Cruising With Fred Olsen

[BevS97]

We are off on a 2 night ‘test' cruise this weekend. We were very lucky to be invited onboard by a friend of ours who works for Fred Olsen.

The cruise departs from North Shields port which is a short 15 minute drive from home. Our daughter dropped us off and we went through for the Covid testing. The test was quick and easy and then we had to wait a while for a group of people to be tested and we were sent to check in. It's the first cruise for a lot of the staff so they are learning the ropes but it all went smoothly and we are now on a bus to take us from the terminal to the cruise ship.

Our cabin is lovely. It's a mini suite and it's huge! Loads of cupboards. A big balcony. I'd be quite happy in here for a longer cruise.

We've just had lunch in the main dining room. I noticed there are no bloggers or vloggers. No one is taking photos of their food. So just a sneaky pic of my dessert.
It's a buffet for lunch and it's all very tasty. We are going to explore the ship now.

After lunch we walk around the ship to get our bearings. It's quite a small ship so it doesn't take long. We pick up a ‘Ships Times' and discover they offer afternoon tea. This is good news as I love afternoon tea. And bad news as we just ate lunch!

There are quite a few bars and lounges and we have a wander getting the feel of the place. We aren't too sure what we want to do so we just walk around. There are lots of different bars and seating areas indoors and out.

You can see the terminal where we checked in. The bus journey was about 500 meters!

Our wandering take us through the Palm cafe where they are serving afternoon tea. This is served buffet style and they have some savoury treats, various little cakes and also pancakes and maple syrup. It's not been long since we have lunch but I'm not one to pass up an afternoon tea so we try a few things .

After our afternoon tea we pop back to the cabin to unpack a little and then we go in search of a cocktail. We settle down on deck with a drink and our books. It's very pleasant on deck but the wind is quite brisk so eventually we move inside where there is a bar with a great view and it's definitely warmer. There is a singer on and it's very pleasant.

We are on early sitting for dinner. Considering we've already had lunch and afternoon tea this was probably the wrong choice !
We head down to our room to change and as we walk down to dinner the ship sets sail.

We soon realise we are heading upriver rather than out to sea which bemuses us.
Eventually we must turn around as we notice North Shields has moved to the other side of the ship and we are heading out to sea now.

We are seated at a table of 8 for dinner. However the other 6 don't arrive, so it's just the two of us. Which feels a little bit strange but not to worry.

We are still quite full from afternoon tea so we try and choose light options. Phil has a Consommé and I choose the pate. But I only have a tiny amount of the huge pot that arrives.
We ordered a couple of glasses of wine with dinner.

For mains Phil chooses Halibut and I opt for a steak and jacket potato. It seems I'm not great at choosing lighter options!


These meals were delicious but it was the first night for the crew and I think they had some teething issues as there were some long waits for main courses.

For dessert, Phil opted for brownie sundae and I chose pavlova. We also had coffees.

After the meal, the wine waiter brought over the bill and Phil merrily signed it and handed it back. I took a look and we'd been charged for 2 bottles rather than 2 glasses of wine. Honestly Phil just signs anything! Anyway it was quickly rectified so no harm done but I was amused at how happy he is to sign when we are on holiday. He's not so keen at home

Later this evening there is a show in the main lounge so we are going to head there shortly and see what it's about.

We finished off the evening in the Neptune Lounge. There was a show on called ‘Ministry of Rock'. A fantastic group of performers sang and danced their hearts out to all the songs from my youth. Springsteen / Queen / Bon Jovi plus much more. It was great fun and a good end to the evening.

There are more activities into the night. I think they said the last bar closed at 5am but I was ready for my bed.

We started the morning with breakfast in the Palm cafe, which is the buffet. They had plenty to choose from. Danishes / continental / full English. Anything you might fancy really. The restaurant was quiet so the waiters were super attentive popping over to refill our coffee every few minutes.

After breakfast we went back to the cabin to relax and make some plans for the day and then we headed out around the ship.

We decided to walk around the deck. It was blustery to say the least, and quite foggy. I don't think there would have been many people around the pool!
We didn't walk far before we decided to go back inside.

Our destination was the bookmark cafe. Which is a lovely spot where they serve coffee / hot chocolate and have a chocolate counter. We skipped the chocolates but we did have a drink and spent some time reading.

It seemed to be quite a popular spot with people escaping the weather outside.

There was a quiz on later in the morning so we decided to give that a try. We aren't natural quizzes but it has to be said this wasn't a hard quiz.

We got 15 / 20 which we were very pleased with.

After the quiz we were determined to walk that lap around the ship so we set off again. It wasn't too bad on the first side of the ship but as we came around the front the wind hit us very hard.

Apologies for all the selfies. I don't have the girls here to take photos off!

