The storied British cruise brand Swan Hellenic, which went
out of business in 2017, will return to service in late 2021 under new
ownership and with two new expedition ships.
Swan Hellenic, which first launched service 70 years ago,
ceased operations when its parent company, U.K.-based All Leisure Holidays,
collapsed three years ago. The Swan Hellenic brand, not its ships, was acquired
by Toronto-based G Adventures.
Swan’s new CEO, the former Silversea Cruises technical
operations executive Andrea Zito, leads a team of cruise industry veterans that
purchased the brand. He said in a statement that Swan’s mission is “to be the
leader in cultural expedition cruising.”
“The new Swan Hellenic retains its British heritage whilst
being international in outlook,” Zito said.
The line said it is building two 152-passenger expedition
ships with ice-strengthened hulls at the Helsinki Shipyard Oy in Finland. The
first is scheduled set sail for Antarctica in November 2021 and the second
slated for delivery in April 2022.
Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito said the cruise line intends “to be the leader in cultural expedition cruising.”
The company will launch with offices in Monaco, the U.K. and
Germany. Other senior management includes John Warner, a former sales executive
with G Adventures; Mario Bounas, who left Royal Caribbean International’s
marketing team last year; and Alfredo Spadon, formerly of Silversea and MSC
Cruises.
Swan Hellenic has set up a web portal for travel
advisors.
This is at least the second time Swan Hellenic name has been
reborn since it was founded by the Swan family as a tour company in 1950.
Purchased in 1983 by P&O Cruises, it became part of the Carnival Corp.
family when those two companies merged in 2003. Carnival Corp. shut down the
line in 2007 and transferred its only ship, the Minerva II, to Princess
Cruises. That same year, All Leisure Group resuscitated the brand.