On 28 November 2019, CMV announced that it will take delivery of two ships from P&O Australia in Singapore next year.
As a tribute and celebration of the intrepid and courageous exploits and journeys of past female explorers and adventurers, CMV decided to recognise their truly remarkable achievements by naming their two new ships after them.
For Pacific Dawn, which will take over from Columbus as CMV’s new flagship, CMV selected five great names and invited members of their loyalty club and followers on social media, to make their favoured choice from the list below.
Gertrude Bell
Isabella Bird
Amy Johnson
Mary Kingsley
Lady Hester Stanhope
And the winning name with 41% of the total vote is Amy Johnson.
Amy Johnson (1903-1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. In 1931, aged just 27, Johnson set off from Croydon, Surrey to Darwin, Northern Territory. She went on to set many records including; the first woman to fly from London to Moscow in one day, setting record flying times from Britain to Japan and Cape Town and was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club. During WWII, Johnson joined the Air Transport Auxillary (ATA).
Pacific Aria which will sail under the TransOcean Kreuzfahrten brand on the German market will be renamed Ida Pfeiffer.
Ida Pfeiffer (1797-1858) was an Austrian explorer, travel writer, and ethnographer. Aged 45, Pfeiffer set off on her own to the Holy Land with the aim of completing a pilgrimage. Future trips were funded through her writings. She set off on ‘A Lady’s Voyage Round the World’ in 1846 travelling to South America, China, the South Sea Islands, India, Persia, Russia, Turkey, Greece and Italy. The first journey, and its book, was such a success Pfeiffer undertook ‘A Lady’s Second Journey Round the World’ in 1851 returning in 1855.
At 70,285grt, with 798 passenger cabins and carrying about 1400 passengers, Amy Johnson will be deployed on the UK market in late May 2021 bolstering much needed capacity and cruising year- round alongside Columbus ex-London Tilbury.
Ida Pfeiffer at 55,819grt, with 630 passenger cabins and carrying about 1100 passengers will be deployed on the German market under the TransOcean Kreuzfahrten brand with a much-needed increase in capacity cruising alongside Vasco da Gama and replacing the 580 passenger Astor. She is being re-named Jules Verne and will be re-deployed to the French market in May 2021.
Christian Verhounig, CEO commented: “We are delighted with the chosen names and the opportunity to recognise two outstanding female adventurers and pioneers. Most of all, we are pleased to confirm that Amy Johnson will take over from Columbus as the fleet’s new flagship.”
