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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Ltd.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryShipping
Founded1848
HeadquartersIpswich, United Kingdom
ProductsCruise ships
ParentBonheur
Websitewww.fredolsencruises.com

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

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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 19,000 GT to 24,000 GT (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

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Current fleet

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Ship Built Entered service
with Fred. Olsen		 Gross tonnage Flag Notes Image
Balmoral 1988 2007 43,537 GT  Bahamas former Crown Odyssey; Royal Cruise Line
Borealis 1997 2020 61,849 GT  Bahamas former Rotterdam; Holland America Line
Bolette 2000 2020 62,735 GT  Bahamas former Amsterdam; Holland America Line

Former fleet

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Ship Built Years in service Tonnage Notes Fate Image
Black Prince 1966 1966–2009 9,499 GRT
11,209 GT		 Built as a combination ferry/cruise ship/reefer ship. Rebuilt into a cruise ship in 1987. Scrapped in October 2013 as Ola Esmeralda.
Blenheim 1970 Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Ltd 1970–1981 10,427 GRT
12,244 GT		 Built as a larger version of Black Prince and Black Watch combination ferry/cruise ships. Sold to Scandinavia World Cruises 1981. Burnt out 1984. Rebuilt and continued as Discovery 1. Scrapped in 1997.
Brabant 2006 2018- 2020 1,566 GT First river cruise for Fred Olsen. Chartered from Amadeus River Cruises between 2018-2020. Laid up in Germany.
Black Watch 1972 1996–2020 28,613 GT Retired in 2020, after Fred. Olsen bought the former Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Scrapped in Alang, India in 2022.
Boudicca 1973 2005–2020 28,388 GT Scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey in 2021.
Braemar 1993 2001–2024[7] 24,344 GT Retired in 2022,[8] sold to Villa Vie in 2024

Destinations and cruise holidays

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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[citation needed]

Operations

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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines operates smaller scale cruise ships, ranging in size from 24,000 to 62,000 GT (approx), currently a fleet of three cruise ships, the ambience on board is traditionally British.

References

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  1. ^ "Home". fredolsen.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines".
  3. ^ "'Series' of new 600-passenger ships announced by Fred. Olsen Junior at launch of cruise line's 2019/20 brochure". 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  4. ^ "Deep distress: Fred Olsen swoops for two Carnival ships funded by seller's finance | TradeWinds". 15 July 2020.
  5. ^ "ACQUISITION OF CRUISE VESSELS AND FLEET OPTIMIZATION". 2020-07-15. Archived from the original on 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  6. ^ "Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines confirms new ships Bolette and Borealis will take over from classic vessels Boudicca and Black Watch". 21 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Villa Vie Takes Delivery of Cruise Ship for Residence Start up - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News".
  8. ^ "Fred. Olsen To Sell Braemar".
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