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Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In Depth focus on Holland America Line

Category: Europe (page 1 of 9)

2026 May 25; Southampton, joining MSC Virtuosa.

May 26, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Today we joined the MSC Virtuosa in Southampton for a 5 day fact finding missing. Her Ladyship and I do not like big cruise ships in principle, with the wall to wall noise, but we hope that we can do it our way with the MSC two class system. When we were on the Silver Spirit (see review under My reviews) we spoke to a gentleman, who sailed with MSC if he wanted to do a short break from Florida. When I remarked that MSC was quite different to Silver Seas, he said: yes you are right but if you book a cabin in the YachtClub you will be ok. So My Lord and Master hopped from website to website and found that the MSC Virtuosa was making a 5 day cruise from Southampton for a very good price. We are visiting, Cherbourg, Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. None of these ports we have ………………….NEVER, EVER………… been to of course but we are here to see the ship and the MSC product. And if the noise is too much we can retreat to the Yacht Club.

This is the london ring road. The section we drive is from A1M on the top, to the M3 on the left side midle.

So we travelled yesterday from the metropolis of Cromer to Southampton. Cromer has 15.000 in habitants (including the outlying hamlets) in the winter  but during the holiday season it swells to over 40,000 when all the campings are full; The AirBnb’s are full and B&B’s have filled up. Yesterday the beach was full and there were long lines at the ice cream vendors.  It is not real holiday time yet in England but we have what are called Bank Holiday’s. During the year there are a number of extra free monday’s to make the weekends longer so family’s can get away for a few days. Bank Holidays came in force in 1871, to give bank employees some extra time off and to synchronise the opening times of all the Banks. So all the banks would be open (or closed) on the same days. The name stuck and nearly all professions now recognize these days. There are 8 bank holidays in England (this is including the standard religious holidays such as christmas and new year), 9 in Scotland and 10 in Northern Island.

This photo shows a quiet day on the M25. When we drove it was even better with no lorries on the road as it was a sunday.

Normally (Do not ask me why) it always rains in the UK during a bank holiday but this time we have a sweltering heatwave (30oC = HOT, HOT in the UK) and thus on Friday afternoon half the country went on the move. The train operators decided this was the best weekend to go on a strike and those rail routes which are not striking are under going maintenance. Then it is Cup final weekend for the football teams, and hence it was major mayhem on the roads. Lots of reports of collisions, especially on the M25 (outer ring road of London, where nearly all the traffice, that goes North – South or South North) has to drive on, even if it is only for a short while. When you take your driving lessons in the UK, it does not include learning to drive on a motorway, with 2 or 4 lanes, so there is a fair chance that for some people it is the first time that they are exposed to the concentrated chaos of a multi lane motorway with most cars driving at 70 mph.

The MSC Virtuosa (Photo courtesy User-Geni from Wikipedia). The Yacht Club area we are living in, is around the two black window sections above the bridge.

But we drove yesterday, on a Sunday, and we found that all holiday makers were tucked away in their holiday cubby holes, as the roads were more than half empty. I set my Lexus autopilot on 60 mph/ with lane recognition and could stay on that speed almost the whole way without even having to change lanes. (and nobody honking because I was not doing 70…)  That was a new experience but a welcome one. When we are going back coming saturday, it should be quiet as well.  Hence we managed the 225 miles from Cromer to Southampton in 5 hours including a 30 minute pitsstop and that is making good time for driving on Englands roads. (You can nibble about 15 minutes off, if you do the motorway sections at 70-80mph. per hour, but that is concentrated work and not good for your heart rate and  also not good for the petrol consumption.  So by 16.00 hrs. we were at the Hilton hotel in Southampton. This Hilton is attached to a cricket ground and a golf course. On June 4 there is an international match of the UK against New Zealand, so a week early they were already putting out traffic barriers to avoid wild parking.

As we have booked The Yacht Club, we could board anytime, same as Holland America 500+ days and Cunard Gold and Diamond.  Hence we planned to show up around noon time, a time when normally preboarding starts. MSC had already advised that cabins would not be ready until 15.00 hrs. but for the Yachtclub I expect that it would be earlier as it is a smaller section with better service. How our suitcases would fare would be another story.

The MSC Virtuosa is a Meraviglia -Plus class, a class of 3 ships, MSC Meraviglia and the MSC Grandiosa. Due to Covid her delivery was delayed from November 2020 to February 2021 and after being christened by Sophia Loren the ship started sailing in May 2021. She then sailed in the Mediterannean but is now in the summer time sailing from the UK and in the Winter in the Caraibbean. Tonnage 181,541 (that is about double the HAL Pinnacle class and 25% larger than the Queen Mary). Length 331 meters and 50 meters wide (including bridge wings) and 65 meters high with 16 guest decks.  Total double occupany is 4842 with a max of 6334 with all beds in used. 1704 crew to look after the lot. That is approx. 1 crewmember for 3.5 cruise guests and a space ratio of 37,  which is not bad for a high pax. count.  But after we sailed, the Captain announced that due to the British School holidays, there were 6124 guests on board, meaning that most of the bunk beds in the ship were now also occupied and that dropped the space ratio down to 30.

Embarkation was a breeze, when coming out of the taxi, and walking towards the terminal we were found   by security and directed to a separate check in who took the suitcases and verified who we were. Then security took us directly to security scanning, bypassing a long line of other eager cruisers. Once passed security , we were escorted to a separate check in area, complete with butler, champagne and canape;’s. Then marching behind the Butler (with padle so we would not loose him) we were guided on board, via lifeboat check in, directly to the Yacht club day lounge for lunch. A very painless affair. With the chaos developing behind us, it is almost worthwhile to book Yacht Class , just for avoiding the crowds and having a smooth check-in.

You come on board directly in the main hub of the ship. A two story plaza. On the upper level are restuarants and cafe’s and on the lower shops. The ceiling changes color frequently and that is announced with music.

Lunch was delivered at 6 star standard and then by 13.00 hrs. our cabin was ready. We are in 16005 which is very convieniently – located just off the Concierge desk and the daylounge bar. Suitcases showed up by 1400 hrs. Which was very fast, as after departure at 20.00 hrs. they were still delivering suitcases on the lower decks. Not good of course but it made sense as there is no way that you can handle 6000 suitcases with group of crew pulled out from the 1700 while still having the whole ship going.

Somebody is enjoying the simming pool even on embarkation day………………..

Between 16.00 and 17.00  hrs. we made a round through the ship and observed that the swimming pools on deck 16, were completedly taking over by childeren. The ship employs lifeguards to keep an eye on it all and they were busy trying to keep little johnny’s from “murdering” each other by dive bombing in the pool. Then it was time for cocktails, followed by dinner ( Yacht club diningroom , so no need for booking) and show. For everything outside the Yachtclub you have to make a booking on the App. So we needed an hour this afternoon to figure out how the App worked and how the interactive TV worked to get it all lined up. For the shows, there is a separate section in the show lounge for Yacht Club people, and on request you are escorted there by your butler,He/she has a  bypass card for the lifts, so once in, it does not stop anywhere else. It seems that we might be able to do that with our door cards as well so that will be an experiment for tomorrow.

Section of our cabin. It comes with a small balcony, a large shower and a sitting area next to the bed. The ship has a musical theme, hence the “music” pictures on the wall.

Our Butler is called Dora  and is assisted by a cabin steward. Apart from butlering our cabin, she also has to help out in the bars on occasion, so it seems that she has a very hectic schedule.  In the Yachtclub there is constant music  in the evening, by a piano  player or a singing duo, so there is always something to listen to. Much better than having “to hunt” for where there is entertainment as is the case on other ships and having to adjust your cocktail time accordingly.

The Master of the vessel, Captain Henry Lefering. This photo comes from the MSC website and it looks that he is only one of 3 non Italian Captains in the MSC fleet. He used to sail for Holland America and transferred in 2023.

Dinner was six star service, although with limited entries (but for that they try to get you to go into the ship for the speciality restaurants, where you have to pay. The steakhouse is $55,– a cover)  and then the show was 40 minutes of high-octane Abba. (Three shows a night, so you can choose when booking) Although the ship has 18 guest lifts in 3 banks, around 10 pm. the waiting times can be long as all 6000 seem to be going up and down at the same time. And from the show lounge on deck 6 back to the cabin on deck 16, is a long climb.

The main show lounge. It seats about 800, and hence they do 3 shows each evening. Still not enough for 6000 guests, so you have to book.

Tonight is an hour forward as we are going to France, Cherbourg. We were there 4 weeks ago with the Borealis, so I am only going to run ashore to have a quick look in the maritime book shop. Weather for tomorrow” Sunny 85oF / 29oC, gentle breeze and no cloud inside.

 

Day 08, 22 April 2026, Southampton, Final Verdict

April 29, 2026 / / 8 Comments

The good ship Borealis safely docked at 05.15 hrs. in the morning, to be in time to get the longshoremen on board for the luggage offloading. They almost managed that on the time that Fred Olsen had planned, so it was only with a small delay that the Self-Disembark could leave followed by the color coded tags. And we were off by 08.15 hrs.  The only hurdle was for the early disembarkers; that it was Self Disembark on the paperwork but the Cruise Director called it “Priority Disembark” so half the people who were waiting  for the announcement “Self Disembark” were, understandably confused and did not directly leave.

We were not confused but then we had our regular lable sequence. By 08.45 we were back at the Hotel to collect the car and shortly after we were on the road.

So what is the final verdict for this cruise. We sailed with this ship before and then we had the Penthouse (1 of the 4 on board). Based on that experience, the only thing that was less than before was the stewardess cabin service. For the rest the product is very consistent and for 4 Star very good.

The”glare” test that I do on every ship was high with a “97%”. Some ships make the 100% (Azamara) some go well below (Cunard).

So there are the Pro’s and Con’s of this cruise.

Pros:
1. Nice spacious ship, the space ratio is close to 40 for an HAL – R class ship (1304 pax) and with about 1040 guests on board, there was even more space to walk around and find a seat in the public spaces.
2. Very friendly crew. The “Glare” applied gave a score of 97%, with only one hotel officer, one hotel crew, one deck sailor and one engineer failing to smile and be friendly.
3. Drinks included during lunch and dinner.
4. Dining room open every day, also in port.
5. Proper Captains welcome, and farewell party with drinks and appetizers.
6. “Repeater party” with drinks, appetizers, speech by the Captain. This cruise there were 741 repeat guests on board (or 71% of the total on board) with the majority having done around 100 days. The top scorers this cruise were a couple with 1200+ days.
7. Restoration of the Pizzeria on Deck 9.

