COLUMBUS TO BE NAMED AT TILBURY BY ANGELA RIPPON

Cruise and Maritime Voyages has announced that it's latest acquisition- the 63,000 ton Columbus- will be christened at a glittering dockside ceremony at Tilbury on June 8th, with legendary broadcaster Angela Rippon performing the requisite duties as godmother to the ship. After three days of celebration and media events, the ship is due to sail on her maiden, revenue earning voyage; a short three night cruise to Amsterdam and Antwerp.

Columbus marks a big step up for the CMV operation, with her large number of balcony cabins and far more extensive range of on board venues than on previous company vessels. Uniquely, she will sail from Tilbury year round. And, unlike her siblings in the CMV fleet, the 1989 built ship will also be hosting a series of family friendly sailings during peak season.

Columbus will also offer the line's second world cruise in January 2018, as well as a series of longer cruises throughout the year. Her arrival bolsters the current Cruise and Maritime fleet to five vessels, with Astoria, Marco Polo and the larger Magellan handling a series of itnerararies from something like fourteen different ports across the UK and Ireland, and the premium quality Astor making off season line voyages to and from Australia and South Africa.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages offers an experience that is adeptly suited to the tastes of British passengers, with all food, entertainment and themed voyages geared to their tastes. Both Columbus and Magellan in particular are especially noteworthy for their large number of single cabins, and the veteran Marco Polo is one of the last true, classic ocean liners still sailing the oceans to this day. As such, she attracts a very loyal following that prefer her size and elegance to many newer, larger ships.

Columbus herself is a well loved and familair ship, with many people having cruised on her in her former life as the Ocean Village, working as one of a two ship fleet. She has spent the last few years in Australia, and is now undergoing significant refurbishment for Cruise and Maritime prior to her scheduled christening on June 8th.

We'll be there for the rededication of what is sure to be a very popular addition to the British cruising fleet, so expect more of an in depth look at this exciting new ship in a few weeks. While she's quite a bit bigger than Marco Polo, Astoria and even Magellan, Columbus is still more intimate in scale than many of the ships sailing for rival companies these days.