The second expedition cruise ship of the Mystic Cruises fleet
Photographs kindly provided by Nicko Cruises (nicko-cruises.de)
In 2017 Mystic Cruises signed a contract with the Portuguese shipyard WestSEA located in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, with delivery in 2020 and 2021 for two more vessels in their planned 10-vessel series, World Voyager and World Navigator. They succeed the first ship of the series, the 2019-built World Explorer, chartered to US operator Quark Expeditions. World Voyager will be operated by Nicko Cruises from Germany.
Already in 2018 Nicko Cruises, up till then a European river cruise operator, actively started promoting their new ocean cruises division to prepare the travel market for the arrival of their first newbuilding World Navigator. She was taken into service in April 2020 when cruising was slowly and carefully starting up again following the COVID – pandemic.
Although she meets all the standards for safely navigating Arctic and Antarctic waters, Nicko Cruises, operators of World Voyager has at this time (December 2021) only planned voyages in European and Caribbean waters for her inaugural season.
World Voyager is owned by Mystic Cruises (based in Portugal) which is currently building up a fleet of 10 sister ships. World Explorer (2019), World Voyager (2021), World Navigator (2021), World Traveller (2022), World Seeker (2022), World Adventurer (2023) and finally (for now) World Discoverer (2023) will be followed by three more sisters. Apart from World Explorer (which is chartered to Quark Expeditions) and World Voyager, all other ships in this series will be operated by Atlas Voyages, a subsidiary of parent company Mystic Cruises.
World Voyager is Portuguese-registered in the isle of Madeira‘s capital Funchal. Owner of Mystic Cruises is Mario Ferreira (he became famous for being one of the first space travellers on board Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space ship). Ferreira owns a conglomerate of companies related to real estate and tourism, Nicko Cruises being one of them.
She is a compact expedition cruise ship, ice-strengthened, measures 9,3000GRT, carries 200 passengers max. and has a crew of 125. Her length of 126 meters and draft of just 4.7 meters allow her to sail to remote places larger ships cannot go.
Sideview
World Voyager is a comfortable vessel with her floor-to-ceiling windows in almost every public space combined with interiors done in light colours. Her observation lounge on Deck 7 is glass-domed with an outdoor terrace. Als on this deck midships her pool, jacuzzis and Lido Cafe can be found. Her other public spaces are all situated on Deck 4: the Main Lounge and bar which also has floor-to-ceiling windows offering equally astonishing views of the ships surroundings, as well as her Auditorium where port talks and lectures etc. take place are both placed forward. Her boutique, library which mainly stocks books on nature and wildlife related topics, casino, spa and bar are midships. World Voyager’s Mystic dining room is located aft and has outdoor seating for alfresco dining, weather permitting. Wifi onboard comes at a surcharge. On her top Deck is a helipad to be used in emergency situations when passengers need to be airlifted off the vessel.
On her six passenger-accessible decks, 200 passengers (just 140 on polar expeditions) can choose from 98 suites spread over three decks, 90 % of these have a private balcony, the remaining suites, situated aft on decks 5 and 6 have a French balcony, while the remaining cabins feature drop down windows.
Of World Voyager‘s 12 suite and stateroom categories, her most luxurious accommodation has a separate sitting- and bedroom. The largest suite, the Owners Suite measures 33 square meters.
A Rolls Royce powerplant is installed consisting of 2 engines running on low-sulphur diesel. Her electric pods controlled by dynamic positioning system using GPS data can keep her stationary pinpointed on exactly the same postion without anchoring and thus not damaging the seabed and disturbing the underwater environment. When the area she sails in permits (shallow water), World Voyager has a second propulsion system, two Schottel-fabricated pumpjets which are suited best at speeds up to 10 knots.
The 70 million euro World Voyager has finally been delivered mid 2021, after her introduction had been postponed several times bacuase of the COVID-pandemic.
I saw her leave Amsterdam after a two day visit on September 19/20, she was the first cruise ship to visit the port of Amsterdam after a lk than, it was great finally seeing a cruise ship leaving the locks of IJmuiden again, giving hope for a full start up of cruising after the pandemic.
World Voyager and her sisters, being comfortble and versatile expedition cruisers, will have no problem holding their own in the endless stream of competitors (over 40 on order in 2020) being introduced at the moment.
