CMV Vasco da Gama

The cruise ship started its carrier under the name "MS Statendam". It was operated by Holland America Line (1993 to 2015), when was drydock refurbished and transferred to P&O Australia's fleet as "Pacific Eden" (homeported in Sydney NSW). Another newcomer for PandO was Pacific Explorer (former Dawn Princess) - joined the fleet in early 2017. By design, the vessel is identical with Pacific Aria (former ms Ryndam), and also to the Holland America Line ships Veendam (now Aegean Majesty) and Maasdam (now Aegean Myth).

Fun fact is, that this CMV ship has two namesakes - the CroisiEurope-owned riverboat ms Vasco de Gama and the CMA-CGM-owned box ship Vasco De Gama. The 2015-launched container vessel is 175,000 GT tons and can carry up to 18,000 TEUs (containers).

Pacific Eden's last cruise for P&O Australia was the 18-day repositioning itinerary from Adelaide to Singapore

CMV Vasco da Gama inaugural cruise itineraries 2019

MS Vasco da Gama officially joined CMV on April 5, 2019, as fleet's 6th vessel. Following the acquisition, vessel's registry/flag-state was changed from Netherlands (MMSI 244078000 of P&O Pacific Eden) to Bahamas (MMSI 311000891 of CMV Vasco da Gama). Next, are listed ship's inaugural cruises for CMV.

46-day repositioning cruise from Asia to Europe (Singapore to Amsterdam). Fly-cruise deals were offered with cruise fare-inclusive flights from UK (London or Manchester) on April 22, 2019. CMV promo deals "buy one get one free" were initially priced from GBP 3500 pp (full fare GBP 7000) for 2 passengers sharing inside cabin.

54-day repositioning cruise from Europe to Australia (Amsterdam to Sydney)

As itinerary segments were offered 50-day Amsterdam to Auckland (Oct 8), 53-days London to Sydney (Oct 9) and 49-day London to Auckland (Oct 9).

CMV Vasco da Gama cruise itineraries 2020-2021 (Australia/CANCELLED)

For 2020-2021, CMV scheduled a total of 24 voyages for the ship Vasco da Gama. Following the Coronavirus-related suspension of voyages (since March 2020), the ship's itinerary program was planned to start on October 9, with the 56-day relocation voyage from England to Australia.

While deployed in Australia-New Zealand, CMV Vasco da Gama had scheduled roundtrips from homeports Adelaide and Fremantle. The ex-Australia itineraries (all cancelled) included:

2-day "Weekend Escape" itinerary

7-day "Southern Explorer" itinerary

4-day "Coastal Experience" itinerary

10-day "Tasmanian Christmas Escape"

3-day "New Years Indulgence"

12-day "Bali and the Northwest" itinerary

10-day "Broome and the Kimberley" itinerary

5-day "Southwest Escape" itinerary

The last planned by CMV cruise for Vasco da Gama was the 76-day repositioning from Australia to Europe (UK-Holland-Germany.

CMV's "World Voyage 2021" was also available for booking in shorter segments:

• 14-day and 29-day from Fremantle to Singapore
• 45-day Singapore to London-Tilbury
• 60-day Singapore to London-Tilbury
• 74-day Fremantle to London-Tilbury
• 75-day Fremantle to Amsterdam Holland
• 76-day Fremantle to Bremerhaven Germany

In mid-October 2020, the vessel was purchased at an auction by Mystic Invest and now is operated by its subsidiary company and brand Mystic Cruises.

P&O Pacific Eden ship

In May 2014, Carnival Corporation (parent company for P&O and Holland America) announced that the vessel will be transferred to P&O Australia in 2015. Pacific Eden started operations in 2015 November, after the renaming ceremony in Sydney NSW.

The christening ceremony was dual (also including the fleet mate Pacific Aria) and held at Fort Denison (Sydney Harbour) on November 25, 2015, with godmother Mrs Kate Ritchie (actress). Part of the dual naming celebrations were also the fleetmates Pacific Pearl (now CMV Columbus), Pacific Jewel (now Karnika) and Pacific Dawn (now CMV Amy Johnson). On each of the five ships were held musical parties with live performances by Jessica Mauboy (on Aria), The Veronicas (on Eden), Samantha Jade (on Pearl), Justice Crew (on Jewel) and Stan Walker (on Dawn).

During the inaugural season, Pacific Eden was homeported in Australian ports, including Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle-Perth, Adelaide, Cairns, Brisbane. The ship also operated Southeast Asia itineraries leaving roundtrip from Singapore to Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia.

