Fred Olsen first timers

[mufi]

Just got back from a cruise to the Med on Braemar out of Dover. We had not cruised with Fred Olson before, but are well into cruising and in the past have sailed with quite a few other lines, Cunard many times, Saga, P&O, Voyages of Discovery, Swann Hellenic etc. So we were keen to see how Fred compared.

 

Initial impressions were good, the ship, though medium small in size seemed to be clean and well fitted. The cabin certainly was smaller than we were used to but the space available had been well used. The ship was not full and there were quite a few unoccupied cabins. We wondered if it would all be a bit overcrowded with the ship full - popular nights in the theatre lounge were overflowing.

 

 

The staff were, without exception marvellous, and it seemed to be a happy ship from the workers point of view. The passengers were pretty well all British, and of those largely English, and of those largely from the South East. Many had sailed with Fred Olson many times and the impression we got was that they would never consider any other line. There were few young people (i.e. under 30) and no children, with the majority over, or well over the retirement age. We fall into that age group and were first timers here but who had many other cruise experiences to compare with.

 

As we found our way round and got to know the ship better we were surprised at how badly Braemar coped with even quite moderate seas. She crashed and wallowed and at times gave a very uncomfortable ride. We would not choose to sail on this ship again because of this feature. If you are in any way prone to motion sickness this is probably one to avoid.

 

The food served was variable, and as so often is the case, let down by meat quality and vegetable presentation, and again as is usual, steadily deteriorated as the cruise progressed. Certainly not up to the class of Cunard, but on a par with what we had on P&O some years ago though we are told this has much improved lately.

 

We were also surprised to find no complementary toiletries in the bathroom, if you do not count the rather downmarket liquid soap dispensers. Also there was no fridge in the cabin, not good in hot places and although there seemed to be plenty of room to install them in the ironing room, there were no laundry facilities.

 

Another first for us was the £3 charge for the shuttle bus in some ports. We have never paid for this service ever, and to be docked far from town and then asked to pay £6 for a couple to be taken to where we should have been in the first place was a bit much for us.

 

Fred Olsen seems to have settled into a niche market catering for clients who appreciate the familiar and are happy to “join” the Olson “club”. There was more than a hint of holiday camp at times, emphasized by the Red Coat uniforms of the entertainment team, Auld Lang Syne at the end of the final theatre performance and the kisses and embraces of long time staff with long time passengers at the last dinner.

 

At the end of the day it is all about what you look for on a cruise. I would not say we would not take another trip with Fred, although we would need as good a deal as we got on this trip to tempt us back and a more imaginative itinerary. There is much to like here as long as you are not looking for great excitement. We certainly did not get that air of anticipation we always have at the start of an Atlantic crossing on a Cunard ocean liner, but then a dedicated Olsen passenger would probably find that as difficult to understand as we would at 20, 30, 40 times and counting Fred Olson veterans who keep coming back for more.

 

David.

[zacca]

mufi, thank you for your helpful review of the Braemar. We are taking our first Fred Olsen cruise, normally we cruise with Celebrity.We know it is going to quite different from what we are used to, however the more we know in advance the better we are prepared for what to expect.It is going to be difficult not to compare all the time, but we are going with a positive outlook, determined to enjoy it no matter what!After all it is a cruise (and we got a good deal!)

[Guest Anorak33]

Having been on Braemar twice, once transatlantic and once north norway I can't say that I ever found the motion of the ship uncomfortable.

I thought the food was OK, sometimes better than OK, I could always find something I liked on the menu. The cafe has a small selection for dinner but you get the chance to chat with the entertainers and some of the staff there so it can be quite a pleasant place to eat.

Braemar is not glitzy by any means but is comfortable and understated.

The crew were generally OK, with the odd exception, I found one of the waiters (Kumar) an unpleasant zombie , especially if he had been drinking heavily

( a popular pastime for some of the crew, theres not much else to do but party into the small hours) but he was the exception.

The cabins are not over large but are comfortable, some have flat screen tvs, and I think all have coffeemakers but I never had a fridge. You can have an icebucket if you ask.

We are off again on Braemar on Saturday to the Baltic, should be fun, it was a bargain price, you wouldn't get me paying anythinbg like full price on Fred Olsen, its not that fantastic, but at about 75% off its worth it.

We are in our early 50's and so are a bit younger than most passengers, but you do get a few younger folk on there, but not many kids.

[mufi]

There were no tea making facilities, apparently a kettle had exploded (!!) in the Caribbean so they had been removed. 24 room service though.

 

I agree, no great excitement but at the right price a pleasant cruise.

 

The Baltic should be good for you. Say hello to St. Petersburg for me, one of my favourite ports of call.

 

David.