Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines unveils brand new programme of sailing for 2024/25, with focus on history and culture, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and natural phenomena

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has today unveiled a brand new programme of cruising for 2024/25, featuring a host of specially-timed sailings to coincide with natural wonders and destination events, chances to encounter native wildlife and uncover rich and vibrant histories across the planet.

The new programme, unveiled on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ website, includes opportunities to follow natural bird migrations, witness meteor showers, experience the world’s second largest carnival, and the chance to spot wild polar bears with a specially-planned scenic diversion away from the well-sailed route.

For the first time since 2019, the new programme also features an 11-night Mystery Cruise setting sail from Southampton in November 2024 – with guests able to follow in the footsteps of explorers, navigators and seafarers as they guess their next port of call.

Continuing their commitment to sailing from regional UK ports, Fred. Olsen will offer departures from Liverpool, Newcastle, Rosyth, Dover, Southampton and Portsmouth in 2024 and 2025.

The cruise line has unveiled a number of offers to celebrate the launch, with up to £150 per person to spend on-board on sailings of five to 12 nights; the choice of up to £250 per person in on-board spending credit OR free door-to-door transfers within up to 250 mainland miles of the port on sailings of 13 to 32 nights, plus a series of dedicated offers for solo travellers.

Martin Lister, Head of Itinerary Planning and Destination Experience at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:

“This has been a particularly exciting programme to curate, and we have taken inspiration from both natural and organised events in the destinations to create some really imaginative and unusual itineraries.

“Some of the highlights include chances to witness the Perseid Meteor Shower in sailings to the Azores, to seek out the phenomenal Northern Lights in adventures to the Arctic or to visit the beautiful Norwegian Fjords in the spring when the waterfalls are at their strongest.

“There are many opportunities to uncover ancient history and fascinating cultures too, including in sailings to the Adriatic, Mediterranean and the Baltic regions. Of course, we will be making the most of the smaller size of our ships where we can too, allowing us to visit smaller ports away from the well-sailed route, and dock closer to the centre of the destinations.

“In addition, we have continued to curate our on-board programme. From sessions out on deck, whether it’s to join an astronomer for stargazing or spotting marine life with wildlife charity ORCA, to witness incredible scenery best viewed from the water, or to sample authentic flavours from the destinations, our Signature Experiences enable those sailing with us to get even more from their cruise.”

Highlights of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ new 2024/25 programme include:

Balmoral’s five-nights L2414 ‘Springtime Norwegian Fjords in Five Nights’ cruise, departing from Newcastle on 23^rd May 2024. Prices start from £799 per person. Enjoy up to £75 per person to spend on-board.

• Learn about the changing shape of the Briksdal Glacier with a geologist on tour from Olsen
• Hike Mount Fløyen with a local to view the fjordland from a perspective away from the main tourist route
• Enjoy scenic sailing of the picturesque Nordfjord to Jostedalsbreen Europe’s largest inland glacier

Itinerary: Newcastle, England – Bergen, Norway – Olden, Norway – Cruising Nordfjord and Innvikfjord – Newcastle, England

For more details: Visit Balmoral's five-night L2414 'Springtime Norwegian Fjords' cruise

Borealis’ 14-night S2414 ‘Maritime Cities & Sailing Events of the Baltic’ cruise, departing from Dover on 27^th June 2024. Prices start from £2,099 per person. Enjoy up to £200 per person to spend on-board or free door to door transfers up to 250 mainland miles to the port.

• Calls into Kiel and Helsinki to coincide with world-famous events Kiel Week Regatta and the Tall Ship Races 2024
• Explore Tallinn’s Medieval Old Town, one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe, and visit it’s cathedral with a local bell ringer
• Learn more about the German architecture from the Hanseatic period

Itinerary: Dover, England – Kiel, Germany – Gdansk, Poland – Visby, Sweden – Tallinn, Estonia – Helsinki, Finland – Turku, Finland – Cruising Turku Archipelago – Warnemünde, Germany – Dover, England

For more details: Visit Borealis’ 14-night S2414 ‘Maritime Cities & Sailing Events of the Baltic’ cruise

Bolette’s 27-night T2417 ‘Discovering the Arctic’s Wildlife and Remote Landscapes’ cruise, departing from Liverpool on 19^th July 2024. Prices start from £3,799 per person. Enjoy up to £250 per person to spend on-board, or free door to door transfers up to 250 mainland miles to the port.

