Daily Times
Each evening a Daily Times newsletter will be placed in your cabin, detailing events and timings for the following day. This will include time zone changes and dress code guidelines.
Dancing
Dietary Requirements
Dining
The Maitre d’ on board allocates your dining table arrangements. You can request first sitting (6.30pm) or second sitting (8.30pm) at time of booking or by contacting our Administration Department on 01473 292444. When you arrive on board you will find a Restaurant Seating Card in your cabin, which will advise you of your table number and dining time. A buffet breakfast and lunch will also be served in the Palms Cafe on both Braemar and Balmoral, the Braemar Garden Cafe on Black Watch and Secret Garden on Boudicca. Weather permitting food may also be available from outside deck areas.
The main restaurants are:
Black Watch Glentanar Restaurant
Boudicca Four Seasons and Tintagel Restaurants
Braemar Thistle and Grampian Restaurants
Balmoral Ballindalloch, Avon and Spey Restaurants.
Ballindalloch is the main restaurant on Deck 6, whilst the Avon and Spey are more intimate restaurants on Deck 10. Menu and service are identical.
Mealtimes are as flexible as possible - after all you are on holiday. Breakfast is normally served between 7.15 and 10.00am, and lunch between 12.00 and 2.00pm in the main restaurants. A buffet breakfast and lunch will also be served in the Palms cafe on both Braemar and Balmoral, Braemar Garden Cafe on Black Watch, and weather permitting in the Poolside Cafe and Marquee Bar on Black Watch.
‘Open Sitting’ evening dining is offered as an informal option in the Braemar Garden Cafe on Black Watch, The Secret Garden on Boudicca, and The Palms Cafe on both Braemar and Balmoral. These informal restaurants operate on a self service basis, but a bar service is available.
Check your Daily Times for opening hours. Please note that all restaurants on board operate a no smoking policy.
Disabled Passenger Assistance
However, on the Braemar, owing to a restricted turning circle when accessing the bathroom, we would not recommend these cabins to wheelchair bound passengers. The number of wheelchairs we can permit on each ship is limited by our Safety Classification Society, as individual crew members are assigned to each cabin occupied by a wheelchair user, who would be called upon to provide the required assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency at sea.
These are set as follows:
MS Braemar Permits 4 wheelchairs and has 4 cabins modified or wheelchair use.
MS Black Watch Permits 6 wheelchairs and has 4 cabins modified for wheelchair use.
MS Boudicca Permits 6 wheelchairs and has 4 cabins modified for wheelchair use.
MS Balmoral Permits 12 wheelchairs and has 9 cabins modified for wheelchair use.
Other passengers who prefer to use a wheelchair to assist them in covering significant distances ashore will therefore be restricted from using their wheelchair when the vessel is at sea. Additionally, the number of wheelchairs we can accept for use ashore only, is also capacity controlled.
Motorised wheelchairs/scooters will only be accepted on Black Watch, Boudicca, Braemar and Balmoral when occupying an adapted cabin. On health and safety grounds, chairs weighing in excess of 25kg cannot be carried ashore at any ports of call, other than the start/end point of the cruise, unless they can be easily dismantled.
Regrettably, we cannot guarantee that assistance by qualified persons will be available at other ports of call and unless able to board a vehicle unassisted it will not be possible for wheelchair users to participate in organised shore tours.
(Please see page 30 relating to Shore Tours) Owing to the nature of ship to shore tender services, which are utilised at certain ports when at anchor, we regret that it will not be possible to convey any passengers ashore who require more than minimal assistance to board the tender. Safety of our passengers is always of paramount importance.
Fly/cruises - it is important for wheelchair users to advise us immediately as to whether they are unable to climb aircraft steps, so that we can ensure suitable airport assistance is available.
Disembarkation
Within your ticket pack you will find a disembarkation questionnaire which we ask you to complete in advance of sailing and hand to our check-in staff which will enable the Reception Manager to identify any passengers with onward travel connections necessitating priority disembarkation. You will then be issued with a colour-coded disembarkation card. On the last evening of your cruise please ensure that your luggage is placed outside your cabin door prior to midnight, as our staff will need to ready all baggage to be taken ashore. Please remember to pack an overnight bag as you will need suitable clothing and personal effects for the actual day of disembarkation.
