cmv cruises

Farewell, CMV – the small British cruise line that offered a bargain way to sail

• by Dave Monk
• Posted on July 15, 2020 July 21, 2020

Flagship: Columbus (Picture: CMV)

The six-ship line, which was due to expand by two more next year, was known for its ‘buy one, get one free’ offers, cheap short cruises and other discounts. It employed nearly 4,000 seafarers and shore-side staff and was due to carry almost 200,000 passengers in 2021.

But the coronavirus pandemic was a fatal blow to the line that sold low and sailed full.

CMV operated a fleet of veteran vessels – owned by Global Cruise Lines – which included the 74-year-old Astoria and Marco Polo, built in 1966, as well as Magellan, Astor and Columbus from the Eighties and the relatively new Vasco da Gama from 1993.

Due to join in 2021 were Amy Johnson and Ida Pfeiffer, the new names for two ships bought from P&O Australia.

All the vessels, with the exception of Astoria – which was due to leave the fleet – were scheduled to join a special parade and regatta in Rotterdam on August 28, 2021.

Favourite: Magellan was one of the loved ships in the fleet (Picture: CMV)

CMV hit the headlines recently when four of its ships, docked at the home port of Tilbury, and Marco Polo at Bristol were detained by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency over breaches of the Maritime Labour Convention. The company said the problems arose from the challenge of repatriating crew during the worldwide Covid-19 lockdown.

As with many lines, the company had its loyal repeat cruisers who enjoyed the traditional service and old-school ships, and were prepared to overlook the sometimes dated fittings and furnishings that survived major overhauls.

The line delighted in providing themed cruises featuring topics such as Eighties tribute bands, TV game show hosts or cricketers.

But it was the bargains that kept passengers coming back, with cruises often under £60 per person per night. A 120-night world cruise in January 2021 was originally offered at fares under £9,000.

Newcomer: Amy Johnson was due to join the fleet next year (Picture: CMV)

CMV offered no-frills, great value-for-money cruises. But in the end the deals couldn’t sustain the cost of keeping up six ageing ships during a pandemic.

Administrators Duff & Phelps tonight announced that CMV had ‘ceased trading with immediate effect and its international sales offices in Australia, France, the United States and TransOcean Kreuzfahrten in Germany have also ceased trading’.

It added: ‘Administration is likely to result in the redundancy of the UK employees and an uncertain future for those employees in the wider group.’

Paul Williams, joint administrator, said: ‘The travel, tourism and wider hospitality industry has been engulfed with a devastating and unprecedented global pandemic of seismic proportions impacting very hard on CMV’s once thriving cruise business compounded by last week’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office advisory against cruise travel.’

Memories: The pool deck on Columbus (Picture: Dave Monk)

The suspension of CMV’s worldwide cruise programme on March 13 had affected more than 50,000 British and international passengers, he added.

CMV chief executive Christian Verhounig said the line had a record trading year in 2019, but added: ‘The CMV journey has tragically been cut short by this unprecedented global pandemic. We could just not get the financing deal over the line in time to save this wonderful business.

‘We are truly sorry to our loyal and hard-working shore-side staff and seafarers, travel trade partners and suppliers who have all patiently stood by us, and to our valued passengers for the disappointment and further disruption to their cruising holiday plans.

‘On behalf of the CMV family, directors and shareholders, I would like to thank everyone for their great support and sincerely apologise for these circumstances which are directly related to Covid-19 and beyond our control.’

Details on how affected customers can make a claim can be found on the Cruise & Maritime Voyages website .  

CMV celebrates launch of Columbus

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11 thoughts on “ farewell, cmv – the small british cruise line that offered a bargain way to sail ”.

I am heartbroken. This company has made cruising affordable.

Just so sad that this has happened. The crew and employees worked tirelessly to make our cruising a pleasure and I feel devastated for the loss of jobs. It was like being part of a family.

I loved the fact that they kept older, smaller ships alive. I shudder to think of the fate of Marco Polo, Astoria and other classics that may likely end up being broken up for scrap! Farewell to a great line. R

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• Pingback: As former CMV boss buys some of its assets, could the Essex-based cruise line be on the brink of a comeback? | Shipmonk

CMV. Not only offered great value for money, they actually operated ships that looked and felt like ships. Also, their ‘adults only’ policy was a great attraction. I hope all of the employees return home OK, and manage to find alternative employment. They worked so hard to make the cruises a success.

As someone who hate large crowd I really enjoy the smaller ship as not only did the staff make the cruises a delight but the passenger so frie rojomikendly. I shall miss magellan

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• Pingback: A new Ambience – start-up British cruise line called Ambassador aims to fill the gap left by CMV with its first ship sailing in 2022 | Shipmonk

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The only cruise blog for the Middle East and South Africa

CMV to be reborn as Ambassador Cruise Line in 2022 with former Satoshi crypto ship

Ambassador Cruise Line is set to be the UK’s first new cruise line in over a decade when it launches in 2022, operating the former Pacific Dawn, which was most recently intended to become the crypto cruise ship Satoshi.

Ambassador Cruise Line is remarkably similar to Cruise & Maritime Voyages , the popular boutique British cruise line that was f orced into bankruptcy last year by the COVID-19 pandemic .

The new cruise line will be based at Tilbury, London, just as CMV was

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It should be noted, however, that Ambassador Cruise Line will not have any official affiliation with CMV.

Its leadership have not made any explicit link between the new cruise line and CMV, unlike Cordelia Cruises in India, which has positioned itself as a continuation of Jalesh Cruises , another line forced into bankruptcy by the pandemic.

