Fred Olsen Balmoral Reviews

Author: Susan

Summary:  I have just returned from a 3 night minicruise to Honfleur, sailing down the Seine to Rouen and Giverny on Fred Olson's Balmoral. We had an outside cabin with a large window and we couldn't fault a thing. As this was my first cruise, the Balmoral was an ideal sized ship, being not too big. The food was excellent, the service was good, everyone was friendly and helpful and there was a good choice of activities and entertainment. I would thoroughly recommend.

Author: Edda Turner

Summary:  Having cruised on all the four Olsen ships, I have the highest praise for all of them. Why, would I need to cruise with any other when I have it all on Freds. The food is always of the highest of standards , much better than most hotels.

Author: Mark Jarvis

Summary:  After listening to Fred Olsen being the butt of many jokes on P&O, and other cruise lines, we finally decided to book for the Irish Christmas Markets. The markets in Cork and Dublin were poor in comparison to many we have visited just a few stalls. However we were very pleasantly surprised by the ship, although our room was dated and a little tired, it was kept spotless. The food in the main restaurants was equal to anything we have experienced on most cruise lines and better than many, the service was excellent. Drink service was very good for AI. Entertainment was also very good and varied, we were amazed by the amount of public space on the ship. After 16 cruises with many different companies we would not hesitate to go on on the Balmoral again.

Author: Robert Harris

Summary:  I'm about to go on my fifth Fred. Olsen cruise in two years and three months. One reason is that I'm single but Fred. does not usually charge single supplements. My first Fred. cruise was on 'Balmoral' in August 2014 when I went to the amazing Norwegian fjords. My seven days on board 'Balmoral' were superb, I had a smallish but comfortable cabin, excellent food and drink, I ate with agreeable single people and enjoyed the tours. This summer I went to the fjords again on 'Black Watch'. My second cruise on 'Balmoral' was to major cities of southern Scandinavia during 2015. It was as enjoyable as the earlier one. When I join 'Boudicca' next week I will have cruised on all of Freds. Olsen four ships.

Author: Pat Locke

Summary:  Just returned from 46 night cruise on our favourite ship Balmoral. As ever staff remembered us from previous cruises and gave us a very warm welcome, the cruise itself was very good, the Brazilian ports were definitely not, most were working industrial ports and meant we had to get a shuttle bus to get to a shuttle bus at the port gates. The Balmoral cruise company were more than excellent, shows worthy of West End. Phantom was amazing, I have special dietary requirements and could not fault the attention not only by galley staff but also waiters, we have 2 more cruises booked on Balmoral and can't wait to meet our phillipino and Thai friends again,

Author: Dennis Kilbee

Summary:  Just done an 8 day cruise to the fiords on Balmoral on the 3rd of July 2015 We were late leaving Southampton as there seemed to be a problem with the out break of the dreaded virus on board from earlier sailngs. From the time we stepped on gang way we were sprayed with a saniatisation fluid from the time we got up to the time we went to bed. I can understand why this needs to be done to keep the ship clean, but I think the line must be drawn when we you used the toilets around the ship a member of staff would be in there watching your every move and making sure you washed your hands in the manner as described by the captain on his daily updates over the tannoy. This did not go down well with a lot of the guests as you can imagine. The cruise its self was good, the food was top class as was our cabin, and the staff were the best. The first port of call was Stavanger why arrive at a very pretty place like that on a Sunday to find the place is shut. A day at sea on a Sunday would have been better. I only did the cruise to go to Flam which was great and glad I made my own way rather than pay Fred Olsen the price they were asking. The ship was a good size which made it very friendly, but we will not go on this cruise line again something was missing but we cannot put our finger on it, perhaps being sprayed to death did not help.

Author: Jan Recknell-turner

Summary:  We have stayed on the Balmoral before and it is the largest of the Fred Olsen ships I believe. We had a very comfortable outside cabin which was extremely quiet. The food was excellent and I personally think it was better than on the P and O and Cunard ships we have stayed on. Staff were pleasant, cheerful and helpful and the entertainment seemed to be more varied and even better than before. I think the young cruise show team could bring their contributions a bit more up to date and introduce their acts rather than frantically pile through them non-stop. I was with my family who ranged from 14 to 72 and we all thoroughly enjoyed our trip.

Author: Molly & Alan Mitchell

Summary:  Enjoyed a lovely week on the Balmoral, brilliant crew and the food was excellent, will book again in future.

Author: Margaret Feltham

Summary:  I joined The Balmoral at Dubai on 27th January. Travelling by myself can be daunting. For anyone wishing to travel alone, don't hold back there are absolutely no problems with Fred Olsen cruises. I opted to do The Golden Triangle trip. Very well organised and staying in first class hotels. I booked trips at all the ports. Again well organised and interesting. I found all the staff work extremely hard, kind and helpful. I have been fortunate to travel on the Queen Mary, I would choose The Balmoral in preference. Why, well the food was just as good. The cruise ship could enter smaller ports. The excursions were much better. Agreed the larger ship's ambience was much more in keeping with a five star cruise ship, and of course the cost was far greater. Isn't it better to do more cruises per year than just one very expensive one. The choice is yours.

Author: Colin Castling

Summary:  The ship is one of the largest in Fred. Olsen fleet and the facilities are excellent. We joined the ship at Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo on it's world cruise out of Southampton. The food onboard is certainly 5 star at every meal and the choice of dishes unbelievable. The inside cabin that we had on the 8th deck was just a little small but more than adequate considering that most of the time was spent outside on deck. The daily and evening entertainment provided was quite enjoyable so there was always something to occupy ones time on sea days. In contrast to earlier cruises that we have taken, everything now is chargeable to your account on board and the prices are quite high. A bottle of house wine at dinner will set you back £18, a cocktail or beer will be around £5. There is no complimentary sail away bubbly, nor complimentary first cocktail at various times now. All this has past and gone. The tours booked pre boarding cost in excess of £600 and proved poor value for money with one or two downright disgusting and a bit of a rip off. Many people made their own arrangements with taxis etc at each port. Our mistake. Be wary of using the WI-FI on board if you have an I-Pad. It costs £5 for 30 minutes and logging in and out is rather complicated for all but the very IT proficient. In addition it is only operative in certain hot spots on the ship and is extremely slow connecting whilst using up your precious minutes. We actually bought two lots of 30 minutes and only succeeded in sending two short emails.