Swan Hellenic, a historic cruise brand with British roots that's currently being revived as a new cruise product, has tapped V.Ships Leisure, together with its sister brand, Oceanic, to run the ship operations and hotel management for its three new cultural expedition ships. This new partnership will allow Swan Hellenic to secure highly experienced and qualified seafarers from across the globe. V.Ships Leisure is a veteran at ship staffing; plus, it already has tailored training capabilities for both hospitality staff and technical crew.
Swan Hellenic also will benefit from the Oceanic Hospitality Training Center in perfecting its onboard service and hospitality experience. The center has a mock galley, restaurant, bar and suite. Supplementing the training will be V.Ships Leisure’s e-learning platform, which promotes continued learning and development. V.Ships Leisure’s bridge and engine simulators will likewise be used to train the marine and technical crew.
V.Ship Leisure is already on site at Helsinki Shipyard in Finland and supervising construction of Swan Hellenic’s new fleet. Two new, 152-passenger, PC 5 ice-class expedition cruise ships will be delivered in November 2021 and April 2022. A larger PC 6 ice-class vessel accommodating 192 guests will arrive at year-end 2022. All three new ships are being built in full compliance with SOLAS Safe Return to Port requirements.
Swan Hellenic was relaunched in July 2020 to continue the spirit of cultural expedition cruising the company pioneered in the 1950s. It will source guests globally from many countries including the U.S.
Announcing the partnership, Andrea Zito, CEO of Swan Hellenic, said: “V.Ships Leisure and Oceanic were the obvious choice for Swan Hellenic with their proven start-up experience, including in the expedition and luxury sectors. We are excited to be working closely with their team and are confident that together we will deliver an outstanding guest experience on our amazing ships.”
Per Bjornsen, V.Ships Leisure’s CEO, added that he was "thrilled to be involved in the revival of such an extraordinary brand."
For more information on Swan Hellenic, visit www.swanhellenic.com.
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