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From the Blogs

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines News

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ “Black Watch” began itineraries from Liverpool at the close of March. Itineraries range from thirteen to eighteen days with destinations including Dublin and the Canary Islands. “This year, the City of Liverpool will welcome our most iconic ship, Black Watch, to its shores, and we look forward to receiving the same warm reception from the people of Merseyside as her sister ship, Boudicca, has experienced over the past two years. With its stunning vistas and proud maritime heritage, there is something very special about cruising from Liverpool, and it is a tremendous benefit to be able to offer our guests the chance to set sail from the world-famous Pier Head” said Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director for the line.

To begin, one has to know some things about Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. They are a subsidiary of the Fred.Olsen Group, founded in 1848. They are based in the UK, owned by the founding family of Norwegians. The same company owns Timex and is involved in off shore oil drilling, air travel and tanker ships. However they have over a century of heritage in passenger travel and are among the oldest companies still plying the trade as a cruise line. They boast only four ships at present, all would be considered “classic” in their design. In lay terms, this means most of these ships have fewer than 2,000 passengers and were built in the late 1980s through mid-1990s. Well maintained and highly respected they carry names long known to the venerable line such as “Black Watch” and “Balmoral.” So as one watches news and announcements from Fred.Olsen realize that this is a small and unique line.

Ala Carte Charges on NCL.

This week I observed a good deal of buzz in the blog and online venues about Norwegian Cruise Line adding ala carte pricing to several speciality dining options on their ships. This on top of surcharges in the traditional main dining room for premium items and late night room service. The collective reaction has been to bemoan the perceived death of traditional cruising and the rise of nickel and diming passengers. However I think on balance the reaction is greatly overstated.

NCL made a name for itself over a decade ago, when the line was struggling to find an identity for itself amidst fierce competition from Royal Caribbean and the Carnival brands. Still owned by an asian cruise company that had failed miserably to manage NCL well, in 2000 “Freestyle Cruising” was introduced. A bold marketing move, it featured giving passengers the ability to book their meal times and locations in various shipboard restaurants. Naturally, the cruising establishment bemoaned the death of traditional main dining room meals-which did not and has yet to happen. This came a couple of years following Royal Caribbean introducing the first premium dining options aboard the Voyager Class of ships-which also were lamented as some harbinger of doom for main dining.

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