CMV Vasco da Gama-Nicko

The 1993-built Vasco da Gama cruise ship was launched as "MS Statendam" (for Holland America Line) and before CMV UK was operated (as "Pacific Eden") by P&O Australia in the period 2015-2019. Vessel's sisterships are MS Ryndam (Pacific Aria, planned CMV Ida Pfeiffer, now Aegean Goddess) and Pacific Explorer (ex Dawn Princess).

For CMV, the vessel (IMO 8919245) was Bahamas-flagged (MMSI number 234890000) and registered in Nassau. For Nicko Cruises, Vasco da Gama was reflagged to Portugal/Madeira (MMSI 255806445) and registered in Funchal Madeira.

History - construction and ownership

On March 7, 2018, the UK company Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) announced the purchase of MS Pacific Eden from P&O Australia. The ship (renamed "Vasco da Gama") was operated by CMV via the subsidiary Transocean Tours (maiden voyage on April 23, 2019). The official christening ceremony was held in Port Bremerhaven Germany.

The vessel joined CMV as fleet's largest. The name "MS Vasco da Gama" was announced on March 21, 2018. Among the proposed ship names were Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco da Gama, Pytheas, Henry Hudson. The short drydock refurbishment in Singapore (April 2019) included mainly livery change and rebranding. Then the ship was repositioned through Suez Canal for an Inaugural cruise season in Northern Europe (May-October).

With its newest ship CMV targeted mainly the German and Australasian markets. During summer (May through October 2019), the ship was operated by "TransOcean Kreuzfahrten" (CMV's German brand) and homeported in Bremerhaven and Kiel. During winter (December through March 2020) the ship was operated by CMV and deployed in Australia (homeported in Fremantle-Perth and Adelaide).

On July 20, 2020, the CMV's parent company SQTL (South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd) was placed into administration / filed for bankruptcy. The UK-based company traded as "Cruise and Maritime Voyages" (trademarked brand). In June, SQTL-CMV entered into emergency talks with potential investors and lenders. Unfortunately, the company's efforts to secure funding and stay afloat during the Coronavirus crisis failed.

All CMV cruise ships were placed on the secondhand market and open for sale. In October was planned the vessels to be auctioned via the London UK-based company CW Kellock & Co Ltd (Ship Auctioneers, Brokers and Valuers). Biddings (deadline in brackets) opened for Vasco Da Gama (Oct 8), Columbus (Oct 12), Astor (Oct 15), Magellan (Oct 19) and Marco Polo (Oct 22).

• (October 8) The 27-year-old CMV Vasco Da Gama was sold to Mystic Invest Holding (Portugal) for USD 10,187 million.
• (October 12) The 31-year-old CMV Columbus was sold to Seajets Ferries Greece for USD 5,321 million.
• (October 15) The 33-year-old CMV Astor was sold to an undisclosed buyer (sales price USD 1,71 million) who intends to resell it for scrap metal.
• (October 19) The 35-year-old CMV Magellan was sold to Seajets Ferries Greece for USD 3,431 million.
• (October 22) The 55-year-old CMV Marco Polo was sold to an undisclosed buyer/private investors (sales price USD 2,77 million) who first offered the vessel for charter (cruiser or hotel ship) but in December sold it for scrap metal to Alang Shipbreaking India.

On November 21, 2020, CMV Vasco da Gama left London-Tilbury en route to Lisbon Portugal, where arrived and docked on November 25. In December-January, the ship remained docked at Port Setubal (Trem Naval docks).

In mid-January 2021, Vasco da Gama's new shipowner announced that the vessel will remain operational (used for passenger shipping under Mystic's brand "Nicko Cruises") and serving predominantly the British and German source markets. Nicko's Vasco da Gama cruises were opened for booking in January.

Decks and Cabins

Vasco da Gama staterooms (a total of 630) are well-appointed, spacious and in 21 cabin categories - graded according to deck position and size. Cabin sizes range from 175 ft2 (16m2) for a Standard Inside up to 1095 ft2 (102 m2) for a Royal Penthouse Suite. Staterooms' average size is 200 ft2 (19 m2).

The cruise ship has 120x Balcony Cabins (categories Superior and Premium) as well as 29x Deluxe Balcony Suites (including 1x Royal Penthouse). The majority of twin-bedded staterooms convert to double bed cabins. A limited number of cabins are with inter-connecting doors and suitable for family and group travel.

All passenger staterooms are air-conditioned and equipped with smart HDTV, radio, direct-dial phone, electronic safe box (in the closet), en-suite bathrooms.

The boat has 13 decks, of which 11 are passenger-accessible and 5 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Vasco da Gama has three main Waterfront Restaurants onboard, including Waterfront Eurasia, Waterfront Mediterranean and Waterfront Restaurant where, unlike line's other ships, dining is flexible without fixed sittings. Passengers are free to dine where and when they want to. All meals are included in the cruise fare - breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, 5-course dinner, even late-night snacks. Evening meals start with an appetizer followed by delicious soup - with lots of options to choose from. There are also two specialty restaurants, Chef's Table and The Grill. Another option is the more relaxed buffet style Club Bistro.

CMV Vasco da Gama main courses range from seafood, rack of lamb, escalope of veal, beef medallions, chicken chasseur, Asian stir-fries, Italian pasta, traditional roasts - all available for guests to savor. Vegetarian meals are available to tantalize taste buds, featured on every menu together with health-conscious dishes. Light salads to refresh are offered before you finish meals - fresh fruit, international cheese platter, or delicious desserts, including English trifle, apple strudel, blueberry cheesecake, Baked Alaska, Peach Melba, strawberry tart, creme caramel, or the famous among cruisers chocolate mousse. In all Vasco da Gama bars Australian draught beer is also offered. Fine European and Australian red and white wines collection is available to complement guests' meal.

