Worldwide Cruise News - Week In Review 9/7/20 to 9/13/20 - Part 2

Seven weeks after the UK-focused cruise line Cruise and Maritime Voyages collapsed due to the pandemic and went into administration, a British court has ordered the sale of the cruise ships the company formerly marketed. News of the court-ordered sale to satisfy debts saddened many of the cruise line's former passengers but came as the former head of the company has taken steps to potentially rebuild the operation.

Seven weeks after the UK-focused cruise line Cruise and Maritime Voyages collapsed due to the pandemic and went into administration, a British court has ordered the sale of the cruise ships the company formerly marketed. News of the court-ordered sale to satisfy debts saddened many of the cruise line's former passengers but came as the former head of the company has taken steps to potentially rebuild the operation.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages, known as CMV. was the marketing, travel agency portion of the business, and the face to consumers. The ships were owned by separate companies under the umbrella of the Global Maritime Group based in Greece.

Five ships from Cruise & Maritime Voyages will be auctioned off via CW Kellock & Co in October.

Up for Auction

• 1993-built Vasco Da Gama (Bid Deadline October 8)
• 1989-built Columbus (Bid Deadline October 12)
• 1985-built Magellan (Bid Deadline October 19)
• 1987-built Astor (Bid Deadline October 15)
• 1965-built Marco Polo (Bid Deadline October 22)

All ships are in Tilbury and can be inspected by arrangement, with the exception of the Marco Polo, which is tied up in Avonmouth and can also be inspected. 

Started in 2009 when another cruise operator went into bankruptcy, CMV focused on the UK market operating older, smaller ships as well as operations in Germany and Australia and marketing in the US. The company based its appeal on the style of the ships and attractive pricing with no-fly cruise options. CMV had also worked to build a market in Mexico and recently was pursuing France with plans to position one of its smaller ships into that market.

In recent years,CMV had acquired three ships from Carnival Corporation, two from P&O Cruises Australia and were expecting to take delivery on two more cruise ships from Carnival’s P&O Australia line in 2021.

CMV’s financial collapse came about as a result of the pandemic and the pause in cruise operations. Many observers predict that Carnival Corporation may be a bidder for the three ships, Vasco da Gama, Columbus, and Magellan, due to the outstanding financing it provided to Global for the acquisitions. It is unclear if Verhounig may be seeking to repurchase some of the ships as part of a potential restart to the company. The oldest ship CMV marketed, the Astoria was on charter to CMV as she is owned by a Portuguese bank. She has been excluded from the upcoming auctions.

Fred Olsen Lines Release the Schedule for their Newly Acquired Bolette

The inaugural cruise program for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ new flagship Bolette has been unveiled including a number of brand new itineraries and a series of UK cruises, with guests able to book from today for the former Holland America Line Amsterdam.

Bolette’s maiden voyage will be a seven-night Scotland & Northern Ireland cruise, setting sail from Southampton on March 5 2021. This will be followed by two further UK cruises before Bolette sets sail for the warmer climates of the Azores and Madeira over the Easter break.

Bolette’s inaugural program will include itineraries previously scheduled for the Boudicca, with a number of brand new sailings added, and will operate predominantly from the port of Dover.

Costa Suspends 2020/21 South America Season

Having operated in South America for over 72 years, Costa was saddened with the recent announcement that they were cancelling the 2020/21 cruise season from South America. Costa Cruises canceled its three-ship 2020/21 South America season.

The cancellation for this year and early next applies to all cruises aboard Costa Fascinosa, Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica with South America embarkations scheduled from November to April.

The cancellation for 2020 and early 2021 applies to all cruises aboard Costa Fascinosa, Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica from November to April.

Costa is expecting to resume seasonable cruises from South America starting in the Fall of 2021 into 2022 utilizing 2 ships. .

 

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