Plantours: Columbus will be turned into Hamburg

Plantours: Columbus will be turned into Hamburg

German cruise operator Plantours is expanding its fleet. The company announced its intention to convert former MS C. Columbus ship into Hamburg. It is planned that the new vessel will serve Plantours cruises in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas.

The liner will be re-equipped at the Italian Enti Bacini Shipyard in Genoa.

MS Columbus previously served cruise of another well-known German company - Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten GmbH. MS Columbus was built in 1997. It is a small-class ship, which can receive up to 420 people. Due to a special design MS Columbus was able serve a number of unique cruises such as the Great Lakes in the United States.

Under the new contract, Plantours will manage MS Columbus for six years. After the contract ends Plantours will be able to buy the ship.

Actually, modification of the MS Columbus promises to be very modest. The new operator has no plans to full re-equipment. The ship will be repainted, inspected by technicians and interior design will be slightly changed. Perhaps, the most radical innovation on the ship promises to be a new additional lift for boats.

The first cruise of the new Hamburg liner is scheduled for May 25, 2012. On this Thursday the ship will depart from Genoa to arrive at the port of Nice on Friday, where it will take on board Mediterranean cruise passengers and complete the route in Lisbon. During the voyage Hamburg will visit such ports as Marseilles and Barcelona. Then the ship will go to the Baltic Sea. The official ceremony of launching is scheduled to be held on June 7, 2012 in Hamburg.

Plantours is a German cruise operator, which operates both on sea destinations and river cruises. Hamburg liner became the eighth ship of the company. In Russia Plantours is known as the operator of the "Andrei Rublev" river ship serving cruises between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Ilya Kalachev

Date: 24/05/2012