Scenic Scotland And Ireland – The Olsen Way

At the last minute, I found myself back aboard Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Bolette for a 10-night Scenic Scotland and Ireland cruise. I’ve visited the Scottish ports many times – with one exception – so for me, this trip was more focussed on the onboard aspect and covering things for you that I hadn’t previously covered. I’ll get straight into it…

Embarkation was in Newcastle, again, super convenient for me as it meant a 10-minute journey to the port. I have to say, I was so fortunate! The weather was atrocious, but I was onboard in the warmth when the heavens opened, and the thunderstorm rolled in! OK, not great sailaway weather but did I care? Not one bit! I was onboard, I was content. I dropped my bags in my cabin, this time a Junior Balcony Suite on Deck 6. It was beautiful. Signature Fred. Olsen from cabin door to balcony door and to my delight, there was a jacuzzi bath in the bathroom – I’m obsessed with these baths! For anyone considering one of these cabins for a longer sailing my advice would be to go for it. They’re very comfortable and the storage space is immense!

One of the highlights of this cruise for me was seeing the lovely Eleanor, again. We met on Bolette in May, and she had told me she had another cruise booked but I couldn’t remember the dates. The day before embarkation she texted me to say she was off on her holiday on Bolette the following day and that she hoped she’d meet someone on this cruise as kind as I was. I texted her back and said I’ll do you one better! I’ll meet you for a brandy as I am also on this cruise! She said I’d made her day but honestly, she had in fact made mine!

Scenic Scotland and Ireland Ports of Call & Scenic Cruising

Our ports of call on this cruise included Lerwick, Stornoway, Belfast, Portree and Kirkwall. All I had visited before, with one exception, Portree. This was in fact my third attempt at visiting this lovely town on the Isle of Skye, all previous cruise attempts had failed due to bad weather, but we were so incredibly lucky that our visit on Bolette coincided with perfect, calm, and sunny weather. It’s such a beautiful place and I’m so glad that I can now say I’ve been, finally.

I had only booked one excursion but sadly it was cancelled as not enough other people had booked. However, my invitation for an exclusive RIB ride during our call to Stornoway made up for it! It was quite gloomy when we left the ship but within minutes the sun came out and the air temperature warmed. We had a little run into some of the smaller inlets just off from where Bolette was anchored. We spotted numerous seals and some lovely birds, as well as having the chance to peek inside a few caves as we went! I always love a RIB tour!

One big sell for this cruise was the scenic sailing aspect and I have to say that it was superb! Below is a run-down of the scenic aspect. There was ongoing commentary which was highly informative and very interesting. I genuinely can’t praise the onboard team enough for how well this was all put together, and I must thank our captain who made a clear and conscious effort to ensure everyone onboard had great views, regardless of where on the ship they were. At one point when we were sailing by Dunrobin Castle, we went around in a circle for at least 10-minutes!

• Cruise by Dutchman’s Cap (Bac Mòr)
• Cruise by Fingal’s Cave, Isle of Staffa
• Cruise by Iona
• Cruising Lough Swilly, Ireland
• Cruise by Duart Castle
• Cruise by Sound of Mull
• Cruising Loch Hourn
• Cruise by The Small Isles
• Cruise by Kilt Rock & Mealt Waterfall
• Cruise by Duncansby Sea Stacks
• Cruise by Dunrobin Castle
• Cruise by Spey Bay & Burghead
• Cruise by Troup Head, Moray Firth

Kitchen Creations and Onboard Dining

These were introduced on Fred.’s newer ships thanks to the auditorium space on deck 4 – just opposite Colours & Tastes on Bolette. They’re always popular but there was one I really wanted to see and that was ‘Traditional Stottie Cake’. I am a Geordie born and bred and a ham and pease pudding stottie is a staple in the Geordie diet – it would have been criminal for me to miss this, especially as we had Executive Chef ‘Geordie’ Michael onboard. One thing did make me laugh, though, and that was when a few people in the room mentioned that they thought they were going to be watching a cake making demonstration – they were all from the south and clearly not accustomed to the Geordie stottie bread.

I took a copy of the recipe to share with you – maybe you can make it for yourself or family and friends one day! I would recommend a good quality ham for this. I use turkey ham when I have this at home and I’ll admit I don’t make any of it, I buy the lot! My pease pudding must come from the local market or somewhere like Dicksons and I’ll only use Greggs stotties. I like to eat, I’m not very good at baking!

The food onboard was varied and delicious, again I have zero complaints! Well, the only thing I did complain to myself about was that this time, I never made it to Colours & Tastes! To say I was gutted is an understatement! I had booked Vasco and then the following night I was supposed to be in Colours and Tastes. I decided to split them up, as the food is rich and sadly, on the day I was meant to go (our final night) I wasn’t feeling too well, so I had to cancel. I didn’t want to waste the food as it’s too good.

Vasco was superb and it was a menu I hadn’t previously tried. I asked for the food to be very mild and indeed it was, but still packed with delicious flavours! I even tried mussels for the first time in my life. I can’t say I loved them, but they were tasty, and the texture wasn’t as I’d expected it to be. The look of them has always put me off but on this menu, they were coated in semolina, so I thought I’d be ‘brave’ and give them a try.

Vasco was superb and it was a menu I hadn’t previously tried. I asked for the food to be very mild and indeed it was, but still packed with delicious flavours! I even tried mussels for the first time in my life. I can’t say I loved them, but they were tasty, and the texture wasn’t as I’d expected it to be. The look of them has always put me off but on this menu, they were coated in semolina, so I thought I’d be ‘brave’ and give them a try.

Bolette – Back of House Tour

Another highlight was the Back of House Tour.  Now, I’m not going to go over everything we did on this and for good reason – Fred. Olsen is hoping to roll this out in the coming months as a tour option for all guests (where space allows), so I don’t want to spoil it for those that want to experience it for themselves. I can say that it was hugely immersive, and it was a pleasure to meet a lot of the crew that work hard behind the scenes to ensure our cruise runs as smoothly as possible. Without them, we wouldn’t have the delicious meals, the clean towels and bedding, the pressed formal wear and the list goes on. Some areas on my tour included the laundry, galley, crew mess, crew bar, recycling plant and food stores. I was also fortunate to have a bridge visit on which there were several other passengers. Now, I don’t know if this would also be part of the BOH tour as I did this on a separate day, so don’t hold me in court on that one. I’m sure in time, if these are implemented as a regular feature onboard, you’ll find out exactly what is/will be included.

Heart 2 Heart and Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

One thing I really want to talk about is the partnership that Fred. Olsen has with Heart 2 Heart. I’d spotted something in the Daily Times about this on my last cruise, but I hadn’t had the chance to go along because it clashed with one of the talks I went to. This time, I popped in to see what it was all about and honestly, it’s such a fantastic idea and one I find incredibly unique as well as being massively important.

Heart 2 Heart is a UK based charity aiming to raise awareness about the use of CPR and defibrillators across the UK. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines are working together with Heart 2 Heart to raise money for more public access defibrillators and increase peoples’ knowledge on how to use one. There were quite a few passengers there for this, which was nice to see, but you tell me – how many potentially life-saving talks have you come across on any cruise ship? In my 78+ sailings, this was a first for me!

I took the below info from a press release that was issued back in June, just to give you a better idea of what it’s all about.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Fred. Olsen Travel and Fred. Olsen Limited have worked together with local Norfolk charity Heart 2 Heart for the past several months in a fundraising campaign to purchase this publicly accessible defibrillator.

Charity Heart 2 Heart was founded by Jayne Biggs in 2017, after her daughter, Violet, suffered a cardiac arrest aged just seven. Thankfully, Violet survived the incident, which led Jayne to undertake a mission of educating people about the importance of CPR skills and raising funds to ensure widespread availability of defibrillators.

As part of the fundraising initiative, the charity together with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has delivered CPR training for team members in the office and to crew and guests on board the ships.

Thanks to the incredible support from these sessions and fundraising events, the first defibrillator has now been made live on the National Defibrillator Network.

A further six defibrillators are to be purchased, and with the companies’ ongoing partnership they aim to get 24-hour publicly accessible defibrillators set up in their regional departure ports, travel shops and in local communities.

You can read more here: Fred. Olsen House unveils first 24-hour publicly available defibrillator in partnership with local charity Heart 2 Heart.

Overall, it was yet another fabulous #TheOlsenWay cruise experience but as usual, it just wasn’t long enough! So, I’m fixing that, and I’m delighted to say that I will be joining Bolette in November on her 93-night ‘The Intrepid Beauty of Africa and the Indian Ocean’ sailing. If I said I was excited, I’d be telling lies – I CAN’T WAIT!

As noted on the Fred. Olsen website – On this outstanding Africa and Indian Ocean cruise, you’ll have the chance to see remarkable wildlife and learn of tribal cultures in Madagascar; and seek out the Big Five on a safari journey into the African Savannahs. You can get up close to Tutankhamun’s burial ground at the Valley of the Kings, from Safaga; and world famous pyramids from Port Said; while the Indian leg of your journey brings opportunities to visit tea plantations and assist a ‘Dabbawala’ in Mumbai with their deliveries. With four days in Cape Town there will be ample time to discover a melting pot of different cultures. Walvis Bay is your gateway to the colossal dunes of the Namib, the world’s oldest desert, whereas Réunion Island boasts sweeping volcanic landscapes, dense forests and cascading waterfalls. We will head off the tourist trail to explore the less-visited gems of São Tomé and Zanzibar.

Are you joining this cruise or any of the sectors? Let me know in the comments!