The Vasco da Gama will serve the British and German markets under Mystic Cruises ownership, with the company having confirmed that they bought the former 1993-built Cruise & Maritime Voyages ship at auction. 

“Our company believes in offering a intimate, safe and great value for money experience to our guests, we believe that the Vasco da Gama will be a great addition to our fleet of ocean cruise ships,” said Mario Ferreira, president of Mystic Invest Holding, parent company of Mystic Cruises, which owns the Atlas Ocean Voyages and Nicko Cruises brands. 

Ferreira said that the acquisition of the ship was an opportunity to grow the company’s current fleet and to better position it for the expected uptake of the market after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Our focus is on smaller cruise ships, under one thousand passengers, to create a more personalized, safe and intimate cruise experience for our guests,” he said. “We believe that this segment of the market is better placed to answer to what cruisers will expect in the near future.”

Mystic did not elaborate on what brand the ship would operate under. 

It’s possible the ship will sail under the Nicko Cruises banner, which operates riverboats and the 200-guest ocean-going World Explorer, offering a premium product.

The 1,258-guest Vasco da Gama would help expand Nicko’s footprint and the ship already has a presence in the German-speaking market, having sailed under the Transocean banner for CMV.