Balmoral profile
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FRED.OLSEN CRUISE LINES


BALMORAL

​PROFILE

SUMMARY

 Balmoral has had a somewhat involved history.  She began
life as the Crown Odyssey of Royal Cruise Line, entering service in 1988.  Eight years later, in 1996, Royal was absorbed into Norwegian Cruise Line and the ship was renamed Norwegian Crown.  During the period 2000 to 2003, she was transferred to Orient Lines and reverted to her original name.  However, she was then returned to NCL and resumed sailing as Norwegian Crown, which she did until she was sold to Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines in late 2007.

       Upon taking delivery of the ship, Fred.Olsen sent her to the
Blom & Voss shipyard in Germany to be cut in half and have a 30 meter section inserted.  This increased her passenger capacity by approximately 350 and created additional public space.  When she re-entered service n 2008, she became the largest ship in the Fred.Olsen fleet.

       This does not mean that Balmoral is a large ship.  The line
specializes in small ships and prides itself on offering the intimate atmosphere associated with the experience of sailing on a small ship.

       The Fred.Olsen Line can trace its lineage back to 1886.  
Shortly after the turn of the 20h Century it began offering
passenger voyages between Britain and Norway and by 1966, the line was offering modern cruises as well  It remains a family-owned business and its ships, including Balmoral, which is named after the royal family’s country estate in Scotland, cater primarily to the British cruising market.

       Balmoral retains much of the feel of a 1980s/90s ship.  The
décor reflects that period and the focus of the experience is
relaxation at sea in comfortable surroundings rather than on the
array of amenities that a ship can offer.

ESSENTIAL STATISTICS

TONNAGE:               32,000 gross tons

LENGTH:                   650 feet

BEAM:                       84 feet

DRAFT:                     21 feet

SPEED:                     19 knots

POWER PLANT:         Diesel electric

PROPULSION:           Two propellers

REGISTRY:                The Bahamas

LINE:                        Seabourn

BUILDER:                  Mariotti (Italy)

CAPACITY:               450 (double occupancy)
                                   462 (all berths)

CREW:                      335

ENTERED SERVICE:   2010

DECK PLANS
(courtesy of Seabourn)
​Above: Balmoral at the Titanic wreck site on the 100th anniversary of Titanic's sinking.
Above left: Balmoral when she was Norwegian Crown.
Above right  Balmoral when she was Crown Odyssey..
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