- Swan Hellenic
Swan Hellenic is a British
cruise line specialising in tours of historical or cultural interest aimed at the upper end of the cruise market.History
It began in the 1950s when the Swan travel agency, operated by two brothers by the name of Swan, was asked to organise a tour for visitors interested in the antiquities of
Greece . The archaeologist, SirMortimer Wheeler , was employed as guest lecturer.From this developed a full programme of cruises, in which well known academics, writers and clergymen were regularly featured as guest lecturers, both on board ship and on site. The company prided itself on never repeating, exactly, any itinerary, but it concentrated, as the name suggests, on classical sites in the
Aegean sea , around the coats and islands of modernGreece andTurkey . It also, however, visited classical and other ancient sites in north Africa (includingEgypt ) and the eastern Mediterranean. Unlike most commercial cruises, in which the on board entertainment is as important as the destinations visited, Swan Hellenic cruises landed almost every day in order to visit historic sites, and travel between sites was undertaken by the ship overnight. The operation was characterised by an English ethos of high culture, although it had an international following.Recent History
Swan Hellenic was acquired from the Swan family by P&O. More recently, it became a subsidiary of the world's largest cruise operator, the British-American
Carnival Corporation & plc . Under Carnival, the characteristically small 300-passenger ship "Minerva", was replaced in 2003 by the 600-passenger "Minerva II ". This led to criticism that the intimacy of the original cruise concept had been compromised. In April 2007, Carnival ended its operation of Swan Hellenic, and transferred "Minerva II" to the Princess fleet, with the new name "Royal Princess". This was reported at the time as the end of Swan Hellenic.However, on 15th March, 2007, Lord Sterling, the former chairman of P&O, announced that he was buying the Swan Hellenic brand and intended to relaunch the cruise line as soon as a suitable vessel could be located.The Cruise Ship Report, 15th March, 2007 "Swan Hellenic, Despite Losing Its Only Cruise Ship, Gets New Life" Retrieved from [http://www.cruise-ship-report.com/News/031507.htm "The Cruise Ship Report"] on 18th March, 2007] . Swan Hellenic was subsequently acquired by the
All Leisure Holidays Group Plc , who also ownVoyages of Discovery who ran the ship Explorer II (previouslyMinerva ).The company [http://www.swanhellenic.com/ website] states that Swan Hellenic cruises will start up again in 2008.
Current fleet
Former Ships
References
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