 Olsen's plans for Norwegian Crown out..
Fred. Olsen's marketing director Nigel Lingard has just spent time sailing on his company's latest acquisition, Norwegian Crown, which will transfer to the fleet from Norwegian Cruise Line in autumn 2007.
'I think the ship will be good for us, she has a spacious layout, good sized cabins and great observation lounge,' Lingard told Seatrade Insider adding that he also sailed on the inaugural voyage of the 1988-built ship which was originally constructed at Meyer Werft for the now defunct Royal Cruise Line.
Following handover Fred. Olsen plans to undertake an extensive refurbishment and refit of the hotel side including 'one or two quite big changes' in the public areas. 'The gym and spa will be re-designed and the casino area will probably be better suited as a quiet drawing room,' he said. It's unlikely the ship will need much work on the technical front, he noted.
Currently a 552-cabin ship, her lower berth capacity will reduce to around 1,000 passengers under Fred. Olsen livery as 'at least 60 cabins will be converted into singles - an important market segment for us,' said Lingard. The line offers the most single cabins at sea with over 100 across its fleet including 16 single cabins with balconies on Boudicca (7) and Black Watch (9).
The as yet unnamed ship is expected to enter service with an inaugural Canary Islands cruise from Dover, sailing late January 2008 and will then sail a short season of fly/cruises in the Caribbean. 2008 summer itineraries will be announced soon.
Currently claiming a 6% share of the British market, 'the purchase of this ship shows we want to play a major part in the booming sector which is projected to reach 1.5m (Brits) by 2008,' said Mike Rodwell, md of Fred. Olsen.
Fleet expansion plans clearly do not stop here. The line plans to fill a new post for a project manager soon and nobody in the company is denying that a newbuild is in their sights. 'The opportunities to expand through second-hand acquistion are few and far between, so the natural expansion route would be new tonnage,' added Lingard with a telling smile.
(Seatrade)
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