Balmoral Reviews

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I also just returned from this truly exceptional cruise. This was organized by the Miles Morgan agency and the speakers, activities, meals, etc. were well planned and enjoyable. However, as noted by the previous reviewer (Bollinger Babe) departure in New York City from this cruise, the responsibility of the Fred Olsen operations staff, was a total fiasco. I inquired early in the cruise about arranging private transportation from the cruise terminal to the airport. I was assured the line had arranged "plenty of taxis" and that personal arrangements were unnecessary. Thankfully there were porters in the terminal to assist with the luggage but they had no choice but to dump all passengers and their bags in two very crowded waiting areas. There were nearly no taxis available and it was clear no arrangements were made in advance. After waiting nearly an hour for a taxi, and still a long line to go, I was lucky to find by phone a private transport company that was able to dispatch help immediately. The cruise thus ended unnecessarily with a very stressful day of transport. Fred Olsen employees were either totally ignorant of the conditions in New York City or simply didn't care and neither option is acceptable. I have sailed on approximately 75 cruises disembarking at ports all over the world and I have never seen such a disorganized departure. Given this very callous treatment of a large number of their passengers, I would never sail with Fred Olsen lines again. Note that my ratings apply to this very unique cruise that included special activities, entertainment and meals.

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We have just returned from the much-publicised Titanic Memorial Cruise on board the MS Balmoral and we'll never experience another cruise like it again. My husband and I are veteran cruisers and this was our 29th cruise and 4th with Fred Olsen. The Balmoral is a similar size to the Titanic, being 43,000 tons against the Titanic's 46,000 tons. We sailed from Southampton in the wake of the Titanic, 100 years after this luxury liner's ill-fated transatlantic crossing. When we boarded at the cruise terminal, the staff (and a lot of the passengers) had really got into the spirit of the thing by dressing in 1912 period costume, and this was to be a theme throughout the voyage. I like the Balmoral because she is a proper, traditional ship and not a floating block of flats like some of the modern monstrosities. In fact we had been on the Balmoral when she was the Norwegian Crown in 2003, but the ship was refitted in 2008 and we didn't recognise anything from the NCL days. As we were commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's maiden (and only) voyage, everything had been organised and carefully thought out to the finest detail. As well as the excellent food and service that FOCL are renowned for, we were offered the Titanic "dish of the day" so we could enjoy fare typical of that which was served on the Titanic. In addition, there was a string quintet that played music from the Titanic bandsmen's repertoire and on the formal evenings everyone made the effort and dressed in the sartorial elegance of a century ago. Each day there were a couple of lectures / presentations given by maritime historians and descendants of Titanic passengers and crew members; they were superb and really gave Titanic buffs the chance to hear true stories that had been passed down through the generations, as well as dispelling some of the ridiculous myths that have sprung up about the Titanic in recent years. The highlight of the voyage was the special Memorial Service that was given on the evening of the 14th/15th April. The Balmoral was in the exact spot in the Atlantic in which the Titanic struck the iceberg and sank, 100 years to the very minute later. After a memorial service we were invited onto the aft decks, where the ship's padre blessed three beautiful wreaths before they were cast into the sea. At 2.20am, the ship's whistle was sounded in salute and we all sang "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" (the hymn of the Royal Navy) before the band struck up - yes, they even had a band on board - with "Nearer, My God, To Thee". There wasn't a dry eye on the ship. They even had the White Star Line pennant flying from the stern mast. The Memorial Service really did the Titanic victims proud, and was such a moving and dignified occasion. To be there in the exact spot 100 years later was quite an experience, and one that we'll never be able to repeat. Titanic aside, the entertainment on board the Balmoral was very good. They have an excellent orchestra and the featured artistes were brilliant and had something for everyone. There were also three Captain's cocktail parties with copious free drinks and the Captain, Robert Bamberg, always used to end his noon announcements with "A very good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen and, from the Bridge, all is well", which because an absolute catchphrase by the end of the cruise. :-) As we were following the Titanic's route we only visited three ports of call and these were Cobh (formerly Queenstown)in Ireland, as well as Halifax, Nova Scotia and finally in New York. The ship stayed in port overnight in Halifax and New York, which gave a chance to explore these interesting places further. In fact it was nice to be on terra firma after seven nights in a very rough Atlantic ocean. The only fly in the ointment of the entire holiday was the way we were just chucked off the ship and dumped in New York at the end. We had been told that we would be disembarking the Balmoral at 10.00am and would be taken, by coach, to the Milford Plaza Hotel in New York to await our airport transfers at 3.00pm. Instead, we were called to disembark just after 8.30am and just left on the pavement at the pier, where we had an hour and a half to wait for the coaches. It was chaos with several hundred people and their bags milling around outside the cruise terminal. When the buses did eventually arrive, we were taken to the hotel as promised, but just dumped outside. When we went into the hotel, thinking they would have a conference room and maybe some tea and coffee facilities for us, they had no knowledge of anyone from the Balmoral coming at all; they were not expecting us. We therefore had to kill about four hours before our airport transfer, lugging our carry-on bags with us everywhere. Maybe they thought they were doing us a favour, giving us a few extra hours in New York city centre, but our overall impression was that no-one was happy with this arrangement. Nonetheless, we didn't let this spoil our holiday: the ship, the food, the entertainment and of course the whole Titanic theme were just first class and we'll be left with unique and priceless memories of this trip forever.

