Fred Olsen goes viral on Internet!

Words I never thought I would hear myself say! Who would have thought it? I have heard that there has been plenty or Norovirus on the Freds ships but viral on the internet, now there’s something new!
The footage was shot back in 2008 by MK Timelapse and show the ‘stretching’ of the Balmoral shortly after she was bought by Fred Olsen as they inserted a 3,500 tonnes, 30 metre section into her mid-section thereby creating many new cabins, more staff accommodation and making room for the smaller Avon and Spey restaurants high up at the rear of the ship.

The work was carried out at the Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany and actually took 70 days to complete. The footage has been condensed into just a few minutes and posted on popular websites for the Daily Mail and BBC amongst others. It has now been viewed by over 350,000 people! who would have thought that stretching a ship could be so fascinating! It is a spectacular display of engineering if I’m honest and well worth taking a look at.
Balmoral was built back in 1988 for Royal Cruise Line – can anyone tell me her original name? Thesedays she weighs in at just over 43,000 tonnes and is the most popular of Fred Olsens ship.
In 2013 she featured in a BBC television production based on the work of the ships Chaplain, Colin Still, filmed on her 2013 World Voyage. In my opinion the six part documentary series didn’t really show Balmoral off at her best but focused rather too much on the main character, however it was enjoyed by many, even if only to criticise the show!
One way and another Balmoral always seems to be hitting the headlines!
I have sailed on her four times to date and loved every minute of each sailing so if you would like to know more about her please feel free to contact me.