Phoenix Reisen

Phoenix Reisen is a Germany-based travel agency that also operates a fleet of cruise ships.[1] The company first entered the cruise business in 1988 by chartering the Soviet Union-owned cruise ship SS Maxim Gorkiy.[2]

Phoenix Reisen
IndustryTourism
Founded1988
HeadquartersBonn, Germany
Productstravel agency
maritime cruises
Websitehttps://www.phoenixreisen.com/

History

Phoenix Reisen first begun operating cruises under its own brand in 1988 when the company chartered the West German-built cruise ship SS Maxim Gorkiy from the Soviet Union-based Black Sea Shipping Company on a 20-year charter agreement.[2][3] In 1993 a second ship joined the Phoenix Reisen fleet, when SS Albatros was chartered from V-Ships. Unlike the Maxim Gorkiy, which retained the colours of her owners in Phoenix service,[4] the Albatros was painted in Phoenix Reisen's own colours with a turquoise funnel displaying the company logo.[5]

Due to numerous mechanical problems, Phoenix Reisen decided to prematurely terminate the charter of the Albatros in December 2003.[5] As a replacement Phoenix quickly chartered MS Crown in January 2004, which was renamed MS Albatros.[6][7] In 2005 the company fleet expanded to include three ships for the first time when MS Alexander von Humboldt (2005) was chartered from V-Ships.[8] A fourth ship followed in 2006 with the charter of MS Amadea, a higher-class vessel compared with the rest of the Phoenix Reisen fleet.[9] In 2008 the first Alexander von Humboldt was replaced by a larger vessel chartered from Club Cruise, confusingly also named MS Alexander von Humboldt (before entering service the ship was marketed as Alexander von Humboldt II, but she eventually received the same name as the ship she replaced).[10][11] In late 2008 the charter of the Maxim Gorkiy ended, and due to high fuel prices combined with the high fuel consumption of the ship's steam turbines Phoenix Reisen decided not to renew the charter.[12] In May 2009 Phoenix Reisen chartered MS Athena (2005) from Nina SpA.[13] In April 2011, the company took delivery of MV Artania, which formerly sailed as MV Artemis for P&O Cruises. In July 2019 the fleet was increased with a former HAL ship.

Fleet

Current Fleet (Ocean)

ShipBuiltIn serviceRegistered OwnerTonnageFlagNotesImage
Amadea19912006 onwardsAmadea Shipping Company29,008 GT  Bahamas
Amera19882019 onwardsAmera Shipping Company38,848 GT  Bahamas
Artania19842011 onwardsArtania Shipping Ltd / Artania GmbH44,588 GT  Bahamas[14]
Deutschland19982016 onwards
(only Summer)
Absolute Nevada LLC22,400 GT  BahamasChartered from Absolute Nevada. Sailing as World Odyssey for Semester at Sea from September until April each year.

Former Fleet

ShipBuiltIn ServiceChartered fromTonnageFlagStatusImage
Maxim Gorkiy19691988–2008Black Sea Shipping Company
Sovcomflot
24,981 GT  Soviet Union
 Bahamas
Scrapped at Alang, India in 2009
Albatros19571993–2003V-Ships21,985 GRT  BahamasScrapped at Alang, India in 2004
Carina19771997-2000Danube Shipping Company7,662 GRT  CyprusScrapped at Aliağa, Turkey in 2013
Albatros19732004-2020Albatros Shipping Company28,518 GT  BahamasScrapped at Alang, India in 2021
Alexander von Humboldt19902005–2008V-Ships12,331 GT  BahamasSince 2008 sailing as Minerva for Swan Hellenic
Alexander von Humboldt19902008Club Cruise15,343 GT  BahamasCurrently sailing as the Voyager for Voyages of Discovery
Athena19482009Nina SpA16,144 GT  PortugalLaid up, pending sale or disposal

References