Ex-Orient Lines ship to sail from UK
Former Orient Lines ship Marco Polo is to operate cruises from the UK next year.
The 820-passenger ship will run a series of 14 departures from London Tilbury covering the British Isles, Norwegian Fjords, North Cape, Iceland and Baltic capitals. The nine different itineraries will be between six to 12 nights in duration.
A longer autumn cruise is then planned before the ship operates an expedition programme to South America and Antartica.
Bremen-based Transocean Tours, operators of the ships Astor and Astoria, has secured a five-year charter of Marco Polo from the ship’s new Greece-based owner Global Cruise.
Transocean’s UK general sales agent, Cruise & Maritime Services International, is to market the sailings with a 20-page advance brochure due out on July 4 followed by a full brochure a month later.
The 11,500-capacity programme will run between April 19 and August 10 in place of the 1,050-passenger ship Arielle which is operating Transocean’s inaugural programme of six ex-UK cruises this year.
CMS director Chris Coates said: “Our sector of the market prefers traditional medium-sized tonnage and her strong pedigree, enhanced summer capacity and expedition credentials for exciting winter cruises are all real positives for us.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments