Balmoral Reviews
View Cruise DealsMy first cruise on a smaller ship. Absolutely loved it. Older age group, but friendly. Good food, staff lovely. Capt very available and a great personality. Loved most of the talks, the entertainment varied but overall was good. Enjoyed the scenic info as we passed different places and great to go into some of those smaller channels. Would definitely go with Fred Olsen again. Nice touches, like the ship at the end of my loo roll, the toweling penguin and rabbit, choc on my pillow. We missed one port, but the Captain explained why and shared his new route to avoid our discomfort of bad weather and rough seas - fine by me - much better that he be concerned with the safety of his human cargo:) Came home feeling renewed.....thank you Fred Olsen.
First time with Fred Olsen and we were very impressed. We only did a mini cruise but nothing was too much trouble for us. The ships décor was really beautiful with lots of different areas to relax in. The decks were great with the pools and Jacuzzis on different levels. The food was excellent and the specaility dining exceptional. The crew were all amazing. Will definitely be booking again.
It was a fantastic cruise on a lovely ship which was well maintained, had a special and caring staff and was a wonderful cruising experience. I will definitely travel Free Olsen cruise again. Overall experience was outstanding.
Balmoral is an excellent small ship with fantastic friendly staff, great itineraries and super choice of food. Ideal cruise for couples and solo travellers who enjoy traditional cruising.
Lovely ship. Perfect size for us. No queues for food. Missed having somewhere sheltered from the wind to put feet up. Entertainment could be quite poor at times but the trade off was a nice quiet relaxing break with great staff in attendance. 3rd deck forward probably not a great choice for us but the price was good as a last minute booking. Found 2nd sitting at dining difficult as we are early to bed types but we coped. Colours and taste was a great experience with lovely food with sound menu advice and attentive staff.
Fabulous crew, Fred seems to have full complement of crew back, very smooth seas, never known it so flat. Excellent cruise.
The shows weren't to our taste, but the rest of the ship's services were excellent. Food was adequate and the Spey dining room was wonderful with a large picture window. Table of six, all good company. An older fashioned ship, but lovely.
Staff were wonderful, good staff to customer ratio, and food was amazing. Entertainment was Ok. Lots of activities were on offer. Our fellow cruisers were mainly elderly. We were lucky with good weather. It is a small ship so for the less able easier to get around, although in bad weather it would probably have been more uncomfortable. It was the staff and their service which made the trip memorable.
Used the cruise to visit family and friends in the Netherlands. The disembarkation location in both Amsterdam and Rotterdam were perfect - every sight in walking distance or by shuttle bus.
Very friendly, both passengers and crew. Nothing seemed too much trouble. Ship was clean but older. A paper copy of the port where we docked would have made a huge difference, as it was difficult to navigate our way with no guidance. Staff suggested the local 'tourist information' but we didn't know where that was.