Four ships will sail from ten UK homeports to a total of 84 countries and make 23 maiden calls
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ four ships are to visit a record 253 destinations in 84 countries in 2016-2017.
During the 2016-2017 season, the line will sail from ten UK homeports including Southampton, Dover, Harwich, Tilbury, Falmouth, Liverpool, and Newcastle in England, as well as Rosyth and Greenock in Scotland, and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
In total, Black Watch, Braemar, Boudicca and Balmoral will make 23 maiden calls at ports around the world. This includes European ports Arendal, Norway; Aabenraa, Denmark; Klaksvik, Faroe Islands; Tasiilaq, Greenland; Pyramiden, Svalbard; Rosslare, Ireland; Holy Loch and Fort William in Scotland, UK; and Rovinj, Croatia, Other inaugural visits will include Baltimore in Maryland, Tampa in Florida and Gloucester in Massachusettes, US; Laguna San Rafael, Chile; Isla de San Andrés, Colombia; Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Banana Coast in Trujillo, Honduras. There will also be six mystery maiden calls, which will only be revealed to those guests who book a place on Fred. Olsen’s first-ever ‘Maiden Call Mystery Cruise’.
Plus, the ships will visit 84 sea passages and waterways including the 350-mile Strait of Magellan, in Chile; Loch Fyne; the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro; and the Stockholm archipelago.
“For 2016-2017, we have a clear focus on ‘Bringing the world closer to you’, offering innovative cruise experiences that stand out to destinations that our guests really want to explore and enjoy,” said Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. “We are ‘closer’ to the market, with more regional departures; ‘closer’ to the destination, with our smaller, more intimate cruise ships; ‘closer’ to our global partners, offering our guests the best possible experiences in ports around the world; and we are ‘closer’ to our guests, with award-winning customer service across our fleet.”
Balmoral, the line’s 1,350-guest flagship will homeport in Newcastle for the first time, offering a record 11 departures, representing a 45% increase in capacity from the port. Departures include a five-night Norwegian Festival & Fjords cruise and an 11-night Spain, Portugal & Guernsey voyage.
Boudicca will homeport in the port of Falmouth for the first time, sailing a 12-night Canaries & Portugal Spring Break for guests over the age of 18 and a ten-night Land’s End to John O’Groats voyage.
Meanwhile, Boudicca will offer 15 cruises from Liverpool, including a 16-night Rugged & Rural Canada journey and an 18-night Canaries Christmas & Funchal Fireworks sailing.
Fred. Olsen will also increase its capacity a Tilbury by 50% when Black Watch offers six departures, including an adults-only, nine-night Cruising the Fjordland voyage and a seven-night European Cities & Waterways experience. The ship will also sail six cruises from Rosyth including a nine-night A Taste of Iceland itinerary and a 13-night Scandinavian Capitals & St. Petersburg voyage.
In addition, Black Watch and Boudicca will embark on two Grand Voyages in January 2017, visiting a total of 67 ports in 38 countries. During her 107-night Around the World cruise, Black Watch will sail to destinations such as Hanga Roa on Easter Island, Bora Bora, in French Polynesia, and Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington in New Zealand. Meanwhile, Boudicca’s 77-night South American Discovery voyage will take guests to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the Chilean fjords.