Ships in Bergen

As regular readers of this blog will know, last week I moved to a new apartment. One blog-friendly outcome of this is that many of the cruise ships calling into Bergen now sail (distantly but directly) past the bottom of my garden. I expect this viewpoint will become a regular addition to the blog... The following photos show this evening's parade of ships; Balmoral , Costa Favolosa and MSC Magnifica .

The ships in the Fred. Olsen fleet have become a familiar sight in and around Bergen, and yesterday the lovely Balmoral was in the city again. You can find out more about the history and career of this popular ship in our previous post here . The following photos were taken as Balmoral left her berth at Bontelabo this evening; Her slightly unusual 21:00 departure gave her passengers plenty of time to enjoy the city.

A regular visitor to Bergen, Fred Olsen's traditional cruise ship Balmoral visited the city again today. I passed her on my way to work as she was docking this morning, and took the following photographs from the Bergren-Askøy ferry. You can learn more about the history of Balmoral in our previous post here , and take a look at our other photos of her in the archive . Also in town today was Holland America's Zuiderdam , which can be seen in the background approaching her berth.

Earlier this week Fred Olsen's cruise ship Balmoral called into Bergen. The following photos showing her departure were taken from the bathing platform at Nordnes. If you'd like to read about the history of Balmoral, take a look at out previous post here . Like her fleetmate Braemar , Balmoral has received Fred Olsen's new grey livery since the last time she was featured on this blog. Also in town were AIDAcara and AIDAluna .

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...