Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is sending Balmoral south for the autumn: the smaller ship departs Southampton on 30 September on a Grand Voyage around the Mediterranean and Atlantic Islands, sold as six individual legs — and the line has added a new 11-night fly-cruise linking Greece to the Canaries, with flights included in the fare.
The Grand Voyage takes in marquee names — Athens and Istanbul among them — alongside the quieter ports Fred. Olsen’s smaller ships are known for seeking out, including Marmaris, Thessaloniki and the Greek island of Syros.
The new itinerary
The newly announced sailing, ‘Country Hopping from Greece to Tenerife’, departs Piraeus (for Athens) on 19 November 2026 and visits five countries plus Gibraltar in 11 nights: scenic cruising into Valletta’s Grand Harbour, then Trapani in Sicily, Cartagena, Gibraltar and Agadir before finishing in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Fares currently start from £1,309 per person with flights from London or Manchester and transfers included — and bookings made by 30 July can add a half-price premium drinks package at £20 per person per night.
As ever, an inclusive-flights fare needs comparing on total cost against cruise-only fares elsewhere, as our guide to finding genuine cruise deals explains.
A three-ship fiesta in the Canaries
The Grand Voyage’s final leg has a party attached: the 10-night ‘Canaries Escape with the Fleet Fiesta’ departs Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 30 November (from £1,099) and includes the Fleet Fiesta itself, when all three Fred. Olsen ships gather in the same place — a rare family reunion for the fleet.
The route home takes in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, an overnight in Funchal on Madeira, then Lisbon and Porto before arriving into Southampton.
The voyage’s opening leg is also bookable on its own: an 8-night ‘Charming Spanish Cities and Autumn Warmth’ sailing from Southampton on 30 September (from £929), calling at Vigo, Cádiz for Seville, Málaga, Alicante and Melilla — Spain’s enclave on the North African coast.
Why it matters for UK cruisers
Phil Gardner, the line’s commercial and product director, calls the fly-cruise programme “a rewarding and relaxing way to explore the Mediterranean” — and the structure is genuinely flexible: sail the whole Grand Voyage, join for a single leg by air, or take the no-fly bookends from and to Southampton.
It’s also a textbook example of the industry’s push into Europe’s shoulder season — November in the Aegean and Canaries, on a smaller British-market ship, is exactly where that trend is heading.
Image: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