Most of the executive board of Ambassador Cruise Line are former Cruise & Maritime Voyages executives, the cruise line will operate from Tilbury, London, just as CMV did, it will target the over 50 cruise market in the UK, just as CMV did, and will focus on providing cruises from the UK itself, rather than fly-cruise packages (again, just like CMV did).

Ambassador Cruise Line’s management team includes CEO Christian Verhounig, Chief Commercial Officer Christopher Coates, Chief Information Officer Gary Hides and Chief Financial Officer Simon Weeks.

All four executives previously worked together at CMV , and the cruise line’s first ship, Ambiance, is the former Pacific Dawn of P&O Australia, which was meant to be sold to CMV last year before the pandemic upended those plans.

Ambassador Cruise Line will operate one ship initially, Ambiance, the former Pacific Dawn

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When CMV was no longer able to purchase the vessel, it was acquired by Ocean Builder and marketed as the world’s first crypto cruise ship, where passengers would be able to use crypto-currencies, such as Bitcoin, to pay for voyages and services.

Those plans fell through when Ocean Builder was unable to secure insurance for the vessel and its crew, which prevented the ship being able to obtain flag registry.

Ambassador Cruise Line plans to begin operating cruises from Tilbury, London by April next year, initially offering short cruises to European ports such as Hamburg, before operating longer voyages.

The cruise line plans to sail 33 cruises, calling at 88 ports across the Baltics, Greenland, the Arctic and Iceland, during its first full year of operations.

While other British cruise lines typically reposition their fleet to the Caribbean, Middle East or Mediterranean in the winter, Ambassador plans to offer “expedition-style voyages” to the Canaries, Cuba, the Caribbean, Cape Verde and Scandinavia.

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Tagged as: Ambassador Cruise Line , Ambiance , CMV , Cruise & Maritime Voyages , UK

Published by Shaun Ebelthite

Founder and editor of Cruise Arabia & Africa. I try to create the best news and information specifically for cruise passengers taking cruises to and from Dubai (where I live) and South Africa (where I was born). You can contact me at shaun(at)cruisearabiaonline.com. View all posts by Shaun Ebelthite

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Ex-CMV chief sets sail with takeover of stricken cruise assets

The former boss of Cruise & Maritime Voyages is buying some of its assets weeks after its collapse, Sky News learns.

City editor @MarkKleinmanSky

Thursday 27 August 2020 21:25, UK

The former boss of one of Britain's best-known cruise operators has snapped up its customer database and booking systems in a bid to relaunch it weeks after the company collapsed with the loss of thousands of jobs.

Sky News has learnt that a number of assets belonging to Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), which appointed administrators last month, have been sold to a new vehicle established by Christian Verhounig, its former chief executive.

The deal is expected to be announced on Friday.

Sources said that Duff & Phelps, the administrator, had sought to sell the business and wider assets of CMV and a number of sister companies but that this had proved impossible in an industry decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major cruise operators have been forced to defer the resumption of operations amid ongoing travel restrictions and weakened consumer confidence.

Carnival Corporation, which is one of the industry's largest players, has raised billions of dollars of additional liquidity to help it survive the pandemic.

Virgin Voyages, which is backed by Sir Richard Branson, has also been forced to delay the launch of its services.

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CMV's administration did not include its fleet of ships, which included the Marco Polo and Columbus.

Paul Williams, joint administrator at Duff & Phelps, said: "We have worked hard since being appointed to secure a sale of the business and assets of the companies.

"Regrettably, given the devastating impact of the global pandemic on the entire travel industry, with a focus on the leisure cruise sector, this has not been possible in this instance.

"However, I strongly believe that this asset sale not only represents the best value for the companies' creditors that was achievable in challenging market conditions, but also provides an opportunity for CVI, through its owner Christian Verhounig, to continue to pursue funding opportunities to potentially relaunch CMV's unique cruise operations to its dedicated customers at some point in the future."

CMV found itself at the centre of a repatriation row involving hundreds of crew prior to its collapse, when it sought capital from potential investors to stay afloat.

In total, the company employed about 4000 people - most of them on board its ships.

Five of its fleet had been detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) last month following complaints about late pay and expired contracts.

Some crew members from India and other countries in Asia had been on-board for more than the legal limit of 11 months, but were unable to fly home because of international travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 crisis.

In February, Carnival's Diamond Princess ship became the epicentre of fears about the cruise industry's ability to safely navigate the crisis, with 13 of its passengers dying after contracting COVID-19.

Mr Verhounig said: "The global pandemic had a devastating impact on CMV's once flourishing, expanding and profitable business.

"Having developed a much-loved brand over the past decade and hugely popular value-based niche no-fly cruise product, we have been simply overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and pleased to re-launch the business."

"This endorsement across the industry and customer base alike has been a rich source of encouragement and together with my previous management team, we are working hard to plug the huge market gap vacated by CMV's untimely insolvency."

"The acquisition of the UK commercial assets provides a positive first step and we believe demonstrates our firm commitment and optimism to return much stronger and to work alongside our loyal suppliers and creditors to also help mitigate the pandemic impact," he said.

CMV customers whose bookings were cancelled as a result of the company's administration would have to continue to seek compensation through the existing claims process, a source said.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages: What sank the British cruise line?

CMV went from a record trading year to collapse in seven months

I t seems a lifetime ago now, but it was only last November when fireworks lit up the skies above Tilbury in celebration of Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ successful first decade of operation. Jump to July – this week the operator was placed into administratio n.

