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Fly cruise from Stansted

New cruise ship Balmoral starts a short season of Mediterranean cruises in May before returning to her home port of Dover.

The newly extended and refurbished Balmoral – named after the Scottish Royal estate – is Fred Olsen’s fifth cruise ship. The ship has 744 cabins and is able to accommodate up to 1,340 passengers.

Balmoral begins her season of Mediterranean cruises on 1st May from Civitavecchia (the port for Rome). In the fly/cruise programme passengers will be able to take direct flights from Stansted airport.

The first of the five Mediterranean cruises from Civitavecchia begins with an 11 night eastern Mediterranean cruise visiting Valletta in Malta, Crete, Kusadasi, Marmaris, Rhodes and Piraeus. Prices including return flights to Rome start from £673 per person.

The second cruise departs Civitavecchia on 12th May on a 10 night voyage around the western Med with stops at Livorno, Villefranche, Barcelona, Majorca, Tunis, Valletta and Naples. Prices for this fly/cruise start from £670 per person.

The last cruise in the Mediterranean season sees Balmoral returning to her home port of Dover. The cruise departs from Venice on 11th June and calls at Dubrovnik, Sicily, Sardinia, Gibraltar and Lisbon before arriving in Dover.

Balmoral is slightly larger than the other cruise ships in Fred Olsen’s fleet, but according to the cruise line “is still compact enough to offer that intimate, homely atmosphere which is so much our trademark”.

Written by: Nick Purdom