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Spotlight on Mystic Invest's Mário Ferreira

Seatrade Cruise Review - June 2019 Issue_Thumbnail
Seatrade Cruise Review's latest edition profiles Mário Ferreira, who built up Douro River cruising in his native Portugal, acquired Germany's Nicko Cruises and is now forging into the expedition cruise sector.

Mystic Invest plans a fleet of 10 expedition ships. The first, World Explorer, is now in service. These vessels are for charter to companies like Quark Expeditions, as well as operation by Nicko and the new customer-facing Mystic Cruises brand in the US.

There's even talk of a float on the New York Stock Exchange in a few years.

Ferreira's journey

Seatrade cover story 'From the river to the sea' details Ferreira's journey from a waiter aboard Cunard ships into a tourism tour de force in Portugal and an international entrepreneur.

Private equity firm Certares Holdings recently took a 40% stake in Mystic's cruise division, and the company is opening an office in downtown Fort Lauderdale led by Mystic Invest veteran Alberto Aliberti as president of Mystic Cruises USA. Four ships are initially dedicated to the US market.

Ferreira is a national hero in Portugal, where prime ministers attend his ship namings and people stop him in the street for selfies.

A future in space travel?

But he is not all work and no play. Ferreira's wide range of talents and interests include cooking, photography, rally racing, helicopter piloting, trap shooting, diving and even space travel.

Read more in Seatrade Cruise Review.