Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

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Lynda and David
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Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#1

Post by Lynda and David »

Hello everyone

We need some help; we’ve booked ourselves on a cruise out of Liverpool with Fred Olsen in July. Has anyone ever started a cruise in Liverpool, and if so where did you park? We know that CPS now have parking available for this port but its park and ride so wondered if anyone knew of any closer parking to the terminal. We've looked at the Fred O website and our cruise personaliser but all they mention is a company who will come and pick us up from home and bring us back at the end of the cruise, we're assuming that that will be a lot more expensive than us driving to Liverpool.

Also, as this cruise is our first with Fred O, does anyone have any tips to share?

Many thanks


Lynda x

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david63
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#2

Post by david63 »

There does not seem to be much showing on a Google search for Liverpool cruise parking other than CPS.

From memory of Liverpool there is not much (if any) long stay car parking around the Liverpool waterfront. Perhaps look at other options - stay and park or possibly the train.

(be prepared for the "you will find your car on bricks" and "did you want wheels on your car" jibes!!)

Sorry cannot help with FO
Last edited by david63 on 08 Apr 2017, 11:25, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#3

Post by Lynda and David »

david63 wrote: 08 Apr 2017, 11:25
There does not seem to be much showing on a Google search for Liverpool cruise parking other than CPS.

From memory of Liverpool there is not much (if any) long stay car parking around the Liverpool waterfront. Perhaps look at other options - stay and park or possibly the train.

(be prepared for the "you will find your car on bricks" and "did you want wheels on your car" jibes!!)

Sorry cannot help with FO
Thank you David, we were talking last night and have decided that as we are staying just outside Derby over Easter we will drive to Liverpool one day and checkout the CPS parking and look to see if there is anything more suitable around the port. I'll let you know how we get on.

Best wishes

Lynda and David


CaroleF
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#4

Post by CaroleF »

Hi, Lynda and David, I can't help with the Liverpool aspect of your question but we are going with FO in September from Southampton up to Scotland and then stopping at Belfast on the way back to Southampton. Our very first cruise back in 2003 was with FO, a fly cruise to the Caribbean on Braemar, which we thoroughly enjoyed and was the start of our cruising career! Then we didn't cruise the next year but had to wait until I'd twisted my husband's arm enough and went with P&O the following year. A friend who had cruised with FO had tried P&O and told us to try it. It wasn't that we didn't love Braemar we did but the additional restaurants, the events on board etc attracted us. Since then we've stayed mostly with P&O. We did do a short cruise with FO on Black Watch back in 2010 to Antwerp near Christmas. We were looking for something to do this coming September and I'd looked at what was on offer with P&O and nothing - apart from longer, more expensive cruises, there was nothing I fancied. Then I saw the Fred Olsen itinerary which stops at various places around Scotland before returning to Southampton via Belfast. We also got a free All Inclusive Drinks package which was on offer the weekend we booked which appealed!

There are various differences with Fred Olsen and although we haven't sailed recently so are not very up to date but there are some I think are still probably the same. Firstly, you don't start boarding until around 2.00 to 2.30pm and there is no lunch on offer, in fact no food on offer until tea, so have some lunch before getting to the port or do what I did when we were on Black Watch - I took some very nice sandwiches etc. which we had once we got into our cabin. Food in fact is not available 24 hours as it is on P&O. If you miss lunch then there is nothing until tea time - I don't think the grill on deck serves all afternoon but someone may be able to say if this is so. You are assigned to one of two dining rooms. If the buffet is still the same - on Braemar, which is where we are in September, it's the Palms Cafe. It's very different from P&O, assuming it's still the same the tables are laid with tablecloths, glasses (real glass) and cutlery. It used to be the case that you chose your food and a waiter took the tray from you and took you to a table but I'm not sure this is still the case. From memory I would say the buffet is better than P&O but then they are not serving as many people.

You cannot take any alcohol on board, any found at check in will be removed and given back at the end of the cruise. You can however take soft drinks - I asked on the FO forum on CC if I could take Squash and was told I could. In your cabin when you go back after dinner you will find that the duvet has been folded up and placed at the foot of your bed. I'm not sure why they do this but it was still the case on Black Watch in 2010 - there is a chocolate on the pillow.

The dress code is more or less the same as P&O and last time we certainly found that the vast majority dressed up for the formal nights with most men wearing dinner jackets. Some men will wear a jacket on a casual night, probably more than on P&O - however, there is a thread on the CC site discussing the formal evenings and whether people still dress up. The majority of the staff on board are from the Phillipines and are very keen to see you have a good cruise. Most of the officers are Scandinavian but not all. I don't know if some of the officers dine with the passengers on a formal evening nowadays, they certainly used to.

