Variety Cruises
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Variety Cruises
| logo =
| type = Private cruises
| genre =
| foundation = 2006
| founder = Lakis Venetopoulos
| location_city =
| location_country =
| location = Athens, Greece.
| locations =
| area_served = Greece, Turkey, The Adriatic Sea, North Sea, Costa Rica & Panama, Cuba, the Canary Islands, Seychelles, Costa Rica & Panama, and Cape Verde
| key_people = Lakis Venetopoulos, CEO, Chairman and President
Dimitris Vassilakis, COO
| industry = Cruises
| products =
| services = Cruises
| market cap =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner =
| num_employees =
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| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = [http://www.varietycruises.com www.varietycruises.com]
| footnotes =
| intl =
}}
File:Variety Voyager at Quay 8 in Port of Tallinn 15 May 2018.jpg
Variety Cruises is a private yacht cruise line based in Athens, Greece. It owns and operates a number of small cruise ships and yachts. The company was founded in 2006 by Lakis Venetopoulos.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/27/business/rough-going-for-greek-merchant-fleet.html|title=Rough Going for Greek Merchant Fleet|last=Tagliabue|first=John|work=The New York Times |date=27 May 1997 |access-date=2018-07-30|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419182850/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/27/business/rough-going-for-greek-merchant-fleet.html|archive-date=19 April 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
==History==
Variety Cruises was established in 2006 following the merge of Zeus Tours & Yacht Cruises, a third 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.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-04 |title=Variety Cruises' CEO Fillipos Venetopoulos has a big vision for small ships |url=https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/people-opinions/variety-cruises-ceo-fillipos-venetopoulos-has-big-vision-small-ships |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=seatrade-cruise.com |language=en}}
In 2013, the company founded a school project in The Gambia entitled The Lamin Koto School Project {{Cite web |title=Media Center |url=http://www.varietycruises.com/english/home/mediaCenter/0/variety-cruises-lamin-koto-school-project-rivers-of-west-africa-cruise/35 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731032713/http://www.varietycruises.com/english/home/mediaCenter/0/variety-cruises-lamin-koto-school-project-rivers-of-west-africa-cruise/35 |archive-date=31 July 2018 |access-date=2018-07-30 |website=Varietycruises.com |df=dmy-all}}
Company
The company has established itself as one of the pioneers in theme cruises including gay and lesbian-themed cruises.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3|title=Top 10 Cruise Lines for Gay and Lesbian Travelers - Cruise Critic|website=Cruisecritic.com|language=en-us|access-date=2018-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405043414/http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3|archive-date=5 April 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.frontiersmedia.com/frontiers-blog/2012/07/15/variety-cruises-announces-gay-cruise-in-greec/ |title=Variety Cruises Announces Gay Cruise in Greece Benefitting the Trevor Project - Frontiers Media |access-date=5 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603053017/https://www.frontiersmedia.com/frontiers-blog/2012/07/15/variety-cruises-announces-gay-cruise-in-greec/ |archive-date=3 June 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.travelweekly.com/cruise-travel/insights/variety-cruises-courts-gay-community-yoga-enthusiasts/|title=Variety Cruises courts gay community, yoga enthusiasts: Travel Weekly|website=Travelweekly.com|language=en|access-date=2018-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419222841/http://www.travelweekly.com/cruise-travel/insights/variety-cruises-courts-gay-community-yoga-enthusiasts/|archive-date=19 April 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2013/01/28/variety-cruises-gay-voyage-europe/1871001/|title=Variety Cruises expands gay voyages for 2013|work=USA TODAY|access-date=2018-07-30|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731032708/https://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2013/01/28/variety-cruises-gay-voyage-europe/1871001/|archive-date=31 July 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
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,{{Cite web|url=http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=502412|title=Cuba on a Small Ship - Panorama Review - Cruise Critic|website=Cruisecritic.com|language=en-us|access-date=2018-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417024601/http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=502412|archive-date=17 April 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} the Canary Islands, Seychelles, and Cape Verde.{{Cite web|url=http://www.varietycruises.com/english/home/cruiseCalendar|title=Our Destinations|website=Varietycruises.com|access-date=2018-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315232954/http://www.varietycruises.com/english/home/cruiseCalendar|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} The company's West Africa destination was featured by CNN for their Rivers of West Africa program.{{Cite web|url=http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-814125|title=West africa the variety cruises way|website=CNN iReport|language=en|access-date=2018-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419194155/http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-814125|archive-date=19 April 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.varietycruises.com/english/home/mediaCenter/0/variety-cruises-announces-acquisition-of-the-my-callisto/62|title=Media Center|website=Varietycruises.com|access-date=2018-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406062107/http://www.varietycruises.com/english/home/mediaCenter/0/variety-cruises-announces-acquisition-of-the-my-callisto/62|archive-date=6 April 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} The company also owns a fleet of smaller yachts solely available for charter including the Obsession, the Absolute King, Christiane, and the Monte Carlo.
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||||||
| Name || Built || Builder || Gross Tonnage || Flag || Length || Draft || Pax Capacity | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To Callisto | style="text-align:Center;"| 1963 | style="text-align:Center;"| Kremer-Werft - Elmshorn | style="text-align:Center;"| 499 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis|civil}} | align="Left"| 49 m. | align="Left"| 3,5 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 34 guests |
| Harmony V | style="text-align:Center;"| 1985 | style="text-align:Center;"| Dentas Shipbuilding & Repair | style="text-align:Center;"| 693 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Greece|civil}} | align="Left"| 55 m. | align="Left"| 3 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 49 guests |
| Pegasos | style="text-align:Center;"| 1989 | style="text-align:Center;"| Glynos Athens | style="text-align:Center;"| 773 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Greece|civil}} | align="Left"| 44 m. | align="Left"| 3 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 44 guests |
| Pan Orama | style="text-align:Center;"| 1991 | style="text-align:Center;"| Kastrinos | style="text-align:Center;"| 674 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Greece|civil}} | align="Left"| 53 m. | align="Left"| 5,5 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 49 guests |
| Galileo | style="text-align:Center;"| 1995 | style="text-align:Center;"| Fratzis Shipyard | style="text-align:Center;"| 564 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Greece|civil}} | align="Left"| 48 m. | align="Left"| 2,8 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 49 guests |
| Harmony G | style="text-align:Center;"| 2001 | style="text-align:Center;"| Savvas Shipyard | style="text-align:Center;"| 498 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Greece|civil}} | align="Left"| 54 m. | align="Left"| 3,7 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 44 guests |
| Pan Orama II | style="text-align:Center;"| 2004 | style="text-align:Center;"| Koutalis & Kostergias Shipyard | style="text-align:Center;"| 498 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Greece|civil}} | align="Left"| 49 m. | align="Left"| 4,5 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 49 guests |
| Variety Voyager | style="text-align:Center;"| 2012 | style="text-align:Center;"| Psarros Shipyard | style="text-align:Center;"| 1,593 tons | style="text-align:Center;"| {{flag|Marshall Islands|civil}} | align="Left"| 66 m. | align="Left"| 3,5 m. | style="text-align:Center;"| 72 guests |