THE ADVERTISERTRAVEL SECTION - CRUISINGTHE FJORDS... FRED.OLSEN’S BALMORAL
OurT
ravelEditor
,DavidPowell,takesaNorwegianFjordcruise onFred.Olsen’scruiseshipBalmoral...
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines pride themselves on offering a special cruising experience to their guests. With a fleet of four ships, Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines cover awide range of
destinationsworldwide.One of the most popular from the U.K. is a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords.
Mywife and Iwere booked on flagship Balmoral, our first sailing with Fred. Olsen and we were looking forward to the experience.
After embarkation at Southampton we made our way to our cabin, a Superior Outside. The cabin was spacious, well appointed and very comfortable. Lots of hangingwardrobe space and a separate bathroomwith shower. Therewas a large picture window to watch the world go by, not that we planned to stay in the cabin for long, there was a whole ship to explore and discover! Cabin grades to suit most budgets vary from suites, balcony, outside, inside and single. After dropping off our carry- on luggage we made our way to the Palms Café at the rear of Deck 7 for a welcome aboard snack and afternoon tea.
Balmoral is Fred. Olsen’s largest and newest cruise ship named after the Scottish home of the Royal Family. A traditional cruise ship, very appealing and a lot smaller thanmost cruise ships being built nowwhich gives a distinct advantage of being able to access smaller portswithout tendering and allows the crewand staff to get to know you, refer to you by name, find out your likes and dislikes and generallymake you feel awelcome and valued guest. There are 710 cabins and plenty of spacious lounges and public areas for the 1300 guests the ship can accommodate.
Soon it was time for the mandatory lifeboat drill and then the Sailaway. As we started our journey down the Solent you could feel the excited anticipation onboard aswe set off on our 8 night cruise to the phenomenal
Fjords.Now, however, time to change for pre-dinner drinks before making our way to the restaurant.
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Fine Dining It’s fair to say that food is a high priority for British cruisers and on Balmoral you can expect a wonderful choice of food and fine dining. 5 courses, the mouth-watering dinner menu was varied with many delicious dishes to choose from each night. By now mywife and I had struck-up easy conversationwith a fewfellow guests onboard and we were already experiencing a friendly relaxed atmosphere. The restaurants are all rather stylish and tastefully designed with some fabulous views across the ocean. The Ballindalloch, The Spey and The Avon Restaurants all offer quality dining accompanied by a great wine list. Additionally the PalmsCafé is slightly less formal and is ideal for guestswho prefer not to have set dining times.
Facilities The Marquee Deck 11 is a lovely relaxing area with sun deck, comfortable lounges, golf nets, theObservation Lounge and bar, swimming pool and two whirlpool jacuzzi’s. Atlantis Spa is situated on Highland Deck 10 with an abundance of treatments available for your self-indulgence - well why not .. you are on holiday! A fully equipped Fitness Centre takes up the front of the ship on Deck 10 and there’s a further pool on Lounge Deck behind The Palms Café.
Marquee Deck 11 ... a great place to relax outside THE ADVERTISER ... Regional Papers Across Kent
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