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Fred Olsen expands regional departures from next year

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is joining rival Cruise and Maritime Voyages in starting cruises from Bristol Avonmouth and Tilbury next year.

The line’s 2014/15 cruise programme will see its fleet of four ships – Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch – sailing from 10 UK ports: Southampton, Dover, Harwich, Tilbury, Avonmouth, Liverpool, Newcastle, Rosyth (for Edinburgh), Greenock (for Glasgow) and Belfast.

A launch brochure containing new itineraries will be available from Monday (April 22) with various cruise offers going on sale from April 24.

The line is to run its longest ‘grand voyage,’ a 119-night Far East cruise by Balmoral. The itinerary is seven days longer than this year’s world cruise but visits 19 more ports, including 13 maiden calls.

New for next year is a 14-night mystery cruise from Tilbury on Black Watch in November 2014, a Fast Cars & Film Stars sailing which combines the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, and two-night taster cruises.

Sales and marketing director Nathan Philpot said: “I am so excited about our new 2014/15 programme, which is based on extensive research with existing guests and, equally important, the wider market and those who are yet to cruise.

“We have listened to our guests’ needs, and much of the new programme is based on what customers want. For example, we have launched three new products types in 2014: ‘Inspirational Experiences’, such as ‘Film Stars & Fast Cars’ and ‘Northern Lights’; the new ‘Triple-City Cruise Break’, which allows our guests to truly discover destinations, with overnight stays in each city, and is a far more cost-effective option than flying and taking a hotel to each one; and new ‘Introductory Cruises’, with our first series of two-night cruises.

“I guess my heart has always been in the Far East since I joined Kuoni over ten years ago, so our 2015 ‘Asia Grand Voyage’ is very special, and I am personally delighted to have helped create a cruise that balances land and sea content, with some really wonderful and iconic places, such as Burma, Vietnam, China and the Maldives.”

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