Celestyal Cruises, the cruise shipping unit in the Cyprus based Louis plc group, has announced a one-year extension of the Thomson Spirit charter to Thomson Cruises in the UK, part of the TUI AG group, for the 2018 season.

Thomson Spirit has been chartered to Thomson since May 2003; per the terms of the charter, the ship will operate as a Thomson Cruises vessel until October 2018 with all services provided by Celestyal Cruises through its wholly owned ship management subsidiary, Optimum Ship Management Services SA, Celestyal said.

Celestyal Cruises’ CEO Kyriakos Anastassiadis said in a statement: “We’re pleased that the (Thomson) Spirit is so popular with passengers in the UK market. Thomson Cruises has been a trusted, valued partner for over two decades, and we look forward to extending our relationship further." The ship was built in France as Nieuw Amsterdam of Holland America Line in 1983.