Exceptional experience lasting 110 days crusing the Southern hemisphere. Cannot fault Fred Olsen. As a solo traveller special events were put on for us. Port talks were informative. Specialist speakers and entertainment was on a rolling programme. Various classes for dancing,craft,deck games, events were provided fir the whole trip. Optional port excursions well thought out. A truly wonderful experience. Well done FredOksen
This cruise was not as good as the last one I took on Fred Olsen last year because of the entertainment. Across the ship, the entertainment was not as good. As a musician myself, while I am very discerning, I know I sometimes have a higher standard, that aside, the singers on board were out of tune, shouty and at times screechy. The main stage show cast was inexperienced and not nearly as skilled as the cast last year. Singers elsewhere on the ship were also not as good. As much talent as there is out there, I am surprised that FO doesn't find it.
To the topic of dining...the main dining room bill of fare was not so special at all. At times, I have had better a meal at a hotel banquet. This really needs to be looked at because it was so inconsistent. Some nights would be terrific, others average at best. All in all the cruise was ok but not as special as it could have been.
Related reviews
We had heard so many good things about Fred Olsen we decided to do a short cruise to give them a try.
On 22nd May we boarded Bolette and were very pleasantly surprised at how spacious the community areas were.
We had a window cabin which we found quite spacious with lot’s of proper wardrobe space. There was a small refrigerator and tea and coffee making facilities. The bathroom had a spacious walk in shower compared to many other ships we had been on. Believe it or not there was still a nightly turn down service which has now gone from many ships due to cost cutting.
The theatre was I think the best I had seen on any ship and they had some very good entertainment on board.
The dining room was great with an upper and lower level with very attentive staff. The menu had certain things on that were on there daily but also with quite a comprehensive menu which changed every day (unlike a lot of the bigger ships I have been on)to suit all tastes. My only disappointment was the fact that they had two sittings for dinner but I would have liked to see an open sitting scheme.
I am not a buffet person but I think this is the best buffet I have seen on any of the ships I have been on. We did not try it fully just on the first and last day.
Overall I was very impressed.
Lovely cruise, staff amazing, food superb ship clean and tidy, staff always smiling .
Can’t wait for our next cruise
I recently went on a 5 day cruise, with Fred Olsen on the Borealis. We went to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The whole experience was great. Loved the sea days. Especially the 10am craft classes. The lady leading the class really knew her stuff. I did my own thing in Rotterdam and a Fred Olsen excursion in Amsterdam. Again very well organised and a knowledgeable guide.
Fabulous, only slightly spoiled by a faulty mooring line capstan winch that had inadequate maintenance resulting in horrid noises late at night when the sea conditions got rough, also the Portuguese dock workers strikes at the time that meant we had a day at Queta instead, which was a fabulous alternative.
The cruise was a little pricey compared to our usual Ambassador Cruise Line, and missed out on offers from FOCL of £200 per cabin free OBC by just a week when they started extra promotions to sell remaining cabins.
Our next cruise will be back with ACL as they are better in Customer considerations of the need for my wife to take a small mobility scooter on board, to enable getting about easier at the ports of call.
Most aspects of the FOCL cruise were absolutely superb, however both ACL and FOCL could improve significantly if they really looked at each others operations with little or no extra input.
Lucky we were on this ship, the weather wasn’t brilliant on this cruise to the Canaries but we were well looked after, food good (especially Colours & Tastes Asian Fusion), good shows. Fireworks in Lisbon worked better than the previous year on a different ship.

