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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

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(Redirected from Balmoral Cruise Ltd)
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryShipping
Founded1848
HeadquartersIpswich, United Kingdom
ProductsCruise ships
ParentBonheur
Websitewww.fredolsencruises.com

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is a UK-based, Norwegian-owned cruise shipping line with three cruise ships. The company is owned by Bonheur and is headquartered in Ipswich, Suffolk, in the United Kingdom. The company is part of the Fred. Olsen Group.

History

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The company originated in Hvitsten, a small town on Oslofjord in Norway, in 1848 by three Olsen brothers, Fredrik Christian, Petter and Andras, who bought their first ships and began an international shipping company. The company is now into the fifth generation of the family and operates various companies skilled within the cruise and passenger shipping trade, as well as aviation, ships' crewing, ship building and offshore industries. The Fred. Olsen group also has business interests in the luxury hotel sector, estate management,[1] property development and electronics companies.[2]

In May 2006 Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines announced the purchase of a new vessel, Norwegian Crown, from Norwegian Cruise Line. Following delivery of the vessel in November 2007, she was dry-docked for refurbishment. She was renamed Balmoral and entered service early in 2008. This was followed by a new centre section being added, with new cabins and public rooms, increasing the size from 19,000 GT to 24,000 GT (approx).

In 2018 Fred. Olsen announced that a series of 600-passenger-newbuilts was being planned and they were in negotiations with shipyards, but those newbuilts were never ordered.[3]

In July 2020, Fred. Olsen bought the former Holland America Line ships Amsterdam and Rotterdam for $37m[4] and renamed them Bolette and Borealis respectively, to be delivered in September 2020. They replaced the Boudicca and the Black Watch which were retired in August 2020.[5][6]

Fleet

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Current fleet

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Ship / Flag Built In Service Gross tonnage Flag Notes Image
Balmoral 1988 2007– 43,537 GT Bahamas former Crown Odyssey; Royal Cruise Line
Borealis 1997 2020– 61,849 GT Bahamas former Rotterdam; Holland America Line
Bolette 2000 2020– 62,735 GT Bahamas former Amsterdam; Holland America Line

Former fleet

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Ship Built In service Tonnage Notes Fate Image
Black Prince 1966 1966–2009 9,499 GRT
11,209 GT
Built as a combination ferry/cruise ship/reefer ship. Rebuilt into a cruise ship in 1987. Scrapped in October 2013 as Ola Esmeralda.
Blenheim 1970 1970–1981 10,427 GRT
12,244 GT
Built by Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Ltd as a larger version of Black Prince and Black Watch combination ferry/cruise ships. Sold to Scandinavia World Cruises 1981. Burnt out 1984. Rebuilt and continued as Discovery 1. Scrapped in 1997.
Brabant 2006 2018–2020 1,566 GT First river cruise for Fred Olsen. Chartered from Amadeus River Cruises between 2018 and 2020. Laid up in Germany.
Black Watch 1972 1996–2020 28,613 GT Retired in 2020, after Fred. Olsen bought the former Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Scrapped in Alang, India in 2022.
Boudicca 1973 2005–2020 28,388 GT Retired in 2020, after Fred. Olsen bought the former Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey in 2021.
Braemar 1993 2001–2024 24,344 GT Retired in 2022,[7] sold to Villa Vie in 2024[8]

Destinations and cruise holidays

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For most of the year, the ships are based in UK ports.

Destinations include Northern Europe, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean, Africa, Canada, the United States and South America[citation needed]

Operations

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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines operates smaller scale cruise ships, ranging in size from 24,000 to 62,000 GT (approx), currently a fleet of three cruise ships, the ambience on board is traditionally British.

RNLI

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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is the RNLI's longest-standing corporate partner, with a history that spans more than 60 years, all starting in the 1960s, when an RNLI volunteer started fundraising on board a Fred. Olsen cruise. Since then, the generosity of Fred. Olsen's guests and crew has raised over £1 million, which has funded:–[9]

  • five Inshore Lifeboats
  • three mobile training units
  • three seminar rooms at RNLI College in Poole
  • the development and cost of three lifeboat launching trolleys
  • mobile health check kiosks for divers
  • RNLI apprenticeships

Fred. Olsen funded RNLI lifeboats

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Op. No.[a] Name / Class On Station[10] Station Comments
B-549 Blenwatch
B-class (Atlantic 21)
1981–1996
1996
1996–1997
1997–1998
1998–2001
2001–2003
New Brighton
Porthcawl
Relief fleet
Tighnabruaich
Relief fleet
Enniskillin (Lower)
[11]
Now with ICE-SAR
C-521 Prince of Arran
C-class (Zodiac Grand Raid IV)
1988–1998 Arran (Lamlash) [12]
B-774 Braemar
B-class (Atlantic 75)
2001–2014
2014
2014–2015
2015–2021
Relief fleet
Stonehaven
Relief fleet
Weymouth
[13]
B-856 Spirit of Fred. Olsen
B-class (Atlantic 85)
2011– Kyle of Lochalsh [14]
B-913 Pride of Fred. Olsen
B-class (Atlantic 85)
2019
2019
2019–2020
2020–2021
2021–2024
2024–
Relief Fleet
Stonehaven
Relief Fleet
Filey
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Relief Fleet
[15]
  1. ^ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat.

References

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  1. ^ "Home". fredolsen.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines".
  3. ^ "'Series' of new 600-passenger ships announced by Fred. Olsen Junior at launch of cruise line's 2019/20 brochure". 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  4. ^ "Deep distress: Fred Olsen swoops for two Carnival ships funded by seller's finance | TradeWinds". 15 July 2020.
  5. ^ "ACQUISITION OF CRUISE VESSELS AND FLEET OPTIMIZATION". 2020-07-15. Archived from the original on 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  6. ^ "Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines confirms new ships Bolette and Borealis will take over from classic vessels Boudicca and Black Watch". 21 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Fred. Olsen To Sell Braemar".
  8. ^ "Villa Vie Takes Delivery of Cruise Ship for Residence Start up - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News".
  9. ^ "Fred. Olsen and the RNLI". Meet our partners. RNLI. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  10. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. p. 81, 102, 83–85.
  11. ^ "Shoreline Section" (PDF). The Lifeboat. XLVII (474): 130. Winter 1980. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Princely Donation" (PDF). The Lifeboat. L (499): 138. Spring 1987. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Lifeboat Lottery". The Lifeboat. 61 (583): 38. Summer 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Spirit of Fred. Olsen". The Lifeboat. 61 (600): 6. Summer 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Fred. Olsen guests fund and name new RNLI lifeboat | RNLI". rnli.org. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
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