Fred Olsen Braemar Reviews

This was our first cruise and it will certainly not our last. We were recommended Fred Olsen by a friend and were very impressed. The food was superb readily available with exquisite attention to detail, nothing was too much trouble. All the staff and crew were polite and very professional in there duties. Fred Olsen tend to cater for the more mature traveller so onboard entertainment tends to be pitch at this age group, my partner and I are in our fifties and found the daytime emtertainment a bit mediocre. The evening entertainment was much more comprehensive.

We had the most wonderful cruise to Madeira, Canaries and Portugal. Our superior outside cabin was surprisingly spacious and very well equipped. The best thing about the experience was the staff. The service was attentive and professional, without being formal. The food was excellent, with lots of choice at every meal. We enjoyed "dressing up " for the three formal nights but there was a nice balance of casual and informal nights as well and anyone who did not want to participate in the formal option could opt out by going to a casual retaurant for the evening. We loved the size of the ship which was just right for us, being less than a thousand passengers. We hope to cruise again next year.

Booking a holiday on Fred Olsen through Iglu cruise was a very good move. The service from start to finish was great. We rate this ship 5 it was hard to find any faults. Would definitely use this service again.

My wife and I have just come back from the Canary Island cruise M1109 on the Braemar. It was the first time we have travelled on a Fred Olsen ship and we enjoyed it.  Parking the car at Dover was easy, no lugging of suitcases about. First impression of the Cabin, Superior outside with picture window, good just a couple of niggles: no refrigerator, not enough drawer space and beds not wide enough. However the cabin was light and well appointed including a must for us, tea making equipment. The bathroom and shower were OK although the toilet packed up three times on the first three days but was dealt with quickly on each occasion.  All the staff were courteous and friendly and as my wife had to have a stick as a result of a broken ankle they were always on hand to help out at mealtimes. As usual on cruise ships you can find something to eat most hours of the day if you wanted it my wife liked the afternoon teas. We had our breakfast and lunch in the self service Palms Cafe most days. At breakfast they fry the eggs while you wait as opposed to ordering them and having to wait in the other two restaurants. The meals and service were excellent in the Thistle restaurant.  We found the the passenger age profile was just right for us, more elderly passengers which suited us. All the bars had plenty of seating as were the two lounges where the evening shows were held, the bar prices were reasonable.  The shows not quite as lavish as on some of the larger cruise ships we have been on, were very good considering the size of the ship. There is a library with a good selection of books and comfortable chairs to sit and read in and do the daily quiz and crossword. The shops are the usual boutique and jewellery unusually the shop which sells everyday goods is tucked away on Deck 7 and is not advertised anywhere.  Activities during the day for those wanting to participate, and a first for me, no fighting to get a chair on the sun deck when the sun was out in the Canaries. They have a "no reserving sun beds or seats in the lounges" policy which we like, some people still do of course. I found the three days formal and three informal dress with the rest casual to be the right balance.  Tips and gratuties: we don't like the idea of having a lump sum added to our bill for this so we opted out and gave our cabin stewardess, restaurant waiter, his assistant and one of the waitresses in the bar our tips in cash.  As my wife was unable to walk far we were unable to go on any of the excursions, luckily most ports were close to the town or within easy reach with a shuttle bus.  Overall we really enjoyed this cruise and and due to the predominately older age group will definitely travel Fred Olsen again.

we sailed out of dover on a wet cold and windy tuesday night, not sure what to expect as this was our first cruise sailing to madeira then tenerife followed by 5 days at sea crossing over to the caribbean visting st maarten, tortola, st kitts,st lucia,and barbados. the food on board was very good the staff on board were exerlant always smiling and willing to help our cabin cleaner was grace she kept our cabin spotless and was always pleasent.the only down side was sometimes getting a sun bed people putting towles on them and going away for a longtime. another problem was getting into the neptune lounge after second sitting for supper as people from the first sitting would stay and not leave the seats.the price of drinks was very good .cabin size was ok only the shower was a bit small,we had a picture window and it was well worth paying a bit more.on our trip we had to miss st maarten as the sea swell was to high to get into port this was due to hurricane tomas which had gone through a week before our trip on st lucia was cancelled for the same reason. overall we had a exelant holiday and would recommend this cruise to anybody.

We were 'Curise Virgins', having been persuaded to at least try a cruise. We opted for this one because friends had just returned from St Petersburg on Braemar, and spoke so highly of it. The cabins were first class and our cabin maid did everything for us. The 3 restaurants were wonderful; the food excellent, and our two waiters, Richard and Ricki, did everything asked of them, always with a smile. Everywhere was clean, the whole staff were most helpful and this is what made this trip so wonderful. We are looking at our next cruise with Fred Olsen - Norway perhaps!

What a wonderful introduction to cruising. Being Cruise virgins’ our time on the Braemar was fantastic, the organisation of the tours, the food and of course the weather made a difference, but most of all it was the crew that made us feel special and what is the outcome? Well we are booking a further cruise this year with Fred Olsen and will be going out to the Panama Canal with them next year.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise, it was our first time on one of Fred Olsen ships and I might add it will not be the last .The ship is classed as a 3star but everyone we talked to said the same as us that is was more than a 3star .The ship was immaculate and so clean, the staff (and I mean all the crew) were just so helpful .The food was very good and I could not fault it .The room was small but adequate .The ship was the smallest one we have been on but there were so many different places to sit outside on different decks it really did feel bigger. We did not have to queue for anything which made a nice change. Even outside on the decks, the sun deck felt massive and the pool deck was the same we never felt closed in or cramped. The fish and chips on that deck was to die for ha ha! And all waiter service. Just a great holiday to remember, plus it was my husbands 65th birthday so we celebrated that in style. I would recommend this holiday for its friendliness you were truly made to feel special .

We just finished our first cruise. There were 2 stops in Norway, 2 in Iceland, 1 in Faros and 1 in Scotland. This is a smashing ship: not too big and not too small, wonderful entertainment and gorgeous food. BC cabin had all we could have wanted and late deal got us a good price. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.