Ok here goes. After a near month of travelling Im finally settled back at home and nearly unpacked
So Fred Olsen was a line that I never really considered before but interested me all the same due to their traditional cruise ships and nice size. A cruise came up on the Braemar ( former Crown Dynasty ) which is one of their ''newer'' and renovated ships. It was actually extended some years back and an interesting time lapse of the cutting in two and new section can be seen here :
https://youtu.be/QirVr-pEVU4
I knew it was a more senior crowd but that actually did not bother me and much better than screaming kids ! I also have done a lot of the mega / larger ships and wanted something different.
Check in was very smooth. I arrived around midday and was onboard in 20 minutes. Welcomed by very friendly staff and when I got to my deck all of the stateroom attendants were there to greet guests and show them to their accommodations.
I had an outside which was perfect and later turned out to be the best choice rather than a balcony. Very clean and spacious with safe/shower and even tea and coffee making facilities. Plenty of wardrobe space.
This was the daily program :
Then it was time to check out the ship. I always head to the dining room to check out my table and to make sure they have followed through on my requests. Sure enough it had been done and the table was perfect.
A view of the Thistle Restaurant :
Some photos of the public areas of the ship :
Emergency drill.
So we left port and the next 5 days would be at sea. Something I love. The first three days the weather was quite stormy and some people were able to cope for than others. I was fine lucky enough. On the third night we hit a freak wave whilst 2nd seating dinner was on. Now this was something I thought Id only see on Youtube and it seemed like slow motion. I noticed the glasses moving on my table and grabbed them. Other tables around the restaurant were not so lucky. Whole tables with plates of food and glasses of wine slid off onto the floor and guests were thrown out of their chairs onto the floor. Its was all rather surreal. I think everyone were in shock. The crew were great I have to say they shouted to everyone to stay where they were and not to move. The Captain and medical staff all came in and checked on the guests effected. Some had cuts and bruises so it was by no means a minor incident. Still the majority of those didnt want a fuss and got up with help and awaited to be seen by the medics. I would say a dozen were taken from the restaurant. In true British style the remaining ones moved to other empty tables and decided to carry on with their meals. So that was that nights entertainment.
The next day some passengers were wearing bandages and plasters but were all joking about it and not letting it spoil their cruise. The Captain also came on in his daily address and gave a very thorough explanation of what happened and the freak nature of the incident. This happened South of the Bay of Bisque and some passengers said that they thought the ship was not as well able to handle the storms as other ships they had been on.
Still after that everything was normal and the weather was amazing. Calm seas with 25c and sunny.
Most guests would attend talks by various guest speakers or sit out on deck. It was a very relaxed smart casual atmosphere onboard and some very well travelled and interesting people who I got talking to. There were a handful of younger guests with their teenage children but you never saw them and they did their own thing.
The biggest plus for me was the quality of the food and dining venues given the small ship the Braemar is. I dont know how they did it but the variety was amazing. At all meal times there were 3 choices of where to dine. Breakfast and lunch were free seating and you never waited for a table. Dinner was fixed early or late but again you had the opportunity to dine in the buffet at anytime. I always go for second dining 2030 so I didnt go for the buffet but did look one night and it was good quality.
Some food pics :
Free bubbly at breakfast :
Afternoon tea
Another thing to point out which I loved was the fact that at breakfast and lunch in the formal restaurants you could order certain items from the menu but also they had a hot and cold buffet should you want both. The buffet was very high quality with lots of variety and fresh. For instance at lunch there would be around 8-10 different salad items to choose from along with 3 choices of hot dishes. Never a queue which was great.
The speciality coffee cafe with their chocolates which I visited everyday
Lovely areas to sit out aft of the ship :
Fire training drill one day at sea :
So thats my summary. If you are looking for a very traditional cruise experience with no gimmicks then this is for you. 60+ age group and low key entertainment. They had evening shows I only went to two. Certainly not for you if you like the productions that Cunard/CEL/HAL put on but then again this is not that type of cruise experience. This is for people that want a real ship and to chill out and mingle with fellow guests in this rather intimate ship and good quality food and lovely staff.