Fred Olsen Cruise Lines announced it had canceled 4 sailings aboard Bolette because of a lack of demand for the ship’s winter voyages.
The UK-based company revealed the cancellations came after the voyages had not reached expected capacity levels at a time when fuel costs were higher.
Fred Olsen also moved Bolette's winter schedule from homeport London-Tilbury to Dover and Southampton. Impacted passengers have been contacted and the ship is expected to return on December 21 for the Christmas Voyage to Norway.
Fred Olsen has been forced to cancel Balmoral’s scheduled departure from Rosyth-Edinburgh on Monday, August 29, due to an issue with one of the propellers. Balmoral will restart operations from Southampton on September 11, and the rest of the schedule remains unchanged.
Peter Deer (company's Managing Director) apologized to clients and said that canceling cruises was "never a decision we take lightly".
"The winter is always a quieter period for cruising and this year a small number of sailings have not quite reached the guest numbers we were hoping for, at a time when fuel costs are particularly high for us all."
Deer said the line would use the additional time freed up by the cancellations to advance technical work ahead of a dry dock scheduled for Bolette in 2023.
Deer added they were very grateful for the support of their trade partners in finding the best solution for their mutual guests and were honouring agent commissions on those cruises.
He said neither of the changes were related to the resignation of the line’s chair, Fred Olsen Jr.