Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Reviews 

Our experience on Borealis was very enjoyable. The staff wherever in the ship were always friendly and helpful. The food was of a high quality with sensible portions. We enjoyed the quizzes, we enjoyed the bridge sessions and for the most part the trips ashore.There did appear to be difficulties for some getting to the right deck for the two main restaurants.
Nevertheless a very enjoyable cruise and lots of plus marks for Fred Olsen. This was our first cruise with Fred Olsen ( we have been on sea cruises before with a well known competitor and also on two river cruises) and we would recommend Borealis or similar to others. One curious anomaly is why we were provided with body wash in our shower but not shampoo.

Mostly great, the staff are amazing and the food is fantastic. Plenty of activities throughout the day and loads of nice places to sit and read etc.
The Bolette is a lovely ship if a little old fashioned, speaking of which I knocked a star off for some antiquated practices like having to sign for every drink (2 receipts printed each time- not sustainable at all), paper sign off for muster points and having to be seated to order drinks (no to go coffee).
Didn’t bother with the drinks package and a good job as a lot of premium spirits aren’t included, we spent about £35pp a day.
Did one night in the Colours & Tastes restaurant, didn’t really rate the menu but desserts were delish and the extra fuss made anniversary feel special.
Fred offers free shuttles if the port is over a mile from the town which is nice and I believe they have free walking tours? But I will say their excursion prices are very high, we booked everything separately, easy enough if you have a multi-currency card like Starling.
The Norwegian fjords cruise has some beautiful ports, not loads to do but generally a cable car/ train/ bus tour to take in the scenery.
As for the sea days I personally struggled with how much movement there was aboard, apparently Bolette does have stabilisers fitted but it didn’t feel like it 🙈 this rendered certain places like the theatre and observatory fairly off limits.
If you’ve got decent sea legs and like a bit of oldy worldy then give Fred a go 👍

Just been on our 1st Fred Cruise to Norwegian Fjords from Liverpool. Exceeded and service. Cannot fault anything about the cruise at all
Amazing

The ship kept pristine the staff amazing

Ship as clean as always. Polite friendly staff in all areas especially our cabin housekeeper.
Shows were good (although the pub one was hard to follow) but the most stunning show was one by Keenan Schaefer, what a voice and his two guests were really good . ( more of this please) it was the best show I have been to on a Fred cruise!!

Ship is beautiful, staff are exceptional, food is top quality and varied, entertainment very good, all in all a fabulous experience, can't recommend highly enough.

Superb customer service from all crew, always with a big smile, excellent food, pristine public areas and cabin..really felt looked after!

We’ll start with the embarkation process; this was a little shambolic and might have been improved had the boarding taken by colour tags individually rather than 6/7 colours at once. When Liverpool gets it much needed second berth and enhanced cruise terminal we hope this facilitates an improved embarkation process on Fred Olsens part.

The sail away party in the glorious Liverpool sunshine was fun and enjoyable and both the crew and entertainment team embraced this positivity and made all feel that this was a special cruise.

Our cabin (junior suite) was surprisingly large and to have Molton Brown products within the bathroom, was like a “home from home” for us. The only downside side to the room was the TV, too many times was the TV limited as the signal was lost as a result of “interference”. The portal operation on TV was non-existent (unable to check cabin account) and the same could be said for this portal access on our phones which was slow and laborious.

The Terrace restaurant was our venue for our first evening meal, and the food and service did not disappoint. Though we did at times think that our preferences were not catered for, as well as the “buffet”

On to our first full day at sea came our only disappointment; Traditional Afternoon Tea. We arrived at the observatory on time and to our horror we were advised that there was no record of our booking, when we produced the card confirming our booking, the staff member was somewhat perplexed and left to clarify the matter. We were duly offered a hastily made up table away from the main recipients of the said afternoon tea and our annoyance was duly expressed, we were offered a glass of bubbly and the staff member had the autonomy to reimburse the cost; excellent customer service on the part of Fred Olsen. The service was good, cakes/pastries were enjoyable, though the sandwiches were a little dry (did not taste as recently made) and there was a delay as a result of the aforementioned under-booking, as further scones needed to be produced; clearly we were not expected that day!

