Last chance to fly-cruise on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Braemar in the Caribbean in winter 2011/12

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 927-guest cruise ship, Braemar, will operate cruises exclusively from UK ports, following the conclusion of her winter 2011/12 Caribbean fly-cruise season. The cruise ship has operated a winter fly-cruise programme, based in Barbados, since she joined the Fred. Olsen fleet in 2001.

Fred. Olsen’s decision to withdraw from the Caribbean fly-cruise programme has been forced by the escalating costs of air travel, together with the high cost of Air Passenger Duty (APD), which is a major – and increasingly concerning – factor. 

Lol Nichols, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ General Sales Manager, said:

“This was not an easy decision to make, as our Caribbean fly-cruises have always been popular. We would therefore encourage those of our guests who love fly-cruising with us to the Caribbean to make sure that they book their places on Braemar’s final season in winter 2011/12 as soon as possible, as we are expecting these cruises to prove especially attractive. 

“We feel that the wide choice of ex-UK ports that we feature gives greater convenience to guests from all over the British Isles, and the addition of Braemar to the year-round ex-UK programme will allow for a greater variety of cruises, as well as enabling those loyal Braemar fans to cruise on the ship all-year-round from the UK.” 

The end of the fly-cruise programme will not mean an end to Caribbean cruising with Fred. Olsen. The cruise line has always operated ex-UK cruises to the Caribbean, as well as other longer cruises, to the ‘New World’, Africa, and ‘Around the World’, so importantly, the choice of destination areas visited will not be reduced.

A significant proportion of Fred. Olsen’s guests prefer ex-UK cruising, and a recent survey by the Passenger Shipping Association [source: www.discovercruises.co.uk] has reported that UK cruise departures were up by 10% in 2010, underlining the popularity of cruises that do not require flights at the start and end of the holiday.

Fred. Olsen’s fly-cruise programme is now a relatively small part of the cruise line’s overall offering, and the main focus has, for some time, been on cruising from a wide range of convenient regional ports around the UK, including Southampton, Dover, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Newcastle, Rosyth (Edinburgh) and Greenock (Glasgow).

 For further information on the wide range of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ itineraries available, visit the website at www.fredolsencruises.com