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» Cruise Talk   » Cruise Ships   » THE DISCOVERY

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Author Topic: THE DISCOVERY
anthonyvandyk
First Class Passenger
Member # 3899

posted 07-01-2003 07:48 AM      Profile for anthonyvandyk   Email anthonyvandyk   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I wnet on the Discovery's cruise to Murmansk and Norway last month and was able to get some details of the ship's history. The Master was Captain Erik Bjurstedt who came from Orient Lines where he was for a long time Master of the Marco Polo. By coincidence he was also involved with Discovery when she went into service first as the Island Venture and then as the Island Princess. The Island Princess was sold to Hyundai Corporation in 1999, renamed Hyundai Pungak and used to transport Koreans betwen South and North Koresa to visit families and a revered sacred shrine. Gerry Herrod, who bought the Marco Polo in the early nineties, purchased the Hyundai Pungak in 2001. She sailed to Europe under the name Platinum and went into dry dock in Greece. Then she was supposed to go to Malta for refurbishment but this arrangement was cancelled and instead she went to a Turkish yard. The remainder of the reburbishing woirk was done in Genoa. She left Genoa this spring, renamed Discovery and registered in Bermuda, for a series of mainly European/Mediterannean cruises until the autumn under charter to Voyages of Discovery. She will then undertake worlwide cruises for her owner, Discovery Cruises Ltd., until the spring of 2004; these cruises will be marketed in the UK by Voyages of Discovery. The Discovery's manager and operator is Shipping & General SA, Panama, and Lloyd's Register of Shipping is her classification society. I have a copy of the ship's particulars but will not reproduce them here as they are virtually the same as those of the Island Princess. She now carries a crew of some 300 (mostly Phillippine) and has a maximum passenger capacity of 751.

I found the Discovery to be in pristine condition internally and all the 500 plus fellow passengers with whom I talked were full of praise for her. Many of them paid very low prices taking advantage of massive discounts offered to late bookers.

The unusual feature of my cruise was the call at Murmansk. There were a lot of pasengers aboard who had been involved directly or indirectly with the wartime convoys which brought supplies to Russia this port. Passengers were not allowed to visit the town unless they were on arranged excursions or had visas (none had). Russian red tape required each passenger to complete a lengthy form as though they were going to stay in the country (I went on a cruise to St.Petersburg last year and there were no such forms). It was rumoured that these were scrutinised by some 25 immigration officials who didn't know English:they spent several hours on the ship and were offered a meal (this may have been the reason why they were so numerous!). For those interested (I know Pam is) Murmansk is a drab place with a population of 375,000. It stands on granite hills and is built on three terraces that stretch 12 miles along the Gulf of Kola, an inlet of the Barents Sea. Many of the residential buildings are heated by hot water supplied from a gigantic central boiler with pipes running.overground. In the surroundings of Murmansk are the bases of the Russian northern fleet including nuclear-powered icebreakers and submarine. We passed a large aircraft carrier with the sailors standing at attention on her deck presumably to greet the Discovery (the Caotain sounded the siren in acknowledgement!).

Best wishes. Tony


Posts: 34 | From: Oxford, England | Registered: Jun 2003  |  IP: Logged
Nautical Nigel
First Class Passenger
Member # 2326

posted 07-07-2003 08:45 AM      Profile for Nautical Nigel   Email Nautical Nigel   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Thanks Tony. I am going to Greenland and Iceland on her on 27th July so I am glad that you say the ship is pristine.
Posts: 81 | From: London, England | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged

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