A few months before the party, the British cruise line had welcomed the latest addition to its burgeoning fleet with its sixth and most stylish ship, Vasco da Gama, which was proudly showcased to invited VIPs at the Essex port.

Buoyed by enduring growth and rising demand for its smaller ships and competitive prices – for which CMV was renowned – chief executive Christian Verhounig was in bullish form, hinting that more new arrivals would soon follow.

Sure enough, before 2019 drew to a close, the line revealed it had acquired two ships from P&O Australia, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria, which would be renamed Amy Johnson and Ida Pfeiffer respectively upon joining CMV in 2021.

The announcement set the seal on a record year for the Purfleet-based company as it celebrated strong sales with 90 per cent of 2020 cruises already booked and nearly half of 2021 sailings sold too.

As far as the future was concerned, it was full steam ahead for this classic line which prided itself on offering the cosy essence of traditional British cruising.

Admittedly, CMV was something of a minnow compared to the corporate industry giants that dominate the mass market and while it lacked their shiny new ships and sophisticated cache, no one could argue with the good value and congenial style of cruising this independent company offered.

It wasn’t quite 'pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap', but CMV’s two-for-one deals and cut-price offerings with mini-cruises to Amsterdam costing as little as £129pp, found favour with the bargain-hungry brigade.

The company built up a strong following in Essex, partially due to the convenience of its main departure point at Tilbury, but in recent years its more intimate ships increasingly attracted passengers deterred by the ever-larger vessels of other lines such as P&O Cruises.

CMV’s most enduring ship was the 800-passenger Marco Polo, which started life in 1965 during the depths of the Cold War as the Russian-owned Alexandr Pushkin, and despite its rather dated design, still commanded its own loyal clientele.

But each new ship (all of which acquired from other cruise lines), and particularly 1,250-passenger Magellan, 1,400-passenger flagship Columbus and 1,220-passenger Vasco da Gama effectively raised the bar, elevating CMV’s cruise offering with impressive restaurants and stylish surroundings. 

As CMV’s fleet grew, so did its ambitions at home and abroad. The range of UK departure points spiralled to around 12 including Liverpool, Bristol and various Scottish ports, while its roll-call of destinations became global as the Americas, Asia and Australasia increasingly featured in itineraries.

Theme cruises focusing on cricket, with former England stars Mike Gatting and David Gower; TV comedy greats with Only Fools and Horses duo John Challis and Sue Holderness (Boycie and Marlene) among others and Seventies music tribute acts were ideally suited to CMV’s target market.

The line successfully carved out its own niche and was confidently cresting a wave of growth with five new ships in as many years.

Yet this was no protection against the Covid-19 pandemic and CMV, like other lines, was forced to cancel its cruise programme from March onwards, but planned to resume operations on August 25.

The company also faced the added expense of repatriating customers and crew and its difficulties in getting crew home hit the headlines last month when five CMV ships were detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency over welfare concerns as coronavirus travel restrictions had left crew members marooned on the ships.

Around this time, reports surfaced that the line was in a race against time for a financial lifeline after a refinancing deal fell apart, but CMV chiefs were hopeful other lenders would ride to the rescue.

But as the July 31 deadline for refund payments to customers loomed, time ran out and company executives were forced to throw in the towel.

Speculation that the company’s acquisition of two new ships had left it exposed appear to be unfounded as the financing had yet to be finalised.

“It was such a close-run thing,” said one source. “Having sold 90 per cent of cruises for 2020, this was totally eroded by Covid-19 and meant a lot of people were owed refunds, though many had also chosen to rebook for 2021.

“Now CMV has gone and there’s a sudden realisation for a lot of people that there’s no one to replace them.

“It’s the latest in a number of British cruise lines to have disappeared and leaves a huge gap in the market because no one else is offering what they did.”

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Cruise & Maritime Voyages goes into administration

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) has entered administration after failing to secure additional funding.

The Essex-based cruise line has ceased trading with immediate effect, as has its international sales offices in Australia, France, the United States and Germany, it has been confirmed.

CMV originally announced as suspension of sailings as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19 pandemic) back in March.

The line operated six ocean ships and was planning for the arrival of its seventh, Amy Johnson , in 2021 .

In June, the line confirmed it was in talks with a range of parties in a bid to improve its liquidity position. At the time it said it was confident of reaching an agreement.

In a statement, chief executive Christian Verhounig said that the company had worked “tirelessly” to secure the necessary funding but despite a positive “forward booking position”, it could “not get the financing deal over the line”.

Verhounig added: “The directors have all worked tirelessly with CMV’s financial advisors, investment bankers, lawyers, and numerous private equity and hedge fund investors to try and secure the funding required to enable CMV to weather the storm.

“Only last year CMV was celebrating a record trading year and our first decade in cruising but the CMV journey has tragically been cut short by this unprecedented global pandemic.

“Prior to the onset of Covid-19, we had sold nearly 90 per cent of 2020 capacity and we had bullish prospects for the future having sold nearly 50 per cent of 2021 UK capacity.

“Despite this positive forward booking position, we could just not get the financing deal over the line in time to save this wonderful business.

“We are truly sorry to our loyal and hard-working shoreside staff and seafarers, travel trade partners and suppliers who have all patiently stood by us and to our valued passengers for the disappointment and further disruption to their cruising holiday plans.

“On behalf of the CMV family, directors and shareholders, I would like to thank everyone for their great support and sincerely apologise for these circumstances which are directly related to Covid-19 and beyond our control.”

