Fred Olsen, Black Prince Canary Islands Cruise

went into this Fred Olsen, Black Prince cruise as a solo passenger and my first with a open mind, couldnt believe how friendly everyone was, staff included, i think this must be due to the size of this ship, as you are constantly seeing the same faces, being a relative youngster i wasnt put off by the generation gap, lets face it in my opinion your either retired or very wealthy to be able to go away for a month, me im niether wanted to do something special after being made redundant after 30 years and it certanly didnt dissapoint me, there was plenty to do during the day to keep you occupied but plenty of room if you wanted some me time, just a shame it goes out of service 2009 i dont think i would have had the same experiance on one of the giant floating hotels you see these days.

Fred Olsen, Black Prince was friendly. Ships staff went out of their way to look after everyone. We liked the straightforward and honest way they refunded the fuel surcharge. Will we come again ??? Definatly YES black prince canary islands jan 09. We have certainly become Fred Olson fans.

The Black Prince cruise ship is in many peoples views a good ship, however maybe this is because it has not come across that the people commenting are at an elderly age. As I do not fall into that category I found the ship to be plain boring lacking in variety of activities each day, for example everyday the same activities were on at the same time and nothing different was offered. I also found that the activities were for a more elderly audience for example darts, bowls and bingo was placed on the daily times everyday and left me bored with nothing to do. The ships food also disappointed me, however not with the talent and effort put into the chefs food but with the small menu offering only a small variety and leaving once again me in a awkward situation with what to eat. I also noticed that the entertainment each night and music was placed once again for the elderly age group consisting of only swing music to latest of 80's. Deck space was limited either sides of the ship leaving no room to sunbath only at the front or back leaving you crowded with many people. The port dates disappointed me the most, as I thought my holiday would pick up once left the ship however we stopped at our first destination on the 24th December with all shops closing early, 26th December boxing day, all shops closed nothing running leaving only Churches and sight viewing available and 31st December in which all shops once again closed early and nothing was available which was ironic because we were there from 8:00am to 1:00am. My biggest concern and disappointment was the lack of available activities for everyone on board and entertainment. The ports of call were great apart from one place were it consisted of a small town and that was it ironically nothing was opened and on that day there were 2 ports of call in which the second was cancelled due to stronger winds in our next destination leaving us stranded in a boring miserable town sadly. Tenerife, Lanzarote, La Palma, Gran Canaria and Ponta del agarda were all brilliant. Anyways I hope this information helps everyone in the future planning to go on this cruise am only mentioning this because I feel I have missed christmas and not even had a holiday!

I was involved in an R.T.A. on way to join Black Prince. I elected to recuperate on board rather than in a National health hospital. I was treated like a prince. The doctor (dear lady, suffered from sea sickness) was superb as were the cabin staff. We crossed Biscay on the way out and it was like a mill pond. "That was a gift" spoken in Nordic accent by jazz playing captain. On the way back, our pet Viking was in his element (force 9, with prize bingo taking to the floor). Would I go again; you bet I would. This cruise line knows what a holiday is for and goes out of its way to provide it.