Variety Cruises

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Variety Cruises
Company type Private cruises
Industry Cruises
Founded2006
FounderLakis Venetopoulos
Headquarters Athens, Greece.
Area served
Greece, Turkey, The Adriatic Sea, North Sea, Costa Rica & Panama, Cuba, the Canary Islands, Seychelles, Costa Rica & Panama, and Cape Verde
Key people
Lakis Venetopoulos, CEO, Chairman and President
Dimitris Vassilakis, COO
Services Cruises
Website www.varietycruises.com
Variety Voyager Variety Voyager at Quay 8 in Port of Tallinn 15 May 2018.jpg
Variety Voyager

Variety Cruises is a private yacht cruise line based in Athens, Greece. It owns and operates a number of small cruise ships and yachts. The company was founded in 2006 by Lakis Venetopoulos. [1]

Contents

History

Variety Cruises was established in 2006 following the merge of Zeus Tours & Yacht Cruises, a third generation cruise and tourism business operating since 1949, and Hellas Yachts, which started operating small ships cruises in 1993. The company’s history dates back to 1949 when the original founder of Zeus Cruises built the company’s first ship Eleutherios in order to fill a need for educational travel in Greece. [2]

In 2013, the company founded a school project in The Gambia entitled The Lamin Koto School Project [3]

Company

The company has established itself as one of the pioneers in theme cruises including gay and lesbian-themed cruises. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Destinations

The cruise lines' first destination was Greece, but since the company's expansion a number of destinations include the Adriatic Sea, Costa Rica & Panama, Cuba, [8] the Canary Islands, Seychelles, and Cape Verde. [9] The company's West Africa destination was featured by CNN for their Rivers of West Africa program. [10]

Fleet

Variety Cruises runs a fleet of eight small cruise ships, in addition to owning and renting a fleet of 4 private yachts. The company's flagship is the Variety Voyager, followed by the Galileo, the Panorama, Panorama II, the Harmony V, the Harmony G, the Pegasos, and the Callisto. [11] The company also owns a fleet of smaller yachts solely available for charter including the Obsession, the Absolute King, Christiane, and the Monte Carlo.

NameBuiltBuilder Gross Tonnage FlagLengthDraftPax Capacity
To Callisto1963KREMER WERFT - ELMSHORN499 tonsFlag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg  Saint Kitts and Nevis 49 m.3,5 m.34 guests
Harmony V1985DENTAS SHIPBUILDING & REPAIR693 tonsFlag of Greece.svg  Greece 55 m.3 m.49 guests
Pegasos1989GLYNOS ATHENS773 tonsFlag of Greece.svg  Greece 44 m.3 m.44 guests
Pan Orama1991KASTRINOS674 tonsFlag of Greece.svg  Greece 53 m.5,5 m.49 guests
Galileo1995FRATZIS SHIPYARD564 tonsFlag of Greece.svg  Greece 48 m.2,8 m.49 guests
Harmony G2001SAVVAS SHIPYARD498 tonsFlag of Greece.svg  Greece 54 m.3,7 m.44 guests
Pan Orama II2004KOUTALIS & KOSTERGIAS SHIPYARD498 tonsFlag of Greece.svg  Greece 49 m.4,5 m.49 guests
Variety Voyager2012PSARROS SHIPYARD1,593 tonsFlag of the Marshall Islands.svg  Marshall Islands 66 m.3,5 m.72 guests

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References

  1. ↑ Tagliabue, John (27 May 1997). "Rough Going for Greek Merchant Fleet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Variety Cruises' CEO Fillipos Venetopoulos has a big vision for small ships". seatrade-cruise.com. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Media Center". Varietycruises.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Top 10 Cruise Lines for Gay and Lesbian Travelers - Cruise Critic". Cruisecritic.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Variety Cruises Announces Gay Cruise in Greece Benefitting the Trevor Project - Frontiers Media". Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Variety Cruises courts gay community, yoga enthusiasts: Travel Weekly". Travelweekly.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Variety Cruises expands gay voyages for 2013". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Cuba on a Small Ship - Panorama Review - Cruise Critic". Cruisecritic.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Our Destinations". Varietycruises.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "West africa the variety cruises way". CNN iReport. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Media Center". Varietycruises.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
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