On arrival into port the vessel has to be cleared by Customs and Immigration Officials before disembarkation can commence. This enables you to have a leisurely breakfast, vacate your cabin, and take a comfortable seat in one of the public lounges before being called forward according to your colour coded disembarkation card.
In general, disembarkation commences at 0800hrs, but please allow up to 2 hours for the entire ship to be cleared. Please plan your onward journey accordingly.
Assistance will be given to those passengers with wheelchairs.
Once leaving the vessel please ensure you collect all your luggage from the baggage reclaim area before continuing your onward journey. As baggage is arranged in the reclaim area according to deck colour it is very important to ensure that your original baggage tags are still affixed to your belongings. Please ensure you take only your belongings. Passengers who take luggage belonging to fellow passengers will have to pay any charges incurred in returning luggage to its rightful owner.
Full disembarkation procedures will be placed in all cabins, and for operational reasons may differ slightly from the above.
Dress code
During the Day
Daytime dress is casual. Casual shirts, shorts and beachwear are ideal, although we do ask you to adhere to appropriate dress codes in the main restaurants. For going ashore and walking on deck, flat, comfortable shoes are a must. We would also recommend that you take a lightweight jacket or fleece for the evenings.
Don’t forget your sun cream, hats and sunglasses, as the power of the sun is magnified at sea.
During the evening there are:
Formal nights – For ladies, this is the opportunity to wear a cocktail or evening dress. For gentlemen, dinner jacket or tuxedos – if you do not have a dinner jacket you may wish to hire one (please see Dress Suit Hire). Alternatively, a dark suit and tie is acceptable.
Informal nights – Men will be comfortable in a lounge suit or jacket and/or tie. For ladies, anything ranging from tailored trousers to a dress, will be appropriate.
Elegant casual – Stylish leisure wear is ideal. Open neck shirts with collars please, for the men; whilst casual separates or a summer dress will be fine for the ladies.
Casual nights – On the first and last nights of the cruise we relax the rules – although still no shorts or vests in the restaurant please!
As a guideline there are normally three formal nights on a two week cruise, with the remaining nights split between informal and casual. However in the hot temperatures of the Caribbean the guidelines are relaxed to three formal nights with the rest as elegant casual nights.
There will also be various theme nights such as ‘Tropical Evening’, ‘Country and Western’, and ‘British Night’, which you may wish to join in. Dress code guidelines are mentioned in the ship’s Daily Times so you can anticipate the tone of the next evening to come. The number of formal, informal and casual nights for your particular cruise will be advised in your ticket pack.
Dress Suit Hire
Duty Free
Passengers should kindly note that due to company policy, only alcohol purchased on our vessels may be consumed on board. Any alcohol brought from ashore will be placed in safe keeping by the ship’s security officers and returned at the end of the cruise. However, you may purchase cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol on board to enjoy in your cabin or take home via either our tax-free Cabin Shopping Service, or on- board boutique, which give you excellent savings on shoreside prices. See Shopping On Board for more details.
When returning from EU countries there is no limit to the amount of goods you can bring back into the UK (exceptions apply for certain Eastern European countries). However, these must be personally carried and be for your own use - which includes gifts. If you bring back large quantities of alcohol or tobacco, a Customs Officer may ask you about the purposes for which you hold the goods. This particularly applies if you have with you more than the following amounts:
- 3,200 cigarettes
- 400 cigarillos
- 200 cigars
- 3kg tobacco products (other than above)
- 10 litres of spirits
- 20 litres of fortified wine
- 90 litres of wine
- 110 litres of beer
Your Customs allowance when returning from non-EU countries is;
Tobcacco - either, 250 cigarettes, 250g of tobacco, 50 cigars, or 100 cigarillos.
Alcohol - either, one litre of spirits, or 2 litres of fortified wine or any other alcoholic drink that’s less than 22 per cent volume. In addition you are permitted 4 litres of still table wine and 16 litres of beer.
In total £390 worth of all goods including gifts and souvenirs.
Please note on fly/cruises it is the policy of most airlines that passengers can travel with alcohol that is 1-70% proof. Anything above this will be confiscated as considered to be dangerous goods.