Administrators Duff & Phelps have been appointed joint administrators of CMV and sister companies South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd, Independent Coach Travel (Wholesaling) Ltd and Viceroy Ltd.

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Marco Polo Review

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My husband and I have just returned from our 3rd cruise but first with the Cruise and Maritime (CMV). This was the Iceland and the Northern lights cruise also calling at Faroe and Orkney islands. We were on the Marco Polo in a superior outside cabin (477). The ship is old and tatty but small enough to feel friendly and in our opinion, more personal than the huge cruise ships. This was a cruise of 2 halves, great shore experiences vs fairly terrible on board experience ( some admittedly not CMV's fault). We hit some pretty awful weather ( force 9 gales I overheard ), which on a ship with people already sick ( more about that later ) was not pleasant but obviously no ones fault. Even hardened cruisers were saying they were the worse conditions they had ever experienced. The time spent on shore was wonderful. We went whale watching with CMV which was fantastic, We saw some subtle northern lights whilst on the ship but later did a CMV Northern lights boat trip which didn’t seem value for money as the boat just took us out a bit in the bay we were docked in and not to a proper dark sky area. We also did a fabulous golden circle tour not with CMV but with a company called ‘FAB tours which was really interesting and thoroughly enjoyable thanks to a superb tour guide (Ragnor) plus it was substantially cheaper than the CMV equivalent, Ragnor picked us up at Reykjavik port ( a short stroll from the ship) and there were only 4 of us in the mini bus so felt very personal. We were able to do extra little things like feeding the iceland ponies and did not feel at all rushed , we even had some time at the end so Ragnor took us to see the cathedral and the pearl in the city. Definately recommended. We hired a car on Orkney which was easy to arrange, Avis car hire place was next to where the shuttle bus dropped us in town. That enabled us to see everything we could in the limited time there without the usual ‘hearding' . However unfortunately our time on Orkney was cut short by 3 hours ( out of the planned 8 hours) because our ship was held in quarantine for 3 hours due to the diahorrea and vomiting bug which had plagued our ship for approx half of our cruise. We made the most of our time there but we’re really disappointed by the short amount of time we had there.

The bug meant that all public areas were closed apart from one restaurant ( the buffet was closed and cancelled to limit infection spreading) and the bars. This severely limited what we could do particularly on sea days. One main bar ( Scott’s bar) is available to sit in during the day but you cannot get a drink so you need to carry drinks up flights of stairs which is not safe , I suggested to reception that they consider opening it particularly in the circumstances However the receptionist just told me “ it’s not my decision" and refused to let me speak to his superior. Time to talk about ‘ the plague ‘ that struck the ship and its affect on our holiday. Passengers started suffering with diahorrea and vomiting approx 7 days into the cruise and it was spreading, of course these things happen on cruises, we all.understand that, however it is how it is dealt with and the treatment of the passengers that sorts the wheat from the chaff. Our experience of CMV is that they are definitely ‘ the chaff. Our cruise effectively ended with the outbreak and the remaining 5 days became an exercise in managing us with little regard to the fact that there were many trying to enjoy their holiday. The staff in general were friendly and helpful but even some of those were getting snappy and stretched towards the end of the Cruise. The management were nowhere to be seen.

By the last few days we had the impression we were now just an inconvenience to CMV who just wanted us to stay out of the way so they could clean all public areas ready for the next cruise. So for a large proportion of our cruise there was no gym, hot tub, pool, spa, burger bar, craft classes, shops, buffet restaurant, library or card room. There was no attempt to reopen anything after it had been cleaned ( presumably to save them cleaning again before the next cruise) and the whole atmosphere became very unpleasant. There was very little in the way of information from our Captain who just occasionally made a dour announcement giving us information about our whereabouts that was available on the tv channel anyway, he sounded bored and lacked any humour ( which could have been helpful given the circumstances). However he kept the ship safe which is his job. The worse thing in our opinion was that at no point was there any acknowledgement of the distress we were experiencing, it was quite bizarre. All we received was a letter through the door explaining that there was a virus on board. I was ill for 2 days and my husband and I basically had to fend for ourselves paying for room service as I wasn't ill enough to qualify for free room service ! The daily ‘ explorer’ paper was our main source of information and was quite useful thank goodness. There were a few shining lights within the staff, for us it was our extremely hard working cabin cleaner Min Zaw who frankly deserves a medal, Colin our waiter had a sense of humour and the drinks waiter Tun in the globe bar always had a smile and a laugh. The food was at best mediocre, on par with a 3 star all inclusive hotel but wine on the vip package was nice and plentiful. Unfortunately this whole experience has put us off cruising at least for the foreseeable future and we would certainly never use CMV again. I wrote to CMV but only received a standard letter which did not address any of my concerns and just quoted policy at me – no apology for the way things were handled. They offered us a discount on our ‘ next CMV ‘ cruise which did make us laugh. In summary it wasn't the fact we were unlucky enough to experience a bug on board a cruise ship but rather how it was handled by CMV. Our takeaway lesson from this is ‘ beware cruisers, one bug on board and your holiday is basically over ‘. We work too hard for our holidays so .... Never again !!!

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Ex-CMV team to launch UK-based Ambassador Cruise Line

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Former Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) bosses have reunited to launch Ambassador Cruise Line, a UK-based operator aimed at the over 50s market which plans to start sailing with one ship in April 2022.

Ambassador’s management team includes chief executive Christian Verhounig, chief commercial officer Christopher Coates, chief information officer Gary Hides and chief financial officer Simon Weeks, who have all previously worked together at CMV before the line entered administration last summer .

