ORCA Cruises

Great Humpback Whale tail in Iceland
Diving humpback whale in the Skjalfandi Bay in Northern Iceland
Protecting the world's whales and dolphins

As part of an offical partnership, Fred. Olsen are proud to be working with marine wildlife charity ORCA, who will be sending teams of volunteers on a selection of Fred. Olsen sailings. 

The conservationist team's objective will be to locate whales and dolphins, observe their behaviours, and to provide guests with a unique experience, offering you the opportunity to take an active role in marine science and conservation. The cruises will also enable ORCA to collect vital data on the species and numbers of marine life sighted and identify wildlife hotspots, feeding directly into the charity’s Cruise Conservationist Programme and its conservation work. 

Pop along to one of their guest lectures, or find them on deck to ask them any questions you may have. With the help of ORCA, you may be lucky enough to spot several whale and dolphin species, whilst learning more about ORCA's conservation efforts.

 

As part of an offical partnership, Fred. Olsen are proud to be working with marine wildlife charity ORCA, who will be sending teams of volunteers on a selection of Fred. Olsen sailings. [ReadMoreMob]

The conservationist team's objective will be to locate whales and dolphins, observe their behaviours, and to provide guests with a unique experience, offering them the opportunity to take an active role in marine science and conservation. The cruises will also enable ORCA to collect vital data on the species and numbers of marine life sighted and identify wildlife hotspots, feeding directly into the charity’s Cruise Conservationist Programme and its conservation work.

Pop along to one of their guest lectures, or find them on deck to ask them any questions you may have. With the help of ORCA, you may be lucky enough to spot several mesmerising whale and dolphin species, all whilst learning more about ORCA's conservation efforts.

 
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15 Ocean Cruises

15 Ocean Cruises
Lagoon of the seven cities, Azores Lagoon of the seven cities, Azores Lagoon of the seven cities, Azores

Easter Escape to Portugal's Unspoilt Islands • L2505

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Sail from Southampton
Balmoral
10 Apr 2025
14 nights
  • Discover the legend of Sete Cidades crater lakes on Sao Miguel Island
  • Embrace Portuguese traditions, like thermal bathing in Furnas Valley 
  • Spot a variety of marine life from Balmoral with wildlife charity ORCA
Portree harbour, Isle of Skye, Scotland Portree harbour, Isle of Skye, Scotland Portree harbour, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Scenic Scottish Isles in Five Nights • T2508

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Sail from Liverpool
Bolette
02 May 2025
5 nights
  • Explore the rugged coastlines of the Hebridean Islands
  • Discover the traditions of the Western Isles
  • Get closer to nature with the help of ORCA 
Ornsay Lighthouse in the Loch Hourn Ornsay Lighthouse in the Loch Hourn Ornsay Lighthouse in the Loch Hourn

Scenic Isles of Scotland • S2512

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Sail from Newcastle
Borealis
07 May 2025
7 nights
  • Sail past the Small Isles and along picturesque Loch Hourn
  • Immerse yourself in Scottish traditions, like Ceilidh dancing & whisky
  • Spot seabirds, dolphins, and whales from the decks of Borealis
Whale breaching out of the water, Iceland Whale breaching out of the water, Iceland Whale breaching out of the water, Iceland

Exploring Iceland in Eight Nights • S2513

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Sail from Newcastle
Borealis
14 May 2025
8 nights
  • Discover Iceland's explosive geysirs and majestic waterfalls
  • Immerse yourself in Icelandic culture like bathing in hot springs
  • Cruise Eyjafjörður, home to many cetaceans and bird species
Skara Brae, Scotland Skara Brae, Scotland Croft on Isle of Lewis

Wildlife & Culture of the Scenic Scottish Isles • L2509

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Sail from Southampton
Balmoral
16 May 2025
7 nights
  • Explore the Scottish islands of Stornoway and Kirkwall
  • Uncover traditions like Ceilidh dancing, cheese, fudge, and whisky
  • Scenic cruise past the intriguing basalt columns of Fingals Cave
Lighthouse at Arnish Point overlooking Stornoway Harbour Lighthouse at Arnish Point overlooking Stornoway Harbour Lighthouse at Arnish Point overlooking Stornoway Harbour

Scenic Scottish Isles in Five Nights • T2510

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Sail from Liverpool
Bolette
24 May 2025
5 nights
  • Explore Stornoway and Tórshavn in just five nights
  • Embrace Gaelic traditions like Ceilidh dancing or Harris Tweed
  • Scenic cruise past the intriguing Fingal's Cave and Bac Mòr 
Henningsvær (Lofoten, Norway) from above. Henningsvær (Lofoten, Norway) from above. Henningsvær (Lofoten, Norway) from above.

