Marco Polo

Cruises from the United Kingdom

During its service with Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV, from 2010), the Marco Polo operated itineraries departing from ports including Tilbury, Bristol, Edinburgh, Greenock, Hull, Liverpool and Newcastle. Destinations included the Norwegian fjords, the Baltic Sea, the British Isles and Iceland, as well as transatlantic and world cruises. One example announced for January 2020, departing from Bristol, was the 78-night “Grand Africa and Indian Ocean” voyage, with 31 scheduled port calls. The published itinerary shows longer sea passages between calls: Lisbon was scheduled for 9 January from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Casablanca for 11 January from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Mindelo for 15 January from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ship specifications

Built in Wismar in 1965, the Marco Polo (IMO 6417097) was 176 metres long and measured 22,080 GT. During its time with CMV, its passenger capacity was listed as 800 to 850. Published specifications give a speed of 21 knots, eleven decks and a crew of 356. Onboard facilities included the Waldorf Restaurant, a small swimming pool and three whirlpools.

Ship history

Built at the Mathias-Thesen shipyard in Wismar, the vessel initially sailed as Aleksandr Pushkin for the Soviet Baltic Shipping Company. After an extensive refit in Greece lasting several years, it sailed as Marco Polo for Orient Lines from 1993. The vessel became part of the Global Maritime Group in 2008; CMV chartered it from January 2010. During its time with CMV, the Bahamas was its flag state and Nassau its port of registry. After CMV ceased operations, the Marco Polo was run aground at Alang, India, for scrapping in January 2021.