We were getting blown away as we came down the deck but we made it back down to the aft of the ship and can confirm. No one was on the pool deck!

We returned to the Bookmark cafe and read for a while.

About 1pm we decide to have some lunch and choose the Ballindalloch restaurant. They are serving a buffet and also alacarte. I chose a chicken pesto sandwich and Phil opts for bangers and mash.

We are seated alone at a table for 6.

We had some dessert and coffee and a mum and daughter are sat at our table. They are from Durham and are heading off to Florida shortly so we have a lovely chat with them while we finish our meal and have some cheese and biscuits. We discuss how you basically just move from one meal to another when you are cruising.

I haven't taken so many photographs this afternoon. After lunch we read for a while and then we decide to try the afternoon quiz. We were feeling confident after this morning but sadly it was misplaced as we scored a pathetic 8.

After the quiz we had a drink, I had a pina colada and Phil had a planters punch.
Very nice they were too.

We headed back to the cabin to change and have a rest before dinner and then we headed down for our meal.

We were once again a 2 sat at a table of 8. There were quite a few tables like that, so I'm not sure if it's because there were reduced numbers on the cruise or if people had opted for the buffet instead.
Dinner tonight was much quicker than last night.

We both chose the loin of pork which was delicious.

For dessert I had the key lime pie, and I think Phil had Baileys ice cream pie.

And we had some cheese to finish off.
So yet another small meal! I am going to have to be rolled off this ship tomorrow!

After dinner we went up to deck 11 and walked around the deck and watched the sunset. It doesn't take long to walk around the deck as it's quite a small ship.

We then went and watched the pianist in the Observatory lounge who was very good. Sadly I took no more photos. We liked this lounge. It had a nice atmosphere. I could see spending a lot of evenings in there on a longer cruise.

We went down to watch the magician who was pretty funny and after the show we had a chat with our friend who is working onboard. She was telling us that they have been refitting the ship and everything was brand new for the cruise.

We decided to go back up to the lounge and watch the pianist again but her set finished just after we arrived so we didn't stay long and decided that it was time for bed.

I woke up at about 10 to 5 and realised Phil was on the balcony watching us sail in. Phil is North Shields born and bred but we have a view of South Shields. He takes some photos. I opt to remain cosy in bed…

After we have docked we get dressed and head down to breakfast, we opt for the Palm Cafe buffet restaurant but really after the amount of food I've eaten over the last two days I don't want a lot of breakfast.

After we've eaten we walk around the deck a few times. It really isn't a very big ship and you can do a full lap very quickly.

We are doing a Strava challenge at work so I record our walk. This is two laps.

After our walk we go back upto the cabin and finish packing and then wait to be called to disembark.

We are called off at 7:50 and head down in the lift and are straight off and onto the bus to the terminal. No queues at all to disembark. It was all very easy and straightforward.

We got a taxi and we're walking into the house by 8:20. I definitely like the convenience of North Shields port!

[Borderbairn]

I'll be interested to hear what you think as we are considering a Fred Olsen cruise out of Newcastle to the northern lights.

[Love*my*hols]

I am interested in this as we have just returned from Sky Princess and would like to try a small ship.

[kevbrydon]

great start and we have looked at Fred Olsen a few times so looking forward to this report..

[Michelle]

Have a lovely time both of you..

[scottishnellie]

Have a lovely time! Looking forward to more updates x

[Cutiepie]

Have a lovely day. So far so good, looking forward to the rest

[Loopylooloo]

Oh Bev! This is so strange for me seeing a dibber on a Fred Olsen ship! Its like you are round my house! 🤣🙋🏼
I worked in the entertainment admin team at head office for 15 years until covid hit. Its so wonderful to see you enjoying this lovely ship, and the food! Still looks good. I hope you have a wonderful time, thanks for sharing these great photos.

[BevS97]

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

Oh Bev! This is so strange for me seeing a dibber on a Fred Olsen ship! Its like you are round my house! 🤣🙋🏼
I worked in the entertainment admin team at head office for 15 years until covid hit. Its so wonderful to see you enjoying this lovely ship, and the food! Still looks good. I hope you have a wonderful time, thanks for sharing these great photos.

See more...

The entertainment we’ve seen so far has been great! We really enjoyed the show. How the singers and dancers perform like that for a solid hour I don’t know. They must be super fit

[Loopylooloo]

Originally Posted by BevS97

The entertainment we’ve seen so far has been great! We really enjoyed the show. How the singers and dancers perform like that for a solid hour I don’t know. They must be super fit

See more...

Hi Bev! Who was the magician? The shows are usually very good considering its a smaller ship. Love that you are quizzing, that’s always a favourite of mine, especially with a nice coffee or cocktail. Great photos again thanks 😊