Disappointed

[thebuss]

Very disappointed to recieve my info pack and to read that the sauna and steam room are unavailable for my cruise on the Balmoral. I am taking my family which includes three twenty plus year olds who all enjoy the gym ext. they are all extremely unhappy being that they are going to be at sea for a few days, we have all been looking forward to the cruise since we booked last year so i hope this does not not put a dampener on things, from what i can gather theses facilities have not been in use[ or been built yet ?] if anyone has knowledge of this please let me know and please FO stop advertising it on your website as a facility.

[petergoesrock]

If they're so concerned about the sauna and steam room then you're probably better off taking them to Center Parcs next time. How long each day could they spend in their anyway?

 

I'm sorry, but I'm rather astonished that this pretty minor thing is already having you thinking about a poor cruise, why are you going if this could put such a dampner on things?

[thebuss]

Well Peter when a company advertises certain amenities you would believe they would stick to there policy of having them there to use. As you know that cruising doesnt associate itself with younger people normally so for them it was a bonus as a facility to use. As for yourself you seem like an older gentleman who thinks cruising is most likely for the blue rinse brigade and younger people should be sent to places Benidorm or center parks?

[petergoesrock]

Well Peter when a company advertises certain amenities you would believe they would stick to there policy of having them there to use.

 

 

You've never heard of a company not having facilities availble then? In the grand scheme of crusing and cruise ships the fact that the sauna won't be availble is pretty minor, no wif the restaurants weren't serving food, of the engines weren't working…

 

As for yourself you seem like an older gentleman who thinks cruising is most likely for the blue rinse brigade and younger people should be sent to places Benidorm or center parks?

 

LOL, it's amazing what people will assume. As it happens, if you've got 20 something children, then I'm more likely to be partying with them, and likely closer in age to them than I am to you…

 

I've done years of Center Parcs and love it, wouldn't be seen dead in Benidorm and most definitley think cruising is for everyone, but there you are.

[petal3]

Hi. When are you booked to go on the Balmoral? I am going on a visit next week to look over her and am interested to hear that you have been told that the sauna and steam room are out of action. As I am due to be sailiing next month on her I wonder if anything else is going to be not available. I was one of the disappointed passengers given 36 hours notice that the inaugural cruise was cancelled,so certainly do not want any hiccups this time. However- I have sailed with FOCruises 25 times on all the ships and have had truly wonderful times, so I am sure that it will all work out in the end! I am probably in your age group and agree that being able to use the leisure/fitness facilities is important if only to work off sampling all the wonderful food!!:o

[Guest Anorak33]

Very disappointed to recieve my info pack and to read that the sauna and steam room are unavailable for my cruise on the Balmoral. I am taking my family which includes three twenty plus year olds who all enjoy the gym ext. they are all extremely unhappy being that they are going to be at sea for a few days.

 

You have made a serious mistake taking 3 20 odd year olds if they are going to be unhappy being at sea - what a crazy thing to do in the first place.

Although cruising is for everyone FO is suitable for an older age group in any case -

And for folk who can chill out and enjoy being at sea.

I would advise you to cancel ( at least the kids) as soon as you can.

With a preconceived notion of dissatisfaction you are not going to enjoy this cruise.

 

I quite agree with you that FO should make it clear from before anyone books that some facilities are not going to be available. I would stress that and ask for a full refund.

 

FO probably thought the facilities would be available sooner than its actually going to happen but that is not much excuse for them.

 

By the way - also be prepared for changes in itinerary and missed ports - these things may also routinely happen on any cruise and are not legitimate causes for complaint.

[clazz8]

By the way - also be prepared for changes in itinerary and missed ports - these things may also routinely happen on any cruise and are not legitimate causes for complaint.

 

Up to a point I agree but sometimes cruise lines could do a lot more to keep us informed. We have just returned from our first cruise with FO - Balmoral to the Norwegian Fjords. The Sauna and Steam Room were unavailable but that was not a significant issue for us. However at check in at Dover we were given a slip of paper to advise us that the ship would not afterall be calling at Gudvangen, as stated in the itinerary, due to the fact that Balmoral is too large to access what is apparently the world's narrowest fjord. It is also a World Heritage Site which FO's smaller ships regularly visit and, for us at least, was to have been one of the major attractions of the cruise. Clearly FO have known how big their ship is for a long time now and even if the itinerary was decided before the 'stretch' they could have told us months ago and not left it until five minutes before we set foot on board.

 

That disappointment apart we certainly enjoyed the cruise - she is a beautiful ship. Like others we were a bit concerned by the mixed reviews but overall we were more than satisfied. The food was excellent and the shows and entertainment were the best of our three cruises to date. On the negative side other reviewers have made the point that extra cabins have been added with only a small increase in public areas resulting in extra pressure on public spaces and that did seem to be the case; even though the ship was not full it seemed quite crowded at times, particularly on sea days, and the main entertainment venues filled up quickly after dinner. Also the Ballindalloch Restaurant, the largest of the three regular restaurants (there is also a 'casual' restaurant), seemed very congested although the food itself was fine.

 

So I can't give it ten out of ten but equally I don't recognise some of the extremely negative reviews that have appeared here. Overall we enjoyed it and we would certainly book Balmoral again although next time we would try to be allocated a table in one of the smaller restaurants.

 

As always it depends what one expects from a cruise. It wasn't the perfect cruise from heaven but for us it ticked most of the boxes - I'll give it eight!

 

J.