My FAM trip onboard Fred. Olsen's Balmoral
I recently had the pleasure of experiencing a fantastic fam trip aboard Balmoral, and it as an amazing experience, I have done many a cruise and this lived up to my expectations. We sailed from Southampton for 5 nights to visit the Christmas markets.
I had an ocean view cabin with a large picture window, the cabin itself was of a good standard and large enough for 2 people to share.
We called at Hamburg where we did an overnight stay so we could make the most of the vibrant town and the Christmas markets.
We had arranged for us a day excursion to Lubeck. We did a walking tour which was very interesting and some of the buildings and architecture were amazing.
The city lies in the Holstein part of Schleswig-Holstein, on the mouth of the Trave which flows into the Bay of Lubeck in the borough of Travelmunde, and on the Trave's tributary wakenitz. The island with the historic old town and the districts north of the Trave are also located in the historical region of Wagria. Lübeck is the southwesternmost city on the Baltic Sea, and the closest point of access to the Baltic from Hamburg . The city lies in the holsatian dialect area of Low German.
We then visited the Lubeck Christmas market which was beautiful lots of lovely stalls all selling different and unusual Christmas ornaments. It was extremely busy as this was the first weekend of the Christmas markets.
We then returned back to the ship where it was docked overnight. The following day some of us headed to Hamburg Christmas market which was full of amazing lights lots of Christmas stalls and plenty of street food stalls. It definitely was worth going to see.
The food on the ship was absolutely amazing, plenty of choice and the waiters and waitresses were very professional and cheerful.
The buffet restaurant had plenty of choices to choose from at breakfast and for lunch. I did not go to the buffet for the evening meal as we were seated in the ballindalloch main dining restaurant, again there were plenty of meal options to choose from, service once again was amazing and nothing was ever too much trouble for the waiters and waitresses.
One of the evenings we ate in the specialty restaurant Colours and tastes which is Asian fusion this had a good menu and the food lived up to expectations.
As this was a Christmas cruise the ship was all decorated ready for the Christmas celebrations.
We were also given the chance to take part in the cocktail making activity, this was a lot of fun and would definitely recommend this to guests as it is a real treat.
We were also able to participate in afternoon tea. The food was amazing and plenty of this.
Finally, we took part in a beer tasting, which was an eye opener, gave insight to how the beer was made. Some of them were a lot better than others.
The entertainment on the ship was varied and plenty of things to do for different age groups.
You have dance classes, learning to play the harp, bingo, daily quizzes.
The evening entertainment was a varied kind, from comedian’s dancer’s singers.
Plenty of it again for all guests of different ages.
Overall, the staff’s dedication and enthusiasm for what they do truly elevated the entire journey and played a huge part in making the trip unforgettable. it was a trip that offered both insight and inspiration. I left the cruise with a lot more insight to Fred Olsen cruise line than before. I can’t wait to share my knowledge and experience with all our customers.
Written by Donna Collins, Sussex Cruise Club