Balmoral to homeport at Port of Tyne for the first time in 2016

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 1,350-guest flagship Balmoral is to homeport at the Port of Tyne in Newcastle, England, for the first time between May and August 2016.

Balmoral will sail a record 11 departures from Newcastle, marking a 45% increase in capacity from the Port of Tyne. She will begin her season on 21 May with a five-night ‘Norwegian Festival & Fjords’ cruise. Other departures include a ten-night ‘UK Castles’ sailing, which offers guests the chance to visit Balmoral and Braemar castles in Scotland, and an 11-night ‘Spain, Portugal & Guernsey’ voyage.

“We are very excited to be basing Balmoral in Newcastle from May to August in 2016, as it means that we are almost doubling our capacity and offering our loyal guests in the north east of England an even greater number of cruise departures than ever before, with a choice of 11 in total,” said Mike Rodwell, managing director at Fred. Olsen. “The Port of Tyne is also ideally placed for our ever-popular Norway, Scandinavian and Baltic itineraries, and we can save up to three days’ cruising time sailing from Newcastle to Norway than from Southern ports.”

“The Port of Tyne’s cruise operations continue to grow and it is great news that Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is expanding its itineraries and basing its flagship at the Port from next year,” said Andrew Moffat, CEO at Port of Tyne. “Fred. Olsen is one of many leading cruise lines operating from the Port of Tyne and in 2015 the port has 27 cruise calls planned, while 2016 promises to be a record year for cruise calls.”

The company has operated passenger services for more than 100 years and has offered regular cruise calls from Newcastle since 2006. Since then, Fred. Olsen has recorded a rapid increase in the number of guests booking cruises that depart from the port, particularly its Norwegian Fjords voyages.