Cons:
1. Operational let down with the shuttle service “to nowhere” in the port of La Pallice, while the company website advised that there would a free shuttle to the center of the nearest town, if the distance to the town is more than a mile. So no compliance by shipboard with company cruise contract.
2. Changing formal from the 2nd seaday to the next port day, against the promise on the website which is part of the cruise contract Only mentioning “Operational Reasons” is not the way to treat the guests who pay your salary. So no compliance with company rules and no explanation.
3. The degradation of the atmosphere of the Colours and Taste restaurant where table cloths have disappeared and people walking by can now do “window shopping” as the large windows into the corridor have no curtains. It reminded me of facilities available in a certain part of Amsterdam, except here you can see “guests in their natural environment eating”.  However the Hotel Director said that more paintings and curtains were coming in next dry dock, sometime in 2027. Why that has to be done in dry dock I do not know, as it is a job well within the capabilities of the ships carpenters. But then every company has it own routines.
4. Lectures were not posted on the TV. We found several from the cruise before (only to be removed 2 days into the cruise) but none of this cruise. And this cruise it was even more important than normal as with the work going on in the show lounge, the lectures were moved to the Auditorium (movie theatre) which seats on 299 instead of the 752 of the show lounge. Somehow ships staff was not aware of the guiding principle of “Leadership is the Management of change”.
5. Free Laundry or reduced laundry price vouchers. We did not get them. When enquiring at the Front Desk it turned out that a “voucher” is not a voucher as in paper voucher but an automatically applied discount by the Laundry Master when sending down the laundry. For the penthouses, it is free laundry, for the big suites, 10%. Why do we need the confusion as this can be so easily explained beforehand.
6. No meet and greet from cabin stewardess on arrival. When we finally met her 3 days later, the excuse was that WE were not there, when she came to our cabin. Correct she came to our cabin at 19.00  hrs. and that was cocktail time. But we were in the cabin all afternoon unpacking, and that is when meet-and-greet normally takes place. Previous visit, when we had one of the 4 penthouses and the time when we were on one of the lower decks, the stewardess was also waiting for our arrival (and as a – penthouse- bonus even the chief house keeper popped up). We also found many mistakes of incomplete cabin service this cruise so not impressed. There was something missing every day.
7. 2nd formal evening moved to a port day, for no apparent reason, except “operational reasons” cited by the ship. The Fred Olsen website states that it should have been on the 2nd sea day but the ship moved it to the next port day which was a tender port with a late departure. During the HD’s table, we asked the Asst HD and he claimed that this “had always been planned this way”. Very strange because:

a. The Fred website listed differently.

b. Guest Services Desk and Dining room knew that it had been changed recently, although they were not told why.

Can somebody teach this AHD and the rest of the ships staff that honesty and transparency works better than obfuscation ?

Fred Olsen Cruises is a typical British Product (which includes Ireland in this case) and thus one sees very few non British, unless attached to a British person like me to my British wife. Would it be a good product for North Americans:, yes  but it helps if you like Great Britain, like to dress up, like cocktail time, and are aware what “bangers and mash” is.

Our next cruise is at the end of May 2026, and will be a 5 day investigation of the MSC Virtuosa. We do not like big and noisy ships but they have the “Yacht Club” cabins with its own bar and dining room, where you can retreat to when the rest of the ship becomes too much. We have never done an MSC cruise but as the ship leaves from Southampton,  why not ???

Dear Readers, hopefully you will joins us again, even if my observations are not always “politically correct”.

 

A final nice touch, as least for shippy people. Fred Olsen ships always had a bronze bow figure. If a ship left the company, then the figure was taken off and stored in the garden of the Olsen house on the Oslofjord until it was needed again. With the Borealis and Bolette it does not look good to put one on the bow, so they have one on the Aft Lido Deck. I still have to find out from which ship this one once came.

 

Day 07: 21 April 2026, Cherbourg, France.

April 26, 2026 / / 5 Comments

The Cruise Terminal which now houses the Cruise ship terminal and the Cite de La Mer, the under water museum.

Cherbourg is a famous port that became world wide known when the Ocean Liners to the new world started calling here. And company’s such as White Star Line (Including the Titanic which did call here, once), Cunard, French Line, United States Line, Hapag-Lloyd etc. made sure that Cherbourg became a household name. Until around 1969, Cherbourg was an important port of departure for French and Austrian passengers travelling to New York. Visits by ships such as the United States, the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, etc.etc. often made local and national headlines. Holland America never called here until the cruise era started. HAL ships called at the Boulogne Sur Mer anchorage before the 2nd World War and went to Le Havre after the war. It was only when HAL started cruising in Europe again in the mid 1990’s that Cherbourg became part of the cruise schedules. Sometimes as a scheduled port of call but more often as an alternative for St. Peter Port when the wind at the anchorage prohibited the ship from staying there. Cherbourg was very well ready for that event. The routine was that a ships Captain had to go and have a look at the anchorage to see if a tender service was possible, unless the Harbour Master had already closed the port. The latter was the easiest because we could then sail straight on to Cherbourg which is about 40 NM away from St. Peter Port. If the weather was on the edge of possibilities, then the idea was to arrive at sunrise. The Captain would then take a look at the swell and say yes or no. If it was no, then with the good help of the Harbourmaster and his team in Cherbourg we could be docked with gangway out by 10.00, giving the guests a still a  full day. Even when not in the port schedule, those 3 hours sailing between the ports gave the locals enough time to set up the dock, arrange for tours and for the shuttle service into down town.

A display in the building showing the departures in the Trans Atlantic days.

I remember that it was standard, at least for my  ship, to ask those who made this quick follow up possible to be invited for lunch on board, which was always appreciated. That did not always work with the people who manned the gangways and protected the terminal but a few bottles of wine, helped out here. Once Customs found out and wanted to arrest everybody but that was then solved by donating a box of Kendall Jackson Reserve to the Customs office. French customs can be very flexible if you play the game right. The company was always much less flexible as they saw it as bribery, while we on the ships saw it as appreciation. The Hotel Manager had a solution for any discrepancies that might occur in the bottle count. It was called “breakage” and there was often a spike during calls at Southern European Ports. The peculiar thing was that the ship often received gifts from the Port Agents and Tour operators out of appreciation for the business that we brought to the port. So bottles were going both ways. But those were the good old days. Now with soo many cruise ships and soo many mega liners, it has becomed so stream lined that even courtesy visits from the Agent to the “Master of the Vessel” hardly occur anymore.

The old Customs Inspection Counters in the arrivals hall.

When the Ocean Liners left, the Cherbourg Passenger Terminal ended up in the Doldrums somewhat as nobody knew exactly what to do with it. Built in late Art-Deco style it was too wonderful a building to destroy and at the same time it did not have a function anymore. So it was left as it was, with occasional use when warships would visit. Now we can be very happy about that as it is one of the few terminal buildings with a links from where emigrants left and the better heeled passengers went to and from, and is still mostly in an original state.

And guests can see that each time when they go ashore because they have to walk through the Customs Hall with the inspection counters from the 1930’s. Another reason that the terminal was left untouched was the fact that Cherbourg did not need the space. Cherbourg is the largest fully man made harbour in Europe and they could expand outwards and were not limited by rocks, moutains, cliffs or other natural features that confined the size of the port, as we see with a port like Dover. Everything there is cramped in under the White Cliffs.

Then in the 1980’s The City started to develope the “Cite de La Mer” museum focussing on under water exploration and underwater traffic of any kind. So there many kinds of deepsea submarines on display, old, current and feature designs and there is even an large French War submarine in its own dock, which providing a really fascinating  visit.

The main entrance hall, where once the trains came in. Now handed over to Underwater craft.

And that was the reason why I was so excited to visit Cherbourg because in the entrance hall of this museum, which is next to the Maritime Terminal, is a souvenir shop with a bookshop attached to it. Second French Maritime hand books can still be bought with not too many challenges, through Ebay, Bookfinder or Abebooks but for new books it is very hard, as a. French publishers are not really bothered to reach markets outside France and b. Since Brexit the cost for sending a book to the UK, has become very expensive.

I bought not too long ago a Passenger List of the Rotterdam from a voyage in 1963. That cost about 8 euro’s (which is the regular going price between 7.50 and 11 euros) but then postage and customs paperwork (*) added aother 15 euro’s to it. Buying “in bulk” does not help either because when the value goes over 139,– then there might be import duties.

(* since Brexit each individual item imported into the UK or otherwise needs it own declaration for customs. So if it is 10 books the same, it is one customs declaration but if there are  10 different books, then it means 10 pieces of paper. At least when they are new books, when they are 2nd hand or antiquarian, you can cover it with one declaration but then often the value goes up too much. As you will understand Collectors are not very happy with Brexit.)

We decided to limit our going ashore with a visit to the “Cite de la Mer”. It is about a 15 minute walk into town, very pleasant to do today, if you wore a coat, as it was sunny but there was a gale force wind blowing from the North East. The port also lays on a shuttle service to town, which ran every 15- 20 minutes, even through French lunch time. The local community had laid on a dance exhibition in the terminal, between 10 to 12 noon, where authentic Breton and Normandic dances where shown.

Several generations of local dancers and singers.

For the guests the most interesting part was most likely the whole group of small, very small, children in local costumes on display. They were sitting there and remained sitting there for a good two hours while the adults and older children were dancing, singing and playing instruments. My wife and I came back when they were just packing up around noon time and just at the moment when the little ones were all “released from custody” and it was an cascade of French excited noise rolling through the old customs hall, while they all fled together to the outside.

This is one of the latest underwater craft. The US Challenger an underwater craft for one person. The French call it the “American Dildo” ,but I do not know why.

The museum is forever expanding, so when we visit next time, will we probably buy a ticket go inside again. We did so a few years back and the deep seawater tank and the explorers submarines and other exhibits were fascinating. They have now also opened up an Virtual Reality exhibition, where with a headset on, you walk through the ocean terminal in the heyday of Trans Atlantic travel and can experience what it really was like. For the young and young at heart they have set up a display based on the French Comic heroes Asterix & Obelix which are very popular in France, Belgium, The Netherlands but also in England and Germany. But even when not going inside the museum, there is so much equipment in the entrance hall, that it takes more than half an hour to have a look at all of it. The sometimes bizarre contraptions humans use and have used to get to the bottom of the ocean. It is said that we know more about the moon than about the oceans on our planet but if you look at the gadgets needed to go to the sea floor, I am not amazed.

This is one of the latest idea. A craft floating around the world, partially submerged. But because there would be somebody on board  watching 24/7,  they would be able to catch anything unusual, instead of relying on spot checks.

The bookshop was a somewhat disappointment as somebody had decided to “focus” on current affairs and what sold best. Hence there were about 25 different books on Titanic for sale, similar with a load of Titanic children’s book, But I have already over a 100 books about Titanic (from the scholarly level across to popular, to the absurd) and that was not what I was looking for, The real history books were no longer for sale. But I still found 2 books, one a thin on 5 euros,– with photos about the ss Normandie of 1935 and one with the history of the Ocean Liners, not with photos, but with hand drawn scenes of the ships. But done by an expert so the details were all correct. Same as you can see in the paintings of Captain Card on the HAL ships. Apart from nice to look at, they are also technically correct in detail and that is what one does expect if you have a bit of insight in maritime history.

