Royal Olympia Cruises is amending its fleet deployment from the UK this summer (it is replacing the 628-passenger Stella Solaris on its new ex Dover cruises with the larger 756-lower berth Triton).

This will result in the availability of approximately 700 additional beds across the 10 sailings of the Baltic and Norwegian Fjords cruises. The line said bookings have achieved near 100% occupancies.

‘We’ve been delighted with the strong sales already generated by our first ever series of ex UK cruises and I’m pleased that we have the opportunity to have more capacity and a faster ship on the route,’ said Chris Lorenzo, ROC’s UK general manager.

An extensive refurbishment of Stella Solaris has been postponed in light of the current international crisis. Triton’s move will result in the 448-passenger Odysseus operating the weekly Golden Fleece cruises in the Aegean in its place.

This is expected to result in Royal Olympia achieving better load factors with this popular itinerary, which was thought to be vulnerable to the expected downturn in US passengers. Itineraries operated by World Renaissance, Olympia Countess, Olympia Voyager and Olympia Explorer will not be affected.

The Triton is NOT AT ALL ADEQUATE to the Stella Solaris.

For Example: Rating in Berlitz 2003 Triton 2+ , 1039 Points, Pax/Crew Ratio 2,8 Basis 2-bed, 3,5 Basis all Beds

Space Ratio 18,7 2-bed, 14,9 all Beds

14.155 Tons and Maximum of 945 Passengers.

It is hard to find Worldwide an Ship with an worse Relation!!

Stella Solaris Rating 3 Stars with 1193 Points,

Pax/Crew Ratio is 1,9 Basis 2-Bed, 2,1 all Beds,

Space Ratio is 27,1 Basis 2-Bed, 25,4 all Beds.

17832 Tons and an Maximum of 700 Passengers.

...and: it is an REAL CLASSIC SHIP, the former CAMBODGE of Messageries Maritimes, France, built at Chantiers d'Atlantique in 1952.

I think she could do well in Northern Europe.

[ 03-20-2003: Message edited by: Ðraikar ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ðraikar:
Triton was Cunard's first true cruise ship,

I think she could do well in Northern Europe.

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Maybe, just maybe, at super-cheap prices.

She is not comparable to STELLA SOLARIS by any stretch of the imagination.

Given the choice of MARCO POLO, NOORDAM, REGAL PRINCESS, or TRITON, on roughly similar routes at roughly similar prices which would you choose?

I rest my case... TRITON is way, way out of her element. The competition is all leagues ahead of her.

And while Louy (sslewis) points out rightly that she used to be a Cunarder, and a rather spiffy one at that (don't shoot me, I see a little QE2 in her), those days are gone...

James Gardiner (QE2 designer) had been brought in by Cunard to try to add a little element of Cunard's newfound stylishness to her, and did a rather good job if you ask me.

Her original designer was Tage Wandborg, who did all of the NCL "white ships" and lots of other passable vessels as well.

When she was bought by NCL, rumor has it that Wandborg convinced Knut Kloster to pay to have every sign of Gardiner's changes (arguably, improvements) erased.

To my eye, the original design is far better. She's not bad looking, but a nondescript little ship.

At any rate, she belongs on short routes in warm weather. That's what she's designed for, all that she's ever been successful at, and probably all that she will ever be successful at.

Oh, and one last thing - no way APOLLON would do this route. STELLA SOLARIS' problem is that her steam plant is what the US government would call a "gas guzzler", that is, she takes in Bunker C fuel at an astonishing rate... That is the case with most steamships and the reason that the ships of today are mostly diesel, like TRITON. APOLLON is of course another steamer and would hardly be much better from a fuel-economy standpoint, though it would be great to see her back...

WORLD RENAISSANCE would be a more appropriate replacement IMHO. At any rate, I don't think any of the ROC fleet would be really competitive, except perhaps STELLA SOLARIS, the originally planned vessel, which is of course a no-go.

quote:

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At any rate, she belongs on short routes in warm weather. That's what she's designed for

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That's good.

The Triton was in the last Time on the German Market, for Holiday Cruises, who have now the
MONA LISA, ex Victoria of P&O. The Contract for the Triton was finished...

...i think, they had an Reason.

On the other Hand, they try at the Moment hard to sell their beds on the new Ship.

I always get reduced Offers, but i booked the CONSTELLATION, from San Juan to Harwich.

Sailing Date is April 26th. One Night before i am in Detroit.

quote:

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Originally posted by Amerikanis:
Cruiseny, you are back?

That's good.

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Things seem to have calmed down here a bit, so I thought it would be silly just to watch and not say anything. It is very nice to see that the first comment yet is, "that's good"... Good is good !

quote:

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On the other Hand, they try at the Moment hard to sell their beds on the new Ship.

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From what I understand, the trouble is at least partially because, in a Renaissance-like move, they do not sell through travel agents, but only their own offices.

I always liked her as the Cunard Adventurer, actually I have a fondness for the seventies ship design. A time when a ships where still designed to have nice looking lines and profiles and that the company where the ship was build for was proud to have a good looking ship. Hard to imagine that only a mere decade later the first flouting “blocks” where introduced.

Though hardly recognisable as the Cunard Adventurer and all those lovely curved elements and funnel chopped off I would still like a change to photograph this Dutch build ship. So I would be happy if someone could post the date of Triton’s visit to Holland.

Thanks in advance, Onno

Here are the links for the cruises (I hope they are actual at this moment):

http://www.aw-kreuzfahrten.de/angebote/trit030522.html

http://www.aw-kreuzfahrten.de/angebote/trit030826.html

http://www.aw-kreuzfahrten.de/angebote/trit030816.html

http://www.aw-kreuzfahrten.de/angebote/trit030906.html

http://www.aw-kreuzfahrten.de/angebote/trit030915.html

OR LOOK AT:

A Problem may be, that the Prices asked are including the Fact of Reduction too high.

