Fred. Olsen cancels Balmoral inaugural cruise
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has cancelled the inaugural cruise of its latest ship, Balmoral, due to depart for the Canary Islands this week.
The decision was taken due to technical issues which have arisen following an extensive refit.
Managing director Mike Rodwell said: “Naturally, we are extremely disappointed that we had to take this difficult decision and have apologised to the customers affected by it.
“The complex lengthening and refurbishment work onboard has been ongoing since we took delivery of the ship in November 2007 and we were confident that the vessel would be ready for service in good time.
“However, a number of unforeseen technical issues have emerged in the past week and these have led to this unfortunate decision being taken”.
The cruise line is fully compensating all passengers and the second planned cruise, to the Caribbean, due to depart Dover on February 13, remains on schedule.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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