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Orient Lines

From: European Cruise Guide

ABOVE: The Marco Polo, formerly the Aleksandr Pushkin, at sea.

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Orient Lines was a subsidiary of NCL Corporation (owners of Norwegian Cruise Line) that specialized in destination-oriented vacations in Europe, Antarctica, and other regions. The line's only ship, the Marco Polo, entered service as the Aleksandr Pushkin of Baltic Shipping Line in 1965 and was rebuilt as a modern cruise ship in the early 1990s. (We sailed on the Pushkin in its days as a Soviet ocean liner.)

In 2007, NCL sold Marco Polo to a holding company, and the line ceased operations with a farewell voyage between Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon in March, 2008. The ship was then acquired by a British travel company, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, before being scrapped in 2021.

Photo copyright © Orient Lines.