Spending the early winter months in the Caribbean is an ideal way to prepare you for the depths of the British Winter, and what better way to do it than on the beautiful Braemar, sailing out of Barbados.
We chose to use our own flights rather than Fred Olsen., which allowed us to tailor make our cruise/fly package, even though Fred Olsen. offered charter flights direct from Manchester to Barbados.
The earlier departure allowed us to enjoy Barbados a little more and acclimatise before making our way to our ship, which also stayed overnight in Barbados.
Luckily we had booked ourselves a Balcony Suite on the Braemar, and it was well worth it for the extras you get, first there was the welcome bottle of sparkling wine, as well as the fruit basket, and the flowers. We also had our bathrobes and slippers!
Then we had pre dinner canapés delivered every evening, and the free formal wear press, all included in the price, not only all this but a suite on deck seven, Bridge deck, so perfectly positioned.
In all cabins and suites, you have your own safe and on the TV set you can continually check your on board account, as well as pre ordering your wine each evening, and any excursions you wish to pre book. Whilst most people, understandably, lodge a credit card for their own account, we decided to pay it as we went along, so there was no need to lodge a card, which is great for more ‘controlled’ spending!
The ship itself was surprisingly spacious and we felt, well proportioned and suited us, although some may want the bigger ships that offer more activities on board, but we were quite happy with what was on offer.
Our restaurant of choice was our pre booked Grampain, although there were other choices the main Thistle and the informal buffet style Palms Café, which is were you can find the fabulous afternoon teas and the midnight buffets. We were given the later sitting in the Grampain was the smallest and most intimate of all the restaurants, but again suited us, with the Maitre Dee and our wine and food waiter giving us extra attention we well looked after, and chose this for breakfast and lunch too!!
The ports of call were varying and gave a wide variety of experiences, Trindad, Tobago, Jamaica, Tortola, St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, to name but a few, but the highlight in the Caribbean after a full day of exploration is always sailing away from the pier, when the sun is going down, standing on the cascading decks at the stern of the ship, whilst the steel drums are playing, add to that the cocktail of the day in your hand, and you can appreciate how mellow and lucky you feel.
The other great thing is the cost of drinks on board, in £’s too, look out for the cocktail of the day, well worth a try and the choice of wine in excellent as well.
The bars and entertainment and shows gave a varied choice too, from the Observatory Lounge, were because of my suite 7007, I was referred to as Mr Bond all week, which obviously left an impression, and yes I know they call everybody that week in week out, but it does make you feel special, so there for pre dinner drinks, to the Neptune theatre after dinner for a show, before a night cap and start all over at a different Caribbean island tomorrow, I could go on and on!
We chose to use our own flights rather than Fred Olsen., which allowed us to tailor make our cruise/fly package, even though Fred Olsen. offered charter flights direct from Manchester to Barbados.
The earlier departure allowed us to enjoy Barbados a little more and acclimatise before making our way to our ship, which also stayed overnight in Barbados.
Luckily we had booked ourselves a Balcony Suite on the Braemar, and it was well worth it for the extras you get, first there was the welcome bottle of sparkling wine, as well as the fruit basket, and the flowers. We also had our bathrobes and slippers!
Then we had pre dinner canapés delivered every evening, and the free formal wear press, all included in the price, not only all this but a suite on deck seven, Bridge deck, so perfectly positioned.
In all cabins and suites, you have your own safe and on the TV set you can continually check your on board account, as well as pre ordering your wine each evening, and any excursions you wish to pre book. Whilst most people, understandably, lodge a credit card for their own account, we decided to pay it as we went along, so there was no need to lodge a card, which is great for more ‘controlled’ spending!
The ship itself was surprisingly spacious and we felt, well proportioned and suited us, although some may want the bigger ships that offer more activities on board, but we were quite happy with what was on offer.
Our restaurant of choice was our pre booked Grampain, although there were other choices the main Thistle and the informal buffet style Palms Café, which is were you can find the fabulous afternoon teas and the midnight buffets. We were given the later sitting in the Grampain was the smallest and most intimate of all the restaurants, but again suited us, with the Maitre Dee and our wine and food waiter giving us extra attention we well looked after, and chose this for breakfast and lunch too!!
The ports of call were varying and gave a wide variety of experiences, Trindad, Tobago, Jamaica, Tortola, St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, to name but a few, but the highlight in the Caribbean after a full day of exploration is always sailing away from the pier, when the sun is going down, standing on the cascading decks at the stern of the ship, whilst the steel drums are playing, add to that the cocktail of the day in your hand, and you can appreciate how mellow and lucky you feel.
The other great thing is the cost of drinks on board, in £’s too, look out for the cocktail of the day, well worth a try and the choice of wine in excellent as well.
The bars and entertainment and shows gave a varied choice too, from the Observatory Lounge, were because of my suite 7007, I was referred to as Mr Bond all week, which obviously left an impression, and yes I know they call everybody that week in week out, but it does make you feel special, so there for pre dinner drinks, to the Neptune theatre after dinner for a show, before a night cap and start all over at a different Caribbean island tomorrow, I could go on and on!