We visited colours and tastes on two occasions; firstly Grill then later Italian - these were stunning in their choices and presentation. The cliche of “my compliments to the chef” just would not do it justice. The visits left us feeling; if only the Asian option had been available!

The excursions we had purchased all came with tickets that were in our cabin upon arrival and whilst expensive in comparison to other providers each was thoroughly enjoyable and well organised with informative guides and the right balance of information disseminated and free time for exploration/comfort breaks/souvenir shopping. We would highly recommend Lerwick Brewery (Shetland Isles), Bergen & Mount Floien (Bergen), Troll Car (Olden) and finally Golden Train at Andalsnes. We duly completed the individual feedback forms for each excursion.

Not quite sure of the benefits of printing tickets, when these were not checked, but instead your name was checked against a printed list, particularly as you are planning to save paper by emailing lead booking final statement.

Without doubt the two biggest strengths of this cruise was the respectful, diligent and personalised service offered by our wonderful cabin steward (Kanjana) along with service and quality of food offered within colours and taste (as referred to previously). The food quality and presentation throughout our adventure was excellent.

On our penultimate day we had purchased a pamper for two and this whilst costly, did turn out to be great value for money as the enjoyment level was exceptional.

Finally, the disembarkation process at Liverpool was super efficient

The bollete cruise ship is beautiful spotlessly clean the staff were amazing so helpful and kind a credit to Fred olsen cruises .the entertainment crew were fabulous. Our cabin was lovely kept spotlessly clean. The food was delicious plenty of choice and places to go to eat. The coffee shop is really good the coffees and cakes were delicious. And the staff were lovely.

Norway summertime fjords. Every single member of crew on board Bolette could not be more helpful ,pleasant & polite& hardworking we felt really welcomed & nothing was too much trouble . It was our first cruise & we were amazed at all the hard work in every single area re cleanliness of the ship . The food was excellent also all the facilities . My only concern was with 600 plus crew on board could there be a lifeguard for 1 hour in morning or afternoon for anyone travelling alone . Also I heard a lot of guests complaining about the cost of Wi-Fi . Overall it was a wonderful holiday . Many thanks

Great crew and staff, well maintained ships and excellent food

Fantastic cruise crew we're very freindly couldn't do enough for us regent travel was excellent booking my first solo cruise

Outstanding in every respect - great organisation, helpful and polite staff.

Excellent value for the money , and staff very helpful cant do enough for you.

The ship was beautiful (not too vast, crowded or overwhelming: you felt you mattered at all times...) and there was plenty to do on board between our ports of call, on Shetland and in Norway.
The shore excursions were well planned and organised, with highly entertaining and knowledgeable guides. Sailing from our own hometown port was a definite plus, too!
The food and drink, and the onboard atmosphere were all outstanding; but what really made it all special was the efficiency and friendliness of the staff on board: they were nothing short of brilliant!
We'd never done a cruise before (and to be honest, hadn't really considered it seriously until recently) but after spending that week on board the 'Bolette', we'd DEFINITELY go again, at least with the Fred. Olsen line. Sincere thanks and great kudos to everyone involved in making this such a memorable experience!

Fantastic suite, with extras included.
Great, friendly & efficient staff.
Many varied activities available.
Food was exceptional
Boat size was enough & atmosphere was lovely & friendly.

We found all the crew and staff very helpful, always smiling, the ship was immaculate and food was great. Thr entertainment was very good. One little complaint, the toilet paper was very poor 🫣

I've filled in a detailed questionnaire thank you. Had a wonderful cruise with excellent staff. Will book again, thank you

4th time in the last 12 months on FO Bolette excellant as usual ...staff always wonderful. Entertainment was great ...cabin on deck 3 not as good as those we have stayed in on deck 2, but okay. Great ship perfect size. Good ports of call. Very efficient ...all in all excellant cruise.