Two new cruise brands to launch in 2010

mercedes · August 18, 2009

Two new UK-based cruise lines will launch next year, each connected to the former Orient Lines.

The founder of Orient will launch a new cruise brand centered on Mediterranean history and culture, called Voyages to Antiquity.

The 1973-built Aegean I cruise ship will undergo an extensive refurbishment before embarking on a series of Mediterranean itineraries inspired by the history book The Middle Sea, written by John Julius Norwich.

The 380-passenger ship will sail 16 two-week itineraries based on the civilizations the book examines, from ancient Greece to the First World War.

Details of those cruises will be released in the next few weeks, along with a website.

Also new next year will be Cruise & Maritime Voyages, a UK-based, adults-only line that will launch with the Marco Polo, the former Orient Line ship that Norwegian Cruise Line sold in 2007, after shutting down the one-vessel line.

Launching in January, the 820-passenger ship will sail from the UK to South America and the Caribbean during the winter, followed by a season of cruises to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

The Marco Polo made news recently when its passengers were struck by a vicious outbreak of Norovirus during a cruise to Scotland operated by its current operator, Germany-based Transocean Tours.