AFT VIEW
The Veteran Returns Marco Polo:
Our maritime insider and cruise ship lecturer Peter Rushton reviews a classic sea- going encounter
a traditional transatlantic liner, she has a pro- nounced sheer – which ensures her a place in the heart of many a ship purist – while her ice-strength- ened hull gives an air of strength and solidity that is often lacking in ships of later generations. With her four near sisters, the quintet was known as the ‘Author Class’. The collapse of the Soviet Union saw the demise of the Baltic Steamship Company, their extensive fleet dispersed. In 1993, Aleksander Pushkin was bought by cruise entrepreneur Gerry Herrod for his embryonic Orient Lines. Extensively re-furbished to a high standard, Marco Polo entered service in November that year, serving faithfully and success- fully and, in the process, acquiring an enviable
A
leksander Pushkin came down the slip- ways of Mathias Thesen Werft in 1966, joining the Russian/Ukranian fleet of the Baltic Steamship Company. Designed as
reputation for providing cruises of distinction to a discriminating following. The single-ship operation was acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line in 1998 and they also then placed their Crown Odyssey under the Orient banner as a fleet sister. They sailed on as such until 2000, when NCL in turn was acquired by Star Cruises. Evidently, niche market operations held no appeal to the new owners, and Orient was closed down. Odyssey was re-named Norwegian Crown and, shortly afterwards, sold off completely to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, while Marco Polo was acquired by Greek owners Global Maritime. There followed a slightly chequered career, much
of which saw the ship on charter to Transocean Tours, a German operator who used Dartford-based Cruise & Maritime Services as their UK sales agents. Then, in August 2009, CMS announced they had negotiated a five-year exclusive charter of the
Spring 2011 I WORLD OF CRUISING 87
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92