The ship will seem incredibly small after P&O and the cabins are small too. Last time we had a Balcony Suite on Braemar - this was before the ship was cut in half and stretched - and it seemed spacious to us at the time but since being with P&O it is quite small - probably the size of a P&O ordinary balcony cabin. There aren't many balconies on Fred's ships. Well, I can't think of anything else but if there's anything specific you want to know do ask and I'll answer if I can.

Carole

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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#5

Post by david63 »

Lynda and David wrote: 08 Apr 2017, 11:52
we are staying just outside Derby over Easter we will drive to Liverpool one day
I hope you realise how far Derby is from Liverpool

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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#6

Post by Meg 50 »

Go by train!
Meg
x


JoanneB
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#7

Post by JoanneB »

Parking in liverpool is expensive and as far as I know there is no long term parking near the berth. The park and ride should be fine though?


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Lynda and David
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#8

Post by Lynda and David »

CaroleF wrote: 08 Apr 2017, 12:18
Hi, Lynda and David, I can't help with the Liverpool aspect of your question but we are going with FO in September from Southampton up to Scotland and then stopping at Belfast on the way back to Southampton. Our very first cruise back in 2003 was with FO, a fly cruise to the Caribbean on Braemar, which we thoroughly enjoyed and was the start of our cruising career! Then we didn't cruise the next year but had to wait until I'd twisted my husband's arm enough and went with P&O the following year. A friend who had cruised with FO had tried P&O and told us to try it. It wasn't that we didn't love Braemar we did but the additional restaurants, the events on board etc attracted us. Since then we've stayed mostly with P&O. We did do a short cruise with FO on Black Watch back in 2010 to Antwerp near Christmas. We were looking for something to do this coming September and I'd looked at what was on offer with P&O and nothing - apart from longer, more expensive cruises, there was nothing I fancied. Then I saw the Fred Olsen itinerary which stops at various places around Scotland before returning to Southampton via Belfast. We also got a free All Inclusive Drinks package which was on offer the weekend we booked which appealed!

There are various differences with Fred Olsen and although we haven't sailed recently so are not very up to date but there are some I think are still probably the same. Firstly, you don't start boarding until around 2.00 to 2.30pm and there is no lunch on offer, in fact no food on offer until tea, so have some lunch before getting to the port or do what I did when we were on Black Watch - I took some very nice sandwiches etc. which we had once we got into our cabin. Food in fact is not available 24 hours as it is on P&O. If you miss lunch then there is nothing until tea time - I don't think the grill on deck serves all afternoon but someone may be able to say if this is so. You are assigned to one of two dining rooms. If the buffet is still the same - on Braemar, which is where we are in September, it's the Palms Cafe. It's very different from P&O, assuming it's still the same the tables are laid with tablecloths, glasses (real glass) and cutlery. It used to be the case that you chose your food and a waiter took the tray from you and took you to a table but I'm not sure this is still the case. From memory I would say the buffet is better than P&O but then they are not serving as many people.

You cannot take any alcohol on board, any found at check in will be removed and given back at the end of the cruise. You can however take soft drinks - I asked on the FO forum on CC if I could take Squash and was told I could. In your cabin when you go back after dinner you will find that the duvet has been folded up and placed at the foot of your bed. I'm not sure why they do this but it was still the case on Black Watch in 2010 - there is a chocolate on the pillow.

The dress code is more or less the same as P&O and last time we certainly found that the vast majority dressed up for the formal nights with most men wearing dinner jackets. Some men will wear a jacket on a casual night, probably more than on P&O - however, there is a thread on the CC site discussing the formal evenings and whether people still dress up. The majority of the staff on board are from the Phillipines and are very keen to see you have a good cruise. Most of the officers are Scandinavian but not all. I don't know if some of the officers dine with the passengers on a formal evening nowadays, they certainly used to.

The ship will seem incredibly small after P&O and the cabins are small too. Last time we had a Balcony Suite on Braemar - this was before the ship was cut in half and stretched - and it seemed spacious to us at the time but since being with P&O it is quite small - probably the size of a P&O ordinary balcony cabin. There aren't many balconies on Fred's ships. Well, I can't think of anything else but if there's anything specific you want to know do ask and I'll answer if I can.

Carole
Hello Carole

Thank you for replying to us. I’ve wanted to visit the Scottish Highlands for a long time but as David lived in Scotland for over 20 years and spent many of his holidays up North he’s been refusing to go again, then at the end of January he saw this holiday on Boudicca in his weekend paper and surprised me by saying why don’t we do something different this year. I am so excited to finally visit and as we have a second home just outside Derby its easier for us to cruise out of Liverpool than if we had to drive up from London the day before. In case you’re wondering why we have a second home in Derbyshire it’s because that’s where David’s family are from and eventually we will move there permanently.

We’re mainly P&O cruisers and the only other cruise lines we have cruised with are Celebrity (never again) and Avalon Waterways river cruises who we would definitely like to go with on another river cruise. We’re also going to book ourselves on the 3-night taster cruise with Princess next year.

