Variety Cruises is a private yacht cruise line based in Athens, Greece. It owns and operates a number of small cruise ships and yachts. The company was founded in 2006 by Lakis Venetopoulos.
History Variety Cruises was established in 2006 following the merge of Zeus Tours & Yacht Cruises, a third generation cruise and tourism business operating since 1949, and Hellas Yachts, which started operating small ships cruises in 1993. The company’s history dates back to 1949 when the original founder of Zeus Cruises built the company’s first ship Eleutherios in order to fill a need for educational travel in Greece.
In 2013, the company founded a school project in The Gambia entitled The Lamin Koto School Project
Company The company has established itself as one of the pioneers in theme cruises including gay and lesbian-themed cruises.
Destinations The cruise lines' first destination was Greece, but since the company's expansion a number of destinations include the Adriatic Sea, Costa Rica & Panama, Cuba, the Canary Islands, Seychelles, and Cape Verde. The company's West Africa destination was featured by CNN for their Rivers of West Africa program.
Fleet Variety Cruises runs a fleet of eight small cruise ships, in addition to owning and renting a fleet of 4 private yachts. The company's flagship is the Variety Voyager, followed by the Galileo, the Panorama, Panorama II, the Harmony V, the Harmony G, the Pegasos, and the Callisto. The company also owns a fleet of smaller yachts solely available for charter including the Obsession, the Absolute King, Christiane, and the Monte Carlo.
Name Built Builder Gross Tonnage Flag Length Draft Pax Capacity To Callisto 1963 Kremer-Werft - Elmshorn 499 tons 49 m. 3,5 m. 34 guests Harmony V 1985 Dentas Shipbuilding & Repair 693 tons 55 m. 3 m. 49 guests Pegasos 1989 Glynos Athens 773 tons 44 m. 3 m. 44 guests Pan Orama 1991 Kastrinos 674 tons 53 m. 5,5 m. 49 guests Galileo 1995 Fratzis Shipyard 564 tons 48 m. 2,8 m. 49 guests Harmony G 2001 Savvas Shipyard 498 tons 54 m. 3,7 m. 44 guests Pan Orama II 2004 Koutalis & Kostergias Shipyard 498 tons 49 m. 4,5 m. 49 guests Variety Voyager 2012 Psarros Shipyard 1,593 tons 66 m. 3,5 m. 72 guests
References