Fantastic Fred Olsen!

  Myself and my three teenagers have just returned from a fantastic week on Freds Balmoral, visiting the Christmas Markets – yes, you did read that correctly – teenagers on Fred Olsen!!
If you read my blogs regularly you will know that I always give a frank and honest opinion, well let me tell you, I couldn’t find fault with a thing! Food, service, entertainment were all excellent, and their staff must have written the book on ‘going the extra mile’.

The teenagers, who are notoriously difficult to impress as you will know if you’ve ever had any, had a blast! This was their first cruise and they all thoroughly enjoyed it. From the afternoon quiz and Bingo to the hot tubs and Spa, they had a great time. I did warn them before we boarded that there would be no Flowriders or rock climbing walls etc, and to be honest they weren’t bothered in the slightest, infact as we chatted on the way home yesterday and I suggested a bigger ship next time with more facilities they all said “No, we like Balmoral!” It was all so easy. Just two hours to Southampton and onto the ship within half an hour!

Although temperatures dipped to -18C at times this didn’t mean that we couldn’t enjoy the facilities. My daughter treated herself to some Spa treatments, while my two boys spent time in the hot tubs on deck. My 17 year old Rhys transited the Kiel Canal in a hot tub wearing just a pink woolly hat. You may be seeing him in next years brochure. Pictures to follow! The entertainment on board was superb and kept all of us amused – my daughter is now addicted to afternoon Bingo sessions!
The ports of call were great too – Gothenberg, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Amsterdam. I will cover these in another post with pictures of big German sausages and Gluhwein!
All in all, the trip was a huge success with the whole family, so don’t ever let anybody tell you that Fred Olsen is only for old people! I’ve already been checking out next years Cruise Deals to see what we are going to do next – with Fred Olsen of course!