 | |
| Industry | Travel and tourism |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Defunct | 20 July 2020 |
| Fate | Administration and subsequent cessation of services |
Area served | British Market, Australian Market, US Market |
| Products | Cruises |
Number of employees | 200–500 |
| Subsidiaries | Transocean Tours |
| Website | www.cruiseandmaritime.com |
Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) was a British passenger shipping company headquartered in Purfleet, Essex, United Kingdom. [1] [2] [3] The company ceased operations in 2020 and entered administration.
Cruise & Maritime Voyages was formed in 2009, by parent organisation Cruise & Maritime Services International, after their German based Transocean Tours (for whom they were the UK representative) filed for bankruptcy. [4]
Cruise & Maritime Voyages positioned itself as "Providing ex-UK 'no fly' cruising holidays aboard smaller and medium-sized classic and more traditional style ships." [5] The company served an adult market, with an onboard style of traditional entertainment, dining and rooms using a fleet of older vessels. [6]
In December 2019, it was announced that the company acquired two new ships, P&O Australia's Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria. [7]
In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruise & Maritime Voyages temporarily halted operations, with the majority of ships laid up in Tilbury. On the 23 June 2020, five ships within the CMV fleet were detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, including the MV Columbus, MV Vasco da Gama, MV Astoria, MS Astor, and MS Marco Polo over crew welfare concerns after inspections revealed "expired and invalid seafarers employment agreements, late payment of wages and crews who had been on board for over 12 months." The MS Magellan was also inspected by the Agency but was not detained. [8]
Sky News reported on 15 July 2020 that the company was facing insolvency and was in talks with VGO Capital Management, which Sky described as "a special situations investor with expertise in the shipping industry", for additional financing. The company had previously sought a financing agreement with private equity firm Novalpina Capital; this attempt failed after Barclays declined to offer the company a state-backed loan. [9] Attempts to secure financing failed, and the company, including its German subsidiary, entered administration with Duff & Phelps Ltd. on 20 July 2020, with all trading ceased and all sales offices closed with immediate effect. [10]
It was reported on 19 August 2020 that the company's ships were actively for sale on the secondhand market, and that the Administrators were "said to be struggling with crew repatriation." [11] In November, at an auction sale, the company's fleet (excepting Astoria, which the company operated under charter from Bank Montepio of Lisbon) was sold for US$ 23,419,000. [12]
Just a few weeks before the outbreak of the pandemic, in November and December 2019, three ships of the fleet, the Marco Polo, the Magellan and the Astor underwent a maintenance and repair programme at Damen Shipyard in Amsterdam. [13]
The following ships were operated or were scheduled to be operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
| Ship | Class | Built | In service for CMV | Tonnage | Flag | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marco Polo | Ivan Franko class | 1965 | 2010–2020 | 22,080 GT and 19,860 GRT |  Bahamas | In 2009, the ship was chartered for cruising as the line's first ship and was operated as an adults-only (16 and above) vessel, marketed at cash short consumers, with multiple departure points in the UK along with exotic itineraries. [14] After CMV entered administration, she was sold for US$ 2,770,000. First Marco Polo became a floating hotel in Dumbai. After a mooring at Persian Gulf with her fate unknown the ship sold for scrap at Alang, India in January 2021. |  |
| Ocean Countess | 1975 | 2010–2012 | 17,593 GT |  Portugal | In 2010, the ship was chartered as the second ship of the fleet. [15] Replaced in 2012 by the Discovery [16] and subsequently sold for scrap in 2013 after a fire destroyed the ship. [17] |  | |
| Discovery | 1971 | 2013–2014 | 20,216 GT |  Bermuda | Ship entered the fleet in February 2013, replacing the Ocean Countess. [18] [16] She was sold for scrap as Amen at Alang, India in October 2014. [19] |  | |
| Astor | 1987 | 2013–2020 | 20,704 GT | Bahamas | The ship was due to leave the Transocean Tours fleet in May 2021 and was to have been refurbished and renamed as Jules Verne, after which she would have sailed out of Le Havre and Marseille for Cruise & Maritime Voyages's new French brand. [20] [21] After CMV entered administration, she was sold at auction for US$ 1,710,000. Scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey in 2020. |  | |
