All Leisure Holidays, a wholly-owned subsidiary of All Leisure Group has signed an agreement with Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) to enter into a joint venture where both companies will jointly market the cruise ship Discovery starting next February.

CMV currently operates the classic liner, the Marco Polo.

CMV will operate Discovery for a period of 249 days following her return to service after planned dry dock. Departures will be offered from five regional ports in the UK (Bristol, Liverpool, Hull, Tyne and Harwich), together with voyages to the Mediterranean and Black Sea in the autumn of 2013.

The joint venture is targeted at the value end of the cruise market, according to the company, in a prepared release.

Roger Allard, Chairman, All Leisure Group, said: “This is an exciting development in our business model entering into the value end of the cruise market and also allowing us to share some of the costs of operating the vessel and generating additional income”.