Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Reviews 12,488

Cruised with Bolearis from 22 May 27 May 2026 to France. First time with Fred Olsen but have already booked another cruise! The outstanding feature of our cruise was the staff - they were fantastic and made the ship a very happy one. Also I have to mention the food and the entertainment, both excellent. I found the booking procedure very easy, and once on board everything was carried out efficiently. We live on the Isle of Wight and were home by 9.45am, which involved two taxi journeys and a ferry crossing!

I enjoyed my 24 night cruise on Bolette.
The dining experience I had was excellent and varied.
All staff were polite and helpful.
The dancing activities onboard were, for me important. The excellent hosts danced with me often. As a solo traveller I enjoyed these opportunities.
I found some of the theatre productions uninspiring and was advised that in the future more staff members would be involved. I didn’t feel happy to hear this.
I was very disappointed with the Masquerade Ball which was not announced in any of the literature prior to sailing. Masks had to be bought onboard which were of very poor quality. My ‘plastic mask’ caused a heat rash which was so uncomfortable I was unable to stay for the Abba presentation which I heard was very good. I felt the whole experience was badly managed.

Very good service just one exception only shower gel & soap supplied perhaps you could let guest know so they can pack other toiletries

We booked this cruise as a special trip to celebrate my wife’s birthday, so expectations were understandably high.
For around six hours overnight, there was a complete loss of water and toilet facilities across the ship. This meant no ability to wash hands and no usable toilet in the cabin. In rough sea conditions, the toilet remained full, with sewage swilling around and the cabin developed a strong smell, making it an extremely unpleasant and unhygienic environment.
This is not a minor inconvenience — it is a failure of basic sanitation and essential services. For that period, the cabin was simply not fit for purpose.
What was particularly disappointing was the response afterwards. Despite raising a formal complaint, the only offer made was a £200 future cruise voucher. This is not meaningful compensation — it requires further spend with the company rather than properly addressing the issue.
Given the cost of the cruise and the nature of the problem, the response has been wholly inadequate.

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The staff is wonderful. The food and portions are great. We really enjoy the ports and scenic cruising opportunities. The straits of Messina passage and Stromboli were unexpected and enjoyed. We did shore excursions at each port and the diversity of options provided were exceptional. Our favorite was the excursion to Chefchaoun in Morroco.
Our only hopefully constructive comments are that more of the lectures be focused on the regions history, geology, culture, and nature. We have been on previous grand voyages with Fred that had really excellent speakers in these areas. Also I miss freshly cooked pancakes in the morning like we had on our first cruise. On "movie nights" it could be fun to show movies that have been filmed in locations we're visiting.

Tilly and myself enjoyed the holiday.. There was one problem with the Harris Tread trip. We were booked on the 5 p.m. trip which meant that we would miss our evening meal. We checked with the desk in the morning whp tpld us that a meal would arranged for 9.00 p.m.

Wheb we arrives backon the ship no-one knew anything about a meal for 12 people at 9.oo p.m. and after talking to the manager we had a lovely meal a bit late.
We will go again and soon.

The organisation was slick and efficient. The cabins were comfortable. Food quality was excellent, particularly in the evening. The staff gauged their clients well, were impeccably mannered, friendly, efficient, and helpful. The decor and fitting of the public areas was tasteful. Of particular note was the afternoon food and wine event. It was well worth the money with excellent food and wine pairings.
Less satisfactory for us was the entertainment programme. We were on the late sitting for dinner and the evening shows were too late starting for us.
I was also dismayed by the unseemly haste to get us off the ship at the end of the cruise.
All in all an interesting first cruise and we would happily consider doing another one with Fred. Olsen.

As you know we have been with Fred Olsen before.
It is always a friendly, relaxed holiday.
Right from the beginning - the booking up of the holiday, services whilst on board, help with luggage
etc - we cannot find fault at all.
We hope to enjoy many more cruises with you in the future.

The booking process was quite easy and staff were able to answer any questions. The food and service was very good and cabin staff always ensured the cabin was excellent. The ship is not brand new and is showing it's age but generally very well presented After sales service and handling queries was speedy and very satisfactory. 4STARS seems appropriate

Fjords & Falls of Norway in Five Nights cruise from Newcastle.

