Casual Evening Dining Options?

[lulutoo]

We are an American couple attracted to the various Fjord itineraries available. We are the first to admit we are cruise "oddballs" as we prefer casual dress and casual dining . I have read that dressing up is a significant custom on this cruise line. I've been unable to "read between the lines" on the various dining venues to see if we can go to a casual spot ( buffet perhaps) during evening hours in less than the specified dress for the main dining rooms- maybe with the Mr. wearing collared shirts and slacks. Are such dining opportunities available each evening? We don't want to offend anyone , so we're wondering if we could make this cruise work for us- everything else about it seems to suit us just fine.

 

We realize this line caters mainly to British couples, but we can't find itiniraries we like except on this, P&O ( which I assume is similar) and a few Italian lines ( Costa , MSC) that various travellers tell us are not terrifc choices because of service and language issues..

[Kez100]

You can eat at a set time 6.30 or 8.30 in the main restaurant on casual wear nights (usually first and last) and you'd probably get away with it on theme nights too if you 'themed' your casual dress, although shorts and (I think) jeans are never allowed. Then you could eat in the casual restaurant the rest of the time. That is the only way to give yourself a choice of venue as the ships are small and don't have lots of restaurants to choose from. However, a small ship is a bonus in the Fjords!

 

If you want to eat casually and turn up whenever you want as well then you'll only have the one choice (on Balmoral, anyway, and she is the biggest ship in the fleet). FO doesn't do 24 hour restaurants so you will always have to eat within restaurant hours. The casual restaurant has a couple of themed food nights - indian and thai. Good if you like it but, if you don't, bear that on those nights you are very much restricting yourself.

 

When we went, one couple always wore jeans and always ate in the casual restaurant, every night. Yes, they stood out like sore thumbs on formal nights while walking on deck and in the bars, but no one bothered and they didn't either.

[Berkshire Lass]

We returned in June from a 14 night Baltics cruise on Boudicca and there were only 3 'formal nights'. They do not have to be dinner jacket, they can be dark suit. The other nights ranged from 'smart casual' to ' semi formal' for which my husband wore chinos and open neck shirt and jacket. The themed nights on this cruise were 'British Night' (a regular for Fred Olsen) and 'Country and Western Night'. On Country and Western night most people wore jeans. Although some people did not strictly adhere to the dress code (published in the daily newspaper) nobody was turned away from the restaurants. I think that apart from the formal nights your hubby would be fine in long pants and shirt. Have a lovely trip and I have heard the Fjiords are wonderful and with a Norwegian captain you cannot go wrong. Fred's ships are friendly and homely, they are not glitzy and loud. We have been on two, Boudicca and Balmoral and found the guests and staff extremely pleasant and friendly.

[merecat]

You can eat casually dressed ,except shorts at dinner at any meal in the Palms on Balmoral and Braemar ,on Boudicca ,the Secret garden ,cant remember which one it is on Black Watch .

Black Prince is dineing room only.

Breakfast and lunch in the main resturants is a mixture of self service or waiter ,whichever you want.

Meals are set times ,no 24hr. food.

However ,the ships don,t have none stop music or announcements ,they are quiet ,refined and BRITISH and if you want that sort of cruise I,m sure you will fit in as many of your fellow countrymen have before you.:)