Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), the UK based cruise company, says it will take over Grand Holiday from Costa Crociere unit of Carnival Corp & plc group, and that the ship will start cruising from British ports next spring.
It will be re-named Magellan and at 46,052 gross tons will carry about 1,250 passengers becoming the proud new flagship of the CMV ocean fleet operating as an adult only (16 years plus) ship alongside Marco Polo (800 pax), Astor (600 pax) and Azores (550 pax). The ship was built in Denmark in 1985 as Holiday for Carnival Cruise Lines and it was refitted last in 2010, when it was in service with Iberocruceros, a Spain focused unit of Carnival Corp & plc group since closed down.
Chris Coates, Commercial Director commented, “We are delighted to have secured this excellent addition to our fleet which we believe will be very well suited to our core British market. The introduction of Magellan will increase UK capacity by 40% increasing carryings up to 74,000 passengers. Having already sold 65% of capacity for next year we remain confident that Magellan will help satisfy the growing demand for our product."
Christian Verhounig, CEO and Chairman of CMV explained, “The introduction of Magellan to our growing ocean fleet is another important milestone in the expansion and strategic development of the Group’s presence in the UK and wider international markets which will increase overall capacity to 115,000 passengers. The CMV brand is now creating much wider recognition and we remain confident that our medium to longer term growth objectives will be achieved."