“We’ve got a gap in February, can we fit in a cruise” said Lindsey. That’s how this cruise on Fred Olsen’s MS Borealis came about!
Embarkation day came around quickly after a busy few weeks at home. All of a sudden we were packing and getting us, and our Jack Russell Dax, packed into the car. Our first stop was to drop Dax with Minnie and familybefore heading down to Portsmouth. Although we have previously done a ship visit from this port, we have never sailed from here. We were looking forward to this new experience.
We were fortunate with traffic conditions and arrived at the port in good time. Parking was pre-booked at the adjacent multi-storey car park but again this was a new experience. We shouldn’t have worried, there were marshalls on hand to guide us to the baggage drop off area where our cases were taken by staff. Lindsey was dropped at the front of the terminal with some hand luggage while Ken went to the multi-storey to park.
The terminal is also used for embarkation onto ferries and so can be busy with people booking in there. However there was a very friendly man on hand to greet those heading for cruise embarkation. He very efficiently directed those who had cases with them to a drop off point within the terminal. Having already dropped our suitcases, we were directed straight to the embarkation lounge.
This lounge is a large seating area and there is an adjacent cafeteria – which from previous experience serves quite good coffee! There was a good number of people waiting and we had no idea how long we would be there. But as we were a little ahead of schedule we didn’t mind, particularly as there was a pianist playing just behind us.
However we only waited a few minutes before our embarkation colour was called and we headed through to the check in area. The queue here moved relatively swiftly and we were greeted at every turn by friendly and helpful staff. With little ado we were through check in and on to security. Again this was a swift and efficient process.
This is where it became a little unusual! From the terminal you have to board a service bus to take you a few hundred yards along the dockside to the ship. Many people think this somewhat unnecessary, but as a working port and a working dock it is a matter of safety and really only takes a short while.
All of a sudden we were up the gangway and on to Borealis. To our surprise were told that cabins were ready so we headed straight to ours. We were delighted with the cabin and enjoyed the first look at our `home’ for the next 12 nights. We also made sure that we watched the safety video on the television and registered at our emergency Assembly Station.
The cabin is well appointed and spacious with good amount of storage. We will tell you more in our cabin tour in the near future. You also have a number of documents on the side waiting for you. This includes a folder full of useful information about ship life, tour tickets if they have been booked through Fred Olsen and tickets of any other pre-booked experiences such as the Martini Experience. Additionally there is a welcome aboard folder with health and safety advice, pocket guides, cards to order room service together with a copy of the Daily Times.
The Daily Times is the ships daily newsletter which gives a wealth of information. It includes everything from the location of the other ships in the fleet (as this is being typed MS Balmoral is right alongside us heading to Cadiz) to opening times of the bars, shops and restaurants. It is extremely useful and makes for good bedtime reading.
We were also welcomed by our cabin steward Taksina. Fred Olsen ships cabins are serviced twice a day so you still receive the traditional turn down service and a chocolate on the pillow.
We then had time to stroll around the ship, getting our bearings and booking some experiences. Heading to the spa we booked an hour in the thermal suite. We had previously booked a meal at Colours and Tastes and also the Martini Experience. Unfortunately the times clashed but a quick visit to a member of staff and we were able to change our dinner booking.
All this had made us rather peckish, especially after our early start to the day. So we headed to the poolside grill where Ken enjoyed burger and chips and Lindsey had a ploughmans. Along with a pint, it was just the tonic to set us off again to do some more exploring before heading back to the cabin to unpack.
All of a sudden it was time for dinner, which tonight for us was in the Main Dining Room. There we were greeted by our Waiter Haide and her assistant Mac. Both made us very welcome and we enjoyed a very pleasant meal with a couple glasses of the house red wine, which is included in the drinks package. Very nice it was too.
Our evening’s entertainment was a Production Show called Hits from the Flix. It’s an easy to watch show which is probably just what everyone needed after a busy travelling day.
One of the most enjoyable parts about cruising for us is meeting people. On this first evening we were lucky enough to have several followers say hello to us. We have yet to catch up properly with Tom, Jenny, Angie and Keith over a drink so look forward to that. However we also met up with Christine and Phil who we first met on Bolette last year – so good to catch up over a drink (or 2)
We decided to find a quiet spot to sit and reflect on a busy but enjoyable embarkation day. Wherever we turn the staff here on Borealis are happy in their work, happy to speak and more than happy to help. There is no doubt that this is going to be an enjoyable cruise. So we head to bed on our first evening tired, but content and eager to see what greets us on our days at sea that are coming up.