Rosyth no more?

[teenieleek]

I’ve just been looking at 2025 and there are no cruises on the website that leave from Rosyth. 

[teenieleek]

P.S.  I was in fact looking at one this summer and there are no balcony cabins available so the Scottish sailings are obviously popular so this would be a real loss to those of us unwilling to trek to the south.

[tring]

30 minutes ago, teenieleek said:

I’ve just been looking at 2025 and there are no cruises on the website that leave from Rosyth. 

 

The cruises for summer 2025 are not yet on sale, apart for a couple of slightly longer ones which have been released before the rest of the cruises.  The brochures for cruises from 2025 to May 2026 are starting to land on doormats today, so will likely be on the website by the end of the week.  They are still doing some cruises from Rosyth for the summer months as they have previously.

 

[teenieleek]

Ah, ok, thanks Tring.  Certainly I’ve had lots of emails recently saying “watch this space”.  

[twotravellersLondon]

12 hours ago, teenieleek said:

I’ve just been looking at 2025 and there are no cruises on the website that leave from Rosyth. 

 

Just have a look at the FOCL website. 

 

There are 6 cruises on the Balmoral from Rosyth advertised for the summer of 2025. They include the Scottish Isles and the West Country, Norway, the Baltic, Iceland and a one-night mini-cruise.

 

Balcony cabins are available on the cruise that we've looked at.

 

 

[teenieleek]

I was on the website last night but I missed those.  Must have clicked on the wrong thing.  Thanks for replying.  Hopefully a few more will be added.

[twotravellersLondon]

40 minutes ago, teenieleek said:

I was on the website last night but I missed those.  Must have clicked on the wrong thing.  Thanks for replying.  Hopefully a few more will be added.

 

Now had another look... and there are eight Balmoral cruises listed from Rosyth in 2025... the same number as in 2018 when we were last interested. So no drop in the number of FOCL cruises.

 

FOCl's schedules for 2025 are already published. The Balmoral is doing the rounds of Rosyth, Newcastle and Southampton and there seems to be no opportunity for other cruises from Rosyth to be added. The two other FOCL ships are also fully tasked. 

 

The big difference is that there are now more cruise companies leaving from the Rosyth/Leith/Edinburgh area than there was in the past... so there seems to be a greater choice.

[teenieleek]

I got the email this morning with the “new” cruises for 2025.  Sadly I don’t see much that’s new to me.  Anything appealing we’ve already done.  Nothing from Newcastle or Liverpool either that jumps out.  
 

Could you tell me which other lines go from Leith etc please as this has passed me by.  
 

Thank you for your replies.

[twotravellersLondon]

32 minutes ago, teenieleek said:

I got the email this morning with the “new” cruises for 2025.  Sadly I don’t see much that’s new to me.  Anything appealing we’ve already done.  Nothing from Newcastle or Liverpool either that jumps out.  
 

Could you tell me which other lines go from Leith etc please as this has passed me by.  
 

Thank you for your replies.

 

Probably best to look at a good travel agents site... one in mind... but CC will not allow us to name travel agents by name. Suggest that you do a search... key words might include... Seabourn, Windstar, Azmara, Ambassador, Oceanana and Silver Sea... or even "Cruises Departing From Rosyth."

 

Having been brought up on the North-East coast of Scotland and lived in Aberdeen for a few years after we were married... we know full well the additional problems of having to get to places like Southampton to join a cruise! 

 

Good luck. Hope that you find something that you like.

Edited March 5 by twotravellersLondon

[tring]

3 hours ago, teenieleek said:

I was on the website last night but I missed those.  Must have clicked on the wrong thing.  Thanks for replying.  Hopefully a few more will be added.

 

The cruises for summer 2025 were not on Fred's website yesterday as I had mentioned.  Only ones up to May 2025 which were released last year.  The others, for the following year only came on the website this morning when the links went out (apart from about four longer ones which had been advertised and released recently).  On sale to Oceans members as of today and general on sale date of the 8th for new ones I think, not that many people clamour to book a Fred cruise early. 

 

Just some brochures had been delivered yesterday, so the majority will be arriving on doormats either today or beyond.  Not got ours yet, (our postal service is not good),  just saw the index of cruises posted by someone yesterday and looked at a couple of itineraries this morning.  Nothing of interest to us that we have seen either, largely a repeat of previous cruises with notable omissions.  Seems the same with all lines recently, need to increase our land hols, which we enjoy.

 

Edited March 5 by tring

[twotravellersLondon]

 

2 hours ago, teenieleek said:

I got the email this morning with the “new” cruises for 2025

 

Our brochure ended on the doormat this morning... with quite a thud...it's a heavy one! 

 

Not only has the FOCL website been revamped and made a bit more attractive the new brochure is beautifully produced. Lots of inspiration; pics and very well set out and ordered pages. Some of the print on pp136-138 is a bit small... in the old days editors would never ever have allowed that.

 

Looking at the prices for cruises from Rosyth... much the same next year as they are this year... so initial thoughts are positive. Cruising to Iceland from Rosyth is from about £164 pppn. Rosyth is a little more expensive than sailing from Liverpool where a similar cruise is only from about £158 a night... but it's like that this season as well.

 

But... nowhere near as expensive as making the trip South.

 

  

[teenieleek]

Thanks to both.  The brochure will thump in here soon.  I have the short trip to Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles booked for this summer.  I am ashamed to admit that I’ve never been to any of those except Skye.  I was looking to add the trip to Warnemunde etc as a back to back but there are no balconies or suites left which was a surprise.  I might ask to go on the waiting list.

 

Last year we had three cruises including a long one from Southampton with Princess to Canada (double transatlantic).  It was overcrowded with no where to sit as a foursome, the buffet was a zoo and they ran out of lots of drinks!  The concierge lounge saved it from becoming a complete misery for us but you need to be in a suite to use it and even then, not all Princess ships have them.  We won’t be going with them again unless the itinerary is too good to miss.  By comparison, the trip to Svalbard with Fred was so relaxed and easy.  However the set dining times are a pain, the Balmoral is an old ship and some of the lounges are so dull as to be a bit dispiriting.  I know neither Fred. nor Princess are upmarket so accepting their limitations is necessary and choosing is always a balancing act.  If I’m going south again it’ll be for something “posher”, Oceania or Cunard maybe…..or maybe just make do with a caravan on the Fife coast, as we did as children!