Follows the complete list of Vasco da Gama restaurants and food bars.

• MDRs (Waterfront Eurasia, Waterfront Mediterranean, and Waterfront Restaurant). The Waterfront Restaurant is the main dining room which operates with open-seating and a la carte menus (Your Choice Dining) for breakfast and lunch and offers a 4-course dinner menu. Part of the Waterfront Restaurant is the Wine Room. It serves the CMV's "Chef's Table" dinner package.
• The Grill
• Club Bistro (buffet).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

The 3-deck atrium is the focal point of CMV Vasco da Gama offering a Reception, Shore Excursions desk, shopping galleria, and photo gallery. Elsewhere onboard, guests will find a casino, cinema, Trumps & Aces bridge, and card room, meeting room, library, arts, and crafts area. There is also a Gelato's ice cream bar and Cappuccino's coffee shop.

At the 2-tiered show lounge Hollywood's, guests may enjoy "big show" entertainment from line's singers and dancers or one of the special guest acts. The Dome, with its panoramic seascapes, is a relaxing venue to watch the world sail by or chat with fellow passengers. At night, it turns into a disco. The Blue Room is the perfect venue to enjoy musical entertainment.

Vasco da Gama features extensive deck areas along with starboard and portside promenades. There are 2 swimming pools, of which the main top-deck pool boasts a retractable roof. Tennis and basketball courts are also available. The well-appointed wellness center includes hairdressing, beauty and spa facilities, as well as a well-equipped gym.

Onboard entertainment includes CMV Enrichment Programme of speakers, craft specialists and guest entertainers. On selected voyages, guests can enjoy guest comedians in ‘A Laugh on the Ocean Waves’. There is also a photographic expert ready to assist passengers in improving their skills. Evening entertainment consists of stylish productions, cabarets, classical interludes, and guest acts. During days at sea, the entertainments team arranges activities like morning quizzes or afternoon dance classes.

Itineraries

CMV Vasco da Gama cruise itinerary program started with the "inaugural cruise" from Singapore to Amsterdam Holland (April 23, 2019). The 46-day repositioning (via Suez Canal) visited ports in Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Oman, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Italy, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal. The repositioning cruise was also offered as a 45-day itinerary to Tilbury-London UK.

From Amsterdam and London, the new CMV ship offered a World Cruise (through Panama Canal) to ports in the Caribbean, Mexico, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. On October 9, 2019, from London-Tilbury started the 53-day southbound repositioning cruise to Sydney NSW (arriving December 1). In Australia, the liner was homeported in Adelaide, Fremantle, Sydney, and also in Auckland NZ. From Singapore was offered the 14-day "Treasures of Southeast Asia" itinerary (to Borneo, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam) that was combinable into B2B (26-day "Tropical Escape" itinerary) out of Fremantle.

The 71-day World Cruise from Fremantle to London-Tilbury departed on February 12, 2020. In Europe, CMV Vasco da Gama was operated by shipowner's German brand "Transocean Kreuzfahrten" and homeported in Kiel and Bremerhaven.

Note: For more inaugural cruise itinerary details and the canceled 2020-2021 CMV Vasco da Gama program see at the ship's Wiki section.

For Mystic Invest, the 2020-acquired cruise ship is operated by the Holding's German subsidiary and travel brand Nicko Cruises.

Nicko's Vasco Da Gama inaugural cruise season 2021-2022 (September 2021 thru October 2022) included a total of 32 departure dates and 17 different itineraries. Signature destinations included Northern Europe/Baltic, Mediterranean, Western Europe/Atlantic Coast, Canary Islands (Spain), Madeira and Azores Islands (Portugal), North Africa (Morocco), Cape Verde Islands.

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 MS Ryndam (Pacific Aria, now Aegean Goddess) 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

Pacific Eden 2017 refurbishment review

During the ship's 12-day drydock refurbishment (July 22 - August 9, in Singapore) were conducted general maintenance works, as well as renovations to the Conference Rooms (deck 7), Theater (Marquee Show Lounge on 2 levels, decks 7-8), The Dome Bar (deck 12), Kids Zone (deck 12), Photo Gallery (deck 7), Spa and Gym facilities (deck 11). All crew cabin bathrooms were also renovated.

• The 2-story Marquee Lounge was re-decorated and its colour scheme was changed (to the new black-white-emerald green). Also, custom-made wallpaper and artworks were added.
• The Dome Lounge was updated with a new nautical theme (dark navy blue and white hues), drapes were changed and soft lighting was installed.
• Mini-Suites and some veranda cabins received new carpets and balcony furniture.
• The ship's cinema, wellness complex (spa and gym) and kids and teen clubs (HQ and HQ+) were also renovated.

Most public areas were updated with new carpeting (a total of 11,000 m2 / 118,400 ft2 of new carpets). The ship also received the new P&O Australia trademarked hull livery (Southern Cross-themed).

The "Statendam to Eden" cruise ship transformation was done by the Swedish company "Tillberg Design" during a scheduled drydock refurbishment in Sydney NSW. Unique features of the new ship are the 3 dining rooms with different cuisine choices (Italian, Asian and the traditional for P&O Australia "Waterfront Restaurant"), boutique winery with premium Australian wines, indoor cinema, cookery school, new Salt Grill Bar (for Luke Mangan cocktails), large indoor-outdoor seating buffet restaurant, large main pool area (covered with sliding roof) and the new P&OEdge facility (active sports activities program).

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 boat'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 (South Australia) and Fremantle. The ex-Australia itineraries (all cancelled) included 2-day "Weekend Escape" (Adelaide to Port Lincoln) and 7-day "Southern Explorer" Adelaide to Melbourne and Sydney NSW.