The ships telegraph on the bridge. Now used for photos during bridge tour. It is orginally a mooring telegraph from the Moore McCormack days and came via the Veendam (III) and the Rotterdam (V) to the Rotterdam (VI). The write up is behind the telegraph so those who bother can find out about the history.

This the last day of the cruise and that meant afternoon packing. Luckily we had not bought much so what came out, fitted back in. As part of the Suite package, you get two bottles of liquor included and we had decided on Adnams Copper Gin, which is a very good brand in the UK, but that luckily fitted in the hand luggage. Disembarkation starts tomorrow at 07.45 hrs. and if all goes well we will be back at the car by 08.30 /08.45 and on the road shortly after.  I had asked for a quick visit to the bridge, to see if the ships telegraph, installed by me and Capt. Van Dreumel was there, and yes it was. The Captain was quite eager to have a chat about the background of the bridge, as due to Covid there had never been a proper handover from HAL to Fred Olsen.

 Then it was time to run to the Lido Deck, as the Urbu Band was playing. This is a British Brass band that has been performing for the 8th time on board. As far as I understand they are offered a discounted cruise, when a ship does not sell out, with the request for 2 performances. Good to sit and nice to listen to. There is something different and also wholesome in having a somewhat different entity playing that is not corporately managed and “plastic”, but are just purely playing for the fun of it.

After finishing packing it was time to go for cocktails and in the Observation Lounge one of the ships singers was giving a show, with songs from Frank Sinatra and related. It was very good, and fun to see as a beaming mother was sitting in the first row.

“Frank Sinatra junior providing a very good show.

Final dinner was in the dining room, and two things stood out, A. the number of empty tables, so it must have been busy in the self service restaurant, and B. the number of birthdays today. Although the company must know exactly when a birthday is, as it is all on the manifest, for some obscure reason, the number of birthdays tend to increase towards the end of the cruise. Maybe that is the case, or maybe guests declare having an anniversary ( not on the manifest). Whatever the situation, the stewards were busy running around the dining room, trailing behind the guy with the guitar to sing happy birthday left, right and center.

After dinner was the show, but we had seen the singer from the UK from a few nights ago so we did not go as I needed my sleep for the 5 hour drive home. Driving on the M25 (ring road around London) is challenging by itself but then come the smaller roads into Norfolk with all the side roads connecting, often via blind corners. And there are a lot of “creative” drivers in the English Country side. Then there is “farmer John” on the road with his faithful tractor and that can make things even more complicated.

I have one more post to go and that is the oversight and opinion of the cruise and that will come a day after this one has been posted.

Fred Olsen is one of the few company’s who have a fully operational flower shop on board. There are two florists and apart from looking after the flowers in the ship, they are also available for Guests to buy. The shop has been on board since 2022 ‘s I assume the concept works. But I do know that they are very busy during Valentines Day.

Day 05; 19 April 2026, At sea.

April 20, 2026 / / 2 Comments

So today we had a relaxing day at sea, while on our way to St. Malo. The distance is just too long to do it during an overnight and too short to run at a normal speed. So the ship is trundling along at 11 knots. This is just above minimum stabelizer speed of 10 knots and thus we had a comfortable ride although there was a long running swell from the West. Wind from the North East made it a bit chilly when on the windy side (starboard) of the ship and thus we saw very few guests walking around the decks. With this speed the ship is running on 2 engines, which together have enought output to make a speed of 16 knots. When the Rotterdam VI came into service in 1997, the company opted for one fast ship in the fleet, which could do 25 knots and thus visit more ports on a long cruise in the same time span. Fuel prices put a quick stop to that idea but the Borealis is still capable of doing that 25 knots, if needed.

Suuny but windy day on the ship. This photo was taken on the back of deck 8, where the 2nd pool used to be. The rim is still there but the centre has now been reformed in a sort of rock garden with a small stream running through it. The ring in the foreground is the entertainer stand.

When I was on board the Rotterdam VI, (Captain Bas van Dreumel) for a Fleet Master visit and Covid broke out, the ship was in lay-out “awaiting the end of Covid, which expected in about 14 days” in Puerto Vallarta. Then the challenges with the ms Zaandam cruise occured and the ship was sent to meet the Zaandam to provide extra medical care. Then  we put 4 engines on line (engine 5 was under maintenance) and raced with 23.5 knots towards the Zaandam. Those exploits are documents in the blog archive on this website. And I think that was the last time an attempt with the ship was made to run full out. I asked the first captain of the Borealis about it in 2023, when we went for the 3 day maiden voyage, if they had tried it out during the post lay-up trials and he said that chief engineer almost had a heart attack when it was discussed. But now with fuel costs and related, 25 knots is a dream (or nightmare) from the past. And so far during this cruise the ship has not gone faster then 15 knots, to maintain the schedule and that is nowadays for most cruise ships the same. Even to such an extent that one sees all sort of unusual bow forms appearing on the ships, all designed to have an optimum fuel consumption at lower and average cruising speeds.

Two modern cruise ships bow examples. An MSC mega liner on the top photo and the Icon of the seas (RCI) at the bottom. These bows are to give maximum fuel reduction at a certain average speed and a a comfortable ride when ploughing through bad weather.

We found out yesterday that the formal night (although advised on the website when booking, so one could plan their cruise) had been changed from todays sea day, to tomorrows port day (with last tender to the ship at 1900 hrs.) That caused a lot of confusion and quite some irritation as formals are normally on a sea day. So there is time to dress up, a special effort can be made to  enjoy cocktails and a have a nice stylish evening. Now people, if they want to participate, have to rush back from shore and get ready at the last minute. It will be interesting to see who many fail tomorrow to adhere to the dress code. We tried to find out why the change had been made but none of the crew knew anything than apart from “Operational Reasons”. It looks like  this ships management does not operate much transparancy with their teams, so that they can give a meaningfull answer to the guests. We are having dinner with the Hotel Director tomorrow and if I sit next to her, I will ask, as it does not make sense to me at all.

We opted for a quiet day just to see what was going on in the ship. By 10 am. the lounges were full as everybody vacated their cabins to let the stewardess do their jobs and with all the extra furniture added recently, there was ample space for everybody to sit and partake in what was going on. To my amazement, the Crows nest / Observatory had only 1/3 of the seats occupied. Maybe looking at the sea was not as exciting as going to other activies, who knows. This is day 5 of the cruise and the first time that Bingo popped up. It seems that the British public is much more interested in the daily “pub quiz” than in Bingo. (Although Bingo is quite popular in the larger cities in the UK) When it is time for “The Quiz”, the Morning Light pub, the Sports Bar and the Piano Bar are filled to capacity with eager people to try and win. I never stayed long enough to find out what the first prize is but it is a very popular past time.

The main lounge was open this morning for Church service, conducted by the Cruise Director and his assistant. I have not seen anything publicized about there being a priest, reverend, vicar or something similar on board. The days that on British ships the sunday service was conducted by the Captain (as being the on board representative of the British Monarch who is the head of the Church of England) are long gone. Overhere with a Norwegian Captain it would a bit odd anyway. Then the lounge closed again and the lectures had to take place in the Auditorium. Today’s topics were “How to build a Castle” and where “Cognac and Armagnac” was coming from. So the lighting technicians had time to work again although today there were signs outside saying that the lounge was closed due to rehearsals.

Then we went for lunch and opted for a shared table, same as we did during the first sea day. Today the main topics were a. what went wrong with the shuttle service yesterday and b. the reduction in wheel chairs, scooters and rollators we see on board. The latter might take some explanation as this is fairly new. For years the scooters, electric wheelchairs, rollators and related came on board in and abundance of numbers and sizes, and not only from guests who had booked handicapped cabins. Hence these mobility aids were left in the hallways overnight, causing a danger during an emergency as they blocked the emergency routes. Then the company’s tried to alleviate this by asking the guests when booking if they had a mobility add, and the size (so it fitted through the cabin door)  and that it had to be kept in the cabin. A lot of guests where not exactly truthful in their admissions and thus the problem continued to exist. Then Port State Inspectors turned their attention to it, and now the rule is, the mobility device has to be able to go into the cabin and stay there during the night. If not possible then you are not allowed to bring it on board. And yes, now over the whole cruise industry, guests are being refused on board, during embarkation, if the mobility device was not pre-registered and does not fit in the cabin. Hence the numbers of scooters and very wide electric wheel chairs, seen on board has reduced considerably.

Another topic that popped up was the increase in single cabins. (If you follow Holland America Line, then you will have noticed an announcement recently, that HAL is going to reconfigure a number of cabins on each ship to single occupancy) There is a large increase in single travellers, I think mainly to do, with the divorce rate among the baby boomers ,who have now time to travel, being higher than the generation before who did not, or were not allowed to divorce. The industry has been so far a bit ambivalent about single travellers, who needed to occupy a regular stateroom, marketed for 2 people. And are then charged anyways from 150% to the regular full price. The lack of single cabins on board had to do with the cost of building them as a single cabin needs the same “pipe” facilities as a standard double occupancy cabin. That price lays around $50.000 per cabin during  the newbuild. So although a single cabin can be made smaller, the newbuild price does not come down very much. Hence a lack of interest in cruise company’s to focus on single cabins. But now there is a new trend building momentum, of more and more single travellers, with funds to pay for single cabins. Thus the company’s are now looking into meeting them half way, making the cabins smaller, so more single cabins fit in the same section of deck and then not having to charge 150% or 200% to the single traveller but a more reasonable fare. How this is going to work out in the future nobody knows but it was interesting to talk about it, as one couple at the table, where planning to contine cruising, if one of them passed away. Main concern was, if the wardrobes would stay of a reasonable size, so that single cabins were also of interest during a longer cruise.

Future cruise desk. There is another one at this side but they now only have one person instead of 2. Fred Olsen does not offer much discount or extra’s anymore for booking onboard, so less and less guest book onboard. And thus they have reduced the FCC to one. Serving mainly those who have a hard time dealing with on line booking.

After lunch we decided to go for a walk, to convince ourselves that we could walk off our “built up” calories and to make room for more during the evening. As tonight there were extra appetizers to enjoy as we were going to the repeater party. With Fred Olsen it is called The Oceans Cocktail Party, as the repeat club is called “The Oceans Club”. They have Diamond Elite, Platimum, Gold and Silver levels. As we have done through the years several short cruises, we have now reached Silver level, more than 50 days……………. so party time. We have sailed on the Black Prince, where Fred started its modern cruising, then the Black Watch (ex Royal Viking), then the Balmoral (ex Crown Cruise Lines), followed now by Borealis and Bolette. Everytime mainly to see the ship and how it operated. The party started at 17.00 hrs. so we showed up at 17.15 to let the build up of early & eager free drinks persuers flow in. We had to run the gauntlet again, as the whole ships staff were lined up again in the entrance. This would have been ideal to have had this party in formal set up, but “for operational reasons” all the officers were in regular day uniform. Once the party started they were all gone and we never saw them again. One would think, if they have to be there anyway, then why not stay and do a bit of socializing.  Even the Hotel Director was gone and it is her department.

