It was with great excitement that we leapt out of bed at 6.45am. We had just over an hour to be washed and dressed and to pack the last bits and pieces into our suitcases, before we set off for the two-hours-forty-minutes drive to Manchester Airport. ☺
Yes! We were off on holiday again! This time, a eight-day fly-cruise on that wonderful little Fred Olsen ship called Balmoral. This would be our seventh cruise on Balmoral and we were looking forward to island-hopping around the Greek islands, joining the ship in the amazing city of Dubrovnik.
We left the house just before eight o’clock, and set the satnav to take us to the JetParks long-stay car park just outside Manchester Airport. The weather was cool but dry, and the roads contained the usual busy Friday morning traffic.
Around the half-way point, we decided to have a comfort break at Leeds services. I hadn’t had any breakfast at all so we went into Gregg’s and I enjoyed a fresh all-butter croissant (still warm) washed down with some orange juice. Then we used the restrooms and continued our journey. There were no issues with roadworks or traffic, and we arrived at the car park around 10.50am.
The hardest part was actually finding a parking space! We drove round and round the packed car park, and had a couple of false leads where you think the space is empty only to see a small car in it! Eventually we found a space which was, typically, opposite another empty space.
We parked the car and happily trundled our cases around to the shuttle bus stop, where another couple were waiting. They spotted our Fred Olsen Cruise Lines luggage straps and asked us where we were going; they were off to Tenerife for a fortnight.
The bus came along within a few minutes and we boarded for the short ride to Terminal 2. Inside, it didn’t take long at all to check in; in fact, they seem to have a new system in place to allow self-check in. You scan your passport in a machine, answer a few questions by tapping on a screen, then print your boarding pass. Then you place your suitcase on the large scale and print off your own luggage label before taking the cases over to the bag drop. All a bit impersonal really, and how can you express your preference for a window or aisle seat?
Next, it was straightforward enough to go through security, and then our time was our own. We decided to go and enjoy a couple of pints and revel in that fantastic “we-are-going-on-another-cruise” feeling. ☺
Presently, the departure board informed us that all those for Jet2.com flight LS2203 was ready for boarding, and passengers were requested to proceed to gate C11. We hefted our rucksacks onto our shoulders and followed the crowds towards the departure gates; our flight had already started boarding.
We spotted a lot of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines luggage labels and correctly guessed that the flight was a charter. It didn’t take long to board and soon we were in our seats and looking forward to the journey. Many people seemed to know other people, and indeed we saw a couple, John and Sheila, who had shared our table on Balmoral last year, on a cruise to the Baltic. A holiday atmosphere prevailed, and we were happy when the captain informed us our flight time today would only be two hours and 37 minutes; a far cry from the 14 hours of flying we’d had on our last holiday! ☺
Our aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 and we trundled our way round to the runway; the pilot must have had permission to take off immediately because there was no pausing; he just throttled forward and we sped along the runway, roaring off into the wide blue yonder.
Once we were above the clouds, it was a beautiful clear day with pale blue skies and bright sunshine. In fact, the sun was on our side of the plane and was too bright. There was no window shade to pull down, so I improvised by wedging the safety card into the space; it did the trick. ☺
The refreshments trolley came round and Trevor ordered a hot ham and cheese toastie with a Twix and a cup of hot chocolate, while I enjoyed a couple of glasses of prosecco (of course!) accompanied with a small tub of sour cream and chives Pringles. ☺
The flight seemed to pass quickly. I read the inflight magazine and looked out of the window; I might have dozed a little. I was surprised at how soon the captain announced that we would shortly be landing in Dubrovnik and for us all to fasten our seatbelts and return our trays to their upright positions.
We looked out of the window at the orange-tinged clouds; sunset was not far away. We watched as the aircraft descended, lower and lower, until the wheels touched down with a bump and we sped along the runway. We had arrived! ☺
It was all very streamlined and efficient. We left the aircraft and made our way to passport control, then straight to the luggage carousel, which hadn’t yet started up. Everyone was waiting for the moment when the rubber conveyor belt would start moving until, with a whine and a jolt, it was set in motion. It was only a matter of minutes until our two cases appeared and then we made our way to the Arrivals hall, where a member of staff holding up a Fred Olsen sign directed us over the road to the waiting coaches. We couldn’t wait to be back on board again! ☺
One of the many things we love about the Fred ships is that they are so elegant, comfortable and familiar so that, each time your board, it feels like coming home. This was the case on Balmoral; once we spotted her waiting for us, all lit up, we felt a fresh surge of excitement at the thought of our impending cruise and our time on the ship. We only disembarked Balmoral in January, after a wonderful winter cruise in Norway, and once we made our way up the gangplank and into the cosy interior, we felt as if we had never been away. ☺
We’d booked a superior balcony cabin on Deck 9, cabin number 9088, and it was lovely. We were really pleased with it. It was fairly large and contained a huge dressing table and chair, twin beds with a small chest of drawers in between, and a glass coffee table and another couple of chairs. There was a nice big mirror and a TV affixed to a wall bracket.
