Vasco da Gama Returns to Service Modernized After Shipyard Stay

Departing from Lisbon today, the Vasco da Gama embarks on a nine-day cruise travelling via Spanish and Italian ports to Piraeus, the port of Athens. This voyage marks the beginning of the ship's summer season. Initially, various itineraries in the Mediterranean are scheduled for about a month. Subsequently, the vessel will head towards Kiel as part of a Western Europe cruise. From Kiel and Hamburg, diverse cruises in Northern European waters are planned until early November, when the 2025/2026 World Cruise is set to begin.

Since the Vasco da Gama entered service for nicko cruises in 2021, the ship's Portuguese owner, Mystic Cruises, has sent it to the shipyard for maintenance and modernization on an almost annual basis. The objective of these incremental measures was to technologically upgrade the ship, originally built in 1993, and prepare it for the future. According to plans, the next shipyard stay for nicko cruises' sole ocean-going vessel is now scheduled in three years, marking a departure from the previous yearly cycle. More detailed information and images regarding the recently completed work are expected to be released soon.

The Vasco da Gama, accommodating a maximum of 1000 passengers, is the flagship of nicko cruises' ocean fleet. It typically spends the summer months on European routes and undertakes extensive world voyages during the winter. The ship was originally commissioned in 1993 as the "Statendam" for Holland America Line. Mystic Cruises acquired the vessel in autumn 2020, before it commenced operations for nicko cruises in spring 2021 following an initial refurbishment.

Current Itinerary (May 4 – May 13, 2025): Lisbon – Sea Day & Cadiz – Cadiz – Motril – Sea Day – Sea Day & Cagliari (Sardinia) – Palermo (Sicily) – Sea Day – Katakolon & Sea Day – Piraeus/Athens