The Captain reading out the “numbers” for this party, with how many in each repeater day group. Cruise consultant on the side waiting to start her presentation.

The person in charge of administering the program is the Future Sales Consultant, a Lady called Nanomi from the Philippines. She invited the Captain to say some wise words (giving the repeater numbers for this cruise) acknowledging the top days on board, a couple with having 1200+ days. They received flowers and a bottle of champagne and then she showed how Fred Olsen had made their latest advertisement series. What I liked was that she then did not leave, as most of the staff with other company’s do, but she invited guests on the dance floor (the resident guitarist was providing music) and then danced with a large number of single ladies…………… so they were happy and another cruise sold. Compliments as I never have seen that dedication before.

Our future cruise consultant on the dance floor doing a sort of line dance with a gaggle of Ladies.

After the party we had to some time left before we had dinner at 19.00 hrs. in the Colours and Tastes restaurant, so we tried to find our sofar elusive inhouse pianist who we had seen playing at the Chef’s Table but who had eluded us thusfar in any of the public rooms.  We caught him playing in the Morning Light Pub between 1800 hrs. and 18.45. hours providing the sole spot of entertainment in the ship as first sitting was in the diningroom and 2nd sitting getting ready. (The next wave of entertainment started at 1900 hrs. with something going on in all the lounges) It is worthwhile for Fred Olsen to do this, as nearly all British guests go for cocktails and order a drink (or two) instead of what one sometimes see, is that the lounge is full of”concert attendee’s” and not a single drink insight.

The forward side of the Colours and Taste Restaurant.

The Borealis has one speciality restaurant, the Colours and Tastes, located on Deck 4 midships, where Holland America used to have the Marco Polo which later was changed to the Pinnacle Restaurant. When the ship was taken over and came back in service in 2022, they kept the restaurant as is, but now it has seen a refit, and is a lot les atmospheric but also a lot barer bulkheads, also tables and carpets are a lot lighter. We did not like the fact that the windows into the corridor has been changed from framed in 3 partitions with dark wood to a single wide window, that made it look as if the diners were part of an establishment in a certain area of Amsterdam, known for showing off the wares for having a good time.  Also the lack of table cloths did not do it much good, This restaurant has a cover charge of 20.00 pounds a person so a table cloth could be expected instead of a marble colored formica top.

The Italian Menu. Ample choice and very well prepared.

The menu rotates here every 4 days, from Meat Grill, Italian (2 menus) and Far East. This cruise there was only option 1 and 2 going so we went for Italian. Which was very good with attentive service provided by Adi Setiayo from Bali and overseen by the Maitre from India. The latter remembered me from our last cruise, so one way or the other I must have made in impression.

All the Holland America paintings have been removed and replace by the modern Olsen House style. One left over, are these plates who used to be in display outside the Lido midships bar.

We decided to forgo the comedian again and went for a quick round, around the ship and then decided to turn in early as I wanted to work on the blog, as there will be little time tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are in ST. Malo which is a tender port as the tidal difference is about 12 feet or 4 meters. Then a tender platform is much easier to get on and off from, than a steep gangway.  We are expected to start tender service around 08.30 in the morning. We have tickets for 11 am. Weather is supposed to be sunny but windy with temperatures around 14 – 15oC or 59oF. out of the wind.

Day 02; Pauillac for Bordeaux, France.

April 17, 2026 / / 7 Comments

At 07.00 we arrived at Pauillac. The Captain had explained last night that he had never been here but that did not really matter as it was thick fog so he could not see anything anyway. The town is located in the estuary of the river Gironde and the river is still very wide and deep here. So nearly any sort of ship can dock as the length of the berth is 300 meters plus. I came by here the last time in 2010 with the ms Prinsendam but we went up the river all the way to Bordeaux. The Prinsendam could do this as her funnel was lower than the clearance height of the bridge just outside Bordeaux and the length of the ship was just short enough to swing around in the river at high tide. According to the french pilot it “izzzze not possible to zwing on ze low tide az-ze the zhippe will go bumpe”. He spoke english with a distinct french pronounciation. Luckily here at the much wider part of the river, the chance of going “bumpe” is a lot less and thus the good ship Borealis docked without any hiccups.

A left over from the Holland America Line days. Terracotta soldiers. I have no idea why Fred Olsen kept them, but it still looks nice.

We are docked about a 1 mile down river from the town of Pauillac at a rather new berth, so I assume it was put in by the authorities to entice large cruise ships to visit, and then for the guests to go by coach to Bordeaux. There is a smaller dock, more of a breakwater to protect the local marine just outside the town, and that was used by river boats today. We saw their guests lateron marching accross to the road to go and visit a local winery.

A change from HAL days. The whole Explorer Lounge was changed directly after take over, into a chinese tea room and Garden Room. See here the garden side. As nearly all British are wild about gardening , this works very well on this ship even if not expected on a cruise ship. In the morning this place is really full and many guests are examining the gardening books laid out on the large center table.

And that is what Pauillac is all about. Wine, wine, wine. The town itself has over 20 wineries and estates and the local Office du Tourism, is nearly completely dedicated to selling wine and accessories such as bottle openers, which are available in a dizzying variation of designs. Due to the mile travel distance Fred Olsen had laid on a 15 minute shuttle service; first stopping at the train station for those who wainted to take the train to Bordeaux and then at the Tourist office for those who wanted to inspect downtown. With taking the train came the advise,  that as it was a branch line, the service was not very frequent and ” sometimes did not go at all”. Luckily in this case not a big problem as we are here for 2 days so everybody can make it back even when delayed by a train “that did not go. The shuttle service also ran through the night, albeit with a lower frequency but I think not many will have gone ashore during the night as the nightlife here in Pauillac only seems to consist of a Pizzaria staying open past midnight.

The Boulevard of Pauillac following the rivers shore line. As one can see it is not the most exciting place and the road is a main district road which can be very busy. But the place is all about wine and not about regular shopping or night life.

We decided to go ashore around 11.00 once the rush at the shuttlebus was over. The ship was conducting a General drill and we were treated to announcements over the General P.A system. This is understandable for drills but the ship does it for nearly everything. Arrival announcements in the cabin, Cruise directors updates in the cabin, gangway movements due to the tides etc. Luckily this captain is not big on announcements but Fred Olsen has another Norwegian captain who likes making announcements and standard comes into the cabin just before departure. If that is in mid afternoon he upsets those having an afternoon nap. Not for a short announcement but with reading out half of the Berlitz Guide write up for the next port. And that all with a grating Norwegian “Hu-de-Buh” accent. It can really spoil your afternoon nap. Announcements can be made, like it was done during Holland America Line times, over the tv on the “View from the Bridge” channel, but this is not used here and everything comes into the cabin. Maybe appreciated by all the hearing aid owners on board but not by me, I like my piece and quiet when in the cabin. Well that was my rant for the day.

Another shot of the boulevard of Pauillac. How a British telephone box ended up here, I do not know but there was no telephone inside. Maybe once in the past it had a direct line to the UK, especially for British home sick tourists. Who will ever know how it came to end up so far into the French Country side.

Company’s are nowadays required to make regular announcements to keep the guests informed and knowing the ship intimatelly, I could follow the proceedings quite well. Fire on B deck with the assembly of the teams outside the Engine Room meant that the fire was in the cold room/ store room area as the assembly station always has to be 2 vertical sections (e.g. 2 firescreen doors sections) away from the fire. The area of the fire is called the HOT zone, the first area away, the WORK zone (only people in breathing apparatus allowed) and the 3rd zone is called the SAFE zone, where everybody is allowed to assemble and support the teams who are going to tackle the fire.

The shuttle service was extremely well organised with English speaking traffic controllers at both ends of the route and the shuttle service ran on its 15 minute cycle, even during French Lunch time when it is not uncommon for a shuttle service to be completely shut down for an hour. By the time we arrived at the Tourist office and the end of the downtown boulevard, most of the town had gone for lunch so shops and all related were closed. The cafe’s on the boulevard were all open and were doing a roaring trade with about 50% French and the rest English and American customers. Unfortunately the mussles are not in season yet (July to January) otherwise we would have gladly joined in. You can of course find restaurants who serve mussles (frozen) all year around but this is sort of frowned upon by many french restaurants.

This is the main historic highlight of the town, the church of Saint Martin, rebuilt in 1826. They charge 5,– Euro admission but unless you are really into churches, not the most exciting place to visit.

So we walked the front streets and the back streets and did not see a single (french) soul. The church of Saint-Martin is a bit of a strange happening as it was a rebuild of a previous church. This one was razed down when it became too small and then by using materials from another church down the road, a new church was cobbled together in mid 19th. century Greek Style. It resulted in a very austere design and definatelly did not have the “wow factor”. But because of living in England we are spoiled anyway as even the local church in our local back garden is from the 12th. century with all the stories to tell that come with it’s history. Then her ladyship wished to inspect the local supermarket to see if the prices were similar to those in England. They were. Petrol prices were higher than in the UK but that had mainly to do with the amount of tax levied on the basic petrol price by the French Government. For the rest the prices were much higher than recently, courtesy of Ball-room Johnny and his activities in the Middle East.

I could not resist this photo. It seems that the local authorities are really concerned that somebody would steal heir bottle bank, so they put a fence in front of it. But it was still used.

By 14.30 hrs. we were back on board and decided to test the pizza’s in the Fresco restaurant. That was a resounding success with the caveat that the free wine and beer for lunch does not extend to outside eateries on board. So I have to find out how it works for the small restaurant at the hamburger bar starboard forward of the Inside pool as it is inside.  Somehow it does not make sense but we do not really care whether it is free or not. How much free “chateau plonk” and Heineken beer can you drink anyway ??.

The outdoor “All Fresco” sitting area for the Pizza place. I like the layout much better than with Holland America as it looked a lot less gloomy.

Then it was time to upload the blog and to get ready for cocktails at 19,00 hrs. For tonight we selected the Piano Bar on deck 5 with the Resident Piano Man Paul Burton. He has been with Fred Olsen for a very long time and a firm favourite of the guests. Or as he says himself, I am very popular with guests, waiting / killing time, before going to dinner. He prefers to play music, at least in the early evening, of composers long dead, and also tells then something of the background of these old songs. So this evening he dissected two songs from the movie Casablanca (Humphry Bogart and Ingrid Bergman) and I found out that the music in this movie was on average much older than the movie itself. It was just repackaged for that movie. One is never too old to learn something new. So he promised to continue to reveal  more of this useless and irrelevant information during the course of this cruise.

Dinner options for the Lido buffet evening meal. It is a buffet line, but not much self service as the cooks are handling the plates and also the tongs for rolls etc. It all helps to prevent Noro-virus from spreading.

Dinner was of the regular good standard and as expected it was a much less hectic affair tonight. Guests where not marching in en-masse when the doors opened and I think quite a few went ” for casual” to the Lido restaurant, called “The View” here on the Borealis. Dress code was casual today and indeed a lot of T-shirts were observed but many gentlemen, including Yours Truly, still opted to wear a jacket or a more stylish tropical shirt.

The show tonight were the 4 singers, mentioned before. We are now all confused as the ship gave the impression that they had just boarded but tonight we found out that they had been at sea already for nearly 6 months. What is nice with Fred Olsen is, is that the company does not enforce standarization that much so all the ships are equal in entertainment quality with the program strictly controlled by a manager in the office. Hence the 4 singers could sing tonight their own favourites and as we have learned through the years, if you let them sing their own favourites, songs that work the best for their type of voice, then you always get a very good show. Tonight was no different.

Tomorrow is our 2nd day in Pauillac with more tours to Bordeaux and the surrounding country side. Most tours are half day but there are 2 tours of 7 and 8 hours long, giving more time in Bordeaux. Temperatures are expected to go up a bit, sunny with a maximum of 23oC / 74oF here on the river; so Bordeaux. more inland, will be a few degrees higher.

Day 1: At Sea, 15 April 2026.

April 16, 2026 / / 3 Comments

Today we have a sea day, while sailing from Southampton to Pauillac which is a small wine village on the west shore of the river Gironde, at the edge of the Medoc, a French wine region in the Bordeaux area. There is a weather front coming over and that gave us this morning gale force winds of up to 35-45 knots and combined wind and swell of about 3 meters. Which is high enough to make the ms Borealis move about somewhat. (The S and R class are not affected by any sea movement up to 2 meters but when it goes higher the ships get slowly affected). We were slightly affected this morning and the ship had put out the sea sickness bags in the staircases. Weather improved rapidly after lunch time with the depression moving away and the sun came out and visibility got better very quickly.

The Fred Olsen Fleet. BS = Borealis, BT = Bolette,  BL = Balmoral

While sailing south we are hugging the french shore line  around the coast of Normandy and Britanny and although following the shipping lanes (a sort of highways at seas) we were close enough to the french shore to be able to use our mobile phone with land coverage. If you are not careful, the moment the ship is more than 3 Nautical Miles from shore, it goes to Martime Coverage and that can be quite costly. So it is important that have you phone on airplane mode when not seeing any coastline around you while at sea, even when you have global roaming.  We did not see much of the French coast but that was mainly due to the Frontal Weather system which brought rain with it as well.

Cruise schedule for 8 days. Soutahmpton – Pauillac, La Pallice, St. Malo, Cherbourg, Southampton.

This cruise we are going to Pauillac where we stay from 07.00 hrs in the morning to 18.45 hrs the next evening, giving the guests an ample chance to take one of the wine tours. Then it is a short hop to La Pallice (For La Rochelle) were we are from 07.00 to 20.00 hrs. Then we have a sea day, followed by a full day call at Saint Malo. That is a tender port with the ship anchoring in the estuary. The next day is a full day call at Cherbourg and from there is goes back to Southampton. We have now observed that the ship is not completely full and that might be the  reason that we have new joining cast and singers on board with support staff; and a whole technical team for renewing the lighting in the show lounge. I estimate that about 50 cabins have been handed over for that operation. Most of the entertainers have taken the chance to have their nearest family on board, who are present in full force wherever these new singers are performing. Fred Olsen seems to have taken on a new Entertainment Company, to train these people but we have not found out yet what that exactly entails.

The “Fresco” on the aft Navigation deck with the pizza place.

So what has Fred Olsen done with the ship during the most recent upgrade? They have finally (re) opened the pizza place which HAL had on the aft navigation deck. Insiders might remember that HAL had the brain wave to remove the aft -outdoor- pool on both the Rotterdam and the Veendam so it could add more cabins. The pool area was then reduced to a wading pool. This no doubt increased revenue for the ship but the operational results where not that great. The wading pool never worked as most of the guests were not able to “step/climb” over the rim of the pool and there was nowhere to store your personal stuff, so when sitting on a stretcher in the wading pool, guests blocked a second sunlounger away from the pool for their towels and bags. Then common sense prevailed and none of the other ships underwent this treatment. But the remodeling did give the chance to make a bigger outside serving bar on the starboard side and to install a pizza kitchen / outlet on the portside. When the ship was handed over to Fred Olsen in 2020, the status of the pizza ovens was considered to be in a too bad a condition to re-open when sailing started again in 2022. So the place stayed closed until further notice. In the last dry dock in Autumn 2025, the area was completely renewed and is now in full swing again. Holland America prepared full size pizza’s there (handed out in a pizza box) but here it is slice only, but freshly made and of excellent quality. For the rest they also do other small bites such as cheese and ham croissants etc.etc.

The next thing is that they have remodeled is the library by removing the easy chairs and putting more regular tables and chairs in so there is more seating for the Cafe. The Barista counter of HAL is still there, but Fred has gone one step further and have changed it into a complete cafe same as on their other ships. You can still sit there and read a book but instead of reclining (and falling asleep) you sit now straight up to read your book or magazine.

The Crowsnest / Observatory which under HAL had declined to an “indepth” shore excurions study place, which never really worked that well as all the machinery broke down very rapidly, has now been fully restored to a day and evening lounge. The bandstand is back and all evening there is entertainment. Hurrah.

I believe on other HAL ships where the crowsnest was also converted to an EXC indepth shored and port immersion area, this is also rolled back somewhat to what the Crowsnest used to be, with a new dedicated library on one of the lower decks.

Here on board, the repeat guests are a bit confused by all the happenings going on. With the showlounge been refitted during day time, the lectures are now in the Auditorium (ex Cinema/ kitchen) but as this place can only take 299 guests, they have to repeat the lecture in the afternoon. That is not always appreciated as a lot of guests want to take a nap in the afternoon. The average age of our guests is the same as with HAL and then you need to re-charge your batteries for to be ready for the hard work of eating again  in the evening. As nearly all the guests are British it means that nearly everybody wants to be out and about for cocktails in the evening, both for 1st and 2nd. sitting. So they need some downtime. The music venue times are adapted to this, with the entertainers taking a break while first sitting goes to dinner (18.00 hrs) and 2nd sitting is still trying to fit in their cruise clothes from last time. Then 2nd sitting cocktails start at 1900 hrs., dinner at 20.00 hrs.and the show at 22.00 hrs. Then between 23.00 hrs. and 24.00 hrs. there is music in the Observatory, the Night Club, the Ocean Bar and the the Morning Light Pub (ex HAL casino area)

The new singers “warming up” the captains party

Tonight was formal night with the Captains welcome on board party, which is still done in the respectable way as HAL used to do until about 2010 -2012. With a Receiving line with all of those who were going to be introduced (and yes with 10 white uniforms in a row, it feels abit like running the gauntlet), free drinks (wine, beer ,G&T, champagne), nibbles (canape’s and hot appetizers) followed by a speech from the Captain.

Captain Stefan Ravneng

We observed this Captain for the first time on the ms Balmoral when he was rather new in function and his speech and presence on stage was quite awkward. But by now, he felt more comfortable, made some jokes and his speech was running smoothly. Fred has the routine that the staff officers introduce themselves and that is great fun to see. With the staff captain being the easiest with handling the microphone, the Chief Engineer having the shortest speech of all (name and where he is from only) and the Cruise Director the longest. Then the champagne toast, followed by the announcement to get out of the lounge, to make room for the 2nd show. That results then in an enmasse march through the ship to the diningroom. They where well prepared as somehow they had managed to clear first sitting out completely by 19.45 so they could handle this 2nd sitting invasion.

We decided not to go to the show, I do not particularly enjoy comedians but to go to a concert of the strings. (see yesterdays blog) For those who sailed with Holland America longtime in the past, we then had the Rosario Strings from the Philipinnes on all the ships, one extended family, that never used sheet music but still could play anything. We have them now here on all of the ships of Fred Olsen. Tonight they had a sort of easy listening concert in the Ocean Bar, partly classical, partly crooner songs, and yes no sheet music or tablet in sight and yes they played everything by heart and to a very high standard.

The 2 male singers of the Singers group on board.

This was followed by a Country and Western hour, performed by the new singers and again, with all the family in attendance. I always have reservations about seeing english people in cowboy outfits, but they sang the songs with a nice american accent. Near the end they decided to do a line dance and then it was time to leave. There is only so much one can take, when a large number of octogenarians, fuelled by aa ample amount of (free) alchohol decide that they were 25 again. Free alchohol comes from the fact that the booze during the captains party was free and also the house wine and beer in the diningroom.

Tomorrow we are in Pauillac. We are suppoed to dock in foggy conditions at about 06.45 and then it should warm and sunny for the rest of the day, with temperatures around 21oC or 70o Fahrenheit.

An attempt at an American Line dance, on a moving ship.

Day 0: Boarding the ms Borealis. 14 April 2026.

April 15, 2026 / / 6 Comments

Fred Olsen keeps refitting the Borealis, (ex Rotterdam VI) and the Bolette, (ex Amsterdam III), after they bought them from Holland America (or officially from Carnival Corporation) for US 20 million back in 2020. Carnival Corp felt it needed to get rid of all the ships in the corporate fleet that were making less then 10% yield on the ship turn over and that meant that the 4 S class ships went and also 2 R-class ships. Also the whole Ecstacy class of Carnival Cruise Lines went and a few ships of Costa Cruises as well. Carnival reduced its costs during Covid lay-up and Fred Olsen got two very good ships for an even better price. We went on the 3 day maiden voyage of the Borealis, for the start up  in 2022 and to get the painting out of the captains cabin to go back to the ss Rotterdam V in Rotterdam. Then came back to see what the Fred product looked like after a year in operation. See both write ups on this website under the heading My cruises and reviews.

The ms Borealis. (photo from wikipedia)

The Borealis went in dry dock just before its 2026 world cruise and then “she who shall be obeyed” expressed the wish to see the ship again, to inspect the latest upgrades. Thus it was decided to go on an 8 day cruise to French ports and as it includes a call at Cherbourg it meant that I could visit my favourite French Maritime Bookshop in the terminal / maritime museum. It is very hard to buy French Maritime books in England, even via the internet, as the french publishers are absolutly not interested to export to the island.

