Fred Olsen Cruise Fleet Set for Refurbishment

Three members of the Fred Olsen Cruise fleet are set for a winter makeover this year as Black Watch, Braemar and Balmoral undergo a refurbishment. This move represents the first time Fred Olsen ships have undergone refurbishment work in such numbers.

The refurb team have already started work on the Black Watch in the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg earlier this week, whilst the Braemar will arrive on 12 November and the Balmoral will join her sisters on 9 December.

The refurbishment works include general maintenance checks, engineering works and repaints of the interior and exterior surfaces. The three ships will also benefit from a few new additions.

Black Watch will receive an additional 27 balconies added to cabins on Lido Deck 7. The balcony terraces will extend 1.2 metres from the ship’s bulkhead.

Balmoral and Braemar will both have a Café Venus installed on board, serving luxury chocolates and high-quality coffee. The new café will be installed on Balmoral on Lounge Deck 7, and on Braemar on Lounge Deck 5.

Mike Rodwell, Managing Director of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “We experience extremely high demand for balcony cabins across our fleet, and in particular on board the smaller-sized Black Watch, and our new Balcony Terrace cabins are an innovative response to this. We are also looking forward to being able to give guests the experience of fine coffee and chocolates on board Balmoral and Braemar, as they have already been enjoying on Boudicca and Black Watch.”

Black Water will be returning to service on 15 November to complete a Mystery Cruise embarking from Tilbury whilst Balmoral will return to service on 19 December for the Pre-Christmas Mini Cruise to France.

Images sourced via Flickr Creative Commons. Credits:Aah-Yeah, EDDIE