The last cruise ship stuck at sea with passengers is finally home

There’s a beauty salon and hairdresser onboard as well as a fitness centre, sauna and spa. Furthermore, the ship features two swimming pools, although after the last rebuilding of the Kopernikus Bar area on deck 8, only the one on the forward part of her sun deck (deck 9) is suitable for some real swimming. Artania sailed under the flag of Bermuda until October 2016, her port of registry having been Hamilton. From 26 October 2016 Artania, as all other ships of Phoenix Reisen, has sailed under the flag of the Bahamas.

Azamara Pursuit: the South Africa Intensive Voyage

As of November 2019[update], the vessel has undergone four overhauls at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven.[15] The ship has been fitted with new Wärtsilä engines, and 96 additional balconies have been added.

Cruises

The other members of the Phoenix Reisen fleet are the Amera (ex Royal Viking Sun), Albatros (ex Royal Viking Sea), Amadea (ex Asuka) and the time-chartered Deutschland. While during the summer months, Artania is deployed in Northern Europe, sailing on both shorter and longer itineraries from Bremerhaven, she becomes a real globetrotter in the off-season, even going a world cruises regularly. The gallery of harbour plaques on display onboard impressively testifies to the fact that Artania has literally travelled the world. By coincidence, Artania is arriving back in Germany just as a river cruise operator in the country becomes the first in the world to restart operations.

Coronavirus-hit cruise ship Artania finally departs Western Australia

The MS Artania promises a cruise experience at a high level with great quality! The ship has been gliding in the white-and-turquoise color dress for Phoenix Reisen through the oceans since some years and inspires a large number of guests on its routes. This elegant ship offers a "classic" cruise, with everything that goes with it. There are also several lounges and bars (not included) on board the Artania to round off the culinary offering.

The Diamond Princess — which saw a boom in coronavirus cases as it was quarantined in Japan in February — was evidence that cruise ships were hotbeds for the coronavirus to spread. A German cruise ship is currently on its way home with only eight guests and 75 crew members after four passengers died from the coronavirus and hundreds more were forced to evacuate. My own Artania experience was a four day North Sea cruise from Bremerhaven to Harwich and Amsterdam in autumn 2019. My home during this cruise was balcony cabin no. 6500, a refuge that left nothing to be desired. It was fitted with a bed, TV, telephone, mini bar and safe on one side and a large sofa on the other.

Artania Departs on 143-Night World Cruise - Cruise Industry News

Artania Departs on 143-Night World Cruise.

Posted: Mon, 25 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Initially, Artania was sailing with more than 1,000 passengers on board. But on March 15, with ports quickly closing, Phoenix Reisen gave the ship's mostly German customers the opportunity to fly home from Sydney, and 199 took the company up on the offer. That left 832 passengers who decided to stay on board as Artania tried to work its way home to Germany. Artania is part of the five-strong fleet of Phoenix Reisen, a German operator which entered cruising in 1988, using the chartered Maxim Gorkiy. In fact, Artania was bought to replace the latter (which was scrapped in early 2009) – a role she has managed to fulfil bravely and more than satisfactorily ever since.

But 832 passengers decided to stay on board as Artania tried to work its way home to Germany. Only then did Artania begin the long voyage home to Bremerhaven in earnest. Along with the eight passengers, it sailed with a skeleton crew of around 75. Under its current name MS Artania the ship cruises across the oceans for Phoenix since 2011. The 231 m long and 44,500 GRT large ship can accommodate up to 1,200 guests.

Vessel Particulars

The MV Artania was deeply popular among many locals in Western Australia, who claimed that passengers from the ship being treated in the hospitals were taking up capacity that should be reserved for Australians, according to the BBC. Scroll down to see how disaster unfolded on the German cruise ship and where it is now. On March 18, Artania left Sydney for Fremantle, Australia, where it planned to make a quick fuel stop before continuing across the Indian Ocean to Africa, the Suez Canal and Europe.

Works included technical enhancements (new Wartsila engines/powerplant, new freshwater plant, new auxiliary generator, upgraded automation system), new cabins (152 balconies), asd well as public rooms renovation. MV Artania cruise ship was built in Helsinki Finland for Princess Cruises as Royal Princess and christened on November 15, 1984, by HRH Diana Princess of Wales, in Southampton England. Three passengers and one 42-year-old crew member who were on the ship have since died. However, the Phoenix family is one with more or less two generations missing.

Whether you prefer a varied on-board program or relaxing hours to laze around, everyone will find the right program on board. The ship's 3-week drydock refurbishment in 2017 (December 1-21, at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven) cost Phoenix Reisen ~EUR 16 million. Works included spa renovations, outdoor deck areas (new coverings), stateroom upgrades (bathrooms were updated with new bathtubs and showers), public room renovations (Harry's Bar, Atlantik Show Lounge). Technical updates included a new sewage plant, new ballast water treatment plant, new tenders. Drydock 2014 (71-day project) was conducted by Lloyd Werft (Bremerhaven Germany).

Phoenix Reisen prides itself of offering cruises on smaller ships in a very familiar style. And the crew of the Artania really lives the company claim Willkommen an Bord – willkommen zu Hause (Welcome aboard – welcome at home), making you feel of being among friends rather than spending a sea holiday in an anonymous mass. Artania also features a very high number of repeat passengers, and thanks to the ship itself and its crew having made numerous TV appearances, everyone knows and greets everyone else onboard. It is also noteworthy that Phoenix Reisen is a bit old-fashioned in its tipping policy.

For example, end your evening with the best view in the Panorama-Pazifik-Lounge or have your favorite drink in the Casablanca Bar. MS Artania has gone through a variety of modernizations since she sails for Phoenix Reisen. Her classic stern with calm shielded places to sit and the promenade deck are very popular features of the unique Artania ship. Artania itinerary program is based on Norwegian Fjords, Iceland-Greenland and Baltic Sea cruises leaving from Kiel and Bremerhaven, Germany. The ship cruises to the Mediterranean and Canary Islands, and also in the Caribbean, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The crew member — a 42-year-old man from the Philippines — became the youngest person to die of the coronavirus on Australian soil, ABC reported.