MS Marco Polo

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Marco Polo
Status:	In Service
Entered Service:	1965 as Alexandr Pushkin; in 1993 as Marco Polo
Tonnage:	22,080 gross tons
Length:	578 feet
Beam:	77 feet
Draft:	27 feet
Cruising Speed:	19.5 kn
Decks:	8
Complement:	826 passengers; 350 crew
Registry:	Bahamas

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.

The Marco Polo

1 History
2 Vessel Class
3 Amenities
4 Current Cruises
5 External links
6 Notes

[edit] History

The Alexandr Pushkin was constructed at V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft Shipyard in East Germany and she entered service in 1965 with the Baltic Shipping Company to inaugurate their regular trans-Atlantic service between Montreal, Canada and Leningrad. To navigate through broken ice, she was constructed with greater hull strength and stability than are usual in passenger ships of this size. Possible use as a troopship is credited as the reason behind her large provision and stores areas, which support a cruising range of over 10,000 nautical miles. In 1990 she was laid up, until sold to Orient Lines in 1991. Renamed Marco Polo, she was rebuilt in 1991-1993 under the supervision of Knud Hansen, naval architects, and A&M Katzourakis, ship designer.^[1] ^[2]

[edit] Vessel Class

Alexandr Pushkin was the second ship of the Ivan Franko -class to be built, and the last one to survive to this date. Her sisters were MS Ivan Franko (built 1964, scrapped 1997), MS Shota Rustaveli (built 1966, scrapped 2003), MS Taras Shevchenko (built 1967, scrapped 2005) and MS Mikhail Lermontov (built 1972, sunk 1986).

[edit] Amenities

Swimming Pool, 3 Jacuzzis
Ambassador Lounge - Showroom with stage, piano, dance floor, full bar
Polo Lounge - Piano bar
The Charleston Club - Panoramic aft-deck lounge, dance floor, full bar, grand piano
Raffles - Bistro-style restaurant, double buffet, outdoor barbecue grill area
Seven Seas Restaurant - Main dining room
Palm Court - Airy, colonial-style enclave
Le Bar - Intimate lounge adjacent to casino with full bar
Library
Card Room
Aerobics Studio
Casino
Salon, Boutiques, Health Club, Internet Cafe
Helipad - located on the ship's top deck

[edit] Current Cruises

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.