Lives of the liners: Reprieve

[Doc Vernon]

Capture 2.jpg

We saw the former Alexandr Pushkin at a shipyard at Perama in Greece in August 1993. The 20,000-tonner, built back in 1965 for the Soviets (she ran lots of services including Leningrad-Montreal), had considerable potential. Her hull was especially strong and solid, created purposely for Baltic ice. She was thoroughly rebuilt, upgraded and renamed Marco Polo.


The 850-passenger ship's new owners were the Orient Line, the ship to be used for diverse cruising including winter trips to Antarctica. But by 2008, with Orient Line itself disappearing, the ship began a series of charters to the Germans and the British (to niche firm Cruise & Maritime Voyages).


A good, long life: The ship will be 53 next year. She was finally to be retired next winter (and then probably sail off to India & the scrappers), but there's been a change -- a reprieve of sorts for the ex-Pushkin. It seems that she is now scheduled to cruise for all of 2018.


Photo: We caught the Marco Polo two summers ago.

[John F Collier]

Hi Doc, She sails from Tilbury, I've seen her go past a few times, she is a nice looking ship. cheers John F

[Ivan Cloherty]

Hi Doc, She sails from Tilbury, I've seen her go past a few times, she is a nice looking ship. cheers John F

And with a number of open decks available, somewhere for passengers to walk and experience fresh air, rather than like most modern ones with few open spaces whose sole purposes is 'keep em inside so they spend, spend'

[cappy]

##had a 14 day trip round the medi with orient line about 10 or 12 years ago there was plenty space......not fully booked and a norske officers phillipino crew .....i had a cabin good size on the promanade deck th food was very good fillet steak lobsters etc and not silly money....the accom was spacious .....and in santorini my daughter who was in business in greece at the time flew out to see us it was a good trip and i enjoyed it ......a good solid vessel....i think she has gone antartic since a few times ....no trouble for an old icebreaker ...what she is like now i dont know ....regards cappy