Balmoral to be lengthened!

[tom_uk]

There's an announcement on the Fred Olsen Cruises website to the effect that Balmoral will be lengthened when it is delivered to Fred Olsen after completing its current 'lease-back' charter to its current owner, NCL (for whom it has cruised as Norwegian Crown, of course). The work will add 30m to her length, 350 to her passenger capacity (to a max of 1340 passengers) and some public rooms. The work will be done by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg. Here's a link to the announcement:

http://www.fredolsencruises.com/fredolsen/process/news/article/id=5964.html

 

This is all a big surprise. The Fred Olsen website has heretofore been extolling Balmoral's virtues as a small ship with a capacity if just under 1000 passengers. And of course there have been deck plans on the website, and indeed bookings have been taken, based on the old deck plans & cabin numbers.

 

I have a feeling that this was not planned when they bought the ship.

[rotterdam17601]

I'm saddened to hear that Fred Olsen Lines is going to lengthen the "Balmoral". When we learned that the "Norwegian Crown" had been purchased by "Olsen", my wife and I were excited by the prospect of once again sailing on this wonderful ship. We were last aboard when she was the Orient Lines "Crown Odyssey", and loved every minute. Just the perfect size (for us) at about 1,000 passengers. Now, that "Balmoral" is going to be expanded to carry 1,300 passengers, she will no longer have the same "smaller ship" feeling. It now looks as though we'll have to sail on either "Black Watch" or "Boudicca" if we are going to experience Fred Olsen Lines. We cruised on both of these ships when they sailed for Royal Viking Line, and know that we will enjoy their size.

[merecat]

Just heard a new large dineing room is to be added ,being on the inaugral in Jan. just wondering where my cabin is moveing to. Have to contact agent to see if it will still be midships.:)

[Darth Voldemort]

I, too am saddened by the increase in size, but are looking forward to giving the old girl another try under the Olsen badge.

 

My wife and I were last aboard with NCL....what a lack of civilty and service.:eek:

[robsvacation]

I would be most concerned about the pool area (it's pretty small to begin with, I hope there's a new pool area aded to the top deck) and the show lounge (difficult to expand.) Seems to me that many ships that are extended tend to not increase the public areas an equivalent amount. That said Royal Carribean's expansion of the Enchantment of the Seas was done well, I hope designers have learned some leasons.

 

Even at 1300, in todays world that is a small ship! It's all about economies of scale these days.

[sjbdtz]

what a lack of civilty.:eek:

 

Hogwarts is more civil than NCL?

 

LOL.

[Surfgirl]

This news does not make me happy. I've sailed her once on NCL, and will be sailing her again in a few weeks. I love her because she's small and has charm. I was planning on sailing her again on Fred when she comes to NY in Nov. of 2008.. but I may have to rethink that now. :mad:

[braemar12]

Has anyone seen any plans of the revised (post lengthening) of Balmoral?

 

Fred. has been very quiet regarding what the ship has to offer as I remember the momentum that was used for the entry of Boudicca. We used to get preview brochures of what was going to be offered as well as a flavour of the public rooms on Boudicca.

[NHBob]

Has anyone seen any plans of the revised (post lengthening) of Balmoral?

 

The post lengthening deck plans are now available on the website, link http://www.fredolsencruises.com/fredolsen/process/fleet/deck_plans/ship=balmoral.html

 

I was also a little surprised to read of the lengthening plans for Balmoral and also Braemar, as I have just received the 2007/2008 North American Quick Reference Edition, which still shows the pre-stretch deck plans, capacity, etc. Haven't sailed with Fred. Olsen but seriously considering it for next year - I'm not very happy with what is going on with two of my former favorites - Cunard and Holland America (bigger and bigger ships and deteriorating service). Compared with HAL's Vista and Signature Class ships and Cunard's Mary and Victoria, 1300 passengers doesn't seem too bad, although somewhat larger than my current, more expensive, favorite, Crystal

[electricron]

Usually the stretching is done to every deck on a ship, from the bottom to the top. Decks with public spaces will have more public spaces, decks with cabins will have more cabins added.

 

From the Deck Plans posted by Fred Olsen, what I wrote above remains true.

Deck 11 > Crown 0 cabins, Balmoral 0 cabins, Pool and 2 hot tubs added.

Deck 10 > Crown 20 cabins, Balmoral 28 (+8)

Deck 9 > Crown 81 cabins, Balmoral 98 cabins (+17)

Deck 8 > Crown 54 cabins, Balmoral 75 cabins (+21)

Deck 7 > Crown 0 cabins, Balmoral 0 cabins

Deck 6 > Crown 70 cabins, Balmoral 108 cabins (+28)

Deck 5 > Crown 150 cabins, Balmoral 183 cabins (+33)

Deck 4 > Crown 123 cabins, Balmoral 176 cabins (+53)

Deck 3 > Crown 27 cabins, 68 Balmoral cabins (+41)

 

Additional cabins = 201; Additional passengers = 402.

Crown passengers = 1104 ; Balmoral passengers = 1506. Additional passenger capacity up 36%.

 

It's the public rooms that aren't increased in size that will feel crowded. The Neptune Lounge, Boutiques, Palms Cafe, and the Grill Restaurant remains the same size on Deck 7. Removed from Deck 7 is the casino, in it's place will be the Morning Light Bar. Added spaces include Card Room, Internet Cafe, Lounge, and Library, all of these larger than they were before.

 

On Deck 8, the Lido Bar remains the same. The Le Bistro, Kids Crew, Library, Card Rooms, and Internet Cafe were removed to make room for the new Coral Club & Casino. The Coral Club and casino will be larger than before.

 

On Deck 10, the Spa area remains the same. The Italian Cafe and the large outside area with two hot tubs are removed, replaced by two indoor restaurants, and a small outdoor area. The old Italian Cafe area is basically turned into the galley area for the two new restaurants. Both these restaurants are larger than what existed before, although the outdoor space is decreased significantly.

 

On Deck 11, The Observaton Lounge remains the same, the Pasta Cafe changed into the Horizon Bar. A Swimming Pool and two hot tubs are added. The deck has significantly larger outside area.

 

Overall, just a few areas remain the same size. Many areas switched for different purposes were increased in size.

 

The Show Lounge/Theatre, Observation Lounge, Main Restaurant, Cafe, and Spa areas remained the same size. It appears to me the rest of the public spaces were increased in size.

[electricron]

Here's a drawing on how the Balmoral will appear after being stretched by 30 m.

 

 

It's going to look beautiful.

[ChampionCruiser]

I think that she will look even better! Do you by chance have a pic of what the Braemar will look like?

[electricron]

I think that she will look even better! Do you by chance have a pic of what the Braemar will look like?

 

Not yet. But it will become available once Freddie publishes it, eventually.

[cricket03]

We are in the process of booking the Balmoral for the TA on 2/13/08 and combining it with a Caribbean itinerary leaving Miami on 3/3/08. In process because we're awaiting more info on what cabins are available. Hopefully we'll get it booked by 11/15.

 

We've never sailed with this cruise line and are happy to read the positive reports. From our many trips, I'm used to using Cruise Critic for a vast array of information and I'm glad there's at least a forum for this cruise line. I had not noticed it before today.

[Admiral Horatio Nelson]

Thought you would all like to see some images of the Crown/Balmoral being lengthened in Hamburg.

 

I hope the extra length doesn't change the way the ship moves. I worked on her in 2003 and she was a beautiful, real sea going ship.