BALMORAL
Crowning glory for the
new ship in the fleet
Novermber 29, 2007 - The latest ship to join the Fred Olsen fleet is now in Hamburg at the Blohm + Voss Repair shipyard to begin her transformation from Norwegian Crown into Balmoral.
A newly constructed mid-section will be inserted and a major refit undertaken before Balmoral begins her cruise programme from Dover in January 2008.
The ship went into dry dock on November 16 where she will be extended by 30.20 metres. The extra capacity will allow for an additional 186 passengers and 53 new crew cabins. In addition, 60 new balconies will be added while public areas will be modified and new areas constructed.
It will bring her into line with the other ships in the fleet - Black Watch, Boudicca and Braemar.
The mid-section, pictured alongside Norwegian Crown, was built in conjunction with Schichau Seebeck Shipyard in Bremerhaven and floated into Hamburg at the end of October. The section is 30.20 metres long, 28.21 metres wide and 15.22 metres high.
Balmoral is scheduled to leave the shipyard on January 18 for sea trials and will be handed over to Fred Olsen in Dover four days late to begin preparations for her inaugural cruise to the Canary Islands on January 30.
Although Scottish by name, on board the decor and design concepts of Balmoral reflect a British atmosphere in keeping with the other vessels in the fleet.
Public room names include Blenheim - a very familiar name to those with long-standing acquaintance with the company - and Ballindalloch, named after a stately home set in the heartland of Scotland in the Grampian region.
Balmoral was originally delivered to Royal Cruise Lines in 1988 by the shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg under the name Crown Odyssey. After the takeover of Royal Cruise Lines by Norwegian Cruise Lines 1989, the ship was renamed Norwegian Crown.
In 2006, she was sold to Fred Olsen and subsequently was chartered by Star Cruises/ NCL until November 2007.
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