Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is a UK-based,
Norwegian-owned cruise
shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...
line with four
cruise ships
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
. The company is owned by
Bonheur and
Ganger Rolf and is headquartered in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. The company is part of the
Fred. Olsen Group.
History
The company originated in
Hvitsten
Hvitsten is a former town in Akershus county, Norway, located between Drøbak and Son.
It is the smallest town that has ever existed in Norway: In 1951 it had 76 inhabitants, and an area of just 0.07 km2. Due its size it could not be establi ...
, a small town on
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, 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, property development and electronics companies.
In May 2006 Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines announced the purchase of a new vessel, ''
Norwegian Crown
The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian Crown (currency), crown in English. ...
'', from
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...
. Following delivery of the vessel in November 2007, she was dry-docked for refurbishment and lengthening, with a pre-built 30 metre centre section added. She was renamed ''Balmoral'' and entered service early in 2008. This was followed by the extension of ''Braemar'' in summer 2008. A new centre section was added, with new cabins and public rooms, increasing the size from to (approx).
In 2018 Fred. Olsen announced that a series of 600-passenger-newbuilts is planned and they are in negotiatings with shipyards, but those newbuilts were never ordered.
In July 2020, Fred. Olsen bought the former
Holland America Line
Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...
ships
''Amsterdam'' and
''Rotterdam'' for $37m and renamed them Bolette and Borealis
respectively, they will be delivered in September 2020. They will replace the ''Boudicca'' and the ''Black Watch'', which were retired in August 2020.
Fleet
Current fleet
Former fleet
Destinations and cruise holidays
For most of the year, the ships are based in UK ports. A winter Caribbean fly-cruise programme on ''Braemar'' operates from Barbados.
Destinations include
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
, the
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
, the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
, the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
, the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
Operations
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines operates smaller scale cruise ships, ranging in size from 24,000 to (approx), currently a fleet of five
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
s, the ambience on board is traditionally British.
References
External links
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines official website*
(covers ships of all Fred. Olsen brands, past and present)
Cruisepage.com ReviewPhotos of the current Fred. Olsen Cruises fleet
{{Authority control
Shipping companies of Norway
Cruise lines
Fred. Olsen & Co.
Companies based in Suffolk
Transport companies established in 1848
Norwegian companies established in 1848