Fred. Olsen Cruises Lines

• Balmoral

• Black Watch

• Boudicca

• Braemar

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines -- still owned and operated by the family that originally founded it back in the 19th Century -- is a prime example of the power and pull of tradition. Its story began in 1848, when Frederik Christian Olsen, one of three seafaring brothers living in Hvitsten, a small town on Norway's OsloFjord, bought two schooners. His brothers Petter and Andreas who, like Frederik, worked as ships' captains, quickly followed suit, as Petter acquired the sailing brig Thilda in 1852, and Andreas became the family's third shipowner in 1860. Between them they founded a powerful shipping dynasty, building up a large fleet of trading ships that carried cargo and line passengers around the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the Americas.
The company now operates five cruise ships year-round and is famed for creating a "British country house" atmosphere at sea, with the emphasis on cozy intimacy and very traditional cruising that eschews the glitzier facilities of more contemporary lines.

Fred. Olsen's five ships Black Watch, Black Prince, Balmoral, Boudicca, and Braemar operate worldwide itineraries, ranging in duration from two-night mini-cruises to 100-night "grand voyages" ranging the world.

It is a company tradition that all ships' names begin with the letter B -- probably because this meant they would all appear together in ships' registry lists. It is also traditional for the same name to be applied to several successive vessels; for example, the current Black Prince is the company's second of that name, while the Braemar and Black Watch names have been given to three ships apiece.

Expect a cosy, traditionally British cruising experience on a Fred. Olsen ship. The onboard currency is Pounds Sterling; interior decor is comfortable and attractive but not flashy, and evening entertainment is muted and fairly old fashioned (singing, dancing and cabaret). Drinks remain affordable; passengers still change for dinner (into black tie on formal nights) and the highlight of each evening is a five-course meal, which will be of decent quality and pleasantly served by friendly Filipino staff.

On sea days, passengers bask on deck and watch the world go by over a good book from the ship's library, or participate in a rather good ArtsClub special interest program, which offers classes in a range of subjects from gardening to wine appreciation, history to wildlife watching and painting classes.
Fred. Olsen primarily markets its cruises to a U.K. passenger base and is one of the few lines to take seriously its effort to homeport ships in Great Britain and Ireland. Among the seasonal embarkation ports include Greenock (outside of Glasgow), Liverpool, Leith (for Edinburgh), Dublin, Belfast, Portsmouth and Southampton.

It cruises in primarily the regions of Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. When not homeporting its ships in the U.K. the line offers fly-cruises.

In 2009, the cruise line will offer two world cruises for the first time. In January 2009, Black Watch will leave from Southampton on a 97-night "Round the World" cruise (travelling in a westerly direction), and in February 2009, Balmoral sails from Dover on a 104-night World Cruise travelling east.

Original Article Written for Mediterranean “Fun” cruises