travel to Edinburgh and post some decent photos? 
Fred. Olsen has posted one video of both of them in the shipyard, not sure if it okay to link it here. But it is available on their YouTube site.

 

i was hoping for better photos than a YouTube video.

[tring]

9 hours ago, electricron said:

Come on guys, can’t anyone in Britain travel to Edinburgh and post some decent photos? 
Fred. Olsen has posted one video of both of them in the shipyard, not sure if it okay to link it here. But it is available on their YouTube site.

 

i was hoping for better photos than a YouTube video.

 

If you mean ones of the new ships as they are currently moored/anchored, I have seen some photos which have been posted on a well known social media site group connected with Fred, which you may be able to find.  It appears the dock area is not very accessible and the ships seem to be alongside each other, so only bits of each ship can be seen and from a distance, so I doubt good pics could be taken at present.  Also few people post on here so chances are none live near Rosyth.  It is worthwhile keeping an eye on Fred's website as pics will no doubt turn up as time goes on and there are a couple in the advertising page now.  The screen shot of one of them posted by showdiva on the 16th Sept was quite a good one, but shame it was misty.  The ships are in Scotland though, so cannot expect Texas weather in October sadly - though many of us would love to have that weather at present 🙂

 

[Britboys]

I have to agree with Barbara (Tring) above. They are moored in a commercial dockyard so access to the public is probably non-existent. Would love to try for you but it is over 6 hours drive from my home 😂.

[WeeCountyMan]

"Also few people post on here so chances are none live near Rosyth."

 

I beg to differ.

 

Relatives in Limekilns (almost a stone's throw from Rosyth) and Dalgety Bay.

 

No public access to dockyard of course.

Edited October 1, 2020 by WeeCountyMan

[ScottishMaid]

My brother lives in Edinburgh. He could see the funnels of 6 ships when crossing the bridge or on the motorway. That was 2 weeks ago.

[showingdiva]

I echo the others above.   The remaining Fred ships are in the Babcock naval dockyard at Rosyth.   Access around the entire port is restricted and security controlled, which is even tighter around the naval part of the dock.

 

It is possible to get photos from the Limekilns road or from Port Edgar on the Lothian side of the river, but it would take a very decent camera and lens.    

 

Ordinarily, as I work with the cruise ships in the Firth of Forth I would have very close up, privileged access to all cruise ships that arrive at the dockside, but these are very different times.

 

Definitely not Texas weather here, and the forecast is rubbish.

[WeeCountyMan]

On 9/19/2020 at 9:47 PM, rkacruiser said:

Thanks to those who responded to my question about the Port of Rosyth.  I appreciate you doing so.

Rosyth was a major naval base in both World Wars.

 

My wife's grannie recalled watching Beatty's battlecruiser fleet sailing out to Jutland in the summer of 1916.

[ScottishMaid]

My grandfather was stationed there for a while in 1917. My grandmother took her 3 children under 5 to Scotland from her home in London by train and rented a house in nearby Aberdour. Sadly later my grandfather was killed in the bombing of Chatham Docks.
HAL allowed me to disembark a Prinsendam Cruise at Rosyth. It is a long way out through the docks.