The Portuguese cruise ferry ATLÂNTIDA was purchased on 19 September 2014 by Mystic Cruises, of Oporto, Portugal, a new company set up by the river cruise operator Douro Azul as their new ocean cruising arm.ATLÂNTIDA spent 1040 days in lay up at the Alfeite Dockyard, off Lisbon, and sailed on 1 October to Viana do Castelo, returning to her birthplace in 2007-2009 to be converted into a luxurious expedition cruise ship for 156 pax and 100 crew.
She is going to be renamed and introduced into cruise service on 2 January 2016 on the Amazon river doing 7-day cruises for the US market between Manaus and Iquitos and 14-day cruises from Belém to Iquitos, in an international regular operation on the Amazon in Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
The ATLÂNTIDA was designed and built for ATLÂNTICO Line, the state owned ferry operator at the Azores Islands, but refused in 2009 on the ground that she could not meet the contract speed by 1 knot. This refusal contributed to the bankrupcy and liquidation of Vianayards, another Portuguese state owned company, and it took five years before a buyer has finaly purchased the ATLÂNTIDA. To see more photos and post related to the ATLÂNTIDA click here.Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia