Balmoral Cruise Reviews

I have just returned from your Norwegian fjords cruise leaving from Rosyth on the 8th July 2022 cabin 5008 ref DPCWYL2 I was surprised to find a cost of £25 each add to our on board account on the Tuesday when asked the custom services why, they explained that it was for our LFT at the terminal on Friday I explained the following reason why I thought I should not pay it but they said they could not do anything I had to talk to head office. So on return I contacted head office requesting a refund for the following reasons 1 the three documents received from you before the cruise Ticket, label letter and boarding time letter did not say I Had to bring a LFT. They said that for smooth boarding all I needed was passports, tickets and a vaccination certificate which I had no mention of a LFT test and I would have thought if you are charging for this it should be clearly stated. 2 I did not receive any emails from you prior to leaving for the terminal. You did send a message to my emergency number person I emailed customer services on the 7th asking  if I missed any information again if you are charging it should be clearly highlighted Barrhead travel info did not say we had to do a LFT when I asked them. 3 The staff at the terminal did not tell us there was a cost for the LFT and if they did we would have gone home and did the tests as we only live 5 mins away as we did not board for another 2 hours. So I cannot see how they can charge me for something you did not tell me about or gave me the chance to use an alternative I had available. Also how do you know all the other guests actually used their own LFT and not somebody else's So I would be grateful if you could return my £50.They offered me £25 refund only I would like to say you need to change your all inclusive drink package way of paying. I had to pay an extra £80 as I booked it on board because I wanted to put it on my on board account so I could use my £ 200 credit I had been given when booking the cruise. I had asked Barrhead if I could do this but was not advised it would cost more so I lost out on my £200 credit. So instead of £200 credit your saving is worth £40 only If I could have ordered online before I left directly to my on board account rather than paying by card it would have been better and this system does not help last minute booking customers. I would like to complain about the organisation at the terminal. We were crowded into the main hall for over 2.5 hours standing tightly together. No wonder there was an outbreak of COVID on this cruise. What happened to the colour coding of labels which was supposed to reduce congestion at booking in. As I have cancer and my wife is her mother's carer we have managed to avoid catching Covid till now, but in return we both tested positive and I had to get hospital assistance due to Fred Olson poor systems organisation we where both out of action for 10 days.

A wonderful reunion, back on Balmoral our favorite ship. fantastic staff and the inclusion of the Ocean Wildlife Encounters team, from day 1 to our return, they gave 100% we saw everything sometimes caught off guard without the camera, the sea is alive, though avian flu did show signs of its effects on wild bird life. The realisation If you want to see the whole of what Spitzbergen has to offer then you cannot do it from a cruise ship. It has to be an Expedition Cruise. Longyearbyen, has town limits, you cannot go out of unless you carry a firearm, its a deterrent against Polar Bears, You are not allowed to kill the bears and its Illegal to chase, pursue them or cause them harm.

This ship seems to have a bit of a cult following, popular with the older generation. Deserted after the last show finishes