Find Out What We Thought of this Five-Night Cruise from Newcastle
We check in for a five-night cruise to Amsterdam and Rotterdam with Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines
The first nice surprise is that we’re in North Shields at all – not having given these things much thought, we had always assumed that most cruises went from further afield. The second nice surprise is that, before we even enter the terminal to check in, our bulky bags are whisked away by porters (we’re assured that they’ll be in our cabin when we get to it). Having had our tickets and passports checked, we’re given our key cards, which we’re told are all we need when we’re on board – acting as both cabin keys and account cards, so everything is added straight to your room account and you don’t need to carry any money or ID. Within a few minutes we’re walking up the gangway and boarding the ship for the first time.
The scale of it is our next surprise. We had imagined a cruise ship which is able to dock right in the heart of major European cities would be, well, smaller. But The Borealis is vast. Sister ship of Fred.Olsen’s flagship Bolette, it’s 238 metres long and 35 metres wide, capable of carrying 1,353 passengers in 702 cabins, plus 642 crew.
It takes us most of the first day to get our bearings – and even by day three we occasionally find ourselves somewhere unexpected, like an art studio, without knowing quite how we got there. Luckily, the whole ship is full of helpful crew members who will point you in the right direction, and a handy ‘pocket guide’ contains an excellent map (I soon learn to keep this on me, along with my key card).
Our cabin is a Balcony Junior Suite, and contains all sorts of helpful and homely surprises. A compact bathroom still manages to have room for a bath and shower, as well as a decent-sized sink and plenty of space for washbags etc. There’s a run of wardrobes opposite the bathroom door with lots of shelves and hanging space (these are also stocked with robes, extra blankets and lifejackets), then a large bed, beyond which is a desk and chair with yet more shelving, a large sofa, coffee table, and doors to our private balcony (complete with loungers). There’s plenty of room to move around, and space to relax too. There are various perks to having booked a suite – from a welcome bottle of Prosecco on arrival, to daily canapés (delivered each afternoon), a fruit bowl, fresh flowers, bathrobes, slippers and even binoculars. Once, we return to our cabin to find a plate of delicious chocolate-coated strawberries have been delivered in our absence.
By the time we depart North Shields at 6pm, we’ve found our way to a bar from which we can look straight out over the front of the ship, spotting local landmarks as we sail out of the Tyne and turn south. Within moments of sitting down, a helpful member of staff appears to take our drinks order, returning with a welcome glass of chilled sauvignon blanc and a gin and tonic (both included in our pre-booked Drinks Package, which includes pretty much anything you could want). Our five-night itinerary (‘Dutch Waterways and Works of Art’) includes stops in both Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and we’re looking forward to exploring some new cities.
After our first night on board, we have a day at sea as we make our way to Amsterdam. This, we think, is our chance to tour the ship properly and try to get our bearings. There are 10 decks to explore, and we make sure we don’t miss a thing. Some are given over entirely to cabins, others to enjoyment. We find restaurants, bars and cafés, countless lounges and places to relax, a spa, fitness centre, and a pool and Jacuzzis beneath a retractable glass roof. There are boutiques selling everything from fresh flowers to jewellery, a card room, tea room, gallery, a cinema and a theatre where there are live shows every night. That’s not to mention the outside space – the main promenade deck encircles the entire ship, the sun deck at the very top has views for (nautical) miles, and the forecastle is the place to go for your Jack-and-Rose ‘I’m king of the world’ moment.
At intervals around the ship there are games and puzzles to try (including shuffleboard – trickier than it looks – jigsaws, chess and deck quoits, which we turn out to be quite good at). A helpful Daily Times (delivered to our cabin each night) tells us exactly what’s happening where around the ship each day. Should you so desire, you could be busy from morning ’til night – from Pilates in the fitness centre, and indoor curling in the Ocean Bar, to beginner’s bridge in the Card Room, quizzes in the Morning Light Pub, live music in the bars, film screenings in the auditorium and live shows in the Neptune Lounge. That’s before you make time for something as simple as taking a dip in a jacuzzi, or spending an hour with a good book. In short – there is no excuse to be bored on this boat.
There’s also no excuse to be hungry, with a plethora of dining options available all day. On our first evening we dine in the ship’s main Borealis Restaurant. It’s a two-tiered space with Art Deco-influenced interiors, white tablecloths and impeccable service. At the rear of the ship, large windows line three sides of the space, affording fabulous views of the waves. The whole menu here changes each night – bread, starters, soup and salad courses, then mains, desserts and coffees. In the unlikely event that nothing on that evening’s menu takes your fancy, there’s an ‘Always Available’ menu you could order from, containing classics such as seafood cocktail, grilled chicken, salmon or steak, cheesecake and chocolate fudge cake.
All credit to the kitchen teams, promptly knocking out delicious, high-quality dishes for hundreds of people per sitting, and the waiting staff, who are friendly, efficient and quick to learn each individual guest’s likes and dislikes. By night two, we’ve barely taken our seats before we’re offered the wine we enjoy and glasses of iced water, and all of the waiting staff seem to take pride in learning the name of every guest in their section. It’s a seriously smooth operation. All the meals we enjoy here are top quality, but among our favourite dishes of the trip are crispy haddock and salmon fishcakes served with a green pea purée, and a rich, creamy gnocchi with gorgonzola.
Should you not want to dine in the main restaurant (which has a smart-casual dress code) there’s always the choice to head upstairs to the informal buffet restaurant, The View, where there are a multitude of options to choose from – from roasts of the day to stir fries, salads, curries and desserts. You can choose where you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and there’s also afternoon tea and late night snacks in The View.
On days at sea, there’s an option to book a Traditional Afternoon Tea in the smart Observatory Bar at the front of the ship, which has windows on three sides and the most incredible views. A string trio plays as we sit at a white-clothed table, enjoying delicate sandwiches and pastries, followed by freshly baked scones with jam and cream. We’ve timed this perfectly, taking our seats just as we start to sail down the North Sea Canal, which stretches 16 miles from Ijmuden on the North Sea all the way to Amsterdam itself.
Docking in Amsterdam, we find ourselves just a five-minute walk along the quay from the city’s main station, right in the heart of the action. Come the morning, our first plan is to take a scenic canal cruise, which we’ve booked as an addition to our trip. Helpful staff escort us from the cruise terminal building to the dock (a walk of just a few hundred yards) where our glass-roofed canal boat awaits, and our knowledgable and personable guide talks us through the sights (and the architecture) as we cruise serenely through Amsterdam’s picturesque waterways.
It’s a great way to get our bearings, so when we disembark we’re able to skirt around the hectic city centre and make our way to the upmarket Jordaan district, which is all traditional Dutch houses and canals, criss-crossed by pretty bridges. This is Amsterdam as we had imagined it, and by the time we take a wide loop around the centre via the museum quarter, we’ve walked six miles. Cutting through the Red Light district, bars and cafés already busy in the early evening, we make our back to the ship in time for departure (making time to stop for a tacky fridge magnet on the way – Amsterdam does a great line in these).
Tonight we’re trying one of the ship’s speciality restaurants, Vasco, which serves up authentic Indian cuisine, created by Borealis’s Goan chefs. As we sail out of the North Sea Canal and back towards the North Sea proper, a basket of Indian breads with dipping sauces is quickly followed by a selection of starters – including delicate grilled squid and a fabulous mushroom chilli. Our main courses (Goan chicken curry for me, and a fish curry for my partner) are flavour-packed and fabulous – served with moreish spicy potatoes and a delicious dhal. By the time we’ve sampled the intricate, beautifully presented desserts (including a sweet, layered Bebinca cake) we’re glad we’re just one deck above our cabin.
There’s something a bit special about waking up in a new city, and when we rise the following morning the ship has already docked, and Rotterdam is looking ripe for exploration. We’re within an easy walk of the city centre, but there’s also a shuttle service outside the terminal for those who would rather not walk.
Rotterdam is an unexpected delight. Largely destroyed in World War II, the city has been rebuilt with varied, interesting architecture, wide boulevards and plenty of green spaces. There are welcoming cafés on every corner, bustling shopping streets and upmarket bars and restaurants, and the whole city is spotlessly clean, and full of surprises. Turning a corner, you might find a serene park dotted with lakes, a piece of public art, or a moving memorial, and occasionally there’s a row of traditional Dutch houses – a reminder of the city as it was before the war. By lunchtime we find our way to the ultra-modern Markthal. This unique building is shaped like an upside down horseshoe, with the outside home to offices and apartments, and the large central hall packed with food producers and street food stalls.
In the afternoon we board a coach from outside the cruise terminal and make the 30-minute journey to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kinderdijk, the largest collection of traditional windmills in The Netherlands. Our guide is seriously knowledgeable and explains the history of the site and the vital importance of the windmills to the history of The Netherlands. Climbing to the top of a still-working windmill, it’s easy to imagine how people lived and worked here for generations (before electric power largely took over). My partner (an engineer) disappears for 10 minutes – when I track him down, he’s deep in conversation with the current miller. It’s a vast site, but we have plenty of time to explore before we have to head back to the coach.
Alighting outside the cruise terminal as the sun sets over the water, we decide it’s time for a cocktail. The ship isn’t set to depart until late evening, so we take the chance to visit Hotel New York. An iconic spot in Rotterdam, the hotel was formerly the headquarters of the Holland-America Line, and from the sun-drenched terrace we can actually see The Borealis at its mooring just up the quay.
Our final day on board The Borealis is spent at sea, as we cruise back up the east coast towards home. The sun has come out again, so we spend much of the day outdoors, playing deck quoits, reading on our balcony and taking in the views from the forecastle. There’s still time in the afternoon to head to the Atlantic Spa, where we both enjoy an uber-relaxing full-body massage.
For our final night on board we’re again trying one of The Borealis’s speciality restaurants. Colours and Tastes serves modern, Asian-fusion dishes, so we start with coconut fried shrimp with green mango salad and a mint relish (for me) and Korean gogujang fried chicken wings (for my partner), which are satisfyingly sticky and luckily come with a finger bowl. To follow, I’ve chosen crispy lobster croquettes with a ponzu dressing and asian salad, while my partner enjoys classic Pad Thai noodles with chicken and prawns. On the side, we share a portion of steamed pork and prawn dumplings with a deeply-flavoured garlic and chilli dipping sauce.
In the morning we’ll awake back in North Shields, and disembark early to head back to work. Before that though, there’s still time for one more drink in the Observatory Bar as The Borealis sails towards the setting sun.