Best of all were the massive balcony doors, letting in lots of light. In fact, we almost had a “bay window” because at either side of the floor to ceiling glass doors was another window at an angle. It meant that the whole of one side of our cabin was glass, and it was lovely. The balcony itself was larger than average and contained a couple of deckchairs and a table. We knew we’d have a wonderful eight nights there; in fact we were only sorry it wouldn’t be longer!
It was around 7.30pm now and our cases still hadn’t been delivered yet, so we decided to go and get something to eat in the Thistle self-service restaurant, as we were too late for our main sitting in the dining room; in any case, we weren’t suitably attired for the smarter Ballindalloch Restaurant.
I enjoyed a plate of crisp salad vegetables and some cheese, washed down with cold water and a crisp glass of cava. Then we made our way to the Neptune Lounge for tonight’s cabaret; it started earlier tonight, at 8.15pm instead of the usual 8.45. It featured a Scottish singer called Ryan who was part of the show company and was performing solo tonight, singing us his songs of the Highlands. The Neptune Lounge wasn’t full; maybe lots of people had disembarked and the new arrivals may have been busy unpacking or something like that. We enjoyed the show; the lad was a decent singer.
As we left the Neptune Lounge, we spotted a very familiar figure standing at the entrance, none other than entertainments host Hubert Greaves. We have known Hubert since a cruise on the Braemar in 2011, and have seen him on several cruises since. He is such a character, and it was so great to see him again. He recognised us too, and immediately looked at my feet to see which of my fantastic shoes I was wearing tonight. But as we’d only just boarded, I didn’t have any on. As regular readers of this blog will know, my shoes always attract a lot of attention on cruises. 🙂
Afterwards, we returned to 9088 to discover our cases had arrived, so we unpacked and hung up our clothes and folded them neatly into the main drawers and shelves. One thing I will say about Balmoral (indeed, all three of Fred’s ships) is that there is always lots of storage space, unlike on some of the newer vessels.
Once we’d done this, we decided to go ashore! Balmoral was not due to leave until 5.00am, so we could have a look out and there wasn’t a hurry to be back. As it happened, we knew exactly where we wanted to go.
A couple of years ago, we enjoyed a fantastic cruise around Croatia on a 30-passenger mega-yacht, the Solaris. We had been docked just under the bridge in Dubrovnik, and a walk along the harbour had led us to a pub called “Bistro 49”. When we had looked on MarineTraffic to see where Balmoral had docked, we saw that she was, in fact, just opposite Bistro 49. So we decided to go back there and enjoy a couple of pints. ☺
It was quite literally no more than five minutes to disembark the ship, exit the port, and enter the pub, which hadn’t changed at all since our last visit. We each ordered a pint of the local beer and sat there happily. Don’t you just love that first-night feeling of your holiday? This morning we were in Durham, now we were in Dubrovnik! ☺
We enjoyed it very much in the pleasant, dimly-lit bar. We should have been tired, but we were far too excited. We decided to have one more drink as I had spotted the bottle of Aperol on the shelf, so while Trevor ordered another pint, I partook of a refreshing Aperol Spritz. When the barman brought them over to us, he reminded us that the bar closed at 11.00pm.
Once we had drank up, I pondered whether or not to use the loo before we left, then decided I could wait until we returned to the ship as it was literally a couple of minutes away. We left at exactly eleven o’clock (they like to keep to the licencing hours here!) and made our way over the road in the direction of the ship. As we approached, a lady came along and asked if we were going back to the Balmoral, and we confirmed that we were. She told us that the gate was locked and we had to walk all the way along to the ferry port, which was a good 10 minute walk away!
We set off along the waterfront, looking at the Balmoral, so close, through the chain-link fence which was annoyingly keeping us away! Once we reached the ferry terminal, we had to walk through it, show our shipboard cards, then it was another 10 minute walk along the other side of the fence. So much for it being a couple of minutes away! By the time we proceeded up the gangplank and back on board, I was bursting for the loo, and almost ran to the nearest Ladies. ☺
We decided to enjoy a nightcap in the almost-empty Morning Light pub, perching on a barstool and chatting with the friendly barman who recognised us from previous cruises. I enjoyed a chilled glass of Cava while Trevor opted for a refreshing Somersby cider.
Afterwards, it was getting on for midnight, so we said our goodnights and returned to our fantastic cabin 9088. I opened the curtains as wide as I could to enjoy the sea view as soon as I woke up, and we settled down in the crisp, rustly sheets in our twin beds.
It didn’t take long to fall asleep, but just before we did, we imagined with pleasure the wonderful sea day we had to look forward to tomorrow.