quote:

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Originally posted by elad:
Roc , a result of the famous , 1997
merger between Epirotiki and Sunline
has now goes bankruptcy.
why did it happened?
was it because of the old fleet , high prices
or what?
is there any chance for new greek line?
(eccept Louis new line)

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quote:

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Originally posted by gpcruisedude:
Epirotiki and Sun we're great products by themselves, I think them merging into one also hurt them too! Im not sure if either one was having financial problems, I dont believe so though!

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I don't think, that the non-merger with Carnival is one of the real reasons for it. Just image a "OLYMPIA DESTINY" or so cruising through the Cycladic Islands... Certainly, the real ROC-image would have been lost by now and all would be Carnivalized.

The major problem is really that they did not update their fleet early enough. the financing of OLYMPIA VOYAGER and EXPLORER was a desaster when finally they decided to get new units.

I belive that Epirotiki wanted to keep the traditional ships because one would automaticly connect them with Greece and such vessels really fitted into this market.
Louis is a good example that also traditional ships have their place in the market and it works out. Other proofs are Arcalia and Majestic. They do a splendid job and all three are connected with Greece.
The merger with Sun Line was not too bad but maybe they should have stayed with two brands, Sun Line and Epirotiki.
The merger with Louis did not work out either...

Epirotki itself still exists. They cyurrently operate IASON and HERMES, a third one, OLYMPIA I laid up. They currently focus on the daily-cruise market and with IASON to operate only on charter. Maybe in a few years we will see something new coming up.
And we still have Louis which operates from Greece now too. Even if directed by Cypriots, I think we can still name this brand a Greek company with lots of tradition behind them.

Other pirates like Anaconda Maritime or Golden Star Cruises should be withdrawn from the market as such companies only ruin the image of other Greek shipping companies.

i can easly imagine newbuilds for epirotiki (if there was a merger with Carnival) and i believe that , if there was a merger , Epirotiki would kept her image and style .

in general you and Kostakis are correct. ROC would still be alive under Cranival, I agree with this.

BUT: The Greeks did not get along at all with the ideas of Carnival. It was said there was a main problem between the mentalities (apart of some other problems).
So I really doubt that the Greek image would have been kept under Carnival influence. Maybe the idea, ok. But the rest would have gone the same direction as it did with Costa...

But I have to agree that all the Carnival-companies make money and people book it. The mass-market is dominating while alongside we can still see some individual lines doing well.

What about the rest of the fleet ?

ROC had two former Cunard ships ( Triton and Olympia Countess ) not so bad but the company should have upgrade their interiors. Two classic ships ( Odysseus and World Renaissance ) were far better. The three former Sun Line ships were nearly premium style, even if their interiors were quite dated ( '70 style ). Olympic and Apollon were simply too large for their cruise operations.

Last Year i did 3 Cruises together with my Wife,
one at the Mexican Riviera Pacific Site with the Mercury, this was absolutely the best (Celebrity, of Course)

One to the Eastern Med with the Sapphire from Louis Cruises, with interesting Destinations and better Food than on MSC, this was the cheapest and o.k. The Ship is of an good 2 Star+ Quality.

One round Italy with the Marco Polo, an nice Ship
for an good Price with interesting Destinations.

I would not like to miss one of them.

For the Future, besides Celebrity, my Favourite, i would try Arcalia or Majestic Ships, why not.

Holiday sends always Offers and on Cruisetravel.nl the Athena is in their Programme, as it is at Atlantis Seereisen in Wunstorf. The Atlantis People checked the Ship and found it good.