# Phoenix Reisen

Phoenix Reisen is a Germany-based travel agency that also operates a fleet of cruise ships. The company first entered the cruise business in 1988 by chartering the Soviet Union-owned cruise ship SS Maxim Gorkiy.

## History

Phoenix Reisen first begun operating cruises under its own brand in 1988 when the company chartered the West German-built cruise ship SS Maxim Gorkiy from the Soviet Union-based Black Sea Shipping Company on a 20-year charter agreement. In 1993 a second ship joined the Phoenix Reisen fleet, when SS Albatros was chartered from V-Ships. Unlike the Maxim Gorkiy, which retained the colours of her owners in Phoenix service, the Albatros was painted in Phoenix Reisen's own colours with a turquoise funnel displaying the company logo.
Due to numerous mechanical problems, Phoenix Reisen decided to prematurely terminate the charter of the Albatros in December 2003. As a replacement Phoenix quickly chartered MS Crown in January 2004, which was renamed MS Albatros. In 2005 the company fleet expanded to include three ships for the first time when MS Alexander von Humboldt (2005) was chartered from V-Ships. A fourth ship followed in 2006 with the charter of MS Amadea, a higher-class vessel compared with the rest of the Phoenix Reisen fleet. In 2008 the first Alexander von Humboldt was replaced by a larger vessel chartered from Club Cruise, confusingly also named MS Alexander von Humboldt (before entering service the ship was marketed as Alexander von Humboldt II, but she eventually received the same name as the ship she replaced). In late 2008 the charter of the Maxim Gorkiy ended, and due to high fuel prices combined with the high fuel consumption of the ship's steam turbines Phoenix Reisen decided not to renew the charter. In May 2009 Phoenix Reisen chartered MS Athena (2005) from Nina SpA. In April 2011, the company took delivery of MV Artania, which formerly sailed as MV Artemis for P&O Cruises. In July 2019 the fleet was increased with a former HAL ship.

## Fleet
### Current Fleet (Ocean)

| Ship | Built | In service | Registered Owner | Tonnage | Flag | Notes |
| Amadea | 1991 | 2006 onwards | Amadea Shipping Company | 29,008 GT | Bahamas | |
| Amera | 1988 | 2019 onwards | Amera Shipping Company | 38,848 GT | Bahamas | |
| Artania | 1984 | 2011 onwards | Artania Shipping Ltd / Artania GmbH | 44,588 GT | Bahamas | |
| Deutschland | 1998 | 2016 onwards (only Summer) | Absolute Nevada LLC | 22,400 GT | Bahamas | Chartered from Absolute Nevada. Sailing as World Odyssey for Semester at Sea from September until April each year. |

### Former Fleet

| Ship | Built | In Service | Chartered from | Tonnage | Flag | Status |
| Maxim Gorkiy | 1969 | 1988–2008 | Black Sea Shipping Company Sovcomflot | 24,981 GT | Soviet Union Bahamas | Scrapped at Alang, India in 2009 |
| Albatros | 1957 | 1993–2003 | V-Ships | 21,985 GRT | Bahamas | Scrapped at Alang, India in 2004 |
| Carina | 1977 | 1997-2000 | Danube Shipping Company | 7,662 GRT | Cyprus | Scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey in 2013 |
| Albatros | 1973 | 2004-2020 | Albatros Shipping Company | 28,518 GT | Bahamas | Scrapped at Alang, India in 2021 |
| Alexander von Humboldt | 1990 | 2005–2008 | V-Ships | 12,331 GT | Bahamas | Since 2008 sailing as Minerva for Swan Hellenic |
| Alexander von Humboldt | 1990 | 2008 | Club Cruise | 15,343 GT | Bahamas | Currently sailing as the Voyager for Voyages of Discovery |
| Athena | 1948 | 2009 | Nina SpA | 16,144 GT | Portugal | Laid up, pending sale or disposal |