As a family-run cruise line, we really take your experience personally. While the cruise industry has gone for bigger ships, brimming with more and more people, we have always believed that smaller is better. We treat passengers as guests, we dock at smaller ports in more interesting places and we avoid overcrowding both aboard and ashore. At capacity, our smaller ships will only ever sail with between 900 and 1,400 guests.

We have a small team of specialist itinerary planners. They take great pride in handcrafting each journey, to ensure we show you hidden gems as well as highlights on each of our sailings. It is a passion that has won us the Cruise Critic award for Best Itineraries for five consecutive years.

Cruise from six regional UK ports to hundreds of destinations worldwide in the classic style and comfort of our smaller-sized ships. For most of the year, the ships are based in Britain, with cruises departing from Rosyth (Edinburgh), Newcastle, Liverpool, Dover, Southampton, and Portsmouth.

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Sister ship to our flagship Bolette, our adults only ship, Borealis, joined the fleet in 2020 and is ideally designed for scenic cruising along the world’s lesser-explored waterways. From sailing past spectacular landscapes and historic landmarks to admiring the beauty of the natural world, guests can enjoy exceptional views from the well-appointed Observatory. Refurbished and redecorated on joining our fleet to meet the Olsen family’s style of cruising, Borealis offers a wide selection of lounges and bars, elegant restaurants, spacious open decks and 702 comfortable cabins and suites. Throughout your cruise, our warm and attentive crew will be on hand, delivering the friendly, personal service for which Fred. Olsen is renowned. Our adults only cruises provide a relaxed and welcoming environment for couples, friends and solo travellers, inviting you to explore at an unhurried pace, so whether you choose to socialise and form new friendships or savour peaceful moments to yourself, you’ll enjoy the freedom to unwind aboard Borealis as she sails the world.

Our flagship proudly bears the name of Fred. Olsen's Great Grandmother, Bolette. Exuding classic, elegant style, and featuring spacious and comfortable public areas, with just 690 cabins, our flagship leads our fleet of smaller ships by example. Bolette provides our guests with plenty of space to relax within the bars, lounges, theatres and wide-open deck spaces. In the Observatory, sit back and relax, and enjoy scenic cruising along some of the world's most beautiful waterways and fjords. Up on deck eight, you’ll find the Lido Bar and swimming pool. The retractable roof means you can enjoy a swim all year round, wherever you’re cruising. Of course, with our friendly staff providing the personal and attentive service they’re renowned for, there’s an intimate feel to the on board experience too.

Our smallest ship, Balmoral, is a classic gem, offering an intimate cruising experience. She has wonderful facilities - five beautiful restaurants, seven bars and lounges, two pools and lovely wide open decks which are perfect for when Balmoral is scenic cruising. Thanks to her smaller size, Balmoral is perfectly suited to sailing narrow waterways and docking closer to the heart of destinations that larger ships can’t reach. She can navigate Norway’s scenic Åkrafjord, sailing beneath a low-hanging cable that blocks bigger vessels, and reach Langfoss – widely regarded as one of Norway’s most spectacular waterfalls. In France, Balmoral can journey along the scenic River Seine, winding past picturesque countryside and charming villages en route to the beautiful town of Rouen in Normandy. She’s also able to sail the Kiel Canal – passing through its lock and gliding beneath low bridges (with her mast lowered), while larger ships must divert north of Denmark to access the Baltic. Balmoral's crest proudly replicates the British royal family's Scottish residence Balmoral Castle, with a nod to Fred. Olsen's historic links with Scotland and where the family still have an estate today.