Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is to lengthen and upgrade the Braemar ship, a frequent visitor to Southampton, next year.

Braemar, pictured left, will undergo the work during its dry dock period, scheduled for May and June, 2008, at the Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, which will be handling a similar project on the company's latest acquisition, Balmoral, later this year.

The work involves adding a 31.2m extension in the mid-section of the ship, and extending the fore and aft sections on deck eight, which will increase the amount of premium accommodation by providing more cabins and suites with balconies.

This will increase the vessel's capacity from 727 to 977 passengers as well as providing extra public space including a bar designed on the concept of a British pub.

In addition to further balcony suites, the deck will be changed to accommodate a new restaurant along with an observatory lounge similar to those found on other Fred Olsen ships.

There will also be extra deck space, and a second swimming pool, which will also have an area for children to play safely.

Mike Rodwell, managing director for Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: "This project to lengthen Braemar has been on the drawing board for several months, and I am delighted that we are now able to announce it will be going ahead.

"There will be no disruption to schedules as we had pencilled in this period in our 2008 itinerary, planning in anticipation that this work would be carried out.''