Record Breaker For Fred in 2019

In the world of cruise 2019 is not far away, even though we`ve not finished 2017 yet ! At the end of  the day there are only so many destinations in the world that cruises can go to, making finding new and interesting voyages more important than ever.

Fred Olsen appear to have come up with something very different, and interesting, when Braemar will become the largest ship ever to transit the Corinth Canal on 27th September 2019. This will be a 25 night round trip sailing from Southampton.

Braemar was the first ship I cruised on and I had a great time. She`s small, friendly and the food on Fred`s ships is always really good, as are the staff.

So what are the highlight’s of this voyage and what s makes it so different? Departing from Southampton Braemar will visit Malaga, Valletta and Aghios Nikolaos in Crete. Then onto the beautiful island of Rhodes, my home for 3 years in my Thomson days. A lovely part of Greece, but one not visited that often by large cruise ships.

The less well know island of Syros is the next port of call, its capital Empouri was once a more important city than Athens. After this it is on to the real star of the show – the Corinth Canal. This narrow stretch of water splits the mainland from the Gulf of Corinth in the northwest with the Saronic Gulf in the southeast.

A man made canal it was an  important navigational route which once allowed ships to enter the Aegean Sea, shaving 185 nautical miles of their journeys. The canal is 6.4 kilometers long with a width of only 25 meters. Almost impossible for modern ships to go through, the canal has now lost any significant economic importance it once had but for tourists it remains a feature of this part of Greece. Braemar will transit the canal on 9th October 2019.

Patras will be her next port if call for an overnight stay before she heads back to Southampton calling at Katakalon, Argostoli, Trapani, Ibiza, Cartagena and Lisbon. The sailing will be incredibly popular, especially amongst Fred`s regulars so the time to book is now !