Braemar Reviews

Enjoyable Mystery Cruise with friends. Aviles, very average, Bordeaux, interesting. Falmouth Beautiful weather, greeted by the Mayor, port laid on coutesy bus to Maritime Museum, then enjoyed the quaint streets and harbour.

We felt the journey to Avila’s was too far for just a day especially as it was a Bank Holiday there and everywhere was shut! The entertainment on the ship was very poor nothing to do while at sea days. The beds were too hard and we had bad back aches. On the plus side the food was very good and the staff very pleasant.

Just what I expected

Just back from an 11 night cruise a bit over-priced at £1554 inside cabin for 2. The crew don't seem to be enjoying the job all looking very glum. The gratuities at £10 per day a bit high so I removed them from our account and gave cabin steward and table waiters £25 each.The food was good plenty of choice but the weather spoilt it for us 4 days sick.

The whole (first cruise) experience was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and Iglu made the process hassle free.  Braemar is a beautifully kept ship with a wonderful crew, the staff could not have made this holiday any more enjoyable. I will definately use both Iglu and Fred Olsen again.

An excellent small ship. The crew, food, facilities and entertainment were first class. I would recommend this ship and Fred Olsen to anyone. We will be booking again.

November is not the time to go on this type of cruise, especialy if it is onboard Braemar. We booked a suite, but was moved three times due to refurbishing activities. Because of this we were not recognised in the system of booked tables in the dining room. Poor food, house wines mediocre, necessitating paying extra for quality wine. As for the cruise November is not the time to visit the Seine, everything closed down for the winter. Did I enyoy? No way.

A lovely itinerary on a wonderful ship that we have been on before and loved. The staff were amazing as always and very considerate and kind. The weather wasn't good with only one day of sunshine when we were in Olden and again on the last day on the ship coming home. The rest was heavy showers and our day in Bergen we cut short due to the really heavy rain. Sometimes the rain spoilt the views in the fjords but it was still a wonderful relaxing holiday that we both really enjoyed. The only downside which we knew nothing about in advance was the amount of children onboard which is something that Fred Olsen is now encouraging by its Little Skippers club. I cannot find anything about this club in the Fred Olsen brochure and it is interesting that on their review there is nowhere to put feedback about it. When the children were in the Little Skippers club they were well entertained and behaved well. They went to the first sitting of the show with the club and that worked well. It was when they were with their parents that they were running about on the ship from 5.30 in the morning until 11.00 at night. I think Fred Olsen is making a big mistake in encouraging these family groups. When the Little Skippers club is not operating there is nothing much for the children to do to keep them entertained, and parents seemed uninterested in the fact that the majority of customers were elderly and had different needs. I thought Fred Olsen would have known by now that their core business is from elderly customers and it is that group who are so loyal to them and return regularly. Many I spoke to were reconsidering their options for future cruises due to this.

To the Heart of the Baltic was a beautiful cruise backed by superb customer care. Nothing was too much trouble for the crew. The trip far exceeded my hopes and expectations.

Great little ship. Only praise. No complaints.