Festival Cruises was a Greece-based cruise line

Cruise line

A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...

 that operated between 1994 and 2004. It was founded in 1992 by the Greek entrepreneur George Poulides using second-hand ships. The company acquired three new-built ships between 1999 and 2002, but was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2004.

History

George Poulides founded Festival Cruises in 1992. The company begun operations in 1994 after purchasing from Chandris Cruises. The following year the company acquired MS Starward from Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...

, renaming her . A third second-hand ship followed in 1997, when MS Southern Cross was acquired from Premier Cruise Line

Premier Cruise Line

Premier Cruise Line a subsidiary of Premier Cruises, was a cruise line that was headquartered in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was at one time licensed as the official cruise line of Walt Disney World and used the trademark "The Big Red Boat" based on the color scheme of some of its ships...

 and renamed for service with Festival.

Festival Cruises acquired their first newbuilt ship in 1999, when was delivered from Chantiers de l'Atlantique

Chantiers de l'Atlantique

Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. In 2000 Festival Cruises announced that the company would be merged into Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...

 (P&O), with the Festival Cruises brand being maintained under P&O ownership. The merger plan was abandoned later that year due to low value of cruise line shares at the time. Two additional newbuilt ships based on an enlarged version of the Mistral design were delivered in 2001 and 2002 as and , respectively. Following delivery of the new ships the Bolero and Flamenco were chartered to other opeators. Festival Cruises had an option for two more ships of the enlarged Mistral design, but the company decided not to use the option. Two more Mistral class ships were however built for MSC Cruises as MSC Lirica

MSC Lirica

MSC Lirica is a Mistral-class cruise ship, owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She was the first newbuild cruise ship to enter service for MSC Cruises. She can accommodate 2,069 passengers in 780 cabins. Her crew complement is approximately 700....

and MSC Opera

MSC Opera

MS MSC Opera is a cruise ship built in 2004 and currently operated by MSC Cruises. She served as the flagship of the company until MSC Musica entered service in 2006...

.

Festival Cruises went bankrupt in early 2004, with all the company's ships were laid up and subseuqently auctioned to other operators; European Stars and European Vision were sold to MSC Cruises, Mistral to a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 investor group who chartered her to Iberojet

Iberojet

Iberojet is a Spanish holiday company, and a constituent of the Orizonia Corporation.-Overview:Iberojet is a wholesale travel company, providing a range of services, most notably air travel. The company's key services are holidays within Spain, the wider European continent and the Mediterranean,...

, The Azur to Mano Maritime

Mano Maritime

Mano Maritime is an Israeli owned cruise line, based in Haifa, Israel. The cruise line is aimed at the Israeli public. The parent company of the line, Mano Holdings Ltd., operates cargo ship services as well. Mano Maritime itself serves as a general agent in Israel for the Japanese shipping...

, Bolero to Orient Queen Shipping and Flamenco to Cruise Elysia.

Ships

Ship	Built	In service for Festival Cruises	Tonnage Tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...	Status as of 2008
MS The Azur MS Royal Iris MS Royal Iris is a 1971 built car ferry/cruise ferry which was later rebuilt into a cruise ship in 1981. She is the last surviving ship ever owned by the Chandris Lines. She is the last surviving ship out of three near identical sisters, the others being the ill-fated Scandinavian Star and the...	1971	1994–2004		Since 2004 MS Royal Iris for Mano Maritime Mano Maritime Mano Maritime is an Israeli owned cruise line, based in Haifa, Israel. The cruise line is aimed at the Israeli public. The parent company of the line, Mano Holdings Ltd., operates cargo ship services as well. Mano Maritime itself serves as a general agent in Israel for the Japanese shipping... .
	1968	1995–2001		Since 2006 MS Orient Queen for Louis Cruise Lines Louis Cruise Lines Louis Cruises is a Cyprus-based cruise line that operates cruises from Cyprus, France, Italy, India and Greece . The company also charters several ships to Thomson Cruises... .
	1972	1997–2003		Since 2004 MS New Flamenco for Cruise Elysia.
	1999	1999–2004		Since 2005 MS Grand Mistral for Iberocruceros Iberocruceros Ibero Cruises is a British-American and Spanish owned cruise line based in Madrid, Spain. The company was founded in 2007 as a joint subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc and Orizonia Corporation, under the executive control of Costa Cruises Group, Carnival Corporation's European division... .
	2001	2001–2004		Since 2004 MS MSC Armonia for MSC Cruises.
	2002	2002–2004		Since 2004 MS MSC Sinfonia for MSC Cruises.