Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has laid out 39 sailings for early 2028, running January through July, and the headline news for many British cruisers will be the line's return to Canada for the first time since 2024. Bookings for that Canada itinerary open on October 1, with the rest of the programme following a week later on October 7.
The Canada trip is a 19-night sailing aboard Borealis, departing Liverpool on June 14, 2028. It calls at Belfast first, then crosses the Atlantic to St. John's, Newfoundland — prime waters for whale and iceberg spotting in early summer. From there the itinerary reads like a greatest-hits list of Canada's east coast: the UNESCO-listed old streets of Québec City, a cruise through Humber Arm and the Bay of Islands, and a stop at L'Anse aux Meadows, the Viking settlement site on Newfoundland's northern tip. Cobh in Ireland breaks the journey home. Fares start from £2,599 per person.
There's a genuinely rare celestial bonus elsewhere in the programme. A 13-night fly-cruise aboard Balmoral, sailing from Málaga to Lisbon on January 24, 2028, is timed for a total solar eclipse, with six Atlantic islands on the route — including quiet El Hierro — plus time for Madeira's levada walks and botanical gardens. It starts from £1,299.
Longer-haul tastes are covered too. A 36-night Caribbean run from Portsmouth aboard Balmoral (departing February 13) hops from the Virgin Islands to Bermuda, with an overnight in San Juan and a chance to meet the famous swimming pigs of Great Exuma, from £3,499. Closer to home, a 10-night Norwegian fjords sailing from Liverpool in April takes in the Briksdal Glacier, the Loen Skylift viewpoint and the Fureberg Waterfall from £1,299, while a 13-night 'Nine Nations' circuit from Newcastle on May 30 squeezes Estonia, Finland, Poland and six more countries into one trip, from £1,849.
On the booking side, Fred. Olsen's Freedom Fare Price Promise applies to reservations made by November 4, 2026 — it guarantees the lowest fare available during the first four weeks of sale, so early bookers are protected if prices dip. Solo travellers get a dedicated pick of cabins with no single supplement, which is worth noting in a market where single supplements are often the biggest barrier.
Why it matters: Fred. Olsen's smaller ships can get into ports the mega-ships skip, and this programme leans into that — Newfoundland iceberg routes, eclipse positioning, and a nine-country northern Europe sweep without airport hops. For travellers who prefer sailing from regional UK ports like Liverpool, Newcastle and Portsmouth, the 2028 line-up removes the need to fly at all on most itineraries.
If you're tempted, the key dates are October 1 and 7, 2026, when sales open, and November 4, the deadline for the price promise.
