Three of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ ships will undergo multi-million pound refits this winter – in preparation for the start of the 2018/19 cruise season.
Two of Fred. Olsen ships – Braemar and Balmoral – will be refurbished before Christmas with the third, Boudicca, upgraded in March 2018. Black Watch, benefitted from extensive improvement work at the end of last year.
Mike Rodwell, Managing Director of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “We are very proud of our smaller, classic cruise ships and we recognise the importance of investing in ongoing upgrades to ensure that our guests can continue to enjoy them at their best. The refreshed Black Watch has been very well received by both new and existing guests so we are delighted that the rest of the fleet will also benefit.”
The schedule for the Fred. Olsen ships includes: upgrading the existing public areas, creating new facilities – such as a new restaurants and gelato bar on Balmoral, a new dining room on Boudicca, a new buffet restaurant on Braemar – and cabin enhancements across the fleet.
The 929-guest ship Braemar will set sail from Southampton to Hamburg on 23rd November 2017 for a nine-day dry dock at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. Her first sailing after the refit will be a 16-night M1730 ‘Voyage to the Caribbean’ cruise from Southampton on 5th December 2017.
Fred. Olsen’s flagship Balmoral, will arrive in Hamburg on 10th December 2017 for a nine-day dry dock, before the 1,350 guest-ship departs on a 16-night L1728 ‘Canaries Christmas & Funchal Fireworks’ sailing from Southampton on 21st December 2017.
The 880-guest ship Boudicca will undergo a more extensive 13-day refurbishment in spring 2018, entering dry dock on 16th March 2018, before leaving from Dover on 29th March 2018 on a five-night D1804 ‘Mystery Cruise’.
In 2018/19 Fred. Olsen’s fleet of four smaller, more intimate cruise ships will be visiting no fewer than 228 destinations in 73 countries around the globe, covering 91 areas of scenic cruising, from the UK departure ports of Southampton, Dover, Liverpool, Newcastle and Edinburgh (Rosyth).
