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MS Marco Polo
Career
Name:	1965-1991: Alexandr Pushkin 1991-present: Marco Polo
Owner:	1965-1985: Baltic Shipping Company 1985-1991: Far Eastern Shipping Company 1991-present: Orient Lines
Operator:	1965-1985: Baltic Shipping Company 1985: Far Eastern Shipping Company 1985-19??:CTC Cruises 1990-1993: laid up/rebuilt 1993-present: Orient Lines
Builder:	V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany
Yard number:	126
Launched:	26 April 1964
Acquired:	14 August 1965
In service:	August 1965
Homeport:	1965-1991: Leningrad,  Soviet Union 1991-present: Nassau,  Bahamas
Status:	In service
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Class and type:	Ivan Franko class cruise ship
Tonnage:	19860 GRT
Displacement:	5180 DWT
Length:	176.28 m (578.35 ft)
Beam:	23.55 m (77.26 ft)
Draught:	8.20 m (26.90 ft)
Installed power:	4 × Sulzer-Cegielski 7RND76 diesels, combined 15447 kW
Speed:	20,5 knots
Capacity:	650 passengers (different sources give different figures)
Crew:	220[2]
General characteristics (currently)[3]
Tonnage:	22080 GRT
Length:	176.28 m (578.35 ft)
Beam:	23.55 m (77.26 ft)
Draught:	8.20 m (26.90 ft)
Installed power:	4 × Sulzer-Cegielski 7RND76 diesels, combined 15447 kW
Speed:	19,5 knots
Capacity:	915 passengers[4]
Crew:	356[4]

MS Marco Polo is a cruise ship operated by Orient Lines, a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line. She was built in 1965 by Mathias-Thesen Werft, East Germany as MS Alexandr Pushkin for the Soviet Union's Baltic Shipping Company.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Design 1.2 Service as Alexandr Pushkin 1.3 Service as Marco Polo 2 Decks 3 Current Cruises 4 References 5 External links

The Alexandr Pushkin was constructed at V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft in Wismar, East Germany. She was the second ship of the Ivan Franko class (also referred to as "poet" or "writer" class), named after the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.^[5] The construction of this class featured some notable differences from contemporary ships built in the West Block. Amongst other things they offered cabins for six people and had three faucets in the bathrooms - for hot, cold and sea water - Both of these features had long since been abandoned in western liners.^[2] The ships also featured certain forward-looking features, such as all outside accommodation for both passengers and the crew, and an indoor/outdoor swimming pool with a sliding glass roof.^[6] To enable the ships to navigate through broken ice, they were constructed with greater hull strength and stability than usual in passenger ships of this size.^[7] The Ivan Franko class ships were also built with the use as a troopship in mind. Due to this they had unusually large provision and storage areas, enabling a cruising range of over 10,000 nautical miles.^[7] As a more visible sign of potential military use, the ships were equipped with unusually powerful deck lifting gear, apparently to be able to transport armoured vehicles onboard.^[2] As built, the ship carried between 650-766 passengers in two classes, with different sources providing different figures.^[5][2][1][8]

The Alexandr Pushkin entered service in 1965 with the Baltic Shipping Company, one of the three principal Soviet passenger shipping companies (the other two being the Black Sea Shipping Company and the Far Eastern Shipping Company).^[5][9][1] Reports about her service in the Soviet fleet are fragmentary and conflicting. Most sources state she was used to inaugurate the Baltic Shipping Company's regular trans-Atlantic service between Montreal, Canada and Leningrad, and later on used for cruising.^[2][7][10] Other sources give a more detailed, but somewhat conflicting, accounts. Philip Dawson's book The Liner - Retrospective & Renaissance gives the full route as Leningrad—Helsinki—Copenhagen—London (Tilbury)—Quebec City—Montreal, in addition to which the ship was used for cruising from Montreal to Saint Pierre and Miquelon, The Bahamas and Cuba during the summer months. According to the book the ship carried just 36 passengers on her first transatlantic crossing.^[6] According to Cruisepage.com, she spent only the summer months on Leningrad—Montreal service, while the rest of the year she was used either on crossing from Leningrad to Havana, Cuba or cruising under charter to western companies.^[5] Fakta om Fartyg offers a somewhat different account, stating that the ship originally entered service as a cruise ship in 1965, only moving to the Leningrad—Montreal route in April 1966, then spending summers from 1967 until 1979 in Leningrad—Bremerhaven—Montreal route and the rest of the year cruising, and from 1979 exclusively on cruise traffic.^[1] According to Dawson, Alexandr Pushkin ended transatlantic service in 1980, bearing the legend "Official XXII Olympics Carrier" on her side for her final season.^[6] At this point she was one of just two passenger liners in transatlantic service, alongside Cunard Line's RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and Polish Ocean Lines' Stefan Batory.^[6] In addition to the liner and cruise service, two sources mention that the Alexandr Pushkin was used in service of the Soviet Navy, particularly in interventions into African countries.^[2][8] The British travel writer Gavin Young travelled from Papeete to Callao on the ship, as described in his book Slow Boats Home (1985).

