Island Escape Sold – Columbia Cruise Services Remains Manager For New Owner
Thomson Cruises has sold the M/V Island Escape to Cruise Holdings Inc – who has awarded Columbia Cruise Services (CCS) with the Full Manager of the vessel.
The cruise ship is presently on her way to Brest/France shipyard where she will be renamed M/V Ocean Gala.
In 2009, Thomson Cruises entrusted the Technical Management of Island Escape to Columbia. The vessel was built in 1981 by Dubigeon Normandie S. A. in Nantes/France as the largest cruise ferry at that time.
After several conversions under Island Cruises she now has a capacity for 1.760 passengers and 636 crew.
“We are very happy to keep the vessel under CCS Management. Ex Island Escape, now Ocean Gala, is a well maintained and solid cruise vessel. We are keen to continue managing the vessel and are very excited to work together and look forward to a splendid future with Cruise Holdings Inc” stated Olaf Groeger, Director of CCS.
Columbia enhanced its tailor-made service structures within the Cruise industry by founding CCS in 2014. Looking back on more than 30 years of experience in the cruise business it was the right time to set up a specialized 3rd party cruise management service.
CCS is operating out of Hamburg, Germany, since January 2015, dedicated exclusively to passenger, expedition cruise vessels and to the luxury yacht markets. CCS offers a broad scope of customized cruise and hotel services.
