The least glamorous story in cruising this year might be the most consequential one. In January 2026, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines changed how it prices a cruise. By August, all three of its ships had recorded their highest-ever guest satisfaction scores, 2027 bookings were running more than 40% ahead of the previous year, and the company had just logged the biggest sales day in its 178-year history. Those things are connected.
What changed
Fred. Olsen's guest experience director, Doug Glenwright, has been candid about the problem. Guests told the line that cruising was good value compared with a land holiday, but that it was not always obvious why, because the fare on the brochure was not the number on the final bill. Drinks, tips and port charges piled up afterward.
So for every sailing from January 2026 onward, the fare now includes house beer, wine and draft soft drinks with lunch and dinner. Crew gratuities are in. Port fees and taxes are in. So are guided "social strolls" in selected ports, fitness classes, shuttle buses where the ship docks out of town, and the line's program of lectures and enrichment. Guests who want cocktails and premium spirits all day can upgrade to a new Premium Drinks Package, and anyone who had already bought the old drinks package for a 2026 cruise was moved up to the premium one for free.
The other half of the change is the Freedom Fare Price Promise. Book within the first four weeks of a cruise going on sale and, if Fred. Olsen later cuts the price for the same cabin grade on the same sailing, you get either a free cabin upgrade or onboard credit. Solo travelers booking in that window pay the per-person twin rate for a single cabin, which, for a line whose guests often travel alone after losing a partner, is a meaningful gesture.
Why it worked
It is tempting to dismiss this as a marketing refresh. The numbers say otherwise. Guest numbers are up 10% year on year. More than a quarter of the remaining 2026 sailings have sold out. And the Net Promoter Score, the industry's standard measure of whether guests would recommend you, hit a record on Bolette, on Borealis and on Balmoral. Balmoral, the oldest and smallest ship in the fleet, scored highest of all.
That last detail deserves a pause. Balmoral entered service in 1988 as Royal Cruise Line's Crown Odyssey. She is a 43,537-ton ship carrying about 1,275 guests, with a long, slim hull, teak promenades and a layout from an era before atriums and rock-climbing walls. Fred. Olsen stretched her in 2008 and has kept her immaculate. The fact that she outscores her younger, larger fleetmates tells you what Fred. Olsen guests actually value: a ship you can learn in an afternoon, a crew that remembers your name, and nothing on the bill you did not expect.
CEO Samantha Stimpson has pointed to two trends underneath the numbers. Guests are booking further ahead than they used to, which the price promise encourages. And the line is welcoming more first-timers while holding onto its regulars. Inclusive pricing helps with both: the first group gets a number they can trust, and the second gets the feeling that the line has finally stopped nickel-and-diming people who have been loyal for twenty years.
The dining piece
Fred. Olsen's dining has recently picked up industry recognition, which makes the drinks-with-meals move feel more like a package than a gimmick. A decent glass of wine with dinner every night of a 14-night fjords cruise is not a small thing, and having it baked into the fare means guests stop doing mental arithmetic every time the waiter approaches.
What it means for cruisers
If you are comparing Fred. Olsen against other lines sailing from the UK, do the comparison on the all-in price rather than the lead-in fare. On a two-week cruise, drinks with meals, tips and port charges can add several hundred pounds per person to a rival's quote. Fred. Olsen's number is now the number.
And if you are the sort of person who books early, the four-week price promise is worth taking seriously. The line's 2027 program and its headline 2028 Amazon and Antarctica voyage both launched under it, and the early-booking windows are where the best cabins went.
Cruise lines talk about listening to guests all the time. This is one of the rare cases where you can see, in the sales figures and the satisfaction scores, that it actually happened.
Sources: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines press releases, Cruise Critic, Cruise Industry News, Cruise Trade News, Seatrade Cruise News, Bolsover Cruise Club.
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