Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

'''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

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 to (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

Destinations and cruise holidays

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

Operations

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

RNLI

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

External links

• Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines official website
• Fakta om Fartyg: Fred. Olsen (covers ships of all Fred. Olsen brands, past and present)
• Cruisepage.com Review
• Photos of Black Watch and other Fred Olsen cruise ships
• Photos of the current Fred. Olsen Cruises fleet