The Market at the Moment is extremely cheap, and the Mona Lisa is only between Middle- and First Class in Quality, never an Premium Ship.

You can buy your Cabin cheaper at RCCL or Lelebrity (and a lot of others).

For Example: For my Transatlantic Cruise i pay as follows:

14 Nights in Category 11 inside Euro 544, including Flight from Shiphol Netherlands to San Juan/Puerto Rico.

Extra is the Hotel in Detroit, about 40 Euro/Dollar a Night per Person.

Extra is Harbour Taxes Euro 260 and Airline Taxes Euro 71. Extra is also the Ferry from Harwich to Hoek von Holland at the End of the Cruise.

All together is less than Euro 1000.

Nothing costs the Dutch Railway from Hoek van Holland to Shiphol ant the Transfer Detroit Airfield to the Hotel and back. Also out of Costs is the Transfer in Harwich.

Compare it to the Prices asked by Mona Lisa and you pay double or 300 % Minimum, this is too high for the bader Ship...

...and nowadays on the German Market, we have an big Amount of Offers...

...Ships which look for German Passengers, and of course International too.

The affiliation with DFDS allows passengers to choose Newcastle (using the DFDS Newcastle-Ijmuiden service to connect with the TRITON) or Dover (where the cruises actually begin and end) depending on which is more convenient.

[ 03-21-2003: Message edited by: cruiseny ]

Best, Onno

I did 2 (one from Esbjerg to the North Cape, the other from Travemünde to the Baltic).

I was happy with them. The Company is o.k.

What i found NOT o.k.: to change an more interesting and better Ship (Stella Solaris) into an
worse and uninteresting (Triton), after the Start of
Selling the Product.

And that for the same Prices...

...i see this often at EPIROTIKI and Royal Olympic in the last 22 Years, since i am cruising.

It is for me an Argument, to be very careful with Bookings of ROC Offers.

quote:

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Originally posted by Amerikanis:
DFDS offered in the Past Cruises on the Winston Churchill.

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Ah, WINSTON CHURCHILL... Now that was a ship! She was designed by the same people as SAGAFJORD and it shows...

See this for more about this lovely ship.

(Images from the site linked above - © Bruce Peter Collection.)

DFDS had six rather similar and very beautiful ships built in the 1960s (they have always had many fine ships for that matter), of which WINSTON CHURCHILL was one.

The others:

ENGLAND - Built 1964, Helsingør, Denmark, for Ejsberg-Harwich service. Transfered to Copenhagen-Oslo service 1974. She was sold in 1983 to Cunard, and to several owners after that (she was a Cunarder for a very short time). See here for more - same site as WINSTON CHURCHILL link above). She sank

KONG OLAV V - Built 1968, Riva Trigoso, Genoa, Italy (same yard as WINSTON CHURCHILL) for Copenhagen-Oslo service. She was sold to Chinese owners in 1984 and was used by various Chinese companies under varous names. She was scrapped in 1983 after an accident in Hong Kong harbor. See
here for more (in Swedish only).

PRINSESSE MARGARETHE - Sister to KONG OLAV V, Built 1968, same yard, for same service. She was also briefly sold to Chinese interests in 1984 before winding up with Louis Cruise Line. She is now their PRINCESA CYPRIA but sadly very little is left of the former DFDS ship. See here for more - same site as WINSTON CHURCHILL and ENGLAND links.

AALBORGHUS - another sister to the two ships above, built at the same yard in Italy, but for Copenhagen-Aalborg service. She was refurbished in 1971 and renamed DANA SIRENA, for DFDS service in the Mediterranean (yes, the DFDS empire extended far from Denmark). She was used for various services and chartered out at times to Viking Line and TT-Line before being sold to the Chinese (another one ending up in China). She was renamed TIAN E and it is presumed that she is still in service. No other info available on her Chinese carrer as the PRC is not exactly open about such things. More here - in Swedish again.

TREKONER - last of these, sister to AALBORGHUS, built 1970 at the same yard for the same service. Her DFDS career was roughly similar to her sister. She was renamed DANA CORONA after rebuilding, then DANA SIRENA (confusing as her sister also took that name). She was sold to Saudi interests in 1983 and sank in 1994. More information here. This one from the same wonderful site as the ENGLAND, WINSTON CHURCHILL, PRINSESSE MARGARETHE links. In case you did not guess, the webmaster is a big fan (maybe the biggest) of DFDS .

quote:

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What i found NOT o.k.: to change an more interesting and better Ship (Stella Solaris) into an worse and uninteresting (Triton), after the Start of Selling the Product.

And that for the same Prices...

...i see this often at EPIROTIKI and Royal Olympic in the last 22 Years, since i am cruising.

It is for me an Argument, to be very careful with Bookings of ROC Offers.

You NEVER know, on what Ship you will end...

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I agree, if I was booked on one of those cruises, I would be a bit annoyed.

Then again, as you said, this is Epirotiki tradition. When you think of ROC, do not think of Sun Line, for Sun Line is gone, has been for years... Think "Epirotiki", if that thought does not please you, don't go.

The only ships of theirs I'd go on are the two new fast twins, primarily because they can only be replaced with the other sister as the other ships are all far to slow to keep up those schedules ! I do not desire to sail on TRITON, OLYMPIA COUNTESS, etc. and from what I have heard even STELLA SOLARIS is a bit, er, faded. She still looks like a lovely ship but no doubt she is not the same as in her Sun Line heyday when she really was one of the best with Royal Viking etc.