Ambassador will operate cruises on Ambience, formerly known as Pacific Dawn as a P&O Australia ship, which was set to become CMV’s flagship under the name Amy Johnson.

The 1,400-passenger ship’ maiden voyage will be a “short-break cruise” out of Tilbury to Hamburg, Germany, starting on April 6 next year.

The ship’s debut full-year programme, running from April 2022 until May 2023, will include 33 sailings, calling at 88 ports across the Baltics, Greenland, the Arctic and Iceland.

During the winter months, Ambassador plans to offer “expedition-style voyages” to the Canaries, Cuba, the Caribbean, Cape Verde and Scandinavia.

All passengers and crew will be required to be vaccinated for Covid-19 prior to departure, the line confirmed.

More :  Former Cruise & Maritime Voyages boss plots course for relaunch  [Aug 20]

Cruise & Maritime Voyages enters administration  [July 20]

Lead-in prices for a seven-night European cruise departing from Tilbury, where Ambience will be based, will be about £850.

The line’s no-fly voyages will be aimed at the over 50s market in the UK.

Verhounig told Travel Weekly : “[Ambience] is an authentic, classical vessel, something which we know that the market segment we’re selling to loves to go on.”

He said the new line’s trade sales team had started approaching agents with details of the debut programme, due to go on sale next month.

Ambassador plans to release a 68-page brochure alongside the programme in June.

The line is backed by London-based private equity firm Njord Partners LLP and is currently “debt free”, Verhounig said.

He also confirmed that every passenger who sails on Ambience would be financially protected through an independent trust account set up to hold customer monies.

Funds would only be released once the cruise departs. Customers’ monies and agent commissions will be refunded if a cruise is cancelled, Verhounig said.

Travel industry veteran Gordon Wilson, who was president and chief executive of Travelport until July 2019, has been appointed chairman of the line.

Gordon Wilson 

Wilson, who is a member of the board at BCD Holdings which owns global corporate travel management company BCD Travel, plans to create  “at least 100 jobs” from the UK and said a new cruise line would help “reboot the British cruise market and inject confidence into the sector”.

He added: “We are hugely excited to launch the first British cruise line in over a decade. Ambassador Cruise Line offers the best of British cruising. We’re a new company offering a distinctive product but maintaining traditional cruising values which we know are important to our guests.

“This is just the beginning. We have ambitious growth plans, and the travel industry is a crucial partner in this.

“We’re looking forward to working collaboratively with agents, partners and the shipping community. Investment on this scale, and the launch of such a significant business as we emerge from the pandemic will make a significant contribution to the local economy and travel industry, particularly as we look to fill at least 100 jobs from the UK.”

More :  Former Cruise & Maritime Voyages boss plots course for relaunch [Aug 20]

Cruise & Maritime Voyages enters administration [July 20]

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CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko

Former names: vasco da gama (cmv), pacific eden (p&o), ms statendam.

Cruise line Nicko Cruises (Mystic Cruises)

• Valletta (Malta)
• Bremerhaven (Bremen, Germany)

CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko current position

CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko current location is at West Mediterranean (coordinates 36.02986 N / -5.05936 W) cruising at speed of 18.5 kn (34 km/h | 21 mph) en route to ES MAH. The AIS position was reported 4 minutes ago.

Current itinerary of CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko

CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko current cruise is 14 days, one-way from Lisbon to Valletta . The itinerary starts on 05 May, 2024 and ends on 19 May, 2024 .

Specifications of CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko

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CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko Itineraries

Cmv vasco da gama-nicko review, review of cmv vasco da gama-nicko.

The 1993-built Vasco da Gama cruise ship was launched as "MS Statendam" (for Holland America Line ) and before CMV UK (Cruise and Maritime Voyages) was operated (as "Pacific Eden") by P&O Australia in the period 2015-2019. The sisterships are MS Ryndam (now Celestyal Journey) and Pacific Explorer (ex Dawn Princess) .

For CMV, the vessel (IMO 8919245) was Bahamas- flagged (MMSI number 234890000) and registered in Nassau . For Nicko Cruises ( fleet ), Vasco da Gama was reflagged to Portugal/Madeira (MMSI 255806445) and registered in Funchal Madeira .

Currently, the ship is owned by Mystic Invest (via the subsidiary Mystic Cruises ) and operated by Nicko Cruises ( fleet ) via Schiffsreisen GmbH.

History - construction and ownership

On March 7, 2018, the UK-based CMV announced the purchase of MS Pacific Eden from P&O Australia. The ship (renamed "Vasco da Gama") was operated by CMV via the subsidiary Transocean Tours (maiden voyage on April 23, 2019). The official christening ceremony was held in Port Bremerhaven Germany .

The vessel was CMV's largest. The name "MS Vasco da Gama" was announced on March 21, 2018. Among the proposed ship names were Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco da Gama, Pytheas, Henry Hudson. The short drydock refurbishment in Singapore (April 2019) included mainly livery change and rebranding. Then the boat was repositioned through Suez Canal for an Inaugural season in Northern Europe (May-October).

With its newest ship CMV targeted mainly the German and Australasian markets. During summer 2019 (May through October), the boat was operated by "TransOcean Kreuzfahrten" (CMV's German brand) and homeported in Bremerhaven and Kiel . During winter 2020 (December through March) the boat was operated by CMV and deployed in Australia (homeported in Fremantle-Perth and Adelaide ).

