Proving that massive issues do are available little packages, Fred Olsen Cruise Line not too long ago re-introduced passengers to its smallest vessel, the 43,537-gross-ton Balmoral, for a 14-night Christmas voyage.
Following a two-week dry dock that started on December 1, 2024, at A&P Falmouth shipyard in England, as much as 1,340 passengers had been the primary to get a peek on the vessel’s upgrades once they boarded the ship in Southampton, England, on December 22.
The refit for the British-based Balmoral supplied substantial upgrades throughout a number of areas of the ship, together with a technical overhaul of The Neptune Lounge Theatre.
This leisure hub was revitalized with state-of-the-art sound and lighting methods and a brand new £320K LED display, alongside extra snug seating and sightlines for performances.
As well as, quite a few cabins and loos all through the ship had been up to date with fashionable fixtures and space-efficient but elegant furnishings reflecting a up to date and heat décor.
Additional enhancements prolonged to the ship’s Wi-Fi capabilities to boost connectivity.
A centerpiece of the refurbishment was the whole redesign of Balmoral’s buffet venue, initially the Palms Café.
As the most important inner mission of the dry dock, this space underwent a dramatic transformation, together with the elimination of the specialty Indian restaurant Vasco, to introduce a extra intuitive structure to boost move and accessibility and cut back congestion throughout peak eating occasions.
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Up to date seating choices vary from cozy cubicles to extra spacious desk settings appropriate for teams, with buffet and drink stations additionally modernized to streamline service.
It now marks the return of the cruise line’s fashionable Thistle Restaurant, which final appeared in 2022 on Fred Olsen’s Braemar, now owned and operated by Villa Vie Residences and serving because the residential cruise liner Villa Vie Odyssey.
Mentioned Samantha Stimpson, CEO of Fred Olsen Cruise Strains, “This has been an extremely profitable dry dock program, permitting us to not solely conduct vital upkeep but in addition make some thrilling enhancements for our visitors – most notably our stunning new buffet restaurant.”
The exterior upkeep included an ultra-high stress water blast of the underwater hull and the appliance of antifouling silicone paint, geared toward bettering gasoline consumption, in addition to the set up of recent propellers, bow thrusters, stabilizers, and an engine gearbox to boost navigational effectivity.
“The applying of antifouling silicone paint to Balmoral’s hull will allow us to make use of much less gasoline, and teamed with different enhancements we now have made, together with the upgrading of our propeller and stabilizers, will permit us to sail extra effectively and sustainably, while persevering with to supply a snug and pleasing expertise on board,” Stimpson continued.
The retrofit at A&P Falmouth was the second time Balmoral has dry docked on the shipbuilder for the cruise line – the primary being in Might 2022 – and concerned 350 Fred Olsen Cruise Line crew members and greater than 300 crew members from the shipyard.
Balmoral’s Winter Voyages
Balmoral is at present having fun with a Christmas Lights and Northern Lights crusing, spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at sea.
The ship arrives at its first port on December 26, in Mo I Rana, Norway, then continues to discover the nation’s shoreline and fjords. Extra calls embody Alta, Ålesund, and a New 12 months’s Eve cease in Trondheim.
The ship might be at sea on the primary day of 2025 and returns to Southampton on January 5, 2025.
Its subsequent journey will journey south to go to a number of ports in Spain and Morocco earlier than a follow-up Northern Lights itinerary and a Canary Islands cruise, all roundtrip from Southampton, via mid-February.
On February 15, 2025, Balmoral will transit throughout the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea for visits to its islands and Central America coastlines via March.
