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Black Watch Lima to Singapore 27/1-22/3 |
| Reviewed By: Falconer, Reading on 30th Mar 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Fred. Olsen Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Black Watch |
Sailed:
January,
2008 |
| Destination: Pacific |
Age: 56-65 |
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18 hours on a charter flight from Gatwick to Lima is not the best way to start a cruise, particularly as over an hour was spent circling over Ecuador waiting for permission to enter Peruvian airspace.
We have cruised with most major cruise lines,our favourites being MSC and Celebrity,but this was our first Fred Olsen cruise.Boarding the Black Watch in Callao it was a joy to have our bags delivered direct from the plane to our cabin.The cabin,in the middle of the ship, was quiet and roomy with plenty of storage space,2 port holes and a bath.
Black Watch is a comfortable,small ship with a sensible layout,everything within a short walk and efficient airconditioning.Dining in the main restaurant was a pleasant experience,the service courteous and attentive and the food tasty,although the presentation lacked the flair of some other cruise lines.The on board shops were mediocre,not a problem to us as we were restricted to 20kg per bag on our return flight from Singapore.The standard of entertainment was variable with some good "enrichment" lectures and some disappointing comedians and singers.The Black Watch dancers and singers were superb however.
Many passengers were disappointed at not being able to tender to Easter Island,although Fred Olsen himself boarded there.Compensation was paid for not landing at Pitcairn Island,although we did not expect to,and also for the tours in Tonga where coaches allocated to Black Watch were hijacked by QE2.An interesting,reasonably priced selection of tours was offered at other ports in the South Pacific,New Zealand,Australia and Indonesia and we took some of them.The pre-port talks were informative.There were lots of activities offered but not pushed for the many sea days.The Swimex machines were very useful in controlling our weight!
At 56 days this was our longest cruise,but the time passed all too quickly,the weather was near perfect,the passengers(mainly British Fred Olsen repeaters)were mostly convivial and the crew were charming especially the captain.We have already booked another cruise with Fred Olsen.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Ate mainly in main restaurant,but excellent lunchtime fish and chips on deck | | Entertainment |  |
| Black Watch dancers and singers , crew show and ventrilloquist were best.Freddy Davis comedian disappointing. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| All good (especially Java )except Tonga where greedy local police were bribed by QE2 | | Staff | |
| Captain Olav excellent communicator | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Lots of interesting things to do and staff were not pushy | | Cabins | |
| Comfortable,quiet and a bath! | | Overall Rating | |
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