BTN/TNU have previously reported on Fred Olsen Cruises (www.btnews.co.uk/article/17955) and Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC). www.travelnewsupdate.co.uk/article/797).
Fred Olsen Borealis
Let’s take Fred Olsen first. We were delighted to receive a report from a reader who prefers to remain anonymous as he plans to return to the line, but is critical on some points. Borealis is a 4-star ship.
“The embarkation was very well organised with a special desk for those clients with dietary requirements. We checked in. Special menus were supposed to be given to you every evening but this did not always occur. Borealis is the former MS Rotterdam and flagship of the Holland America fleet and was refurbished to a very high standard when taken over by the Anglo/Norwegian company just at the start of the pandemic in 2021. TNU's Editor-in-Chief was a guest on her first voyage under the new ownership. She comes in at 61,000 tonnes, 1,200 passengers with a staff to guest ratio of 2:13. Overall the crew were extremely helpful and very plentiful. The majority of the cabin staff were Filipinos who were very polite and always smiling. The tips pricing was £5 per day for each passenger. Very reasonable. The drinks package at £35 per day was not for us, nor wi-fi £140 for 14 days. I used the ports free services to keep in touch with home.
An old age group with numerous Zimmerman frames and mobility scooters did cause what you might call ‘buggy jams!”. The excursions were interesting but expensive. Drink prices were sensible with a glass of wine for £6 and a cocktail around £7.
The meals were fine and even in the self-service casual diner on the swimming pool deck you are shown to a table. The entertainment is most enjoyable. On this cruise most of the guests were mature and would not be out place on Saga. The artwork etc is excellent. The original designer/architect should be complimented for the splendid interior features.
We did not stop at Valencia (bad weather) as advertised but went to Barcelona instead. Porto, on the original schedule, is a popular stopover, although the port is at Leixões is about 8 miles, requiring a taxi or local bus.
Overall we were very impressed with Fred but it could be described as a geriatric cruise with the average age over 75. The ship is extremely attractive and well fitted out although 27 years old.
How long can it keep going? Food good and caters for special diets. I asked for sugar-free crepe Suzette and yes I got it. Entertainment not as sharp as Ambassador but still enjoyable. We took a junior suite and it was very well presented with water and canapés every day.
The question is would I go again with them and the answer is YES.
www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/borealis
Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) Grandeur of the Seas
RSSC Grandeur of the Seas in the Caribbean, much more up-market and somewhat more expensive.
Chris Tarry, our (and Airline Business) tame economist is a cruise fan when time permits.
Cruising is the best way to see the Caribbean islands. And for us a “port intensive” itinerary on a relatively small luxury liner is the way to do it.For this latest trip we chose RSSC’s newest ship, the Grandeur, for its 12-night “Beauty in Bonaire” cruise, and the “ABC” islands, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, although not necessarily in that order (Curaçao was the second port of call), followed by Grenada, St Lucia, St Barts and the British Virgin Islands. Not only quite different in terms of geomorphological features, but in many other ways different whether they were still connected to, or indeed part, of a European country, or were independent. These factors were evident in terms of both the outlook of those living there and also evident on the economic front too. As ever, spending times with local guides will always provide an opportunity to gain invaluable insights into some of the real issues to back up the “observational data”. It was Miami to Miami.
Our choice for the flights was Virgin Atlantic on an A330-900, the onboard seating product was much better than the herringbone arrangement on the B787s. From arriving at the drive-through check-in at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 to the Virgin lounge was less than ten minutes. At Miami we were landside in about 30 minutes. It was off to Fort Lauderdale for a family get together before transferring to the included pre-cruise hotel, The Intercontinental at Chopin Plaza. Although the room, which gave us a fantastic view over the cruise port, was very well appointed, the in-house dining was disappointing.The next morning our bags were picked up from our room to be delivered to our cabin and all we had to do was to have breakfast and meet at the appointed time in the lobby and transferred to the ship – a journey of about five minutes.
Getting on board was very rapid and then for most passengers the next step is to have lunch at any of the restaurants and wait until the cabins became available, spot on time.
The Grandeur is the newest ship in the RSSC fleet and entered service in November 2023, a year and a week before we got on board – our key card wallets were embossed with “inaugural season”.
To all intents and purposes, it is the same size as the Splendor which we have reported on in the past. There are however some subtle and not so subtle changes in décor and furnishings which makes them different ships. (Rather like SAGA Adventure and Discovery – Editor-in-Chief.)
In terms of the restaurants, the Veranda/Sette Marie, is different in layout with tables for two set against some of the windows so both guests can look out to sea. Similarly the layouts of Prime 7 and La Chartreuse are different but Pacific Rim, despite having a very impressive cherry tree made of glass at its entrance, as opposed to a metal and engraved dragon, is broadly the same inside as on the Splendor. The most notable difference is in the main restaurant on board, the Compass Rose restaurant, where they have essentially created a vaulted room, which is light and bright, and at each window there is an inner window which has diode lights in the panel; the effect at night is to give an impression of stretching to infinity and where visually, it appeared to us to have similarities with Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.Our cabin was extremely well appointed and comfortable where the comfort had been improved by a wider sofa in the lounge area.
There are many terms in the industry to reflect what is or what is not included in the price you pay where the one currently in vogue is” inclusions”.
For passengers on RSSC the cruise fare includes, all tips and drinks, although there is a premium wine and spirits list, wi-fi, although your cabin will determine how many devices you can have connected at any one time, all laundry and pressing services (but not dry cleaning), speciality dining and most excursions; all of which make life a lot easier on board.
We had booked excursions in all places where these were mostly island tours and where they ranged in duration from 55 minutes on St Barts, as that is how long it took to drive around the island and make a few stops, we then spent time in Gustavia marvelling at the retail offer and the large yachts, to seven hours in Grenada where amongst other things we went to the highest point on the island by road, visited a mace “factory” and a rum distillery where we had a pretty decent meal that was included. We then drove back to the ship mostly in the dark arriving at the ship around 19:30; the driver was excellent on challenging roads.
The quality of the guides on this cruise was very good with each imparting a lot of information, not only on what we were seeing but also what it was like to live on each island including what the main issues that they faced were. We also chatted about tourism development and here, in a number of cases, a concern was over the increasing number of all-inclusive resorts that were being developed, where the trickle-down effect of tourist spending is restricted and fails to reach the wider economy.
The food on board is extremely good and varied; Day 5 was Thanksgiving Day and, although it was lower key than I had anticipated, there was an opportunity to have the first Turkey dinner of the season. The main changes to the Grandeur’s menus, compared to the other ships in the fleet are in the “speciality dining” restaurants and include new dishes as well as different ways of presenting dishes that are common across the menus.As we tend to eat late, and there is only one show, we did not go to any so cannot comment on what was on offer; however, we did attend two “cocktail and canape” parties where there is +an entertainment element, where the singers and dancers were extremely good, so at least we got a flavour.The RSSC ships are elegant where the vibes are perhaps best described as smart “Country Club”.We returned to Miami after a cruise that was both relaxing and busy. Disembarkation is very easy and immigration just looked at our passports whilst a porter wheeled our luggage. From the ship to the kerbside to the car was about five minutes.
Would we visit the Caribbean again? The answer is yes and we have a trip to the Western Caribbean booked as well as one Miami to Los Angeles, both on the Grandeur. RSSC have a policy that if you book at one price and that is then reduced, it is the new price you pay. Other lines please note.
www.rssc.com/ships/seven_seas_grandeur
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