Mystic Cruises, a Portuguese cruise line, has bought the former Cruise & Maritime Voyages vessel, Vasco da Gama, at an auction.
Mário Ferreira, president of MysticInvest Holding, parent company of Mystic Cruises, Nicko Cruises and Atlas Ocean Voyages, said: “Our focus is on smaller cruise ships, under one thousand passengers, to create a more personalized, safe and intimate cruise experience for our guests.
“We believe that this segment of the market is better placed to answer to what cruisers will expect in the near future.”
Mystic Cruises, the first Portuguese expedition cruise line, recently entered the market in 2019 with a new 200-passenger ship, World Explorer. The line also charters the ship to other travel operators, such as Quark Expeditions. Two sister ships, World Voyager and World Navigator are currently under construction.
“Our company believes in offering a intimate, safe and great value for money experience to our guests, we believe that the Vasco da Gama will be a great addition to our fleet of ocean cruise ships” added Ferreira.
While not elaborating on which brand the ship would operate for, Ferreira did say the ship would continue to serve the British and German cruise market.
Built in 1993 for Holland America Line, Vasco da Gama has a capacity of more than 1,000 passengers. The cruise ship transferred from P&O Cruises Australia in 2019 and sailed in Europe under the Transocean brand and in Australia with CMV. This summer, Cruise & Maritime Voyages ceased trading and its fleet were all put up for auction.