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New ships?


Priya2
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Will Fred ever get around to purchasing any new ships? Their dated offerings do put me off and I know that I'm not the only one! They charge premium prices, but despite their reputation for excellent service, the product surely doesn't justify the prices. Any rumours out there?

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Thomson are setting the pace with their two new ships from Royal Caribbean and their two forthcoming ships from TUI Europe in 2018 and 2019. C & M now have Magellan and Columbus. Saga are actually having a new build ship to add to their fleet. There does seem to be a lack of news from Fred.

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As are C & M who sail from Newcastle, Liverpool, Hull, Bristol and of course London (Tilbury).

We sailed on Magellan in May and were very impressed with the ship and the Company. The ship had been fully refurbished in 2015 when C & M took it over and the experience was easily the equal of a cruise with Fred. Indeed, some aspects were better. And of course the prices are attractive.

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As are C & M who sail from Newcastle, Liverpool, Hull, Bristol and of course London (Tilbury).

We sailed on Magellan in May and were very impressed with the ship and the Company. The ship had been fully refurbished in 2015 when C & M took it over and the experience was easily the equal of a cruise with Fred. Indeed, some aspects were better. And of course the prices are attractive.

That's really good to know. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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We like the smaller ships but the age of Fred's ship does put us off somewhat. We have our first cruise with Fred for seven years coming up so we'll see what we think. We love P&O's Adonia. Before we go back to a cruise on Braemar I think the things we will miss is the variety of places to eat, particularly when returning late from a morning tour (on P&O the buffet offers lunch until at least 3 - 3.30pm which then merges into tea) and the fact that we have to pay premium prices for small cabins.

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We like the smaller ships but the age of Fred's ship does put us off somewhat. We have our first cruise with Fred for seven years coming up so we'll see what we think. We love P&O's Adonia. Before we go back to a cruise on Braemar I think the things we will miss is the variety of places to eat, particularly when returning late from a morning tour (on P&O the buffet offers lunch until at least 3 - 3.30pm which then merges into tea) and the fact that we have to pay premium prices for small cabins.
Those are the things that put me off too. We are sailing with Azamara in January. They have smaller ships (about 630 passengers). I am used to Celebrity. They are much cheaper than Fred and the standard of cabins is far superior.
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  • 3 weeks later...

Fred was going to build a new ship back some years ago, but found it to be too expensive for them to do and spent the money on refurbishing the old ships (Black Watch and Boudicca with Terrace Balcony Suites).

Well the boss let slip in a recent cruise show event that they have placed an order for a brand new built ship (hopefully arriving 2020) and would be slightly bigger than the rest in the fleet, but still small enough for the Fred charm and ports of call.

The reason for the new ship is that since most of the big cruise lines have and are still building mega ships, the small shipyard builders aren't getting the work and have lowered their prices and this has made it possible for Fred to go ahead for a new ship.

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Fred was going to build a new ship back some years ago, but found it to be too expensive for them to do and spent the money on refurbishing the old ships (Black Watch and Boudicca with Terrace Balcony Suites).

Well the boss let slip in a recent cruise show event that they have placed an order for a brand new built ship (hopefully arriving 2020) and would be slightly bigger than the rest in the fleet, but still small enough for the Fred charm and ports of call.

The reason for the new ship is that since most of the big cruise lines have and are still building mega ships, the small shipyard builders aren't getting the work and have lowered their prices and this has made it possible for Fred to go ahead for a new ship.

Good news :)
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I have cruised with Fred. Olsen since 1991 and there have always been rumours of new-build ships notably when they lost the "Black Prince" . As Saga will soon have their new-build in service perhaps this is the time this may well be the time fro a change in policy but I am not holding my breath!

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I have cruised with Fred. Olsen since 1991 and there have always been rumours of new-build ships notably when they lost the "Black Prince" . As Saga will soon have their new-build in service perhaps this is the time this may well be the time fro a change in policy but I am not holding my breath!

 

Hold your breath, its fine.

This news was announced at the launch of the new cruise brochure 2018/19 by Fred Olsen Jnr himself, I was there. I heard him say it.

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Hold your breath, its fine.

This news was announced at the launch of the new cruise brochure 2018/19 by Fred Olsen Jnr himself, I was there. I heard him say it.

