Gaynor onboard Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Braemar

The lovely Gaynor from our reservations team has just returned from a cruise onboard Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Braemar – here is what she thought of the ship! 

Having been fortunate enough to have sailed on over 30 Cruises in the past – from luxury ships like Seabourn and Silversea to huge ships such as Majestic Princess and Independence of the Seas, I must admit I was a little wary of sailing with Fred Olsen as my perception had always been that they were older ships for an older clientele. How wrong could I be!

Yes, the Fred Olsen ships do tend to attract a more shall we say mature client but it is no wonder. Many of their guests have sailed with them time and time again, because there are so many good things about this cruise line. So let me tell you about my first Fred Olsen experience.

On arrival in Southampton, the check in was the easiest I have ever known – we were onboard within 15  minutes of checking in, and were welcomed onboard with a friendly member of staff who directed us to our cabin. We were lucky enough to have one of the deluxe balcony cabins situated on deck 8 – I had been recommended this cabin over the suites as it was almost the same size as a suite, but had a very large balcony which got the sun all of the time. Some of the suites on the Braemar are on Deck 7 and so while they are still beautiful they have sheltered balconies so don’t tend to get as much sun – and as a sun worshipper that was great for me. If your having a standard cabin these are still very nice, with lovely décor in soft colours and of course the tea and coffee making facilities are a bonus for the ‘all British guests’ onboard.

I have to say the compulsory muster drill was carried out extremely well, there was no need to take your life jackets to your designated area which is always a bonus! After this it was time to explore the ship, the first stop being the Palm Court Buffet for a light snack before sailing. Again I was so impressed, waiters led you to a table every day, even when the ship had a sea day and the buffet area tends to get very busy you always got a table. Waiters also served tea and coffee at your table during breakfast. The choice of food was excellent, some traditional British food, cottage pie was my favourite. They also had lots of sea food and a special carvery most days – more about the restaurants later.

I understand that Braemar like other Fred Olsen ships was refurbished and ‘extended’ a few years ago but even with the ship at full capacity, 900 plus guests, it never felt full. All the lounge areas had plenty of seating and when the sun came out on the pool decks there are lovely seating areas and sun loungers for everyone.

I mentioned that it was an ‘older’ clientele, but as this sailing was in the school holidays there were about 60 children onboard and the Sharks Club with their own entertainers seemed to do a brilliant job at keeping them entertained. This that was another perception I got wrong.

Before our first dinner onboard it was time for a pre-dinner drink and our favourite place was the Observatory Bar where you can enjoy a drink listening to the piano player with a great view every day and night. After our first visit the staff knew our names and our favourite tipple and where always ready with a smile.

Braemar has 2 restaurants, the Thistle and The Grampian, my tip would be to request the Grampian which is on deck 8 as it has lovely views and is a little smaller. However as you can’t guarantee your dining restaurant we did have lunch a few times in the Thistle on deck 4. This suits a lot of guests as it is closer to the other lounges on deck 5 and was still very nice.

Dinner was excellent, we were on second sitting and there was always a good choice, again I couldn’t fault the service. We had opted for the all inclusive drinks package and as such every night there was always a choice of the house wines, or like my fellow guests who wanted to sample the wine list you get a discount off the wine list which is very good value.

On the subject of drinks prices, the drinks package is great value especially if you pre-book before you sail. However if you don’t opt for this the prices are still very reasonable, especially compared to some of the other cruise lines who then charge a service charge as well.

Every night they also served an evening buffet which had a different theme to it called The  Supper  Club. I have to admit we never made it as we usually didn’t finish dinner till around 10pm and then it was time to visit the Neptune Lounge, one of the 2 main areas where there was entertainment every night.

Don’t expect big Broadway shows but what you do get is the Braemar Cast doing a different style of show every night along with some special guests.  The entertainment was very professional and by the end of the cruise you feel like you know the cast and crew as they work so hard during the daytime with different activities. My favourite evening was the British show when they do a very traditional British singalong complete with flag waving, which may not be for everyone. I also really enjoyed the Crew Show when members of the crew got a chance to sing and dance in their own productions, these were the highlight of the week for me.

Our cruise was to the French Rivers visiting Bordeaux overnight, with 4 sea days it gave us plenty of time to enjoy the ship.  Another impressive thing was that every day all the restaurants were open of lunch and dinner so as well as the buffet and the pool bar which served lunches (when the weather was good) there was always plenty of choice and most importantly no big queues!

Getting on and off ship in Ports was straightforward and in Ports that were a little out of town the shuttle bus was £5 return (but if you are on the Freedom fare it is complimentary).

All too soon it was time to sail back to Southampton and again, disembarkation was very quick, we were actually off the ship by 8am with our suitcases waiting and ready for home.  Guests who were booked in groups such as coach travel were all taken off the ship at the right time, which meant no waiting around. There were also plenty of staff including the Captain in the Cruise Terminal to say goodbye to their guests.

Would I sail with Fred Olsen gain YES most definitely and I would say that whatever your age there is something for everyone. If you like what I call traditional cruising this is definitely for you, formal nights are still very popular and I think it is a great tradition that should stay.