We were wondering what time we could embark the ship, 2-2.30pm is good for us. Thank you for the tip about the food, we will treat ourselves and go out for breakfast before we leave home and take a snack with us. We’re in a suite as we booked so late and all the balconies were sold, do we get priority embarkation?

We’re not fussed about there not being 24 hour food, river cruises are the same and as we will be off the ship every day apart from the last one it won’t matter to us.

Glad to hear the dress code is similar to P&O, we like to make an effort in the evening especially since we both stopped working and we are hardly ever out of our jeans.

Lynda x


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Lynda and David
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#9

Post by Lynda and David »

david63 wrote: 08 Apr 2017, 13:16
Lynda and David wrote: 08 Apr 2017, 11:52
we are staying just outside Derby over Easter we will drive to Liverpool one day
I hope you realise how far Derby is from Liverpool
Hi David, we think the drive to Liverpool from Derby will take about one and a half hours. We used to take David's Mum to Blackpool on day trips and thats further on from Liverpool. At least going there beforehand will mean we know where we're going and I won't be panicking and leave home too early.

Lynda :wave:


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Lynda and David
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#10

Post by Lynda and David »

JoanneB wrote: 08 Apr 2017, 15:15
Parking in liverpool is expensive and as far as I know there is no long term parking near the berth. The park and ride should be fine though?
Thanks Joanne x

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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#11

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

I do like the idea of some of these itineraries but really don't like the look of Fred's ships


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Lynda and David
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#12

Post by Lynda and David »

Mervyn and Trish wrote: 10 Apr 2017, 17:54
I do like the idea of some of these itineraries but really don't like the look of Fred's ships
I know what you mean Mervyn, when I looked at their brochure I did have a 'should we shouldn't we' moment but we want to start trying some of the different cruiselines that sail from the UK and this one is only for 8 nights plus P&O don't do this itinerary which is why we decided to give FO a try. I'll let you know how we get on.

Lynda

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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#13

Post by qbman1 »

Mervyn and Trish wrote: 10 Apr 2017, 17:54
I do like the idea of some of these itineraries but really don't like the look of Fred's ships
Little Adonia is doing a similar one again - this July will be our third Round Britain on her and our fourth altogether.
Last edited by qbman1 on 11 Apr 2017, 09:12, edited 1 time in total.


CaroleF
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#14

Post by CaroleF »

I can't remember if you get priority boarding if you are in a suite. We had a suite on our last cruise which was a 4 night on Black Watch in I think 2010 but I don't remember the boarding procedure. We tried to get a Premier Suite this time on Braemar but they had all gone. We are on a wait list but at the moment we are in a Balcony Suite - so still classed as a suite with the additional "Suite Dreams" package as they call it. When we were on Braemar the first time we had a decanter of whisky and a decanter of sherry in the cabin - that's all gone now apparently! Sign of the times.

It will be interesting to compare notes when we have both returned.

Carole

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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#15

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

qbman1 wrote: 11 Apr 2017, 09:11
Mervyn and Trish wrote: 10 Apr 2017, 17:54
I do like the idea of some of these itineraries but really don't like the look of Fred's ships
Little Adonia is doing a similar one again - this July will be our third Round Britain on her and our fourth altogether.
P&O's late announcement of Adonia's return and release of her itineraries meant we'd already booked for 2018 but she's on our list for 2019 if the itineraries suit. Not sure we can do more than 7 nights on a little ship though. Love the intimacy, miss the choices of a larger ship.

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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#16

Post by qbman1 »

I tend to agree but it's OK on a Round Britain as there are not that many sea days - just about the right balance. It is true that she does seem a friendly ship and, of course, the crew have that much more time

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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#17

Post by Happydays »

We had two weeks on Adonia last year and between the destinations and the ship it was one of the best cruises we've been on.


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Lynda and David
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Re: Lochs of Scotland cruise from Liverpool with Fred Olsen

#18

Post by Lynda and David »

CaroleF wrote: 11 Apr 2017, 10:36
I can't remember if you get priority boarding if you are in a suite. We had a suite on our last cruise which was a 4 night on Black Watch in I think 2010 but I don't remember the boarding procedure. We tried to get a Premier Suite this time on Braemar but they had all gone. We are on a wait list but at the moment we are in a Balcony Suite - so still classed as a suite with the additional "Suite Dreams" package as they call it. When we were on Braemar the first time we had a decanter of whisky and a decanter of sherry in the cabin - that's all gone now apparently! Sign of the times.

It will be interesting to compare notes when we have both returned.

Carole
Hello Carole

I'll let you know how we get on in July, we are in an SS Grade suite. I know FO included a drinks package but not sure about the Suite Dreams package.

Lynda

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