| Astoria | 1948 | 2015–2020 | 15,614 GRT | Portugal | Chartered from Portuscale Cruises to replace the slightly bigger MV Discovery. [22] Prior to Cruise & Maritime Voyages entering administration, Astoria was scheduled to leave the CMV fleet in October 2020. [23] After CMV entered administration, she was returned to Montepio, her Lisbon-based owner. |  | |
| Magellan | Holiday class | 1985 | 2015–2020 | 46,052 GT | Bahamas | Ship was transferred from Ibero Cruises in 2015 [24] and served as the flagship of the fleet until 2017.[ citation needed ] After CMV entered administration, she was sold at auction to Seajets for US$ 3,431,000. In January 2021 the ship was sold for scrap as Mages at Alang, India |  |
| Columbus | 1989 | 2017–2020 | 63,500 GT | Bahamas | Formerly sailed as the Pacific Pearl for P&O Australia. Became cruise line's flagship upon entering the fleet on 11 June 2017. [25] After CMV entered administration, she was sold at auction to Seajets for US$ 5,321,000 and later resold for scrap. |  | |
| Vasco da Gama | Statendam class | 1993 | 2019–2020 | 55,451 GT | Bahamas | Sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages in 2018; formerly Pacific Eden and Statendam. Sailed for part of the year under the Transocean Tours brand in Europe, and under the Cruise & Maritime Voyages brand in Australia in the summer replacing Astor. [26] [27] After CMV entered administration, she was sold at auction to Mystic Invest for US$ 10,187,000. [28] |  |
| Amy Johnson | 1991 | 2021 (planned but never entered service) [29] | 70,285 GT | N/A | Sold to CMV in 2019 by P&O Cruises Australia with planned delivery in 2021, where she is sailing as Pacific Dawn. After CMV entered administration, P&O sold her to Ocean Builders, which planned to rename her Satoshi and convert her into a floating hotel in Panama. [30] |  | |
| Ida Pfeiffer | Statendam class | 1994 | 2021 (planned but never entered service) [29] | 55,819 GT | N/A | Sold to CMV in 2019 by P&O Cruises Australia with planned delivery in 2021. where she is sailing as Pacific Aria. After CMV entered administration, P&O sold her to Seajets. [31] |  |
Vasco da Gama is a cruise ship operated by German cruise line Nicko Cruises. Completed in 1993, she previously sailed for Holland America Line as MS Statendam, for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Eden and for Cruise & Maritime Voyages as Vasco da Gama. In 2020, following CMV's filing for administration, she was sold by CW Kellock & Co Ltd. at auction to Mystic Cruises' parent company, Mystic Invest for US$10,187,000.
Ocean Countess was a cruise ship owned by Majestic International Cruises of Greece. She was completed in 1976 as Cunard Countess for Cunard Line and was a popular ship in the Caribbean cruise market for 20 years. After leaving Cunard service in 1996, she had a number of owners before being purchased by Majestic in 2004. She was retired in 2012 and scrapped in 2014 after a fire destroyed the ship.
The MS Renaissance is a cruise ship that re-entered service in June 2023. The ship was built in Italy in 1992 as Maasdam for Holland America Line. While sailing for Holland America, the vessel operated primarily in North American waters. In 2020 she was bought by Seajets and renamed Aegean Myth, but did not trade. The ship was bought in 2022 by a new French operator, Compagnie Française de Croisières.
Celestyal Journey is a cruise ship completed in 1994 and initially sailed for Holland America Line as Ryndam. After nine years she was transferred within the Carnival group to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed Pacific Aria. Plans that she would sail for Cruise & Maritime Voyages as Ida Pfeiffer from 2021 were abandoned, and P&O sold her instead in 2020 to Seajets, who laid her up as Aegean Goddess. In 2023 she was resold to Celestyal Cruises and renamed Celestyal Journey. In December 2023, the Celestyal Journey was chartered by German-based cruise line, Phoenix Reisen. The ship was then used for the first section of the company's world voyage, which was originally intended for MS Amera, one of Phoenix Reisen's other ships, who was held up at the shipyard.
MS Holiday was a Holiday-class cruise ship, which was formerly owned by Carnival Cruise Line as the Holiday and Ibero Cruises as the Grand Holiday. She last sailed for Cruise & Maritime Voyages from Spring 2015 to 2020 as the Magellan until Cruise & Maritime Voyages ceased operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was then sold at auction and was scrapped at Alang, India in early 2021.
P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the freight transport company P&O and was founded in 1977. Along with P&O Cruises Australia, another former subsidiary of P&O, it has the oldest heritage of any cruise line in the world, dating to P&O's first passenger operations in 1837.