Norway's Arctic Islands & Mountainous Vistas • L2513

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Sail from Rosyth
Balmoral
17 Jun 2025
10 nights
  • Explore Arctic Norway in the summertime
  • Witness the Midnight Sun and see Torghatten
  • Travel along the iconic Atlantic Ocean Road
Beautiful views of Sete Cidades lakes, Azores Beautiful views of Sete Cidades lakes, Azores Beautiful views of Sete Cidades lakes, Azores

Volcanic Vistas of the Azores & Madeira • S2518

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Sail from Dover
Borealis
04 Jul 2025
13 nights
  • Experience the volcanic wonders of the Azorean Islands
  • Immerse yourself in Portuguese traditions such as thermal bathing
  • Discover flower cultivation and pineapple growing in Madeira
The Strokkur Geysir, Iceland The Strokkur Geysir, Iceland The Strokkur Geysir, Iceland

Whales, Waterfalls & Geysers of Iceland • S2519

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Sail from Dover
Borealis
17 Jul 2025
12 nights
  • Witness the splendour of Iceland's volcanic landscapes
  • See puffins before they head south for the winter
  • Discover how Iceland turns its natural power into energy
Sete Cidades crater lakes, Azores Sete Cidades crater lakes, Azores Sete Cidades crater lakes, Azores

Volcanic Vistas of the Azores & Madeira • T2517

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Sail from Liverpool
Bolette
25 Jul 2025
13 nights
  • Witness hydrangeas in bloom at the very best time in the Azores
  • Explore the volcanic sights of Sete Cidades and Cabo Girao sea cliff
  • Sample pasteis de nata and listen to soulful fado music in Lisbon

Showing 1 - 10 cruises

Dolpin spotting in Komodo Islands, RIB boat
Dolpin spotting in Komodo Islands, RIB boat
Orca conservationist taking a picture of the sunset from on board
Whale tail spotted on board by Orca conservationists
Guests and Orca representative looking out from the deck to the sea
Bird and reflection in the sea, Iceland
Guests/Orca looking to spot wildlife
Whale tail in the water, Iceland
Guests/Orca looking to spot wildlife from deck
Puffin in the sea, Iceland
Birds in the water, Iceland
Guests/Orca looking to spot wildlife
Puffin flying, Iceland
Whale spotted on board by Orca conservationists
Whale tail spotted on board by Orca conservationists
Harbour Porpoise seen from onboard
Minke Whale seen from on board

Anna Bunney - Head of Education

Anna is the Head of Education for ORCA, and is responsible for coordinating the wide breadth of ORCA’s education and outreach activities. Although Anna’s day-to-day job varies considerably, her main responsibilities include developing and delivering all of ORCA’s training courses. These courses train members of the public to become citizen scientists, whether by training them to take part in ORCA’s dedicated ferry-based surveys, or by monitoring their local seas by using the OceanWatchers app. 

Anna also manages our worldwide seafarer’s education programmes, which includes ship strike mitigation training.  This work has led Anna to also lead on our exciting ship strike mitigation research projects in the Bay of Biscay and Alaska, helping us to understand how whales react to vessels so that we can provide appropriate advice to bridge crews on how to avoid this threat.

Anna studied Geography at university, where she focussed on wildlife conservation.  Since then, Anna has worked for a variety of terrestrial and marine conservation charities in the UK, before landing her dream job at ORCA 9 years ago.

Anna has a huge amount of experience at sea, having travelled all around the world; from the UK and Europe to Alaska to Antarctica to deliver educational activities on board and collect vital data on whales, dolphins and porpoises encountered

Steve is Director of Operations & Fundraising at ORCA, one of the UK's leading whale and dolphin charities. ORCA work with the cruise industry to identify important whale and dolphin hotspots around the world, collecting vital scientific data that is used to establish protected areas and safeguard these animals for future generations.

Steve started working for ORCA in 2017, but his passion for the ocean goes back to being a five year old insisting he was going to be a marine biologist! His work involves developing partnerships across the shipping industry, showing companies the changes that they can make to help protect whales and dolphins. Steve is also a keen photographer and a movie buff, so if you run out of whale and dolphin questions you can always chat movie trivia or compare camera techniques instead!

Kate is an Ocean Conservationist for ORCA, a whale and dolphin conservation charity. Kate’s fascination with dolphins began on holidays to West Wales, where she would sit on seawalls waiting for dolphins to appear. She has a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology and an MSc in Environmental Biology. She has worked in conservation worldwide, studying turtles in Mexico and Cape Verde and bottlenose dolphins in Wales, Florida and Australia.

In 2018 Kate began working for ORCA as a Wildlife Officer in the Bay of Biscay and later became an Ocean Conservationist travelling to places like Spain, Iceland, Portugal, the Canary Islands, and Norway. Kate is passionate about chatting to people about the issues faced by whales and dolphins, and ways in which we can help them. Come and find her out on deck, join her at a lecture or she’d love to grab a cup of coffee and swap whale tales! In her spare time, Kate enjoys photography, scuba diving, and going to musicals. But her favourite way to spend time is out at sea looking for whales and dolphins so wrap up warm and she’d love to see you out on deck!