On July 20, 2020, the CMV's parent company SQTL (South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd) was placed into administration / filed for bankruptcy . The UK-based company traded as "Cruise and Maritime Voyages" (trademarked brand). In June, SQTL-CMV entered into emergency talks with potential investors and lenders. Unfortunately, the company's efforts to secure funding and stay afloat during the Coronavirus crisis failed.

All CMV ships were placed on the secondhand market and open for sale. In October was planned the vessels to be auctioned via the London UK-based company CW Kellock & Co Ltd (Ship Auctioneers, Brokers and Valuers). Biddings (deadline in brackets) opened for Vasco Da Gama (Oct 8), Columbus (Oct 12), Astor (Oct 15), Magellan (Oct 19) and Marco Polo (Oct 22).

• (October 8) The 27-year-old CMV Vasco Da Gama was sold to Mystic Invest Holding (Portugal) for USD 10,187 million.
• (October 12) The 31-year-old CMV Columbus was sold to Seajets Ferries Greece for USD 5,321 million.
• (October 15) The 33-year-old CMV Astor was sold to an undisclosed buyer (sales price USD 1,71 million) who intends to resell it for scrap metal.
• (October 19) The 35-year-old CMV Magellan was sold to Seajets Ferries Greece for USD 3,431 million.
• (October 22) The 55-year-old CMV Marco Polo was sold to an undisclosed buyer/private investors (sales price USD 2,77 million) who first offered the vessel for charter (cruiser or hotel ship) but in December sold it for scrap metal to Alang Shipbreaking India .

On November 21, 2020, CMV Vasco da Gama left London-Tilbury en route to Lisbon Portugal , where arrived and docked on November 25. In December-January, the ship remained docked at Port Setubal (Trem Naval docks).

In mid-January 2021, Vasco da Gama's new shipowner announced that the vessel will remain operational (used for passenger shipping under Mystic's brand "Nicko Cruises") to serve predominantly the British and German source markets.

Nicko's Vasco da Gama cruises were open for booking in January 2021.

Decks and Cabins

Vasco da Gama staterooms (a total of 630) are well-appointed, spacious and in 21 cabin categories - graded according to deck position and size. Cabin sizes range from 175 ft2 (16 m2) for a Standard Inside up to 1095 ft2 (102 m2) for a Royal Penthouse Suite. Staterooms' average size is 200 ft2 (19 m2).

The cruise ship has 120x Balcony Cabins (categories Superior and Premium) as well as 29x Deluxe Balcony Suites (including 1x Royal Penthouse). The majority of twin-bedded staterooms convert to double-bed cabins. A limited number of cabins (category 10) are with interconnecting doors and are suitable for families and groups, providing sleeping capacity for up to 7 people.

All passenger staterooms are air-conditioned and equipped with smart HDTV, radio, direct-dial phone, electronic safe box (in the closet), en-suite bathrooms.

The boat has 13 decks , of which 11 are passenger-accessible and 5 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Vasco da Gama has three MDRs/Main Dining Rooms - Waterfront Fusion/Eurasia, Waterfront Mediterranean, and Waterfront Restaurant. Onboard dining is flexible (without fixed sittings) allowing passengers to dine where and when they want. All meals are included in the cruise fare - breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, 5-course dinner, even late-night snacks.

The ship also has two specialty restaurants (at a fee per person) - Chef's Table, and The Grill. Another option is the casual Club Bistro (complimentary Lido Buffet restaurant).

Main courses range from seafood, rack of lamb, escalope of veal, beef medallions, chicken chasseur, Asian stir-fries, Italian pasta, traditional roasts - all available for guests to savor. Vegetarian meals are available to tantalize taste buds, featured on every menu together with health-conscious dishes. Light salads to refresh are offered before you finish meals - fresh fruits, international cheese platter, delicious desserts. Red and white wines are served with the meals at extra cost. In all bars is offered draught beer.

The Wine Bar (Cellar Door) is a boutique winery with a large selection of wines. Cellar Door offers daily wine tastings and classes, and premium wines available for purchasing and pre-ordering for dinner.

Follows the complete list of Vasco da Gama restaurants and food bars.

• MDRs (Waterfront Eurasia, Waterfront Mediterranean, and Waterfront Restaurant). The Waterfront Restaurant is the main dining room which operates with open-seating and a la carte menus (Your Choice Dining) for breakfast and lunch and offers a 4-course dinner menu. Part of the Waterfront Restaurant is the Wine Room. It serves the CMV's "Chef's Table" dinner package.
• Club Bistro (buffet).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

The 3-deck Atrium is the ship's focal point houseing the Reception Desk, Shore Excursions Office, Cruise management Office, Shopping Galleria (duty-free shops and boutiques), Photo Gallery. Elsewhere onboard, guests will find a Casino/Sports Lounge, Auditorium/Cinema, Card Room, two Conference Rooms, Library, Neptune's Lounge (former Life Photo Studio), Gelato's (ice cream bar), Cappuccino's (specialty coffee shop).

At Hollywood's (2-tiered show lounge) guests may enjoy "big show" entertainment from the resident singers and dancers or one of the special guest acts.

The Dome, with its panoramic seascapes, is a relaxing venue to watch the sea or chat with fellow passengers. In the evenings, The Dome turns into a disco nightclub.

The Blue Room is the perfect venue to enjoy live musical entertainment.