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We like the "Balmoral" as it is large enough to have all the facilities but small enough to remain personal and friendly. Embarcation was the only poor point on a 5 night mini cruise taking almost 2 hours from arrival to boarding ship. Everything else was a major plus point making this the most enjoyable cruise we have taken. The cabin was well appointed, immaculately clean and maintained so,comfortable beds and with a good roomy en suite with shower. The food was superb with an excellent choice in the breakfast, lunch and late supper buffets we used, with efficient and friendly service in the main dining room. The bars and lounges supplied drinks at normal Uk pub prices,without pressure and NO service charge. The entertainment was by far the best we have experienced with excellent quality shows in the theatre from the Balmoral company plus great shows from comedian Lloyd Davies and fine singer Bruce Anderson. The entertainment team were also excellent throughout the ship with fine singing and entertainment from Jamie Clark, lovely vocalist Jessica Samuel and good music from Frankie Jones and the Q-Tones. On the sea days there were excellent well supported lectures. The fitness and beauty salon are attractive and well equipped. Overall a great holiday break and great value for money.

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From the long queues at embarkation, despite being given staggered boarding times, this proved to be an old-fashioned, limited cruising experience. By the time we finally boarded lunch was long over, and newly embarked guests were heading for lifeboat drill. We found our way to a deck 4 cabin, to discover we had 2 berths,a tea and coffee tray, and a smallish rusty window.The saving grace was that the bathroom was of a decent size and came with a tub, plus 2 neat little bags of toiletries. After the drill, we went to find some food- but it consisted of an afternoon tea type spread in the crowded Palms cafe, which we decided to avoid on future occasions. we had chosen to dine late, and had been allocated a table in the smaller Spey dining room , with its lovely sea views. we had requested a large table, but were not afforded our wish. Dining was very pedestrian, and totally lacked imagination and creativity.The wine list had some unusual wines of a decent quality, and was not overpriced. For our other meals, we lunched in the dining room, as it was so much quieter than facing the overcrowded,badly ladi out self service cafe. though food choices hardly varied and featured salads with tinned vegetables. We prefer room service breakfast when on cruises, but this was limited to cold continental breakfast items. Evening entertainment was offered in the Neptune lounge, but was of a very ordinary standard, and elsewhere a trio played, a keyboard player sang in a lounge, and a pianist played in the attractive Observatory, sea facing lounge. Day time activity was limited to bingo, lecturesand a few deck games.Cabin TV was very poor, with few chanels, and pay-per view films. The entire ship seemed so dated and dreary, with little to compete with the many other ships offering cruises from UK shores.

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I Flew to Montego Bay from London (Gatwick)on a Pullmantur charter Boeing 747 in premium (business) class. Excellent travel on this flight and on the return. The "Balmoral" is an older vessel but has been well maintained over the years. It is comfortable and is unpretentious. The itinerary took to Colon, Panama - transited the Panama Canal - visited Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador in Central America. We then turned South to visit Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Falkland Islands, Uruguay and Brazil in South America. The accommodation was very comfortable. I had an outside, single cabin which was spacious, very clean and with a large picture window. The air conditioning was very effective and the cabin was very quiet. There was ample storage facilities. The cabin was serviced twice daily to a very high standard. The Officers on the ship were mainly Scandinavian (the captain Norwegian) and the domestic staff mainly from Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India. The entertainment staff were mainly British. The staff were friendly, helpful and most courteous. Passengers were primarily British but there was a significant number from the Netherlands and smaller numbers from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, South Africa, Australia, India and Japan. The food on board was excellent. I dined in the Spey restaurant which had the added advantage of spectacular views. The food in the other restaurants was equally good. Drinks prices were very reasonable with no service surcharge. Most ports of call were interesting. The most spectacular was the two-night visit I took from Lima (Callao) to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. The visit in Chile to Santiago from Valparaiso was also fascinating. We rounded Cape Horn on calm seas and bright sunshine although there was a cold wind. The call at Stanley, Falkland Islands was also blessed with glorious sunshine which contributed to the enjoyment of visiting those desolate islands.Montevideo is a lovely city and a joy to visit. Due to the tensions in the South Atlantic we were denied berthing in Buenos Aires, Argentina presumably because of our call in the Falklands. We visited Santos, Ilhabela and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Ilhabela was particularly attractive with beautiful scenery, lovely beaches and refreshing sea. Our brief call in Rio prior to the flight home gave us a chance to visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer and Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. The on board entertainment was mixed but rather disappointing. The tango show in Uruguay was spectacular. This was a most enjoyable cruise.

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