Variety Cruises

Historical Milestones

Variety Cruises traces its roots back to 1949, when Diogenis Venetopoulos introduced Zeus Tours, the first floating travel immersion company designed to support archaeological sites and cultural discovery. By 1968, the company expanded into maritime experiences with Zeus Cruises, while also beginning meaningful collaborations with local communities across the Mediterranean. This commitment to cultural preservation continued in 1990 through support of Santorini’s Akrotiri archaeological site. In 2005, the company evolved into Variety Cruises, expanding its global reach and deepening its connection with diverse communities around the world.

Entering the next decade, Variety Cruises strengthened its dedication to education and social impact. In 2011, under the leadership of Lakis Venetopoulos, the company launched its education initiative with the establishment of the Lamin Koto School in The Gambia. This was followed by continued support for global causes, including the Seychelles Archbishop Scholarship in 2012 and advocacy for the LGBTQI+ community in 2013 through the creation of VARIETY PRIDE. The company further invested in education by introducing student scholarships in The Gambia in 2015 and supporting children’s learning initiatives such as the Kuntaur Film Festival in 2016.

Sustainability and global responsibility became central pillars in the years that followed. In 2017, Variety Cruises pledged to lead in environmental sustainability, while continuing its social initiatives through VARIETY CARES. By 2019, the organization gained international recognition as VARIETY PRIDE honored The Trevor Project at the United Nations, alongside celebrating milestones like the Lamin Koto Super School. During the global challenges of 2020 and beyond, the company remained active in community engagement, supporting initiatives like the Inside Out Art Initiative in The Gambia and joining Tourism Declares Climate Emergency in 2021.

In recent years, Variety Cruises has continued to expand its impact through partnerships and innovation. In 2022, the company collaborated with The Explorers Club for World Oceans Week, reinforcing its commitment to ocean conservation. By 2023, Variety Cares contributed to the expansion of the Lamin Koto school by transforming an abandoned building into The Rose Museum, honoring founder Triantafyllos Venetopoulos and enriching educational opportunities with donated materials from global partners and guests. In 2024, the company reached a significant milestone by achieving carbon offset certification for the Galileo, supporting Sustainable Travel International’s Climate Impact Portfolio and advancing efforts to reduce emissions while promoting healthier environments and communities worldwide.

Mission

Variety Cruises is to provide a  sustainable  sea-going platform for engaging their guests in  meaningful communication  and  exchange of values  with the local communities they visit. "We don't just believe in giving back, we believe in giving." - Lakis Venetopoulos

Creating a
Better World At Sea 
since 1949

'To travel is to immerse yourself’ - VARIETY CARES™ is a creative non-profit foundation that ties together a like minded community of worldwide travelers who share the notion that 'to travel is to immerse yourself, with the destination and its people at heart. 

Variety Cruises three guiding principles are:

CLEAN OCEANS 4ALL

The ocean is the natural playground that keeps us alive and allows us to experience the world at its most beautiful pace.

In addition to planning and coordinating clean beach-ups for the natural playground, Variety Cruises joins hands with 4OCEAN, whose professional cleanup crews have recovered millions of pounds of plastic and debris since 2017. SUSTAINABILITY is a word they do not take lightly. Variety Cruises strives for a world where ‘at home at sea’ is not a luxury of this time, but a standard for generations to come as they join the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and embrace the natural playground with love and care. Monitoring environmental impact with ships running on Marine Diesel Oil, reducing plastic waste via a continuously developing single-use plastic reduction plan, and adhering to stringent policies on garbage management are some of the practical ways this is achieved, but that is just the beginning.

GENDER EQUALITY 4ALL

Gender equality means human equality; from women’s empowerment to embracing gender spectrum differences, Variety Cruises creates a stronger world for all.

VARIETY CARES takes great pride in joining hands with Ithaka Films and The Trevor Project to support an impactful campaign around LGBTQ+ equality through the short film Draw with Me. Directed by Constantine Venetopoulos in partnership with The Trevor Project, the film follows the coming-out journey of a youth who identifies as trans, showing how art becomes an outlet for self-expression while navigating a world that at times struggles with diversity. The film has since evolved into a powerful campaign, screening in schools worldwide and at the United Nations.

EDUCATION 4ALL

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” Variety Cruises shares a love for education with youth worldwide who lack access to it, supporting opportunities for learning and broader horizons through travel and engagement.

• Lamin Koto School - The School founded in 2011 provides 100 local children their first steps to a strong education. The school facilitates English-Arabic education for the local community, peacefully uniting under one roof with art at the forefront.

• Inside Out X Lamin Koto - On March 2, 2011, JR won the TED prize at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and called for the creation of a global participatory art project with the potential to change the world. This project is called  Inside Out.  Inspired by JR’s large‐format street “pastings”, INSIDE OUT gives everyone the opportunity to share their portrait and make a statement for what they stand for. It is a global platform for people to share their untold stories and transform messages of personal identity into works of public art.

• Kuntaur Film Festival - Kuntaur Film Festival is a children’s film festival spreading classical film joy to rural villages without access to electricity using portable projectors and mobile sustainable generators.

• Explorer's Club X Variety Cruises - The goal of the partnership is to innovate and expand the Lamin Koto School and make it a prototype for education in the region. As part of the expansion of the school, Variety Cares transformed an abandoned building into a museum named “The Rose Museum”, in honor of its founder, Triantafyllos Venetopoulos, whose first name means “rose” in Greek. The museum will exhibit significant objects donated by the Explorers Club, including a piece from NASA’s spaceship, a flag of the Explorers Club that went to space and a piece of a comet, among other items. Other educational materials include maps, books and compasses donated to the museum from a variety of sources, including Variety Cruise customers.

• Repatriation of 19 MSC Preziosa Crew to Cuba - As a small-ship cruise company with hospitality and warm service at its core, Variety Cruises operates in a spirit of cooperation and resilience, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic places countries on a war footing and challenges the global travel industry. This commitment extends to the high seas, where solidarity guides action in times of adversity. In 2020, the 25-cabin M/S Panorama carries out a repatriation mission, transporting 19 Cuban seamen and women from a large passenger liner in Barbados and making a special 14-day diversion to support their safe return.

As of January 1, 2022, 5 EUROS from each passenger cruise participation go toward efforts via VARIETY CARES, helping create a better world at sea one cruise at a time. On behalf of the team, the destinations, and the communities visited, a big THANK YOU is extended for each contribution.

100% OF THE PROFITS from merchandise go straight back to the mission of VARIETY CARES, supporting clean oceans, gender equality, and education for all. Souvenirs are enjoyed with comfort, while actively contributing to A BETTER WORLD AT SEA.