January 20^th, 2024

At Sea

Hopefully it wasn’t related to bopping the night away, but we were awoken in the middle of the night by the announcement of a “Code Alpha” in one of the cabins. A code alpha is ship speak for a medical emergency. It’s so worrisome when that happens, especially as we are quite a distance from the shore.

Another beautiful sea day, and a jam-packed schedule.

There is so much going on, and it’s difficult to pick and choose. They certainly do know how to keep folk busy.

Thinking about our few days so far, I have a lot of good things to say about Fred Olsen. Especially the huge, soft bath towels. But there are several small things that are annoying. The ship feels crowded. You trip over people everywhere you go and you have to plan to leave extra time when you are going somewhere because of the potential for obstacles in your way.

Maybe I am just getting used to all inclusive cruises, but the extra cost for normal things is frustrating.

OK first is the extra cost for a decent afternoon tea.

Then there are the bathrobes. In answer to my question about bathrobes the reply was “for those guests staying in suites and benefitting from our Suite Dreams package, bathrobes are provided with our compliments, on all cruises of three nights duration and above. Bathrobes are also available for use in other cabin grades, subject to availability. A refundable deposit is required and a charge is made to cover laundry costs”. Really – a deposit AND pay for cleaning?

Rather nice water bottles are available in the cabins, but they are just for use while you are on board – it costs 14 pounds each to take them home.

You are not allowed to bring any alcohol at all on board. No single malt or Veuve Clicquot to drink in the cabin with the canapes. You can however purchase Lanson champagne for twice what you pay for Veuve Clicquot in the West Quay Asda. So one does not have to suffer too much.

To use the washing machines in the launderette you have to go to Guest Services and buy a token for 2 pounds 25 pence.

Finally, if you are on a saver fare and want to change your dining assignment, you have to pay a 2 pound a day each fee to do this. So it would have been 28 pounds for a couple on this cruise if they wanted to change the size of their table, or switch from early to late seating.

None of this really matters in the grand scheme of things, but it does seem strange.

One good thing is the cost and quality of the WiFi. It is 120 pounds for one device for 14 days, and the speed is amazing. They have Starlink and quite honestly it is as good as the service we get at home, even in our cabin. It shows you what can be done even on an older ship.

While the interior design of the ship is OK for the most part, the artwork on the ship is eclectic to say the least. Some of it is very nice and tasteful, some of it is quite unusual.

I find the painting of Nelson outside the Lido Lounge to be quite disturbing. It is certainly a new way of looking at him, but there is something creepy about it.

Then there is the painting above our bed.

As there are mirrors along the wall at the foot of the bed, it is the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning. There really is not much wrong with the artwork as such, it’s just rather startling when you are used to muted scenes of Venice and the like.

One great thing about Balmoral is that she has a wraparound promenade deck, fittingly on deck 7. And it is teak. That’s how ships should be.

It’s not wide enough for teak deck chairs and loungers, but you can sit there in a metal upright chairs watching the ocean go by, or if you are more energetic you can do 4 laps around the deck and congratulate yourself on walking one whole mile. I did just that.

Despite the sign

There were many people walking in the opposite direction. Maybe the direction changes from day to day. We must check it out tomorrow.

At the front of the ship there were what looks like speed boats. One wonders what they use them for. Out running pirates? Those look like pretty powerful engines.

The daily schedule is called the “Daily Times” and comes complete with a crossword puzzle and tear off strip showing what is really happening that day, which is easy to put in your pocket instead of carrying the complete schedule around with you.

The talks were varied and interesting. We are excited that there is an astronomer on board, Dr Fred Stevenson, who gave a great talk on “A beginners guide to the night sky”. Even I could understand it. Later in the cruise he will be holding stargazing sessions for small groups of people. I hope the session we signed up for will have a clear night.

In no time at all it was time for canapes. I managed to get a photo this time before they disappeared.

From our cabin we watched a lovely sunset. No green flash, but then we have never seen a green flash in the Atlantic.

We had booked dinner at one of the two specialty restaurants, Colours and Tastes, an Asian fusion restaurant. The food was tasty, and we had a great evening. We do like dining with tablemates in the main restaurant, but a quiet table for 2 by the window is something I really enjoy. We are so lucky to have great choices.

We were exhausted after dinner, and decided to forego the rest of the evening’s entertainment and have an early night.

It is so wonderful to be rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the ship 🙂