Our itinerary was changed four weeks before departure, supposedly to "enhance our experience" due to port congestion. We accepted this, as we researched and was happy with the change but the real issue happened on embarkation day.
After passing through security, we were handed a piece of paper as we entered the ship announcing another major route change-this time to Oslo due to weather conditions.The cruise line deliberately withheld this information until we were physically boarding. By letting us clear security and step onto the ship before notifying us, they denied us our right to refuse the changes and choose not to board . We did not board until 2.30pm. They made the change well before this and had been monitoring the situation for 2 days prior. Our holiday was now a slow boat to Oslo and back. We explicitly booked for tranquility, scenic cruising, and the natural isolation of the deep fjords.
Following a formal email complaint, while on board the company replied offering us a 20% discount on a future cruise. Shockingly, this voucher is only valid for six months. The audacity to assume customers can easily afford to book another cruise within half a year is insulting,. The email says Oslo is highly rated by passengers. To find equal value in a expensive city destination just because other passengers enjoy it is entirely unacceptable. It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of why we chose their cruise line. We were denied the holiday we paid for and trapped into an itinerary we did not choose.
The only good thing was the staff on board who were absolutely lovely.

Very good cruising experience. Ship excellent and kept very clean, food very good and plenty of choice. The staff are fantastic, nothing is too much trouble and they always have a smile and greet you warmly. Service as it should be but seldom seen anymore! Only downside is Bollete moves base base to Newcastle next year.

Excellent service. Very helpful and attentive staff.

The ship was great the staff were wonderful the buffet vegetarian food good and the entertainment too
The problem was that the cruise to the Norwegian fjords didn’t happen and we only went to Oslo on a bank holiday with everything closed
The company knew but didn’t tell us about the bad weather until we were in
Our cabin
The ship went at half speed to Oslo stayed there a day and came back to Newcastle very slowly not stopping anywhere else for a break or sightseeing
Ie Sweden or Scottish islands
Very disappointed

Trip to Iceland - strongly recommend this. Been on many Fred trips around the world and this one was another success.
Thank you to the team

Friendly, polite and helpful crew. Excellent service.
Loved all the on board entertainment, particularly the games eg baggo, table tennis etc
Enjoyed the line dancing and the ballroom and Latin dancing.
Was often disappointed by not being able to get on some of the exercise classes, particularly pilates.
Lovely destinations, but many have become overcrowded when you get 2or 3 larger ships docking.
The variety and choice of food was very good.
The tours we did were disappointing.
But overall we had a good time and can’t wait to sail with Fred Olsen again

My first solo cruise and I was nervous but it was brilliant. Your staff could not do more, were polite and professional, even when dealing with awkward customers. The ship was comfortable, clean with lots of space and nearly always a seat.

Hi we went on a cruise 30th jan to Norway northern lights. This is the first time I’ve been well enough to do a review. On the Balmoral cruise ship the day before we left, they said they were having a deep clean as they had an infection on board. An outbreak of Nora virus gastroenteritis ,  you would think a deep clean meant the whole shit was not infectious anymore . Wrong , the Saturday morning we were told the toilets onboard would be closed off, the only toilet we could use was in our cabin, that toilet was blocked 4 times, that’s not good, when you and your friend has gastroenteritis . Sickness and diarrhoea most severe , my friend had it twice, we spent most of the 2 weeks in our cabin, afraid Togo too get incase we needed the toilet, the food we were given was tasteless and most times cold, I was asked to write a letter about my experience, i did that and took it into the shop in Hythe, I’ve. Not heard a thing from Fred Olson, I paid a lot of money for a cruise, that was a complete nightmare, then on the last night we were given black tags for out luggage and told to wait until all other passengers had left the ship , then we could get off. I paid for ocean view , well the first day a guy come into our cabin and closed it, no explanation nothing. I’m still waiting for someone to get back to me.. that experience has put us both off cruising for ever. Never again. Mr Clive Walcroft. 

The fact that it sailed from Liverpool.THe ship was clean and tidy .The staff were more than helpful

Lovely ship great food and service from all crew and super ports to see all in all great cruise

Boarding was quick and easy, with plenty of staff available to help. Cabin well laid out with plenty of cupboard space. Food was excellent with so much choice with the option of both served or buffet meals. Lots to do during sea days, or nothing at all! Good range of shore tour options though one of mine was altered and I was not informed until on the cruise. That is an ongoing matter and I am still waiting to hear from them. Good shuttle bus services at ports for those who want to explore by themselves .All in all a very good cruise experience. Disembarkation was well executed if not a little earlier than indicated.