Marco Polo sailed her farewell itinerary on 2 March from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon before she left Orient Lines and cruised on to new horizons.

While we’re taking a look back at her illustrious career, it’s also a time to look forward to the exciting new cruise opportunities available to you with Orient Lines sister company, NCL. Click here for more information on NCL Freestyle Cruising.

A brief history of Marco Polo

1965 – S/S Alexander Pushkin, built by the Mathias Thesen Shipyard in what was East Germany, is delivered to the Baltic Shipping Company for its Leningrad/Montreal service.

Mid-1970’s – The ship switches to full-time cruising.

1991 – Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the ship, now owned by the Far Eastern Shipping Company of Vladivostok and cruising in Australia, is sold to British interests and is slated to be the first ship in a new cruise line venture, Orient Lines.

1991-1993 – S/S Alexander Pushkin enters a Greek shipyard, where she is stripped down to the bare steel, her engines are refurbished and the ship is transformed into a sleek cruise liner with an Art Deco-inspired interior.

1993 – Marco Polo makes her debut cruise for Orient Lines from Mombasa to Cape Town and the concept of Destination Cruising is born.

1998 – Orient Lines and Marco Polo are bought by Norwegian Cruise Line and the ship continues to operate worldwide cruise itineraries.

2003 – Marco Polo celebrates a decade of Destination Cruising.

2007 – NCL announces the sail of Marco Polo along with two other mid-sized ships in the NCL fleet.

2008 – Marco Polo makes her final voyage under the Orient Lines flag, sailing from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon.