Variety Voyager at Quay 8 in Port of Tallinn 15 May 2018

Variety Cruises is a private yacht

cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of passengers. Though ...

based in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece. It owns and operates eight small

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

s and four

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

s. The company was founded in 2006 by Lakis Venetopoulos.

History

Variety Cruises was established in 2006 following the merge of Zeus Tours & Yacht Cruises – a 3rd generation cruise and tourism business operating since 1949- and Hellas Yachts which started operating small ships cruises in 1993. The company’s history dates back to 1949 when the original founder of Zeus Cruises built the company’s first ship Eleutherios in order to fill a need for educational travel in Greece. Diogenis Venetopoulos was a historian turned tour-guide.

Market position

The cruise lines ships have been offering scheduled and specialized charter cruises since 1949 to clients including Mercedes, various Alumni Groups including

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, MIT, Harvard University, National Geographic Lindblad among others. The company has established itself as one of the pioneers in theme cruises including gay and lesbian-themed cruises.

Constantine Venetopoulos Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

one of the cruise lines Ambassadors heads the

International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (abbreviated IGLTA, and formerly named the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association) is an association of tourism businesses that welcome the LGBTQ+ community. As of 2016, the association had membe ...

division of the company.

Destinations

Variety Cruises is known for visiting off the beaten track destinations including The Gambia, in the Rivers of West Africa among other destinations. The cruise lines' first destination was Greece, but since the company's expansion a number of destinations include the Adriatic Sea, Costa Rica & Panama, Cuba, the Canary Islands, Seychelles, and Cape Verde. The company's West Africa destination was featured by

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for their Rivers of West Africa program.

Fleet

Variety Cruises runs a fleet of eight small cruise ships, in addition to owning and renting a fleet of 4 private yachts. The company's flagship is the ''Variety Voyager'', followed by the ''Galileo'', the ''Panorama'', ''Panorama II'', the ''Harmony V'', the ''Harmony G'', the ''Pegasos'', and the ''Callisto''. The company also owns a fleet of smaller yachts solely available for charter including the ''Obsession'', the ''Absolute King'', ''Christiane'', and the ''Monte Carlo''.

Corporate responsibility

The company is closely involved with the local communities visited, with various sustainable action projects including the Kuntaur Film Festival. In 2013, the company founded a school project in The Gambia entitled The Lamin Koto School Project

References

{{reflist Cruise lines Companies based in Athens