Ships in Bergen

Today Fred Olsen's Balmoral docked at Bontelabo, having arrived from Olden this morning. Balmoral's aft superstructure Balmoral was built in Germany and launched in 1988 as Crown Odyssey for Royal Cruise Line. Following the acquisition of Royal Cruise Line by Norwegian Cruise Line in 1989 she continued for a period to sail under her orignal name, before becoming Norwegian Crown in 1996 and transferring to NCL's main fleet. Balmoral docked in Bergen Following several changes in ownership, Norwegian Crown was sold to Fred Olsen Cruise Line, who took delivery in 2007 following a major reconstruction and refurbishement. This included the insertion of a new 30 metre mid-section (a great time-lapse of this 'cut and stretch' can be found on the BBC website  here ). A view of Balmoral's mid-section The 30 metre section added in 2007 can be seen in the space between the lifeboats In 2012 Balmoral was chartered for a commemorative voyage for the 100t...

Today a total of 5 cruise ships called at Bergen. Two of the less frequent visitors to the port were scheduled for late evening departures, meaning I was in town to take the following photos of  Club Med 2  and MV Explorer. CLUB MED 2 Completed in 1992 in Le Havre, France, Club Med 2 cuts a striking profile as a large sailing cruise ship.  Club Med 2 moored at Festningskai, seen behind a variety of private yachts Her traditional diesel-electric power plant is supplemented by seven computer-operated sails, unusual for such a large ship. With a length of 194m, this makes  Club Med 2  one of the largest ships of this type in the world. Club Med 2 pulls away from her berth Club Med 2 departing Festningskai, Bergen After reversing out of her berth and passing between two offshore supply vessels, she made her way out of the harbour to turn and continue northwards towards Olden. Club Med 2 reverses out of her berth Club Med ...