Swan Hellenic makes return a year early
Swan Hellenic, discovery cruising brand purchased by Lord Sterling in April, is making an early return to British cruising.
Swan Hellenic has joined the All Leisure Group – operator of m/v Discovery, which earlier this year announced it had chartered the former 350-berth Minerva, previously used by Swan Hellenic, on a long-term basis.
Swan Hellenic chairman Lord Sterling said: “We have joined Roger Allard’s All Leisure Group which has an established UK shore-based operation, from where it manages its own ship.
“We will now re-establish our cruising operation at least one year earlier than anticipated, as the former 350-berth Minerva will once again become a Swan Hellenic ship, following an extensive refurbishment prior to re-introduction in May 2008.
“Swan passengers will again be able to enjoy discovering new destinations with the Swan Hellenic team, in the company of our distinguished guest speakers and former ship’s officers and crew. This will include a further exploration product for expedition cruising in Antarctica.
“Looking to the future, we are actively examining further opportunities to return to river cruising and acquiring a further appropriate vessel.”
All Leisure Group chairman Roger Allard said: “I am pleased Lord Sterling has decided to entrust Swan Hellenic to our group and he will continue as their Chairman.
“This offers us an ideal opportunity to re-unite Swan Hellenic with Minerva, a combination that has an excellent past history in the UK cruising market and for which both the company and ship are well suited. This is a splendid development for the All Leisure Group.”
The release date for the new Swan Hellenic 2008/9 brochure is July 17.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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