The UK-based Fred Olsen Cruise Lines on April 9 celebrated 1 year since it set sail on its first Virtual Cruise. The company is looking ahead to a return to sailing with its new-look fleet this summer.
The first Fred. Olsen virtual cruise set sail on April 9, 2020, to the Norwegian fjords to celebrate the line’s heritage, and since then, it has set sail on a total of 51 further virtual voyages, with destinations including the United Kingdom, Iceland, Canary Islands, Caribbean, and a World Cruise.
Each virtual trip has celebrated all that passengers know and love about cruising, both aboard and ashore. During the past 12 months, the line’s social media team have curated 745 posts and 248 videos, which have been viewed 1.9M times.
The content included videos from weekly live quizzes hosted by some of Fred. Olsen team, evening entertainment acts, and tutorials from guest speakers and onboard hosts, including art and ukulele lessons. There have been virtual formal nights, with passengers encouraged to dress in their finery as well as share pictures ahead of ‘Saturday Night Showtime’ performances.
The programme secured a number of industry awards for the company, including the ‘Customers at the Heart of Everything – Gold Award’ at the 2020 CXAwards, ‘Best Use of Social Media’ at the inaugural CovidComms Awards and ‘Best Use of Social Media’ at the 2020 Travolution Awards.
The Virtual Cruise programme continues with a sneak peek inside Fred. Olsen's 2 new ships, Bolette and Borealis.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines unveiled an 11-strong programme of ‘Welcome Back’ British Isles sailings onboard Bolette, Borealis and Balmoral, the first of which is scheduled to set sail on July 5, 2021.