VASCO DA GAMA
Die letzten Häfen
Die letzten Wegpunkte
Die neuesten Nachrichten
One more cruise cancelled
Nicko Cruises has cancelled another voyage of the 'Vasco da Gama'. Marking the 6th cruise scrapped since the vessel entered a shipyard un Brest for emergency repairs in late April 2025, Nicko Cruises recently informed booked passengers that a 14-night Norway and Scandinavia cruise, scheduled to depart on July 2, would not take place with the ship still in drydock. The cancelled voyage was set to explore destinations throughout Norway and Scandinavia over a fortnight. With port calls including Hammerfest, Alesund and Bergen, passengers who had booked the sailing received email notifications from Nicko Cruises explaining the decision to cancel the departure. The ship left Brest finally on July 11 shortly past 2 p.m. with an ETA in Kiel as of July 15, where the first cruise after the repairs, destined to Drnmark, Sweden and Poland and lasting ten days, was due to start on July 16.
Two more cruises cancelled as repairs in Brest were extended
Repairs to the 'Vasco da Gama' in Brest were taking longer than initially expected amd were exüected tp be completed on July 2. The shipyard was overhauling all five generators, opting for a comprehensive overhaul rather than working on individual components. A particular challenge was the supply of spare parts. For a ship that is approximately 30 years old, the necessary parts must be custom-made. This further extended the timeline for the work. Nicko Cruises had thus to cancel two more cruises. The first cancellation was the full charter voyage "Spartacus Gay Cruise," which was scheduled to take place from June 9 to 14,. The second cancellation was the regular cruise from June 14 to July 2. A thorough analysis of the damage has now revealed the full extent of the necessary repairs. This has also allowed for a realistic assessment of the required timeframe. Workers continued to work diligently to expedite the necessary repairs and return the 'Vasco da Gama' to service as quickly as possible. Several alternatives have already been developed for guests of the canceled cruise from June 14 to July 2. Passengers were requested to return the reply form sent to them to Nicko Cruises by June 17, at the latest, and select their preferred option. The alternatives offered apply exclusively to this voyage and not to the also-canceled full charter voyage, "Spartacus Gay Cruise." As a first option, the cruise line was offering rebooking on the similar "Norway and Iceland" voyage from July 15 to August 3. Guests will receive a goodwill discount of ten % on the cabin price for this rebooking. Alternatively, affected passengers could rebook on any other cruise from the river and ocean cruise program for the 2026/2027 season. Nicko Cruises also offered a 10 % discount on the cabin price for this option. Should none of the offered alternatives be suitable, the already paid travel price would be refunded within the statutory period of 14 days. However, the cruise line pointed out that processing could only begin after receipt of the completed reply form. If guests incur cancellation fees in this context, the corresponding receipts could be submitted to Nicko Cruises. Furthermore, the cruise line requested that all passengers who have incurred additional costs due to already booked arrivals and departures to Kiel send the corresponding documentation to customer service.
Cruise ship aborted delivery voyage to Hamburg and cancelled another cruise
After only a few nautical miles in the English Channel, the 'Vasco da Gama' had to abandon its delivery voyage on May 23 short before midnight and returned to the shipyard in Brest on May 24 at 2 p.m. The cruise, scheduled to depart from Hamburg for the North Cape on May 26, has thus also been canceled. In the corresponding letter to the affected passengers, the operator nicko cruises emphasised that the technical problems that have now arisen were in no way related to the recent repairs to the starboard propeller, stating that it was a problem with one of the main engines. After careful consideration, the decision was made to return to Brest to thoroughly investigate the cause and initiate the necessary measures. The ship remained stationary in Brest as of May 26.
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