Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has defined and refined the cruise experience, and judging by the number of passengers that come back time and again, we seem to have styled it to perfection.

The company originated in Hvitsten, a small town on Oslofjord in Norway, in 1848 when three Olsen brothers - Fredrik Christian, Petter and Andreas - bought their first ships and began an international shipping company.

Now into the fifth generation of the family, they operate companies skilled in various aspects of the cruise and passenger shipping trade as well as aviation, ships' crewing, shipbuilding and offshore industries.

Aside from the transportation industries, the Fred. Olsen group also has interests in the luxury hotel sector, estate management, property development, and electronics companies.

Offices for the company are spread throughout the world, although the company headquarters remain firmly in the family's hands in Oslo and Tenerife. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is based in Ipswich in Suffolk.