Her Ladyship had booked this cruise while on the last one so we got a good on a suite.  Hence I am now sitting in suite 7038 (portside aft, one but last) to write my daily blog. Fred did not keep the Neptune Lounge which HAL had for the suites unfortunatly , (it is now a sort of emergency command center) and that is still felt as a great ommission. The Germans who bought the Prinsendam II, now Amera, did keep the Neptune Lounge, they call it the “Gold Lounge” and it is very popular. I think if Fred had kept it, it would have been much easier for them to sell the Deck 7 cabins as it would then have offered something extra to the guests, instead of just paying for a large cabin.

Welcome on board by the Strings in the Ocean Bar. As this bar is leaning into the Atrium, the music can also be heared at embarkation level.

But being in a Suite cabin, meant that we could board at 12.30. However upon arrival we found that a lot of later boarding guests had not kept to the advised reporting time and thus the hall in front of Security was choc -a-bloc with no doubt very eager cruisers. It did not help that the lady in charge did not have a microphone, to address the murmuring crowd, resulting in a lot of confused people as her voice did not penetrate the many hearing aids around. The terminal has a P.A system but it seems to be very difficult to arrange a microphone from those in charge. We have seen the same in terminal 101 and that one is used by much larger ships and the apron there before entering the terminal proper is also very small.

The Morning LIght Loung. Which used to be the Casino with Holland America and the first thing Fred ripped out when taken over the ships in 2020.

The good ship Borealis was docked at the Southampton berth 102, the Horizon terminal, which even for only 1200 guests too small at the entrance, so it is important that guests arrive at the time mentioned on their booking and not earlier.

Check In was a fast experience until they saw my Dutch passport. Thus I needed an ETIAS, to get into Europe. This was of course not the case, as the Netherlands is part of the European Union, and it would be the same as having American Citizens needing a Visa to re-enter their own country. Then they realized  that it was about coming back and so I needed an ETA. (UK tourist visum). Not needed either as  I had a “settled status” for the UK, permanent approval to live on the island. Thus they wanted to check that. That is easy enough as long as you can access the UK Government website.  So we did, but again, the request was not correct as that information is supposed to be verified only by an “Official Authority” (like His Majesties Customs and Border Control) and the check- in ladies do not have that status. But you cannot blame them for not having been properly briefed by their boss, who obviously did not know the rules. So we googled my Settled Status file, checked the photo and all was well in the world.

When we came on board security found out that the Check-In Ladies had become so confused with the whole happening that they had entered my photo under Lesely’s name and vice-versa. So we were escorted to the Front Desk for it to be corrected and then all was well in the world. Never a dull moment when travelling.

At the gangway the whole ships staff was lined up, including the Captain, which was Captain Ravegner, whom we had met while on the ms Balmoral of Fred Olsen. (see write up on this website under cruise reviews) There we somehow then ended up at his Captains table and he then remembered that Lesley and I had entertained his whole table as he is a much more reserved Captain than I have ever been.  For this cruise, apart from 1 seaday, tomorrow, and 1 more twards the end there is a French port,everyday so I doubt if we will see him very much out-and-about.

A small show on departure from the singers on board. Slightly marred by the fact that they only faced the bar and kept their backs to the rest of the audience around the pool. The Cruise Director who was present, unfortunately did not see the need to correct this,

Suitcases had made it to the cabin in less then an hour, between Taxi and cabin door and that must be a record for Southampton for a medium size ship. But today we were the only cruise ship in so maybe they had the best trained Longshore men working the ship. We dropped our trolley’s and went for Lunch in the Lido while it was still quiet. Fred has stewards everywhere and they assign you a table when you come in ensuring the restaurant is being filled up from the back going forward. It looks a bit over the top but it works very well as it stops all the chaos of guests running around and blocking each other while occupying a table here and there. Basic wine, soft drinks and Heineken Draft Beer are free  during lunchtime an dinner. For more premium drinks you have to pay or ensure you have a drinks package. Lido Lunch is less exurburant than at Holland America. It sits somewhere just under Cunard Line and is on par with Saga Cruises. (same age group). The dessert lay-out is one of the best I have seen on Four Star ships, so kudo’s. Except, they have taken out the Soft Ice machine at the ice cream station. Maintaining those is a bit of a “pain in the a…… for the cooks but Holland America (served) and Cunard, P&O and Saga (self serve)  so even it under British Flag it must be possible.

This cruise they are changing the complete lighting in the show lounge. Also the old cast is leaving in 2 weeks and a new cast has just boarded so the ship is full of entertainment people and supporting staff.

Then it was time to check our Dining room table as that is always a challenge with Fred. They have the system that the highest repeaters (Diamond and Elite) are assigned teh best tables  the mere mortals like us can only wait to see wht we get, even when you have a Penthouse or a top suite. Then they tend to push the Penthouses and Suites into the Indian Ocean Room (the deck 8 the starboard wing, called Queens Room with Holland America) because “it is nice and quiet there”. Not many suite people like that and as a result they all move out to the main dining room and then the room is assigned to groups or travelling technicians. And those groups do not like to follow the dress code. Indeed we were assigned to this room, so time to take action. The alternative table offered was exactly the same as we had a during a previous cruise so I suspect that this  is sort of preprogrammed. But there is always a manual bypass, so we compromised on a table for 2 overlooking the ocean at the stern. For 2nd sitting at 20.00 hrs.that is not a problem as the ship will be mainly sailing South to North so no sunshine glaring into the diningroom.

Lifeboatdrill is “do it yourself” by watching the Safety Video and then go to your lifeboat outside to be checked off. Then at 17.00 hrs. the Captain came on the Tannoy with some wise and safe words, together with the Cruise Director for completing the Boat Drill requirements.

These big Holland America suites come with ample storage so unpacking was a doddle and did not upset the martrimonial peace as there are more drawers than we could possibily find use for. It is only an 8 day cruise, With the cabin comes a bottle chamapgne (the real stuff, not sprankling wine and canape’s so we had cocktails in the cabin.

All afternoon we had been on the look-out to meet our cabin stewardess but she was nowhere to be seen, No meet and greet, no cabin facility explanation, nothing. Yesterday was the end of a 70 day South America and antartic cruise and with it came a very large crew change, so maybe she was part of that. Will find out in the coming days.

Sail away was very poorly attended, due to the weather no doubt, as it was overcast with rain showers in Southampton and thus the Magrodome stayed closed. That directly affects the quality of the sound (echo’s back from the roof) and that made the interest for the cruise staff and singers acitivities minimal.

Dinner was of a good Fred standard with very fast service as on the first night, everybody “marched” as soon as the doors for 2nd sitting at 20.00 hrs. opened. Again there was free house wine, draft beer and soda’s included with dinner.  We made it more then timely to the show scheduled fot 22.00 hrs. which was a revue show with songs from the movies, such as Blues Brothers, Mama Mia and Les Mesarables, starting with  the Greatest showman music This group of performers will go home in 2 weeks time and they had their performance down pat,  after having been so long on board. Audience was very sparse as most guests had decided to retire early as it was an forward. But they did miss something very good.

Tomorrow we are at sea. Sailing south along the French coast towards  Pauillac. Weather is supposed to be a low gale (35 knots of wind) and we are going against it, so the ship will move about somewhat with combined wave and swell of up to 3 meters. Temperatures in the mid 50’s. or 14 oC.  (subject to rain and wind).

 

2026 Feb 19; Barcelona, going home and Verdict.

February 22, 2026 / / 8 Comments

By 05.45 hrs. some 20 sleepy guests had assembled in the lounge and were by 06.15 on the coach to the airport. The check-in was already open so we could flow straight through. Although early in the morning, Bacelona airport was already very full, with early flights going to the USA and Far East via various hubs in Spain or Europe. That was maybe the reason why we were taken so early to the airport as our flight was not until 11.10 hrs.   But all went well, and flying via Amsterdam brought us back to England by 17.00 Hrs.

The verdict.

This was a very nice cruise on a beautiful ship (if Nordic laid-back is your taste) and with very good service. The weather was not that great but then we do not go on a cruise for sunny weather or to bake in the sun.

The organisation for pre boarding and leaving the ship also went very well, if you keep an eye on the Italian penchant for making everything chaotic.

The drinks package of $ 25,– a person a day, was well worth having, if you enjoy cocktails and drinks in the evening. Wine, Beer and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner.

There is only one announcement a day, the arrival announcement. For the rest is all quiet, except that on sea days the Captain seems to do a noon time “Voice from the Bridge” announcement. There is all day, soft classical music wafting through the public area’s. Whoever choose the music, did a good job as it was never irritating.

The ship has self service laundry’s on each deck and they are free. They come with Iron Board, a settee and a TV for when you get tired of looking at the the washing machine program. Much appreciated by myself as I always need an ironing board for my shirts after travelling. (Even after having done a training class on U-tube……………….)

There is the Viking Society for repeat guests but there are no medals or tiered levels based on days sailed. You simply get more discount if you sail more. They do throw a party each cruise and it comes with a short show by the Cast.

The Glare, testing friendliness. I do this every cruise, as standard. Looking each officer and crewmember straight in the eye when passing by, with a sort of open eye stare and observe the reaction. The crew  all scored 100%,; all cheerful and friendly. And looking at their body language it seemed to be a happy crew.  Officers were less; only very helpful and friendly when approached but not always when passing by or just being around in general. That gives a total score of 80%.

I did not see any engineers this cruise but the deck department did not always make the cut and also Front desk was lacking. Not when at the desk, “all smiles and concerns then”, but when they walked by.  Special compliments to General Manager Emma Harking from England. So far the most active and the most omni-present Hotel Manager I have seen on our last 10 cruises.

The food was without exception presented and cooked to a very high standard, I just found that for the quality of the cruise and standard the choices were a bit limited in the World Café for the rest nothing what so ever to remark.

So do we recommend Viking? Please read the daily blog and if you want to have a laid-back cruise with good food, nice crew and very little challenges, then yes.   This was a 7 day cruise and the ticket price included flights from our preferred local airport in England.

We had booked the lowest standard cabin, which is still an outside cabin with balcony, as we did not have any idea about what Viking was all about.  Total cost came to £5,468.00 UK pounds, or 4567 in euros or 5490 in US dollars. That gives a British per diem, per person of  290 pounds a day.   AND WE THINK THAT FOR THE SERVICE PROVIDED, WHICH HOVERS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 5* AND 6*, IT IS VERY GOOD.

So we have booked another cruise , on the Viking Polaris in 2028 with what Viking calls The Northwest Passsage but it is more of poking the nose in (Baffin Bay) and then going back again. That is a 13 day cruise from Nuuk in Greenland and as it is a sort of Expedition ship and with difficult flights and a higher cabin catagory, a lot more expensive. But one only lives once…………… and thus we do it while we still can.