MV Columbus was a cruise ship. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar Fair Majesty. Originally ordered for Sitmar Cruises, with the merger of Sitmar Cruises into Princess, she first entered service with Princess Cruises as Star Princess in 1989. From 1997 to 2003, she served in the P&O Cruises fleet as MVArcadia. She was renamed Ocean Village in 2003 when the brand was established. Ocean Village was the sole cruise ship of the Ocean Village brand after the Ocean Village Two became the Pacific Jewel. In 2010 the Ocean Village brand ceased its operations and she was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed Pacific Pearl. She served in the P&O Cruises Australia fleet until 2017 when she was sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages and renamed MV Columbus. Following CMV entering administration in 2020, the Ship was auctioned by CW Kellock & Co. in London on 12 October 2020, for US$5,321,000 to Marios Iliopoulos of Seajets, and some months later resold to scrap in Eleusis Bay. In 2021 she was sold for scrap in Alang, India where she will be beached and dismantled.
MV Gemini is a cruise ship operated by Miray Cruises since 2019. She was built in 1992 by Unión Naval de Levante, Valencia, Spain for Crown Cruise Line as Crown Jewel. She has also sailed under the name Cunard Crown Jewel. She also operated as SuperStar Gemini for Star Cruises from 1995 to 2008.
Marella Cruises is a British cruise line operated by TUI UK, offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia.
MS Queen Elizabeth (QE) is a cruise ship of the Vista class operated by the Cunard Line. The design is modified compared to earlier ships of the same class, and slightly larger than Queen Victoria, at 92,000 GT. This is due to a more vertical stern, and additional cabins for single travelers. The bow of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria are both reinforced having thicker than the standard for hull plating, to handle North Atlantic weather. The ship is able to carry up to 2,092 passengers.
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with operational headquarters as part of Carnival Australia, based in Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia.
MS Cunard Princess was a cruise ship, previously owned an operated by the Israel-based Mano Maritime. She was built 1975 by the Burmeister & Wain shipyard in Copenhagen, Denmark for Cunard Line as MS Cunard Conquest, but her interior fittings were subsequently installed at the Navali Mechaniche Affini in La Spezia, Italy. Following re-delivery from Navali Mechaniche Affini in 1977 the ship was renamed MS Cunard Princess. In 1995, the ship entered service with StarLauro Cruises, briefly retaining her previous name before being renamed MS Rhapsody. In 2009 she was sold to Mano Maritime and sailed as Golden Iris until 2018. After being laid up for four years at Chalkis Shipyard, Greece. In 2021 was she renamed Gold Club. She was beached at Aliağa, Turkey, for recycling.
MV Astoria is a ship that was constructed as the transatlantic ocean liner Stockholm for Swedish American Line, and rebuilt as a cruise ship in 1993. Ordered in 1944, and commenced service in 1948, at 76 years old, she is the oldest deep water passenger liner still around in a non retired status. As Stockholm, she was best known for an accidental collision with Andrea Doria in July 1956, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship and 46 fatalities off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States.
Ibero Cruises was a British-American and Spanish owned cruise line based in Madrid, Spain. The cruise line was aimed at the Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets. Iberocruceros operated voyages from Europe, the Mediterranean, and South America.
MS Astor was a cruise ship that most recently sailed for Cruise & Maritime Voyages' Transocean Cruises subsidiary, under which she operated voyages to Europe, South Africa, and Australia.
Transocean Tours was a German cruise line that operated ocean-going cruise ships in the German and British markets and river cruise ships in Germany. The company was formed in 1954 and first began operating cruises in 1972, using ships chartered from the Soviet Union-based Baltic Shipping Company.
MV Cunard Adventurer was a cruise ship built for the Cunard Line and operated from 1971 to 1977. She was the first of the company's vessels in the 20th century to bear a name that did not end in "ia" or begin with "Queen."
Saga Shipping, also known as Saga Cruises, a division of the Saga plc, is a cruise line headquartered in Folkestone, England. Saga Cruises exclusively markets to and operates for people aged 50 and over.
The Celebration was a cruise ship originally built for Carnival Cruise Line. She was the last of three ships to be built in Carnival's Holiday Class of cruise ships. She last sailed for Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line between 2015 and 2020.
Ambassador Cruise Line is a British cruise line headquartered in Purfleet, England. The company launched and announced the purchase of its flagship Ambience in May 2021 and commenced sales to the public in the following month.
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Years indicate year of entry into service with Cruise & Maritime Voyages | ||