P&O confirm sale of Artemis

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The future of Artemis, P&O’s smallest cruise ship, became clearer today.
I reported a couple of weeks ago that there were rumours the 1,200-passenger vessel was about to be sold to German cruise line Phoenix Reisen and at that time P&O confirmed they had received an enquiry from an unnamed source.
In a statement today, the company confirms the ship has been sold, and that it will continue to operate under the P&O flag until it has completed all the cruises currently listed in P&O’s brochures.
An initial statement reads: “P&O Cruises can confirm that it has signed contracts for the sale of its 45,000 ton ship Artemis to MS Artania Shipping, for an undisclosed sum. The sale will be completed on October 6, 2009 but P&O Cruises will continue to operate Artemis and her series of cruises as published until April 12, 2011.”
This did not completely clarify what will be happening to the ship, as Artania was a new name to me – and most other industry observers. A further statement made things a bit clearer. “After Artemis leaves the P&O Cruises fleet, MS Artania Shipping is set to charter the ship to the German tour operator Phoenix Reisen.”
So the first rumour was correct, and the ship – originally called Royal Princess and named by Princess Diana in 1984 – will join Albatros, Amadea, Alexander von Humboldt, and Athena. Do you see a pattern emerging there? Should have realised that with a name beginning with “A”, there was only one place Artemis could end up.
There’s no word yet on whether P&O are planning another addition to their fleet, following the introduction of mega-liner Azura, a 3,000-passenger sister ship to Ventura, next April.
Artemis’s last voyage for P&O will be a Grand Voyage to the Far East, leaving from Southampton in January 2011.

By | 2017-06-15T16:00:37+00:00 22 September 2009|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|3 Comments

About the Author:

John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.

3 Comments

  1. David Greaves 7 October 2009 at 12:58 pm - Reply

    Will P&O have a ship to ‘do’ the Amazon?

  2. allan wood 17 January 2010 at 12:11 pm - Reply

    we have sailed on artimis 3 times to date and will book again this year,we have enjoyed our times on board,made good friends,we will be very sad to lose her

  3. GREGG 23 December 2010 at 7:13 am - Reply

    AGAIN WE ARE LOSING ANOTHER GREAT OLDER SHIP. ALL THIS MESS IS BECAUSE CARNIVAL HAS GOT ANIRON CLAMP DOWN ON ALL LINES SINCE THEY OWN THEM.
    i THIK A CANADIAN CRUISE LINE OUT OF THE WEST COAST SHOULD OPEN UP AND TAKE A FEW OF THESE SHIPS FOR CRUISES OUT OF VANCOUVER. wE HAVE ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CRUISE SHIP FACILITIES AND DURING THE WINTER IT SITS EMPTY why????WE COULD HAVE CRUISE FOR cANADIANS FROM VANCOUVER TO MEXICO. i KNOW BACK IN THE 70’S pRINCESS WALKED IN AS A FRIENDLY CRUISE LINE BU COME ON THEY ACCODATED AMERICANS, NOW THEY USED US cANADIANS FOR 20 YEARS AND NOW THEY ARE USING sEATTLE. OKAY USE sEATTLE, WE HAVE THE OPENING WE NEED NOW THAT ALOT MORE ARE COMING OUT OPF sEATTLE. PERFECT TIME FOR US TO LAUNCH A NEW LINE, THERE ARE A FEW SHIPS ON THE MARKET THAT COULD BE PURCHASED, MAYBE TWO, THAT ARE IN EXCELLENT SHAPE FOR THIS TYPE OF CRUISING. i THINK WITH 3 NEW GENERATIONS OF TRAVELERS ITS PERFECT TIME. NOW i WISH SOMEONE WHO COULD TAKE MY IDEA AND HAD THE FINANCIAL BACKGROUND TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, PERHAPS WE COULD DO THE SHIPS IN aIR cANADAÈS COLOUR SCHEME WHICH WOULD BE A FIRST FOR A CRUISE LINE TO BE THAT PALE GREEN AND RED FLAG, OR DESIGN IT LIKE THE A ROSA BLU THIS WOULD BE PERFECT, EVEN OFFER HAWAII AND AUSTRALIA CRUISES. WE HAVE A MARKET, OUR DOLLAR WAS SO LOW AND NOW ITS NEAR PAR, WELL THIS WILL WORK. HELL THESE TERMINALS ARE CLOSED AND COULD BE OPEN ALL WINTER TIME LIKE THEY DO IN EUROP..cOME ON CANADA WE NEED OUR OWN LINE.

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