Our next cruise is in April, when we do a 5 day return to the ms Borealis (ex Rotterdam VI of Holland America) as My Lord And Master wants to see the latest upgrades they have made. It looks like that Fred Olsen has now completed / restored all what Holland America had but some of it went sort of by the way side after Covid.

I hope you will join us then.

 

2026 Feb. 18, Day 07 Barcelona Day 1, Spain.

February 22, 2026 / / 1 Comment

This morning we docked in Barcelona and were assigned Berth B, while the Costa Tuscani was at Berth D. Between 2010 and 2020 Barcelona heavily invested in new and state of the art cruise terminals which  now run from A to H  and then there are still the 3 small (old) ones at the World Trade Center. Unfortunately the mood in Barcelona has turned against the very large influx of cruise visitors and now there is the plan to demolish 2 of them again.

Cruise terminals in Barcalona

How that will work with nbr. H, I do not know as that one seems to have been built with MSC investments so their very big ships can dock there.  I do somewhat understand the concern of the Barcelonan’s as with all 8 big terminals full: with on average 2000+ guests on board, there are at least 16000 extra people milling around in downtown (and most of them, marching, during some moment of the day up and down the  Las Ramblas If it is a change over port day, then the approaches to the airport are clogged up with tour busses.  So a definite challenge to for the City Fathers, City Mothers and City Persons, (I am very inclusive…. to find a good balance between the needed revenue a large chunk of money for the Gaudi Church (La Sagrade Familia) and other buildings comes from the cruise industry) and still protecting the locals way of life in down town.

Photo of the Atrium taken from deck 3 down to the grand piano (Steinway size B) This is were we will wait tomorrow for the coach to the airport.

We have been to Barcelona many a time, so we decided to stay on board. Also because we have to pack in the afternoon,  we had booked a speciality restaurant booking in the evening, and we have a  coach connection to the airport at 05.45 tomorrow morning. And we were far from the earliest casualties as some guests were leaving at 02.45 in the morning.

The stern of the Viking Saturn. On top the Norwegian flag, as Viking is the last cruise company to have Norwegian registration which must be costly. Under the flag, the “Infinity pool water catcher box” under the deck 7 pool. At the water line, the “duckfoot” an extension with a dual purpose, it improves stability as it increases the surface size of the ship and also it inproves fuel economy as it acts as a “spoiler”, which you often see at the back of sports cars. (Photo courtesy, somewhere on the internet)

But it gave me the chance to walk the ship from top to bottom and to have a very good look at the interior. The outside of the ship is not so much different from the current design of other cruises ships, with a dumpy funnel, a macrodome, balconies all around the superstructure and the public rooms on the lower and the top decks with the majority of the cabins in between. But the inside design of the ship (and those of the other 12 Viking ships as they are all similar) varies considerably from other cruise company’s.

What I think is very cool is the gangway button in the lifts. When you do not know where the gangway is, you just push the button (above deck 8) and it goes to the right deck. I wish all ships would have that.

If the theme of the mega liners of Carnival, RCC,NCL and Celebrity is noise and action, here the theme is Nordic Tranquility. That might not be enjoyed by everybody but the fact that Viking is able to keep churning out a new ship each year (and this year even 2 with LNG propulsion) means that there are more than enough people who do like it.

The deck display next to each lift. Good and easy to read. The  only irritating thing is, it rotates with the gangway deck indication. So you have to wait until it comes around again.

This success is due to 3 things: smaller ships (40 – 60.000 tons is small nowadays), very good and balanced service and an harmonious interior that is consistent through the whole ship.  The ships must have been designed by a team that was given a concise briefing, did their job, and then the results were checked, to see if the briefing was followed. The President, Mr. Torstein Hagen comes from a maritime background and does therefore understand that a ship has to remain a ship, and that the end result should still be a ship and not a coorporate and ego-tripping muddle of Sr.Vice Presidents. And I think that has worked very well on these ships.

This is Deck 2 portside Atrium with sitting areas and game tables, both analog and digital.

The centre of the ships is “The Atrium” but is also called “The Living Room”.  (Saga Cruises has a similar concept).  It is mainly a lounge to sit and relax, especially on level 3. There is no library but there are bookcases full  (with very high quality books) in every corner and on every level. As well as in other lounges like the Explorers Lounge (crowsnest) on deck 7& 8). Game corners  everywhere integrated as a part of the overall concept. And the game corners were very busy, especially with guests travelling together and who enjoyed time together before the afternoon tour or after the morning tour.

Portside Forward Atrium Corner, deck 2. “Viking Museum”.

Then there is a bit of Nordic history (up and until the early 19th. century Sweden and Norway were one country) on level 2. Here is also the Future Cruise Specialist, whose office is hiding behind a very nice Viking Saturn model. Look for the model and you know where it is. The most lively part of it all is on deck 1. Here is Guest services located, but it has no counter. No, there are 6 desks with attendants (number in use depending on expected traffic during the day) so a discussion can take place in a more intimate and professional setting, instead of being “processed” at a long counter with multiple  slots.

Two of the six front desks. These two are in use on very busy days,

Shore excursion has a small stand there, for meet & greet, but for more indepth issues they take you to one of the Guest Services desks.  Diagonally opposite is the Bar, a combination of a coffee and cake stand and a regular bar.  I think it is located in this corner to be next to the Gangway, so guests can pick up a coffee before going off the ship or have a drink when coming back after an exhausting tour.  Then late afternoon it changes more and more into a bar and there are always 20 – 30 guests present. By 18.00 hrs. the cocktail crowd starts gathering before dinner, for cocktails and to listen to the Resident Pianist or the Classical duo. (The latter alternate between the Livingroom and the Explorers lounge)

The bar in the Atrium. To the left are high chairs & tables for eating your cookies or a lunch time roll. Low chairs and tables are all around the Atirum.

To my amazement it all works here extremely well, there is no noise, just the buzz from polite conversion with a tinkling piano in the background. The fact that the space is 3 decks high has no impact at all on the atmosphere. Where you walk the deck is marble but were you sit it is all carpet and thus no scraping noises and also no echoing noise.

A corner of the “Chefs Table” speciality restaurant.

Behind the Livingroom is on Deck 1, portside is the “Chef’s Table” a speciality restaurant (see further down) with a rotating menu. On the starboard side is Manfredi’s the second speciality restaurant that focusses on Italian Cuisine.  (see write up from some days ago). On the port side there is also the “The Kitchen Table” were there is a separate chefs cooking area and also options to do cooking classes.

The starboard side of “The Restaurant”. As you can see there is art everywhere and the long blueish painting is called “twilight” by Kenneth Blom painted for the ship in 2023.

Then on deck 2, there is the main dining room called “The Restaurant”.. (I think the designers wanted to ensure that a guest would not get confused about its purpose……….) This is horseshoe shaped and runs all the way around the stern. With in the center aft, a table for 14 guests. Indeed the Captains table, although Captains tables are not a regular feature of the Viking program. Normally a Captains table is 10 seats or less, but 14 can work very well, if there are Captain & 3 officers in attendance, you have a host at “each corner” of the round table).  I used to do that in the grey mists of time when on the South Pacific cruises and I resurrected the Captains tables from the old World Cruise days. Officers loved it, much more than having their own table as they knew that the Captain would run the show, keep things under control and would ensure that conversation flowed. (as well as the booze)

The Parfume and gadget shop. There is also a boutique and a jewellery store.

Then going towards the bow, there are the shops, on deck 1 and deck 2 (in my opinion overpriced and with very limited choice) and on deck 2 also the Spa, gym, and beauty salon. This is all very nice but I did not see too many customers. But maybe that was because we did not have any seadays.  On Deck 1 is the show lounge and that is a very clever set up. At each side in the back there is a Cinema and in the evening they pull away the bulkhead with the movie screen and it becomes part of the Show lounge.

The “Star Theatre”. The cinema on the starboard side is open and now part of the Theatre. The port side is still closed as there was a movie in progress.

The sightlines are very good as there are no pillars. (Every show lounge on every ship, can be without pillars, but it depends on how much a company wants to pay. Because a “free view” lounge without deck supports” calls for a heavier steel deck construction and that costs money, but it can be done. The seating rows are benches  and then a row in front of chairs( see the brown pillows in the above photo) and there are small tables in between for drinks. Also that works, unless you have a very – very tall and big person in front of you.  Drinks are served before the show starts from a very nice and large bar in the staircase behind the show lounge. Directly behind the showlounge is the Night Club called Thorshavn.

The Torshavn night club as seen from the entrance. The light stand on the left is fabricated in the shape of trombones. Not original as Holland America has the same one on board on the ss Koningsdam since 2016.

Then you get Deck 7 and 8 (outside deck).  At the bow, is the Explorers Lounge with music in the evenings. The only thing that irritates is  that the constellation display on the wall behind the bar, reflects onto the front windows and thus it is hard to see outside after dusk. But you can solve that by going up one of the 2 glass staircases to Deck 8, where there is no reflection. The music can still be heard as there is a gap with below.

Deck 8, upper level Explorers Lounge. Mainly meant as a quiet study area with lots of books about exploration. Note all the books in the bookcase.They are all real and of high quality.

Deck 8 Explorers, is mainly meant as a quiet place to read or work on the computer. There are nice books and a lot of Nordic heritage on display, including old farm utensils. Above this lounge, on deck 9 outside are games (skittles, ping pong, mini golf) but insulation is very good as I could not hear anything below, although there was a very lively group at the poing pong table with very piercing voices.

The study table at the far right corner has a glass top and doubles up as a historic display case about life in (winterly) Norway.

On the starboard side, deck 7, is a small food outlet (I would call it a small catering hatch that looks after a very small restaurant called  “Mamsens”. This is a Nordic version of breakfast and lunch nibbles based on Nordic specialities. Apart from the waffles, it was a bit too far out of range for our taste interest.

Mamsen is located in the starboard aft part of the explorer’s on Deck 7 and is a very small restaurant.

It was also never very full and the Chinese guests on board where complaining to the chef about why there were no noodles. Somehow they did not grasp the concept, and the chef, a very cheerful lady from Zimbabwe, could not make them understand either.  I listened to  the conversation with great interest, especially when one of the group tried to get into the kitchen to verify if there were indeed no Noodles.  (Maybe “Mamsen” is also a word for noodles in Chinese or Korean ???).

One might expect a “Blond Helga” as cook in a pure Nordic restaurant but here we had a lovely lady from Zimbabwe.  And no, she did not serve noodles.

Behind deck 8 Explorers are cabins and behind on deck 7 Explorers is the winter garden  and then the covered pool. Main focus point of the Winter Garden is “High Tea” in the afternoon. (When the General Manager found out about our experience with “the trolley” from the beginning in the cruise, she was there every afternoon to make sure it did not happen again. On each side of this place are seats and loungers, that Viking calls “The Lanai concept”.

The Wintergarden, a bright and open space.

