Balmoral Cruise Reviews - 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

This was a Fred Olsen taster cruise for me, plus a few people onboard were using it as an office Christmas party/outing or seasonal treat. FOCL do tend to attract the older British cruiser and so the ship is tailored towards that clientel but you can still have a relaxed cruise if of a younger outlook. I think it was an adult only cruise as don't recall seeing any kids onboard plus very little for them to do even if they were. Extra charge food plus the drinks are very reasonably priced onboard so you'd have to carefully weigh up the merits of a drinks package. Gratuities are lower too.

As a solo traveller I felt very comfortable aboard the Balmoral. Would go with Fred Olsen again.

We did not know what to expect having sailed on 6* and 5* ships. We were totally bowled over by the ship and it’s crew, difficult to fault anything other than unable to reconfigure twin to a double and the cabin needed a lick of paint. Would definitely sail with them again especially from Port of Tyne. Ports were very good with enough time in each of them to get a good feel for them. Crew were amazing made us feel valued and welcome.

Great cruise round Baltic .very good entertainment on board. Already booked for Caribbean cruise over Christmas on braemar. It is nice being able to cruise out of Scotland and go from home to cabin in under one hour.

The Norwegian Fjords were fantastic and well worth going to see. The weather wasn't with us but we still had a great time. Although the passengers were generally elderly (I hope to be elderly myself one day) on Balmoral we had a great laugh and made some great friends.

Fjords cruise, really lovely staff, couldn't do enough for you. Food was always excellent in the MDR and our meal in the speciality restaurant was exceptional. There was enough going on on sea days to keep the other half entertained while I sat on the deck watching the world go by. This was our first cruise and now we are hooked.

Was on short cruise last July from rosyth it was excellent and booked up for same cabin for this July .it is nice to go in smaller ship and service was very good, I hope it is still as good this July going round the Baltic

This was not the Spanish Autumn cruise, it was the German Waterways and Kiel Canal.

Great cruise some excellent scenery especially going up the Kiel canal, recommend it

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Great little ship. Staff were very friendly but the ship does not have many activities to do throughout the day which means that I will have to give it a 4/5.

Very very pleased with the short cruise to Rouen and Amsterdam. Crew very friendly, food excellent and facilities superb. Tired yes, but she's off for a refit so I'm looking forward to seeing her again in 2018.

A short cruise amongst very friendly staff, excellent food and superb facilities.

Experienced an excellent cruise visiting three Scandinavian cities. The ship,crew and facilities excellent. The excursions offered onboard were varied and good with the pricing very fair.

First time having been on a cruise and the experience was far better than expected. Will consider using Fred Olsen for our 50th wedding anniversary in February 2018. Very pleased.

Second time onboard balmoral, loved every second as I got to enjoy the ship more. We sailed to the canaries and winter warmth, I however was not bored one bit, loads of daytime activities and you could do as much or as little as you wanted. The bars stayed open until early hours with great music from 4th dimension, fire mountain tour in lanzarote is a must do, and at Santa Cruz we used the tram to go exploring €1.35 each one way. For me this is a beautiful ship and the perfect size, with staff that are truley amazing. Already booked my next cruise with Fred on balmoral for 2018.

We went on this cruise 5th March 2016(not coming up on list to choose from) purely for the destination.  It is an excellent cruise line for the walking dead/barley living but I would urge anyone who wants more to do than read and nap during the day to avoid at all cost.  The bars all close pretty early and do not stay open even if there are customers there.  The staff really are very nice and go above and beyond to please and do remember your name..  One woman more my age (40's) we met broke out in tears after boarding and told us she asked herself what have we done, meaning by coming onto this very old dated ship full of elderly people.  Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with being old as I hope to be one day and then maybe I would enjoy Fred Olsen more however, in my opinion they should operate more like Saga (who use FredOlsen by the way) and only sell to 50 or even 60+ rather than conning younger people on board to be bored out their brains on sea days.