In December 2022, Nicko Cruises officially inaugurated Neptune’s Lounge (deck 10 midship) replacing the old Life Photo Studio. The bar lounge is an indoor venue (positioned in the area between the Balcony Suites) and is exclusive, allowing access to Suite passengers only. The new venue has a large TV and offers a wide range of complimentary beverages (soft drinks, fresh juices, wine by the glass, brand teas and coffees), light snacks and gourmet delicacies (all at no cost for the Suite occupants) like fresh-baked croissants, sandwiches, desserts, fruits. Newspapers and magazines are also provided.

Vasco da Gama features extensive sundeck areas along with starboard and portside Promenades (wraparound). There are two swimming pools (Oasis Pool for adults/Deck 10, and Main Pool/Deck 11), with the Main Pool covered by a retractable glass roof. The spacious sundeck on Deck 11 features a large swimming pool, 1 Jacuzzi/whirlpool, 2 hot tubs, Giant Chessboard, tennis tables, sunbathing areas fitted with padded chaise lounges, deckchairs, daybeds. This is also the place for the open-air deck parties held in the evenings.

Two sports courts (Tennis and Basketball) are also available. The well-appointed Wellness Center includes modern Gym and Spa facilities, Barger Shop, Hair and Beauty Salon, Aerobics Studio (for classes), Day Spa (massage rooms), Thermal Suites (saunas, aromatic steam rooms, Jacuzzi, heated benches, changing rooms, warm air room, monsoon rain showers).

Onboard entertainment program is based on live shows (at the Theater), guest speakers and entertainers (magicians, stand-up comedians, musicians), arts-craft specialists, trivia games. A photographic expert assists passengers in improving their photo-video skills. Evening entertainment consists of stylish grand-scale productions, cabarets, classical concerts, guest acts. During sea days, the ship's entertainment team arranges activities like morning quizzes or afternoon dance classes.

Children under 16 years old travel for free when are accommodated in additional beds (upper bunk/Pullman bed of sofabed) and accompanied by two full-paying adults. A 50% discount is offered for children (under 16) traveling with one full-paying adult.

Single supplement (for a two-bed cabin booked with single occupancy/categories 15 and 16) is 15%.

Nicko Itineraries

For Mystic Invest, the 2020-acquired cruise ship is operated by the Holding's German subsidiary and travel brand Nicko Cruises.

Nicko's Vasco Da Gama inaugural cruise season 2021-2022 (September 2021 through October 2022) included a total of 32 departure dates and 17 different itineraries. Signature destinations included Northern Europe/Baltic, Mediterranean, Western Europe/Atlantic Coast, Canary Islands (Spain), Madeira and Azores Islands (Portugal), North Africa (Morocco), Cape Verde Islands.

Vasco da Gama's first Around the World Voyage for Nicko was a roundtrip from Lisbon . The 181-day global itinerary (October 10, 2023, through April 8, 2024) visited destinations in Africa (Morocco, Cape Verde, St Helena UK, Namibia, South Africa), the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, India, Sri Lanka), East Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Philippines), the South Pacific Ocean (Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Cook Islands NZ, French Polynesia), as well as ports in Central America/Caribbean. You can see the itinerary in the ship's Wiki section .

CMV Itineraries

CMV Vasco da Gama cruise itinerary program started with the "inaugural cruise" from Singapore to Amsterdam Holland (April 23, 2019). The 46-day repositioning (via Suez Canal ) visited ports in Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Oman, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Italy, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal. The repositioning cruise was also offered as a 45-day itinerary to Tilbury-London UK .

From Amsterdam and London, the new CMV ship offered a World Cruise (through Panama Canal ) to ports in the Caribbean, Mexico, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. On October 9, 2019, from London-Tilbury started the 53-day southbound repositioning cruise to Sydney NSW (arriving December 1). In Australia, the liner was homeported in Adelaide, Fremantle, Sydney, and also in Auckland NZ. From Singapore was offered the 14-day "Treasures of Southeast Asia" itinerary (to Borneo, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam) that was combinable into B2B (26-day "Tropical Escape" itinerary) out of Fremantle.

The 71-day World Cruise from Fremantle to London-Tilbury departed on February 12, 2020. In Europe, CMV Vasco da Gama was operated by shipowner's German brand "Transocean Kreuzfahrten" and homeported in Kiel and Bremerhaven .

Note: For more inaugural cruise itinerary details and the canceled 2020-2021 CMV Vasco da Gama program see at the ship's Wiki section .

CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko - user reviews and comments

Photos of cmv vasco da gama-nicko.

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Other Nicko Cruises cruise ships

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• MS Bellissima
• MS Belvedere
• MS Bijou du Rhone
• MS Casanova
• MS Douro Cruiser
• MS Douro Prince
• MS Douro Queen
• MS Florentina
• MS Frederic Chopin
• MS Heidelberg
• MS Katharina von Bora
• MS Moldavia
• MS nickoSPIRIT
• MS nickoVISION
• MS Princesse de Provence
• MS Rhein Melodie
• MS Rhein Symphonie
• MS River Art
• MS Seine Comtesse
• MS Viktoria
• RV Mekong Navigator
• RV Mekong Prestige II

CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko Wiki

The vessel (Fincantieri Monfalcone yard/hull number 5881) has volume 55877 GT-tons, DWT-deadweight tonnage 7637 tons, max draught 7,7 m. The powerplant is based on Wartsila-Sulzer marine diesel engines (models 12ZAV40S, ZA40S) with combined output 34,56 MW (46345 hp). The registered shipowner is MYSTIC OCEAN SA, while the registered manager is V SHIPS LEISURE SAM.

