Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines Balmoral by Richard Cross

I was lucky enough to enjoy five nights on board Fred. Olsen’s Balmoral Cruise ship last year visiting some great ports of call in France, Ireland and the Channel Islands.

Balmoral is Fred.Olsen’s largest vessel afloat, it carries around 1300 passengers and her name comes from the Scottish home of the Royal Family. Although the ship maybe smaller, when compared to other cruise lines, it is still big enough to offer all the facilities and entertainment that other cruise ships offer. This also means that the ship is able to get closer into ports of call then other larger ships.

There are a variety of cabins and suite accommodation on board, I can highly recommend the Balcony Cabins on Bridge Deck. The balconies have superb sea views and watching the sun set on the horizon from the comfort of your own balcony is a relaxing end to a perfect day on the ocean.

There are a number of restaurants on board, the main being the Ballindalloch restaurant which I dined every evening. Whilst on board, a member of our group had a birthday celebration and the staffs on board were excellent, all waiters sang round the table during our meal. The food on board is superb, there was a wide variety of choice and speciality requests were catered for. We also sampled the other restaurants on board Spey, Avon (both on Highlight Deck 10) and Palms Café (on Lounge Deck 7). Palms Café served an excellent buffet style selection every evening after the review shows, an alternative from the main restaurants. Breakfast was served in all restaurants, we ate in the Spey & Avon restaurants which provided excellent sea views. The Morning Light pub was a new addition to the ship in 2008, we took part in the daily quiz on the days we were at sea (although never won!). A fresh and light pub, named after a earlier ship from the Fred. Olsen fleet.

In the daytime, there were lots of activities to do on board. There was an Internet Room to keep in touch with emails and news from back home, plus a card room and a well stocked Library. In the Lido Lounge we also joined in the fun of the Daily Bingo, with a prize of £500 on offer…(I was very close to winning!!!) On deck there were two pools and a number of smaller Jacuzzis. Plenty of seating on deck was also available, sitting on deck in the blazing sunshine, topping up the tan, whilst we were in the middle of the ocean was fantastic…I didn’t want to come home! The gym and fitness centres were also available and provided good sea views whilst getting fit!

The nightlife on board excellent, after our evening meal, we would go to the Neptune Lounge and take in a review show or enjoy a musical. One of the nights was a themed night whilst another night we enjoyed a magical illusion show! The staff in the Balmoral Theatre Company were great and all spoke to us after the show. After the show, we would either go to Palms Café for our midnight snack or slope off to the Observatory Lounge for the Disco into the small hours of the night!!

It was sad to get off Balmoral, as I would of gladly stayed on board for another two weeks to sample to delights this fantastic vessel has to offer.

NCL Epic by Joe

I recently enjoyed a 2 night taster cruise on the brand new Norwegian Epic. This is the largest ship I have been on so far, and I was impressed with the huge amount of choice available on board. NCL operate a “Freestyle” Cruise without set dining times, so you can sample several different dining options.

There are 22 different choices for dining on board, from the very simple to the really grand. An absolute must is one of the dinner shows. The Spiegel Tent where your waiters are the performers is great fun, and why not take part in the Murder Mystery lunch there? Or visit the Manhattan Room where Elvis, Tina Turner and Madonna serenade you while you dine.

Out of the 22 restaurants, more than half are included in the fare, and some have a cover charge which I felt was worth the extra. The Mediterranean style “La Cucina” restaurant which overlooks the front of the ship was wonderful. I think my favourite, though, was Shanghai’s Chinese Restaurant. I had a delicious meal there as the sun was setting. Very romantic!

There’s so much to do on board, you’ll be hard pushed to fit everything in! Make sure you pack your costume to try the water slides, or to just relax by one of the pools. There’s a great adults only, open air bar at the rear of the ship, and a fun nightclub with beds by the dancefloor! I was impressed by the amount of open space on board. I thought such a large ship would feel crowded, but there was plenty of open deck to relax on and I never felt hemmed in at all. I did have a look at the gym and was blown away by the facilities in there (I didn’t use it though!).

The spa is amazing, and one of the saunas has picture windows. You can de-tox in the spa, or re-tox in one of the many bars! The Ice Bar is a first at sea. Do make sure you get to see the Blue Man Group in the theatre, but don’t sit too close to the front of the stage!

Night owls are spoiled for choice too. I really enjoyed “Fat Cats” Jazz and Blues bar, a smaller, live music venue. There’s comedy shows to enjoy, and a huge casino if you fancy a flutter.

There’s a massive choice of different accommodation on board, ranging from the Studios which are exclusively for single travellers, and have their own private lounge, right up to the Suites. I really liked the Spa Suites with the Jacuzzi in them! I think it’s worth treating yourself to an upgrade.

There’s plenty for families to do, and the kids’ and teens’ clubs will keep them occupied all day. There are 6 bowling lanes on board, and there’s an Aqua Park for the children, as well as the daredevil slides for the big children! There are rock climbing walls, and bungee trampolines.

Overall, plenty to keep everyone occupied all day.