For P&O, Pacific Eden offered regularly scheduled Cruises to Nowhere with specially themed Australian roundtrips without additional ports of call along the route. These short-breaks are usually themed "Food and Wine", "Music" (various styles/performers), "Comedy", "Sports". P&O Australia "cruises to nowhere" prices are also inclusive of all special activities and themed entertainment on the ship, including classes and workshops, lectures, presentations, guest performances, theme parties.

First cruise (Maiden Voyage) for P&O Australia was on November 15, 2015 - 10-day from Fremantle to Sydney, visiting Esperance, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Melbourne. First Asian cruise (2016, May 2) was 12-day Fremantle roundtrip to Indonesia, visiting Komodo Island, Ujung Pandang, Lombok, Probolinggo, Bali.

Pacific Eden is the world's second cruise ship to visit Fraser Island - after Pacific Aria. Island's location is along Queensland's southern coast- some 200 km / 120 mi north of Brisbane. This is a World Heritage-listed location and also the largest sand island in the world (length 120 km / 75 mi, width 24 km / 15 mi). The Eden's scheduled visit to Fraser Island Queensland is on December 12, 2016 (Sydney round-trip cruise itinerary). Among the special P&O Cruises shore excursion deals on Fraser Island is the Kingfisher Bay Resort, offering 4WD tours along the island's beaches and some 1500 km / 930 mi of tracks.

Pacific Eden was last refurbished in Singapore (August 2017). More than 100 experienced trade people took only 12 days to complete an elaborate scope of works aboard the ship, including two Conference Rooms, Show Lounge (spanning 2 decks), Dome Bar, Kids Zone, Photo Gallery, Spa, Gym, Crew Bathrooms.

Pacific Eden had a total of 630 cabins (of which 28 Suites, 149 Balcony, 128 Inside rooms, 100 single cabins) in 23 grades. Most Pacific Eden staterooms (80%) are 195-sq.foot Oceanview rooms (353). Of all Pacific Eden cabins, nearly 25% had a private balcony. The largest aboard Pacific Aria was the Penthouse Suite (940 ft2).

Pacific Eden showcased P&O Australia fleet's biggest selection of dining options - 15 venues in total. The Pantry replaced the traditional Lido Buffet. It was an area of fresh-food stations including items like fish and chips and a delicatessen. The Dragon Lady served a range of Asian dishes, Angelo's was an elegant Italian venue. The Cinema doubled as Open Kitchen (cooking school). Other popular venues were Chef's Table (14-seat VIP dining room) and Salt Grill (specialty restaurant by Australian celebrity chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan). Follows the complete list of Pacific Eden restaurants and food bars.

• Waterfront Restaurant (open-seating dining room) - each of the three dining rooms was operated with “Your Choice Dining” (a la carte menus) for breakfast and lunch, and 4-course dinner menu, with tables capacity up to 10 guests. The Waterfront was connected with the Asian and Italian themed dining rooms.
• The Dragon Lady (Asian restaurant; ship’s second dining room)
• The Angelo’s (Italian restaurant, ship's third dining room)
• The Pantry (self-service buffet restaurant with an open-air terrace)
• Salt Grill (reservations-only specialty restaurant via a partnership with Luke Mangan)
• Chef’s Table (VIP dining room in the Galley/ship's kitchen) private dining with included galley tour

The interior design changes that transformed Statendam into Pacific Eden were done by “Tillberg Design” (Sweden). New lounges included Salt Grill Bar (complementing the MIX cocktail bar), Cellar Door (wine tastings) and Dome Observatory (disco nightclub). For kids, innovative activity clubs included Turtle Cove (ages 3-6-yo), Shark Shack (ages 7-10-yo) and HQ for teens. The adults-only Oasis was a top-deck sundeck area. All ages enjoyed Lido Deck's swimming pool. On top-deck aft was the outdoor activity area P&OEdge. The called adventure park includes Rock Climbing Wall and Roupe Course (on the funnel), Zip-Line (across top deck), Bungee Trampoline, Flying Fox (rope jumping across pool deck).