The Fincantieri Monfalcone -built cruise ship started its carrier under the name "MS Statendam". It was operated by Holland America Line (1993 to 2015), when was drydock refurbished and transferred to P&O Australia's fleet as "Pacific Eden" (homeported in Sydney NSW). Another newcomer for P&O was Pacific Explorer (former Dawn Princess) - joined the fleet in early 2017. By design, the vessel is identical with MS Ryndam (Celestyal Journey) and also to the Holland America Line ships Veendam (Aegean Majesty) and Maasdam (CFC Renaissance) .

Fun fact is, that this vessel has two namesakes - the CroisiEurope -owned riverboat ms Vasco de Gama and the CMA-CGM -owned boxship Vasco De Gama. The 2015-launched container vessel is 175,000 GT tons and can carry up to 18,000 TEUs (containers).

Pacific Eden's last cruise for P&O Australia was the 18-day repositioning itinerary from Adelaide to Singapore

Nicko World Cruise 2023-2024

Next table shows Vasco da Gama's first Around the World Voyage for Nicko (181-day itinerary roundtrip from Portugal).

The voyage was also available for booking in smaller segments:

• (2023 Oct 10) 24 days from Lisbon to Cape Town ($4320 pp)
• (2023 Nov 3) 15 days from Cape Town to Port Louis ($3370)
• (2023 Nov 18) 14 days Port Louis to Male ($2990)
• (2023 Dec 2) 18 days from Male to Singapore ($4040)
• (2023 Dec 20) 17 days from Singapore to Manila ($3910)
• (2023 Dec 20) 110 days from Singapore to Lisbon ($26630)
• (2024 Jan 6) 22 days from Manila to Sydney NSW ($4700)
• (2024 Jan 28) 20 days from Sydney to Auckland NZ ($4600)
• (2024 Feb 17) 22 days from Auckland to Puerto Vallarta ($4920)
• (2024 Mar 10) 13 days from Puerto Vallarta to Willemstad Curacao ($2920)
• (2024 Mar 23) 16 days from Willemstad to Lisbon ($2865)

The full voyage was priced from EUR 40515 pp (USD 42580 per person) with double occupancy.

Pacific Eden 2017 refurbishment review

During the ship's 12-day drydock refurbishment (July 22 - August 9, in Singapore) were conducted general maintenance works, as well as renovations to the Conference Rooms (deck 7), Theater (Marquee Show Lounge on 2 levels, decks 7-8), The Dome Bar (deck 12), Kids Zone (deck 12), Photo Gallery (deck 7), Spa and Gym facilities (deck 11). All crew cabin bathrooms were also renovated.

• The 2-story Marquee Lounge was re-decorated and its color scheme was changed (to the new black-white-emerald green). Also, custom-made wallpaper and artworks were added.
• The Dome Lounge was updated with a new nautical theme (dark navy blue and white hues), drapes were changed and soft lighting was installed.
• Mini-Suites and some veranda cabins received new carpets and balcony furniture.
• The ship's cinema, wellness complex (spa and gym) and kids and teen clubs (HQ and HQ+) were also renovated.

Most public areas were updated with new carpeting (a total of 11,000 m2 / 118,400 ft2 of new carpets). The ship also received the new P&O Australia trademarked hull livery (Southern Cross-themed).

The "Statendam to Eden" cruise ship transformation was done by the Swedish company "Tillberg Design" during a scheduled drydock refurbishment in Sydney NSW . Unique features of the new ship are the 3 dining rooms with different cuisine choices (Italian, Asian and the traditional for P&O Australia "Waterfront Restaurant"), boutique winery with premium Australian wines, indoor cinema, cookery school, new Salt Grill Bar (for Luke Mangan cocktails), large indoor-outdoor seating buffet restaurant, large main pool area (covered with sliding roof) and the new P&OEdge facility (active sports activities program).

CMV Vasco da Gama inaugural itineraries 2019

MS Vasco da Gama officially joined CMV-Cruise And Maritime Voyages on April 5, 2019, as the fleet's 6th vessel. Following the acquisition, the vessel's registry/flagstate was changed from Netherlands (MMSI 244078000 of P&O Pacific Eden) to Bahamas (MMSI 311000891 of CMV Vasco da Gama).

Next are listed the inaugural voyages for CMV.

46-day repositioning cruise from Asia to Europe (Singapore to Amsterdam). Fly-cruise deals were offered with cruise fare-inclusive flights from UK (London or Manchester) on April 22, 2019. CMV promo deals "buy one get one free" were initially priced from GBP 3500 pp (full fare GBP 7000) for 2 passengers sharing an inside cabin.

54-day repositioning cruise from Europe to Australia (Amsterdam to Sydney)

As itinerary segments were offered 50-day Amsterdam to Auckland (Oct 8), 53-days London to Sydney (Oct 9) and 49-day London to Auckland (Oct 9).

CMV Vasco da Gama cruise itineraries 2020-2021 (Australia/CANCELED)

For 2020-2021, CMV scheduled a total of 24 voyages for the ship Vasco da Gama. Following the COVID-related suspension of voyages (since March 2020), the boat's itinerary program was planned to start on October 9, with the 56-day relocation voyage from England to Australia.

While deployed in Australia-New Zealand, CMV Vasco da Gama had scheduled roundtrips from homeports Adelaide (South Australia) and Fremantle. The ex-Australia itineraries (all canceled) included 2-day "Weekend Escape" (Adelaide to Port Lincoln ) and 7-day "Southern Explorer" Adelaide to Melbourne and Sydney NSW.