Portuscale Cruises

Last updated
Portuscale Cruises
TypeCruising
Industry Cruise line
Founded2013
Defunct2021
Headquarters,
Area served
Europe
ServicesCruises
OwnerRui Alegre
Website Portuscale Cruises

Portuscale Cruises was a Portuguese shipping company. It was the first Portuguese company specifically dedicated to maritime cruises.

Contents

Portuscale Cruises spent 20 million euros in the refurbishment of its fleet of four cruise ships, bought from defunct Classic International Cruises in early 2013. [1]

As of 2014, the Funchal was in active service, the Azores was under charter to CMV, the Lisboa was under refit due to technicalities with the vessel, but was sold to an unknown Italian buyer and shortly after beached at Alang, India for scrap.

As of late 2016, Portuscale Cruises had gone charter, leaving the cruise market operated under its own brand.

Funchal was laid up at Matinha, with the Portuscale logos on the funnel painted over until 2021, when was transferred to docks nearby for a hotel conversion.

The only ship remained in service was the Azores , which was under charter to CMV, it was renamed her Astoria. From May 2016, until March 2017, the ship was on charter to French tour operator Rivages du Monde. In June 2016, was announced Astoria to leave the CMV fleet after her final cruise on 27 April 2017, when she was re-chartered again to Rivages du Monde until December 2017. She stayed Laid at Tilbury, UK and Rotterdam, Netherlands, after a mislead transfer and was sold to Brock Pierce.

Funchal & Astoria Port Hotel Amenities

Since 2021, Brock Pierce and eleven other investors bought the 60-year-old ship Funchal , laid up in Lisbon for 8 years, intending to spend at least US$ 12 million refurbishing at Docas Rocha into a 5-star hotel. Another ship, Astoria , built in 1948, was bought in Rotterdam and is to be transferred to Lisbon for refurbishing and naval certificates and after travelling to Funchal, Madeira Islands. Both Ships are together a marina for mega yachts in Cais da Matinha, an Investment of more than US$ 100 millions. [2]

Former Fleet

ShipBuiltTonnageStatus as of 2018Image
Azores 194810,603  GRT Originally, the Swedish ocean liner MS Stockholm, rebuilt 1994, charterted briefly by Phoenix Reisen in 2009. Transferred from Classic International Cruises, where she was the Athena. Long-term service for Cruise & Maritime Voyages, sold to Lisbon Cruise ship Azores (2).jpg
Funchal 19619,563  GRT Formerly a Portuguese passenger liner and presidential yacht. Transferred from Classic International Cruises. Laid-Up until 2021, 5 Stars Hotel since 2022 Funchal Goteborg 01.jpg
Lisboa 195516,335  GRT Rebuilt 1972. Transferred from Classic International Cruises, where she was the Princess Danae, Sold for scrap in 2015. "Lisboa" & "Porto" - Lisbon, 2014.jpg
Porto 19655,888  GRT Originally, the Yugoslavian passenger ship MS Istra. Transferred from Classic International Cruises, where she was the Arion. Scrapped in 2018 Funchal and Porto docked in Cais da Matinha (Porto).JPG

Related Research Articles

Astoria is a placename, ultimately named for businessman John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), in the 1840s the wealthiest person in the United States and, as a hotel name, his great-grandson William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919).

Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States.

<i>Vasco da Gama</i> (ship)

Vasco da Gama is a cruise ship owned by Portuguese company Mystic Invest. 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.

<i>Ocean Countess</i>

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.

MS <i>Holiday</i>

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.

<i>Pacific Dawn</i> Cruise ship

MS Ambience is a cruise ship owned by Ambassador Cruise Line. Ordered by Sitmar Cruises, she was delivered to Princess Cruises in 1991 by the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy as Regal Princess and sailed on their North American routes. After 2000 she was deployed on the company's Australian trades, then later in the Mediterranean and the Baltic seas.

MV <i>Discovery</i>

MV Discovery was a cruise ship, which was formerly operated by Voyages of Discovery and was last in service for Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

MV <i>Columbus</i> Cruise ship

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 Eleusus Bay. In 2021 she was sold for scrap in Alang, India where she will be beached and dismantled.

P&O Cruises Australia

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.

MV <i>Funchal</i>

MV Funchal is a Portuguese ocean liner owned by Butch Kemper and Brock Pierce as a floating Hotel.

MV <i>Astoria</i> Cruise ship

MV Astoria is a ship that was constructed as the transatlantic liner MS Stockholm for Swedish American Line, and rebuilt as a cruise ship in 1993. Ordered in 1944, and commenced service in 1948, at 73 years old, she was the oldest passenger liner still sailing in deep water routes. 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.

<i>Holiday</i>-class cruise ship

The Holiday class was the first class of newbuilds for Carnival Cruise Line after their first newbuild, Tropicale, which was completed in 1982. The first ship in the class, the 46,052 gross-ton vessel Holiday, was completed in 1985. A second and slightly larger sister ship, Jubilee, was built in 1986 at 47,262 gross tons. The third and final ship, Celebration, was identical to Jubilee and completed in 1987. All were the biggest ships for Carnival until the Fantasy class was built.

MS <i>Astor</i>

MS Astor was a cruise ship that most recently sailed for Cruise & Maritime Voyages' Transocean Tours 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 <i>Porto</i>

The MV Porto was a Portuguese-owned cruise ship. She had operated by Portuscale Cruises until sold for scrap in 2017.

<i>Silver Spirit</i> (ship) Luxury cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises

Silver Spirit is a luxury cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises, a privately owned luxury cruise line. The sixth ship of the Silversea fleet, she entered service in 2009.

Sitmar Cruises

Sitmar Cruises and its predecessor Sitmar Line were company names derived from the acronym for the Societa Italiana Trasporti Marittimi. SITMAR originally was an Italian shipping line founded by Russian émigré Alexandre Vlasov, however the company's headquarters were later transferred to Monaco. Vlasov initially operated cargo services from 1937, gradually replacing these with passenger services from 1947 until 1988, when SITMAR was sold to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). After the sale, most of the former SITMAR ships were transferred to the fleet of P&O subsidiary Princess Cruises, while one, TSS Fairstar, became the sole vessel of the newly created P&O-Sitmar Cruises. As of July 2018, one briefly named former SITMAR ship was still operational, as Cruise & Maritime Voyages's Columbus. However, two other vessels originally ordered by SITMAR but delivered to P&O also currently operate from Australia, as Pacific Jewel and Pacific Dawn.

Classic International Cruises was a British-Australian owned shipping company operating five luxury cruise ships, most notably their flagship, the rebuilt ocean liner MS Athena. The company only operated cruise ships that are former ocean liners, the classic ships of their day.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) was a British passenger shipping company headquartered in Essex, United Kingdom. The company ceased operations in 2020 and entered administration.

References