''Balmoral'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

owned and operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. She was built in 1988 by the

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft (; ) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. It was founded in 1795, as a builder of small wooden vessels. It has been owned and managed by the Meyer family for seven generations. Since ...

shipyard in

Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Ge ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, as ''Crown Odyssey'' for

Royal Cruise Line Royal Cruise Line was a Greek cruise line that operated from 1974 to 1996 and founded by Pericles Panagopoulos, Pericles Panagopulos. The line catered mainly to American passengers looking for an upscale cruise experience and sailed mainly worldwi ...

. She has also sailed for the

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is an American cruise line founded in Norway in 1966, headquartered in Miami, Florida, and incorporated in the Bahamas. It is the List of cruise lines, fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling ...

as ''Norwegian Crown'' and

Orient Lines Orient Lines was a cruise line specialising in exotic destinations that was in operation 1993–2008. The brand was founded in 1993 by Gerry Herrod, and was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1998. It ceased operations in March 2008 and was sold t ...

as ''Crown Odyssey''. In 2007–2008 she was lengthened by at the

Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Irma Blohm (1909–1997), German pol ...

shipyard in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

prior to entering service with her current operator.

History

The vessel was built by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in 1988, for service with

as the ''Crown Odyssey''. In 1989, Royal Cruise Line was sold to

, which continued operation of the company, along with the ''Crown Odyssey'', until 1996. A reorganization of all the fleets owned by Norwegian Cruise Line saw ''Crown Odyssey'' enter service with NCL's main fleet, where it was renamed ''Norwegian Crown''. Following the purchase of

by NCL in April 2000, ''Norwegian Crown'' was transferred, regaining her original name, ''Crown Odyssey'', in the process. In September 2003, ''Crown Odyssey'' was refurbished and returned to the NCL fleet, again with the name ''Norwegian Crown''. On 25 May 2006, NCL Corporation announced that its parent company,

Star Cruises StarCruises is a cruise line owned by the Malaysian company Resorts World Cruises. Previously it operated in the Asia-Pacific market and was owned by Genting Hong Kong. It was the 18th largest cruise line in the world after Carnival Corpora ...

, had agreed to sell Norwegian Crown to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines effective August 2006. Star Cruises concurrently chartered the vessel back from Fred. Olsen and NCL continued her deployment through to November 2007. "Although a beautiful and well-maintained vessel, Norwegian Crown's smaller size is less suitable for Star Cruises' ambitions in Asia," said Colin Veitch, president and CEO of NCL Corporation. "Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines specializes in operating smaller and mid-sized upscale vessels and this ship should fit perfectly in their fleet." Her last NCL cruise was on 28 October 2007. On 21 January 2009, during a cruise, the ship sailed into rough weather in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

, smashing through waves and winds. Two passengers were sent to a hospital in

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, with serious injuries.

Reconstruction

Fred. Olsen took delivery of the ship on 7 November 2007, renaming her after the

Balmoral estate Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a List of British royal residences, residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, Aberdeenshire, Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Abe ...

in 2008. The company initiated a major refit at the

repair shipyard in

, before her inaugural cruise on 13 February 2008, to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

—her base for

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

cruising. The work lengthening the ship with an insertion of a midsection, built in conjunction with

Schichau Seebeckwerft Schichau Seebeckwerft (often abbreviated SSW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft. History The original company Schichau was founded in 1837 by Fer ...

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

, and floated into Hamburg at the end of October 2007. The reconstruction added a further 186 passenger and 53 crew cabins as well as creating new and modified public areas.

''Titanic'' commemoration

''Balmoral'' was chartered by Miles Morgan Travel to follow the original route of , intending to stop over the point on the sea bed where ''Titanic'' rests on 15 April 2012, to honor the 100th anniversary of her sinking. She set sail from

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 8 April 2012, passing

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

and then on to

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

, formerly Queenstown, in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, arriving on 9 April 2012. Cobh was the last port of call for RMS ''Titanic'' before she set off across the Atlantic. ''Balmoral'' reached the site of the wreck of ''Titanic'' in time for the 100th anniversary of the sinking at 11pm on 14 April 2012. A memorial service was held onboard which culminated in three floral wreaths being cast overboard. ''Balmoral'' remained at the location overnight and then departed early the following morning, with the intention of reaching ''Titanic''s intended destination of New York City.

Public spaces

''Balmoral'' has eleven decks, nine of which are designated passenger decks, numbered 3 to 11.

References

External links

Official Balmoral page
at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines site

from February 2008 at magwa.co.uk
Video of Balmoral in the Vineyard Sound
*
Balmoral International Group
Balmoral International Group Luxembourg {{DEFAULTSORT:Balmoral (2008) Cruise ships Cruise ships of Norway Passenger ships of Norway Fred. Olsen & Co. 1987 ships Ships built in Papenburg