Although not mentioned in any source, photographic evidence suggests that the Alexandr Pushkin's superstructure was enlargened at some point of hew career, with the forward superstructure expanded and rear promenade decks built in.^[10]

According to most sources, Alexandr Pushkin was transferred from the Baltic Shipping Company into the fleet of the Far Eastern Shipping Company in 1985,^[5][9][1][7] while other sources however claim she stayed under Baltic Shipping Company's ownership through-out her career with the Soviet Union.^[8] She was apparently chartered to CTC Cruises in 1985, for cruising from Europe and Australia.^[5][1] In 1990 she was laid up^[8] at Singapore.^[9][1] In 1991 the ship was sold to Orient Lines, the brainchild of Jerry Herrod, and renamed Marco Polo.^{[5][2][7][9][1][8]}

Following the purchase by Orient Lines, the Marco Polo sailed to Neorian Shipyard, Greece,^[7][1] where her engines were reconfigured by Sulzer Diesels.^[7] Following this she was moved to Perama Shipyard, Greece, where a near-total reconstruction of the ship commenced. Externally this resulted in notable extension of the rear superstructure and heightening of the funnel to maintain the proportions of the ship.^[7] Internally the ship was almost entirely rebuilt under the guidance of naval architect Knud Hansen and interior designers Michael and Agni Katzourakis.^[5][7] In addition to the more visual changes, the ship was fitted with Denny Brown stabilizers, additional diesel engines and brought up to the latest IMO and SOLAS standards. In total the refit took 2½ years and cost - depending on the source - 20^[5] to 60 million dollars.^[7]

In 1993, following completions of the conversion, the Marco Polo began a varying itenary of cruises all over the world, including more unusual destinations such as South-East Asia, Africa and the Antarctica.^[5][7] In 1998 Orient Lines was sold to Norwegian Cruise Lines.^[4][11] The Marco Polo's cruises continued as before, but as a result of the NCL deal MS Crown Odyssey joined her in the Orient Lines fleet in 2000, turning the company into a two-ship brand.^[12] However the Crown Odyssey left the Orient fleet in 2003,^[12] and Marco Polo became again the sole ship of the brand. Since 2005 she has also been the sole surviving Ivan Franko class vessel, the other sisters having either sunk or been scrapped.^[10]

On June 4, 2007, Norwegian Cruise Line announced sale of the Marco Polo, effective March 23, 2008.^[13] The buyer was later revealed to be the Germany-based Transocean Tours.^[11] The sale of the Marco Polo will also mean the end of the Orient Lines brand.^[11]

Deck plans provided by Orient Lines only include full plans of decks accessible to the public, therefore full details are only provided for those. The side elevation picture accompanying the deck plans includes an extra deck below Safari Deck, although no actual plans are provided for this it is included.^[14]

1. Unknown, probably engine rooms
2. Safari Deck - Inside and outside cabins
3. Pacific Deck - Medical center, outside and inside cabins
4. Bali Deck - Seven Seas restaurant, outside and inside cabins
5. Main Deck - Suites, deluxe, outside and inside cabins
6. Belvedere Deck - Ambassador Lounge showroom, Polo Lounge piano bar, tour office, purser's desk, palm court, boutiques, Le Casino, casino bar, card room, library, Raffles indoor and outdoor restaurant, sun deck, pool bar, swimming pool
7. Promenade Deck - The Charleston Club dance bar, deluxe and inside cabins, sun deck
8. Upper Deck - Beauty salon, Internet center, Mandara spa & fitness center, suites, deluxe and inside cabins
9. Sky Deck - Bridge, suites and deluxe cabins, jacuzzis, sun deck

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Marco Polo sails unique itineraries worldwide to ports that larger ships do not generally serve. She is well known for her yearly voyages to Antarctica. Her two high-speed launches and eight inflatable Zodiac landing craft are uniquely suited for Marco Polo's destinations.

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} (Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: M/S Alexandr Pushkin (1965), retrieved 22. 11. 2007
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Le Goff, Oliver: Ocean Liners, pages 122-123. Greenwitch Editions, London, 1999. ISBN 0 86288 274 5
3. ^ Orient Lines: Marco Polo statistics, retrieved 22. 11. 2007
4. ^ ^{a b c} Ward, Douglas: Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006, page 384. Berlitz Publishing 2006. ISBN 981 246 739 4
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Cruisepage.com ship profiles: MV Marco Polo, retrieved 22. 11. 2007
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Dawson, Philip (2005). The Liner - Retrospective & Renaissance. Conway, pages 175-176. ISBN 978-1-84486-049-4. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Sealetter Cruise Magazine: Marco Polo: History, retrieved 22. 11. 2007
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} Miller, William H. Jr.: Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994, page 2. Dover Publications, New York, 1995. ISBN 0 486 28137 X
9. ^ ^{a b c d} Cruise Critic forum: Russian Ship Mikhail Lermontov, retrieved 22. 11. 2007
10. ^ ^{a b c} Simplon Postcards: Alexandr Pushkin, retrieved 22. 11. 2007
11. ^ ^{a b c} Simplon Postcards: Orient Lines, retireved 22. 11. 2007
12. ^ ^{a b} (Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: M/S Crown Odyssey (1988), retrieved 22. 11. 2007
13. ^ NCL Press Release: NCL Corporation Announces Farewell Season of Marco Polo, retrieved 28. 8. 2007.
14. ^ Orient Lines: Marco Polo deck plans, retrieved 22. 11. 2007

• Orient Lines page for Marco Polo

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Ivan Franko · Marco Polo · Taras Shevchenko · Shota Rustaveli · Mikhail Lermontov