• Timed to coincide with the world’s largest concentration of humpback whales off the coast of New Foundland, with ORCA Ocean Conservationists on board
• Chance to witness a wild polar bear in Arctic Canada, with a purposefully-timed scenic sailing past the rocky cliffs of Nunavut
• Cruise the rugged mountains and glaciers of Prins Christiansund and take a tour to weave through the icebergs of Qooroq Ice Fjord

Itinerary: Liverpool, England – St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada – Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada – Cruising Humber Arm and Bay of Islands, Canada – Red Bay, Labrador, Canada – L’anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada – Cruising North East coast of Akpatok Island, Nunavut – Cruising by Resolution Island, Nunavut – Cruising by Lower Savage Islands, Nunavut – Nuuk, Greenland – Nanortalik, Greenland – Narsarsuaq, Greenland – Cruising Prins Christiansund, Greenland – Reykjavík, Iceland – Liverpool, England

For more details: Visit Bolette’s 27-night T2417 ‘Discovering the Arctic’s Wildlife and Remote Landscapes’ cruise

Balmoral’s 15-night L2424 ‘Portugal’s Islands in Search of the Meteor Shower’ cruise, departing from Rosyth on 7^th August 2024. Prices start from £2,299 per person. Enjoy up to £200 per person or free door to door transfers up to 250 mainland miles to the port.

• Timed purposefully to give guests the best chance of witnessing the Perseid Meteor Shower in the remote waters of the Azores where there is minimal light pollution
• Join ORCA out on deck to spot whales and dolphins, known to populate these waters at this time of year
• Witness the national flower, the hyndransea, in full bloom

Itinerary: Rosyth, Edinburgh, Scotland – Praia da Vitoria, Azores – Horta, Azores – Ponta Delgada, Azores – Cruising by Vila Franca Islet, Azores – Cruising by Belém Tower and Discovery Monument, Lisbon – Cruising by Cristo Rei (Sanctuary of Christ the King) and 25 de Abril Bridge, Lisbon – Lisbon, Portugal – Leixões, Portugal – Rosyth, Edinburgh, Scotland

For more details: Visit Balmoral’s 15-night L2424 ‘Portugal’s Islands in Search of the Meteor Shower’ cruise

Bolette’s 11-night T2420 ‘Spain, Portugal and the Spectacular Bird Migration’ cruise, departing from Liverpool on 1^st September 2024. Prices start from £1,599 per person. Enjoy up to £150 to spend on board.

• Join cruise wildlife experts Ocean Wildlife Encounters as you cruise the Strait of Gibraltar to spot eagles, storks, harriers, ospreys and vultures as they migrate south
• Learn to dance the flamenco and taste delicious tapas in Cádiz, Spain, their region of origin
• Look out for cetaceans such as beaked, toothed and baleen whales in the nutrient-rich waters along the Portuguese coast

Itinerary: Liverpool, England – Cruising Strait of Gibraltar – Gibraltar, Gibraltar (overnight stay) – Cruising Strait of Gibraltar – Ceuta, Spanish Morocco, Spain – Cádiz, Spain – Cruising by Belém Tower and Discovery Monument, Lisbon – Cruising by Cristo Rei (Sanctuary of Christ the King) and 25 de Abril Bridge, Lisbon – Lisbon, Portugal – Leixões, Portugal – Liverpool, England

For more details: Visit Bolette’s 11-night T2420 ‘Spain, Portugal and the Spectacular Bird Migration’ cruise

For further information on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines 2024/25 sailings, visit fredolsencruises.com/just-released, call Reservations on 0800 0355 242 (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm), or contact your ABTA travel agent.