As a side note, I have never seen a Hotel manager / General Manager so omini-present as this Emma from England. I hope that Viking appreciates it as she was everywhere, where the regular supervisors could not be for a moment. It is always nice to see a hotel manager walking through the diningroom, but he/ she does not need to be there as it is full of supervisors and related. Better to keep an eye on the flow in other areas.  So very Good.

The “ceiling” of the Wintergarden. Nordic pine made to resemble a forest. I wonder if the birds would like it when the Dome is open.

The aft part of Deck 7 has the small “Hamburger Bar”. The product is extremely good but it is a bit limited. Hence guests switch for one lunch between the two venues as the Lido, called the “The World Cafe”, is just  behind it. Again very good food but I had expected a few more options to choose from. There is a very small asian outlet, which is extremely good (Asian Chef). Then there are the regular counters, topped off with a nice ice cream stand.

The World Cafe. This is the portside.

Behind it all, another bar, which is very busy as softdrinks, beer and wine are included at lunch time for everybody. (Same as Saga and Fred Olsen and also most 6 star company’s) Then there is an outside terrace, called the “Aquavit Terrace”,  which today was in use as it was chilly but sunny. The stern of the ship has a infinity pool with in the front a jacuzzi.  To stop the Infinitiy pool water from raining down on the balconies below, there is a sort of box hanging under it. This makes  the ship look a bit weird from the outside. The first time I saw it, I thought it was some sort of cherry picker basket for cleaning windows.

The Infinity pool at the stern of the ship on deck 7.

On deck 8 aft, carefully hidden away from the guests, is a black glass wall under the aft end of the funnel. Inside is a Officer / crew bar. A very clever setup and it would other wise have been a wasted space  and there is also a hidden corner for smokers. For guest smokers there is a smoking section on the sb. side midships but I never saw it very busy.

Guest smoking area on deck 8 sb. side. Still a very civilized way to slowly commit suicide.

That completed my tour of the ship. Then we had to pack. Luckily we had not bought very much, apart from a Soup Spoon in Pisa.  But we still had to go the shops on board as we had booked another cruise with Viking, on the Viking Polaris to the West side of Greenland and Baffin Bay. For that we received $200,– on board booking credit but it had to be spent this cruise on board. Unusual, as it normally goes on the credit for the next cruise that you have just booked. So the shops still made some money as all the “on board bookers” came marching in. Now I am the proud owner of yet another Power Bank, a set of suitcase locks (TSA approved) and some perfume for her ladyship. It made the day of the very friendly Turkish shop attendant who could just scrape in her commission before she left tomorrow to go on leave in Antalya. Her next ship is the Viking Star for another 6 month contract.

The “Kitchen table” on Deck 1, where under guidance of the chef you can take cooking classes and also eat your own cooked food.

We had booked the Chefs Table for 19.00 hrs. on this last day as most other days were filled up. The higher category cabins (all of them, apart from us sinners living on deck 3) could make their bookings from home but the standard Verandah cabins  had to wait until on board. It did not make much difference in the end, accept the early times being booked up. Tonight we could go at 19.00 hrs., after cocktails, and the place was nearly empty. I think the packing and leaving the next day had reduced the enthusiasm for a “last extravagant supper” somewhat. This restaurant runs in 3 set- menu cycles,  Italian, Asian, Californian, but the names might differ somewhat from ship to ship. If you take a future cruise, it might be different again, as Viking has 21 of these options floating around the fleet. 5 courses with wine  included in the cruise fare.

The most puzzling thing on board is this staircase that leads from the back of “The Restaurant” deck 2 to the back of Manfredis Italian and the Chefs Kitchen on deck 1. and it goes nowhere else. It looks like a very posh way for the Dining room manager to commute between his restaurants. The piece of art on the wall is called “paper and wood” by Johanne Ness and Hanne Overland.

With it comes a wine paring of 4 different wines. Also included. If you have bought the drinks package ($ 25,— a day, but going up) then you get slightly better wines. Price wise I think, as wine is very personal, a I preferred the “cheaper” Pinot Noir with the Asian lambchops much more than the Spanish Tempranillo offered. But as far as wines are concerned, I was already very happy that they stored our favourite white wine (Austrian Veltliner, in this case Bereich Wachau) as Veltliner is not always on board. (Azamara has it, but Cunard does not)  So we had a very good dinner and then it was time  to put the suitcases outside as at 05.45 we had to be ready for transfer to the airport.

The blank bulkheads in the forward and aft staircases are covered with scenes taken from the Bayeux tapestry depicting the Normans (Norseman or Northman or Vikings) coming from Normandy, France, led by William the Conqueror in 1066 and defeating the English/ Anglo Saxon King Harold at Hastings.

Weather for tommorrow for when going home:  Overcast with rain during the day and temperatures aruoud 13oc / or 55 oF.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/ships/viking-saturn.html

 

 

2026 Feb 17; Day 05, Sete, France.

February 18, 2026 / / 2 Comments

The last time I was in Sete, was in 2001 as captain of the ms Noordam (III). Then we docked in downtown Sete and we could walk directly into downtown. (50,000 inhabitants). Since then the port has been upgraded with a combined cruise and ferry pier. All very nice, but now you have to take a compulsory shuttle to the Gate, where the bow of my Noordam went 25 years ago. I am all for improvement but the compulsory shuttle service was setup in the French way and thus a bit more complicated than necessary.

Sete dock. A very nice new dock with ample room for the compulsory port shuttle bus and the Ferry docking at the other side. In the good old days we used to dock opposite of where the high apartment building is located and then just walk into town.

By 11.10 we were expected on the dockside and put in a nice sightseeing coach so I was quite happy. We left late as once again there were guests missing and then we drove out of the gate. I was now expecting that this sightseeing coach would drop us off somewhere in downtown for our walking tour. That was not the case, we lined up behind 4 other (shuttle) busses. Then we had to wait because the shuttle busses left every 10 minutes and it was not possible to speed that up, so we had another 20 minutes delay. Once our coach had made it to the official stop, we were allowed to disembark and the walking trip started from here. As the whole trip was supposed to last 2 hours, we had lost 30+ minutes as the tour guide kept the ending time the same. So 1hr.30 minutes instead.

Sete Jousting. This is the red team training boats, there is also a blue team.

Once lined up we marched into town and stopped at each bakery and patisserie for a look in the windows as cookies and pies are the big thing in Sete. Then on the canal there were the “jousting boats”. Once a year in August, there is a jousting duel on the water in rowing boats, a tradition that might even go back as far as Roman Times when Sete was already a port. The photo shows the bare training boats. During the jousting, a sort of bridge / platform is constructed at the stern of a heavier boat and the “jouster” stands on top of it with a pole, trying to push the opposite person into the water. The rowers have to manuver the boat in the best position possible and avoid being pushed into an impossible position so that the jouster cannot do the job.

This is the real happening with the boats that have the ramp with jousting platform.

Although Sete is small, it is a very nice place and it was very pleasant to walk around there; compact but interspersed with canals. Here the fishing fleet of the town is located and our Guide was very proud to announce that little Sete as 3 times as many Tuna fishing boats than Marseilles. There are several canals that go through the city and they are flanked on each side by restaurants serving the fresh catch of the day.

This canal connects the sea with an inland lake and is very popular with small time boaters and fishing enthousiasts. Mussles and fresh oysters even grow on the bridge pillars.

Then it was on to the covered market (Les Halles in french) to look at more cookies but now also at the Fish stands, cheese stands and other local specialtiy boutiques.  And that was the tour. Those who wanted could stay behind, those who wanted to go back to ship could follow the tour guide, although in Sete you cannot get lost.

 

The outside of the fish market. It was restored sometime ago and, an architect was let loose to create an inspring roof, and he came up with a………………………………… a fish net cover.

Then it was waiting again for the shuttle bus. The ID card checking and boarding of the shuttle bus was supervised by no less than 5 security guards. I have never felt so protected when stepping on a bus. We were back by 14.30 and time to take a nap as all that walking (and especially all that eating too much) does make you tired.

The inside of “Les Halles”. It is open every day from 07.00 to 13.00 hrs. and the place to go for “fresh” shopping by the locals.

We had cocktails in the regular atrium lounge , then on to the dinning room again; good food, good service but nothing special, and tonight we were early as we wanted to see the crew farewell and then the “Beatles show”.  Doors opening at 20.30 hrs.  The farewell show opened with a speech by the Cruise Director about how wonderful we were, as we sailed with Viking.

 

The crew farewell show with the -tall- captain in the middle.

Then a short speech by the thus far very elusive Captain. We have not heard a peep from him all week, no departure announcements, nor anything else, but it as it is compulsory to be part of the crew farewell, there he was. I have not been able to get anything out of anybody about what he is supposed to do as far as announcements go, but I do not get the impression that Deck and Engine are very much involved with the guest operation. So the Captain is more a “Chief Bus – driver” than anything else. It feels more  that the guest well-being is solely the job of the Hotel department. Headed by the Cruise Director and the General Manager.  Her name is Emma Smith and she is from England. We spoke several times with her as she is very visible in the ship and indeed “manages by walking around”. Also her office, on the side of the  Atrium with the door open, and directly approachable.

Then  we had a toast, with champagne handed out when coming into the show lounge followed by about 30% of the officers and crew marching onto the stage. Not much different from other company’s, only here with Viking, they pulled it off somehow with having all the crew lined up properly, instead the chaos you normally see. (and believe me it is not easy to do that, as it is not the same crew that is assigned each week, and they all want to stand”next to their friend” instead of being in the right position)

The “Beattles song show”.  I have a lively imagination but I had to stretch my Beattle’s imagination very far…………………. to figure out the connection of striped pajama’s with the Beattles. The Cast felt the same when I complemented them after the show. Why not have them wearing “Sergeant Pepper” costumes to make it a big more colorful ?

The show was about all the Beatles Songs and the singers were extremely good again. The same cannot be said about the person who designed the stage clothes as that was far from comprehensible. Especially after the costume change half way through when the men were dressed in a sort of prison uniforms.  But the show was very good and the Singers rightly received a standing ovation.

Then we decided to go for a nightcap and poked our nose into the Torshavn nightclub.  Quite intimate but again the sound level was a bit too much. So we went back to the Atrium Bar for a nice Brandy Alexander and a portwine.

The Thorshavn nightclub. On the stage the guitar player acting as a warming up act, for the very good, but very loud house band.

Tomorrow  we are in Barcelona for 2 days, with the second day being the dis & embarkation day. Tours will be going all over the city, Gaudi’s church and buildings of course and other city tours but also one to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, which is a 6 hour tour, and one I had never seen before. Cost for that one was well over $ 300,– and for that price I prefer to watch U-tube.

Expected weather tomorrow : sunny but chilly with temperatures of 13oC or 55 Fahrenheit

 

 

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