MSC OPERA and FUNCHAL in Lisbon

The cruise ships MSC OPERA and FUNCHAL passing eachother on the river Tagus off Lisbon Santa Apolónia Cruise Terminal on the afternoon of 2 September 2014.

The FUNCHAL arrived from Falmouth and departed at midnight for Malaga while the MSC OPERA made another of her regular calls on the program od summer cruises she is operating visiting Lisbon every ten days. Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

FUNCHAL in Lisbon 15 August 2011

The Portuguese cruise ship FUNCHAL berthed in Lisbon  undergoing her refit in order to comply with SOLAS 2010.

Photos taken from the river off Matinha pier.

Funchal was in Lisbon from 16 September 2010 until 15 August 2013. On this date she sailed for sea trials off the river Tagus bar.

She wais expected to return to service in July 20132, but this did not materialize and the ship was sold in January 2013 to Portuscale Cruises, following the colapse of Classic International Cruises in November 2012.

The refit of FUNCHAL was soon resumed by the new owners and completed in August 2013 in Lisbon.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

FUNCHAL in Lisbon 23-02-2009

Close ups of the Classic International Cruises passenger liner FUNCHAL undergoing extensive refiting work in Lisbon where she arrived 12 October 2008.
Next return to service on 5 April 2009 from Lisbon on a Canary Islands 7-day Easter cruise.
FUNCHAL was the first cruise ship to be operated by Mr George Potamianos' Lisbon-based Classic International Cruises. She was purchased frm CTM in August 1985 and started her first CIC cruise in December 1985.
In November 1986 a second ship was purchased, the INFANTE DOM HENRIQUE, rebuilt in Lisbon and Greece 1986-1988 and introduced in November 1988 as VASCO DA GAMA.
This famous former Portuguese flagship was sold in 1995 to Cruise Holdings and replaced in 1996 by PRINCESS DANAE.
The fleet was further expanded with the purchase in 1999 of ARION, built 1965 as ISTRA, followed in 2004 by ATHENA, the former ITALIA PRIMA of 1994 (a ship rebuilt in Italy using the hul of the former STOCKHOLM of 1948) and in 2007 the PRINCESS DAPHNE ex-OCEAN MONARCH.
Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to enlarged the images. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia