The three Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines ships, Bolette, Borealis and Balmoral, docked alongside each other in Funchal, Maderia, for the Fleet in Funchal celebration.
 
The cruise line, which is marking its 175th year, celebrated its fleet coming together on 09 November 2023. Guests on board the trio of smaller ships took part in a series of hand-craft events, which enabled guests to get the most out of their visit to the beautiful garden island.

Featured image: Mário Camacho

Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s has announced that it has taken the decision to delay the restart of two of its cruise ships, Balmoral and Braemar.
 
The company’s former flagship, Balmoral, will now not resume sailings until May 2022, later than originally planned. Whilst Braemar has had its restart date pushes back to 2023.

​The inaugural cruise programme for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ new flagship Bolette has been unveiled, including a number of brand new itineraries and a series of UK cruises, with guests able to book from 07 September 2020.
 
Bolette’s maiden voyage will be a seven-night ‘Scotland & Northern Ireland’ cruise, setting sail from Southampton on 5th March 2021. This will be followed by two further UK cruises before Bolette sets sail for the warmer climates of the Azores and Madeira over the Easter break.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' flagship Balmoral made its maiden call at the East Anglian port of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk in the United Kingdom as part of its 11-night Mystery Cruise.
 
The Mayor of the Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Councillor Michael Jeal was on hand wearing the town’s Chains of Office, with the Mayoress, his wife Paula, to greet guests, as they disembarked the ship for tours to Norwich and buses into town for nearby attractions.

​Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines celebrated an historic coming together of its fleet of four ocean ships Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch – in Cádiz, Spain on 10 September 2018. Entitled 'Captains in Cádiz', it was only the second time that the fleet has converged in one place, anywhere in the world.

Fred. Olsen's four ships sailed into Cádiz harbour at just before 08:00, carrying 4,000 lucky guests, who were welcomed by the ‘Los Sones de Cádiz’ band and a port bedecked with ‘Captains in Cádiz’ fiesta-style bunting and banners.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 880-passenger Boudicca is due to undergo an extensive refit from 17 March 2018, at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The ship will then return to the UK for a five-night Mystery Cruise departing Dover on 29 March 2018.
 
The Blohm+Voss schedule for Boudicca comprises of engineering works, general refurbishments and painting of the interiors and exterior of the ship.

​In addition, one of the main focusses will be the stripping out and rejuvenation of the 462 cabins and suites across the ship. All passenger accommodation will have new carpets installed, along with new soft furnishings and lamps. As with the rest of the fleet, brand new balcony furniture will be installed, and all rooms will be equipped with mini-fridges, safes and interactive smart TVs.
 
There will be extensive upgrading and remodelling of Boudicca’s public rooms and dining facilities. The Morning Light Pub will be moved from to the portside of the Secret Garden Café. The Heligan Room will be converted into the Indian Ocean Restaurant, with an Indian Ocean theme.
 
The space vacated by the Morning Light Pub on Lounge Deck 6 will be converted into the Oriental Tea Room, serving exotic teas and other Oriental specialities, with a Far Eastern influence and exotic décor.
 
The Guest Services area, the focal point and hub of the ship – on Main Deck 5 – will also be renewed, making it more inviting and user-friendly for guests.
 
Mike Rodwell, Managing Director, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “We are very proud of our smaller, classic cruise ships, and we recognise the importance of investment in upgrades and improvements to ensure that guest are always able to enjoy their holidays to the full. The upgrades and improvements to Black Watch, Braemar and Balmoral have all been very well-received by both new and existing guests, and we continue to focus on developing and enhancing the onboard experience. The significant investment that we are making to guest rooms and public areas throughout our fleet will ensure that we continue to provide facilities that meet – and exceed – guest expectations.”
 
Oliver Grün, Media Relations Manager, Blohm+Voss, said: "We are delighted to welcome Boudicca to our Blohm+Voss shipyard in the coming days, already the third cruise vessel from the Norwegian shipping company, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, to visit us in recent months. Our work on the more than 200-metre-long passenger ship is expected to be completed before Easter."
 
From Spring 2018, Fred. Olsen guests will be able to sail aboard a fully-renewed ocean fleet. Black Watch benefitted from extensive improvement work at the end 2016 and has been achieving record revenues since. Braemar and Balmoral were refurbished before Christmas 2017.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has announced the 2018/2019 cruise itineraries for its fleet of four small, more intimate ships, Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch. The ships will visit no fewer than 228 destinations in 73 countries.
 
The ships will offer cruises from a range of departure ports in the United Kingdom, including Southampton, Dover, Liverpool, Newcastle and Edinburgh (Rosyth) but will not cruise from Harwich or Greenock unlike previous years.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has advised passengers who are due to board Balmoral on 04 February 2017, to delay their arrival to the cruise terminal.
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The 1,350-passenger cruise ship, which is the flagship of the Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines fleet is expected to arrive into Southampton some twelve hours late, due to adverse weather conditions in the North Sea. Balmoral has been cruising at a reduced speed due to the weather conditions on route to Southampton.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is enjoying another bumper start to the New Year, reporting impressive sales volumes and generating more than £1 million of cruise revenue in a single day.

The impressive sales volume was recorded on 09 January 2017, for the second January in a row! Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has revealed that almost half of its entire 2017 cruise places have been sold, which is up by over 5%, compared to the same period in 2016.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is offering a 25% discount on cruises to those guests which were booked on upcoming cruises with the All Leisure Group cruise brands Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic, which went into administration earlier this week.
 
The 25% cruise discount from Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is avlible on any 2017, 2018 and 2019 cruise currently on sale but bookings must be made before 31 January 2017. Proof of guests' original cruise booking with either of the two All Leisure Group cruise lines is required.