 

I remember reading a report of what Fred Jnr had said at that launch. I think it was along the lines of having plans drawn up for different sized ships, so I did not get the impression that an order had been placed. We did get a survey shortly after that about our thoughts on different ship sizes and how much we would be prepared for cruises of different types. Not sure of the actual questions, but may have been willingess to pay more for certain things like freedom dining, itinerary and possibly newer ship with better facilities etc. Can you remember any more about what was actually said by Fred Jnr?

 

Like Parsman I still feel it may never actually appear as Fred's 'new' ships have always been reincarnations of older ones as far as I know, but I would like to feel a bit of optimism as this came from the boss rather than rumour. I think the problem is that if Fred has a new, smaller ship built they would not have the economy of scale to compete price wise and his prices are rising quite a bit now with fall in the £ presumably.

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I am glad for those who enjoy the Fred product that they did not buy the Navigator from Regent. Whilst Regent may have spent a lot of money on refurbishment, dig below the surface and you will find an old ship that creaks and groans and is not at all comfortable to sail on in moderate, let alone rough seas. In addition to that the vibration in cabins aft of mid ships is to be felt to be believed.

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I remember reading a report of what Fred Jnr had said at that launch. I think it was along the lines of having plans drawn up for different sized ships, so I did not get the impression that an order had been placed. We did get a survey shortly after that about our thoughts on different ship sizes and how much we would be prepared for cruises of different types. Not sure of the actual questions, but may have been willingess to pay more for certain things like freedom dining, itinerary and possibly newer ship with better facilities etc. Can you remember any more about what was actually said by Fred Jnr?

 

Like Parsman I still feel it may never actually appear as Fred's 'new' ships have always been reincarnations of older ones as far as I know, but I would like to feel a bit of optimism as this came from the boss rather than rumour. I think the problem is that if Fred has a new, smaller ship built they would not have the economy of scale to compete price wise and his prices are rising quite a bit now with fall in the £ presumably.

 

He said "we have plans..." but Managing Director Mike Rodwell was stood next to him and stopped him spilling the full beans and they then talked about Building scale and LNG fuel. They then announced the refurbish plans for next year (look at Black Watch for details of what they are doing). They mentioned the looking at a new build in 2006 but bought Balmoral and lengthened her for a cheap deal. Now it works out cheaper to build new than buy old and lengthen as the small shipyards are looking for work and pricing competitively for business.

 

This was all back in March and this is what I can remember.

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He said "we have plans..." but Managing Director Mike Rodwell was stood next to him and stopped him spilling the full beans and they then talked about Building scale and LNG fuel. They then announced the refurbish plans for next year (look at Black Watch for details of what they are doing). They mentioned the looking at a new build in 2006 but bought Balmoral and lengthened her for a cheap deal. Now it works out cheaper to build new than buy old and lengthen as the small shipyards are looking for work and pricing competitively for business.

 

This was all back in March and this is what I can remember.

 

Thank you again. I did not know what LNG meant, but found this, which may also be of interest to others

 

https://www.dnvgl.com/maritime/lng/index.html

 

If Fred can get a ship with greener (as well as cheaper) fuel, then it would be a great step forward for his business model. It has been very noticeable over the last few years that the really attractive places he sailed to have disappeared from the itineraries (e.g. the more remote parts of Northern Spitsbergen) and more places seem to become off limits for his heavy oil ships as time goes by.

 

There is also a far higher sea day to port ratio on his current itineraries as he needs to curtail the emissions and reduce speed. The scenic cruising was always done between ports by Fred, but now appears as 'events' on the more sparse itineraries. It does clarify the difference between small ships and the big ones that have always gone out to sea, rather than cruise places like the inside passage of Norway on sea days though.

 

We lost a couple of long, back to back cruises planned with VOD when All Leisure folded in January and have enjoyed good cruises with them and Swan Hellenic (Minerva II and more recently Minerva, so we remember two demises of Swan). Hence we are very aware of the financial problems of running small ships, but are disappointed that prices of the newer small ships seem to be so high, partly as they make them into 'luxury ships' with all sorts of extras. I am sure a new ship for Fred will be more expensive, but if he can supply what he used to without the sort of costly trimmings that are not wanted by all customers and so limit his price rises, he could well hit the nail on the head IMO, but we will see.

 

Fred, are you listening, we know you read these boards?

Edited by tring
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