Follows the complete list of Pacific Eden lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Atrium (3-decks central open-floor area and social hub)
• The Marquee Theatre (2-decks) for large-scale shows, magic and comedy acts, daily bingo games, trivia quizzes
• Cellar Door (boutique winery)
• Ocean Bar
• Blue Room (bar)
• Monkey Bar
• The Grill (Lido food bar), Pool Bar (beverages)
• Cinema and Open Kitchen (indoor cinema with culinary school)
• Tax and Duty-Free Shops, PANDORA shop (jewelry)
• The Dome (indoor observation lounge with floor-ceiling windows, large dance floor, full-service bar), nightly transforms into a disco nightclub
• Casino (served by MIX Lounge, which doubles as sports bar)
• Expressions Studio (Photo Gallery and Shop); The Library (Internet Cafe)
• The Oasis (adults-only relaxation complex)
• Aqua HealthSpaFitness (Wellness Centre with Day Spa, Thermal Suites, Fitness with a separate room for classes, Hair and Beauty Salon)
• Promenade (decks 6 and 7), 2 swimming pools (1 covered with sliding glass roof, 1 adults-only), 2 jacuzzis
• Teens and Kids club lounges (with complementary activities by P&O youth program) - “Turtle Cove”; “Shark Shack”; “HQ” lounge; “HQ+” teen lounge
• P&OEdge Adventure Park (20 different outdoor activities, including climbing, jumping, racing, flying on ropes)
• Jogging Track
• Deck Games area (Giant Chess Set, Deck Quoits, Shuffleboard)
• Sports Court (basketball, volleyball, tennis)
• Table Tennis; Golf Nets

MS Statendam cruise ship

Follows the table with information regarding the previously named "MS Statendam" Holland America vessel.

• Passenger decks: 10
• Cabin grades number: 26
• Total number of cabins: 630 (of which 149 Suites, no Balcony, 129 Inside, 32 Spa rooms)
• Dining Rooms: Rotterdam
• Restaurants and food bars: Lido (indoor buffet with outdoor Lido Terrace), Terrace Grill (fast-food), Pinnacle Grill (steakhouse, seafood, French /"Le Cirque" in the evening), Canaletto (Italian).
• Lounges & Bars: Showroom at Sea (theater), Wajang (culinary arts, and cinema), Crow’s Nest (nightclub), MIX (Champagne, Spirits & Ales, Martini), Wine Tasting and Gourmet Shops, Explorer’s, Explorations Cafe, Neptune (suite guests), Ocean (Atrium bar), Casino, kids and teens lounges (Club HAL, The Loft, The Oasis), poolside bars.
• Amenities: complimentary 24-Hour Room-Service, Supervised Kids Program ("Club Hal"), cruise ship weddings, Internet/WiFi Access, Laundry/Self-Serve Laundromats, Spa cabins (6 CQ - large oceanview, 2 IQ - Inside), Spa suites (8, BQ category).
• Adults relaxation area (Sea View), Greenhouse Spa, Fitness, 2 jacuzzis, 2 pools, wraparound Promenade (Deck 6).
• Holland America Statendam cruise ship is of the line's 1st S-class vessel.
• The ship's Maiden Voyage was on January 16, 1993, godmother - Lin Arison. It has an art-antiques collection of items from the 17-18-19th centuries (themed Dutch exploration). In its Atrium area, this HAL ship has a huge fountain (by G.Lebigre, Italy).
• This is the 5th HAL ship with this name. Fun fact is that the 2nd Statendam ship never sailed for HAL (then NASM), but for the British - in the WWI, under the name SS Justicia.

MS Statendam itineraries

Holland America Statendam ship was transferred to P&O Australia, starting operations in November 2015. Before the transfer, the ship operated on the following itineraries (Alaskan cruises from Vancouver BC Canada):

• 7-day round-trip from Vancouver - visiting Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan
• 7-day Vancouver to Seward - visiting Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay
• 7-day Seward to Vancouver - visiting Glacier Bay, Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan
• 3-day round-trip Vancouver - sailing along the US Pacific Coastal
• 28-day back-to-back Panama Canal cruises, round-trip from San Diego CA

14-day one-way Panama Canal transits between San Diego and Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades, Florida) 28-day round-trip from San Diego to Hawaii (also visiting Kiribati and French Polynesia) Repositioning to and from Alaska - between San Diego and Vancouver, and back-to-back with Panama Canal transition.

Pacific Eden's tennis-themed cruise (roundtrip Sydney) departed on January 17, 2018, and included 2 full days in Melbourne to attend Australian Open. General admission tickets for 2-day sessions and a night session in Melbourne were included in the package, as well as direct transfers between the ship and Melbourne Park (throughout day and evening). No match was missed during the 2 sea days either, with all sessions screened live on a large screen on the ship. The 5-night "tennis cruise" package prices started from USD 900 per person (twin share cabin).