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| Member Cruise Review |
Fred Olsen Boudicca April 2006 by Yorkshire Phil Azores & Canary Isles |
time on a Fred Olsen ship. We picked this cruise initially because of the ports of call in the Azores and the size of the ship whilst also wanting to experience a cruise with more sailing days, 8 from 14. Here is my review; The weather was a bit variable, warm with quite a lot of cloud most days, no rain after leaving Dover. We did have several sunny days which everyone took advantage of. There was no shortage of sun beds or chairs, they were well spread out over various decks, again something for everybody. The sea was generally quite calm with a fair swell on a couple of days. The Bay of Biscay was a bit choppy going out but like a millpond coming home, I have heard some real horror stories regarding this area. We ate in the main restaurant in the evenings on first sitting. As the ship has been recently fitted out everything was new with pleasant decor. We used the same restaurant at lunchtime but alternated between the menu and the buffet depending on what was available. Breakfast we used the secret garden cafe which was buffet. The food and service were excellent, as you would expect. The only thing that was noticeably different was that the waiters had more covers than we have experienced before which kept them extremely busy, usually we have had more time to chat with the waiters and get to know them. This did not detract from their friendly nature in any way. The evening entertainment was made up of the typical shows from the entertainment team and from three guest artists. The artists were Jane MacDonald, a good entertainer with a down to earth attitude and a sense of humour typical of a Yorkshire lass, Analiza Ching a brilliant violinist with an excellent repertoire and comedian Peter Anthony, whose comedy was based on everyday experiences and how things had changed. All three went down extremely well, some people were going to the late show to see them again, this may have something to do with the fact that they had nodded off during the early show, and there was definitely something for everyone. The only downside for us was that there was not much in the way of disco music or dancing later in the evening as Fred Olsen typically aims at the older end. We knew this before we sailed. Throughout the day there were various guest speakers and demonstrations. The general facilities were good with an excellent gym which was the best we have experienced, this was under utilised. However there were always a few older folk doing Yoga or Pilates. The library was also very good with a good assortment of books and board games, there were plenty of tables and comfy chairs. There was an extensive programme of daily games; darts, table tennis, shuffle board, quoits, bowls, golf, etc, etc. We did not stop at Horta in the Azores as the captain deemed it too dangerous to tender in because of the swell, my view was it was a good call, I have experienced trying to disembark a tender in waters calmer than in Horta. It was disappointing, there were the usual few moaners who claimed they had only gone on the cruise to visit Horta, but s?*t happens. We did however cruise straight into Ponta Delgado where we got permission to dock overnight, this gave us a chance to spend the evening in town which was good. I will not go into details at the other ports of call which were Madeira, Tenerife, Grand Canaria and La Caruna. Overall this was a very enjoyable cruise, we met some really nice people, as you usually do on a cruise. Because of the elderly age group it was a generally slow pace relaxing cruise. I would not hesitate to cruise with Fred Olsen again, albeit maybe when we are a few years older or we really like a particular itiniery. I can see why they have such a high rate of repeat cruisers, they really do look after people. I know that they are in business and need to make money but they come across as a caring well organised company whose main aim is not to squeeze as much money as possible out of you. Please don't take offence to my reference to old people I hope to be one some day, I do find them amusing, why do they always have to tell you how old they are? one minute they are telling you how many operations they have had and how infirm they are then the afternoon buns come out or there is a seat in the front row of the show lounge and they hurtle across deck, sticks flailing. Definitely a 9 out of 10. If anyone want's any more info please feel free to ask. |
Cruise Line = Fred Olsen Ship Name = Boudicca Date of Sailing = April 2006 How many cruises have you done = 1 Ship Facilities = 4 Entertainment = 5 Dining Room Service = 4 Food = 5 Sports Facilities = 4 Cabin Layout = 4 Bars & Lounges = 5 Ports of Call = 4 Type of Cabin = standard inside Overall cruise rating out of 5 = 4.5 |