Today the Balmoral, the largest ship in the Fred.Olsen fleet, was calling at Fredrikstad. The Balmoral can take up to 1,350 passengers, and was sailing at full capacity. There were also 510 staff on board. The ship, which was built in 1988, was acquired by Fred.Olsen in 2008, and has since been entirely renovated. The main pool on the 11th deck was certainly a great place to be today, with glorious weather and temperatures around 18°C (64°F). The Balmoral was in Oslo for the 17 May celebrations, and will sail on to Kristiansand tonight, before heading to Bergen and Stavanger, and then back to the UK later in the week. Shore excursions for passengers included a visit of Gamlebyen, and a trip to Fredriksten Festning in Halden.
1,350 visitors in one day. Not bad at all if you ask me. Maybe we should try to attract more cruise ships to Fredrikstad? The World is coming next year… Will more ships follow suit? Fredrikstad certainly has what it takes to be a great port of call in Norway, and there are no shortages of shore excursions from there. Let’s hope cruise lines take note.