easycruise - yes the ORANGE one - an update

[excitedofharpenden]

I know this is the Celebrity board, but there was talk of this new venture here a little while ago as an "alternative cruise experience" so I thought I would post an update. There was a program on the TV in the UK just prior to the first cruise which enlightened me a bit as to what it was all about.

 

The owner, Stelios, made his money in Europe with easyjet (with the assistance of his shipping father's money), a very successful airline that has in many ways revolutionised flying on a shoestring in Europe. No frills. No meals. Just the basic service to get you to your destination. I've used them a number of times and they are fine in my book.

 

The ship is orange. The rooms are orange. And I mean orange! The crew have orange t-shirts. The ship itself is relatively small. It is one of the ex-Renaissance ships and the owner of easycruise's father has one as his private yacht. It was was being used as a floating casino and had been left to its own devices. Stelios brokered a good deal with a company in Singapore and had it fitted out as an easycruise ship (with lots of orange - please see above!). Numerous delays meant he wasn't able to trial the ship in the Med as he wanted, so it was pretty much straight to work in Europe.

 

To recap, this is nothing like your normal cruise. The modern way is to have an all inclusive (albeit with more nickel and diming) ship which for most is the venue for the trip planned. The entertainment, food, housekeeping and the like are all part of the price. Your ship visits the ports during the day and travels at night. easycruise has turned this on its head and does not include food or housekeeping as part of your onboard stay. That is all extra. The ship arrives in ports like St Tropez and Monte Carlo during the day, stays there to wait for you to come back from partying and then departs in the middle of the night, ready for the next port and the nightlife that entails. He has one ship and that spends its time plying the route from St Tropez to Portofino. You buy your trip by the night with a minimum two night stay.

 

I looked at the prices for the trip. It didn't seem that inexpensive to me. I think the basic cabins came out at £60 per night (remember no housekeeping or food) and the entertainment on board seems to be a disco, but then that is cheaper than a hotel in the area. It will take a while for the viability of the project to show itself, but I can't help thinking that the ports of St Tropez and Monte Carlo won't be that happy to see an orange ship in port full of party animals. It will be interesting to see what happens, but for now she sails!

 

Here is a link to a recent story. Even easycruise isn't immune to the fickle nature of the weather:

 

http://travel.independent.co.uk/news_and_advice/story.jsp?story=636825

 

Phil

[garykool81]

...and you thought Carnival's passengers were rowdy...

 

:-)

[rocktheboat]

What does Carnival have to do with this.

[Tatka]

 

I looked at the prices for the trip. It didn't seem that inexpensive to me. I think the basic cabins came out at £60 per night (remember no housekeeping or food) and the entertainment on board seems to be a disco, but then that is cheaper than a hotel in the area. It will take a while for the viability of the project to show itself, but I can't help thinking that the ports of St Tropez and Monte Carlo won't be that happy to see an orange ship in port full of party animals. It will be interesting to see what happens, but for now she sails!

 

I was seriously looking at this..as we loved French Rivere region (visited it on our Splendor cruise last May), and it's too expensive to stay in hotel there.

 

Also I loved itinerary:

 

Nice - Cannes - St. Tropez - Monaco - Genoa - Portofino - San Remo - Nice

 

you can also stay less than 7 days on thip... I tried to do reservations (to check the price) and I got $90 daily in the beginning of July!!! (Only $630 total!) I know it doesn't include food and such, but it's still nice price for a week there.

 

Natasha

[Elaine0138]

In July this little ship will be a floating 'lager palace'.

You don't dock until at least mid-day so you can sleep off the night before excesses, then leave port around 2am-4am so you can soak up the night life in the resorts.

Also the beds are rather low, mattresses are velcro'd to the floor, at least Stelios did decide to provide bed linen at no extra charge.

[dmarch@islc.net]

I don't get it. Why would you pay 60 pounds pp per day when you can go X for sometimes around 60 dollars pp per day and be treated famously? Where's the deal?

[Andym]

$60 a day in the med. You can dream...

[garykool81]

$60 a day in the med. You can dream...

 

Agreed. X's prices in the med are in most cases a tad closer to $200 pp/day.

[Wor Lad]

What's next - a coracle and a Fodor's Guide to sleeping under bridges!

[Elaine0138]

Remember the £60.00 per day is for your room only. No food and if you want a clean room then that is up to you. Oh and there are no drawers or wardrobes

[Tatka]

This price isn't per person...but per room. (30 pounds pp)

 

Also all mass market cruises (X, RCCL , Princess) cover many ports that I don't want to go second time ( Civitaveccia, Livorno). This cruise is great for people who wants to stay particulary in French/Italian Revere.

[trubey]

I was seriously looking at this..as we loved French Rivere region (visited it on our Splendor cruise last May), and it's too expensive to stay in hotel there.

 

Natasha

 

Tatka, I don't know if your family would be interested, but I have been to the Provence/Riviera probably 6 times. Several times we stayed in super-fancy luxury hotels. And yes they cost a fortune.

 

But twice, we saw the whole area in about two weeks with a rental car and a tent. Don't think "camping" like American camping. We stayed in some wonderful places and really only used the campground as a means to a cheap, and clean accomodations. We did this all over Europe when our kids were young and they really loved it because they would other kids from all over the world.

 

It's cheap, simple, and wonderful.

 

susan.

[Bow Thrusters]

Oops! I mean EasyCruise seems like an interesting idea. It is very cheap - some dates were as low as $50.00US per night - per cabin. That's the beauty - it's per night, so even if the cabin is $90.00US per night - that's $45.00US per person = $315.00 per person for the week - based on a double cabin.

 

Since I'd want to eat in the ports anyway - seems like an OK deal - the ship is hidious looking and the likelyhood of it being filled with disrespectful drunks and wild folks is a turn off - ( I may just save up for the Hapag Lloyd cruise ) - but, who knows :rolleyes: - I'm easily pursuaded.

[MortgageChick]

Sounds perfect fro my 20 year old daughter and all her friends.

[Andym]

MortgageChick.

You've hit the nail on the head. It's a sort of posh 'rough guide' sort of holiday.

[Wennfred]

One warning about this cruise if you guys havent seen the pictures, every thing on this ship is ORANGE !! Even the bedroom set. Reminds me of Crammer and the Red Chicken sign !!!:confused: Even their website is OJ.

 

Put on your sunglasses and check this out:

 

http://www.easycruise.com/faqs/OurShips.asp?SD=92063458920050620172850

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

EasyCruise has announced that following a successful summer in the Med, they will be moving their ship EasyCruise One to the Caribbean this winter offering service between Barbados, St. Vincent, Martinique, St. Lucia, the Grenadines and Grenada. Only a two night minimum is required which means you can embark and disembark anywhere along the itinerary. They also hope to add a second ship (hopefully a much larger one...this one is tiny!) to cruise the Greek islands during the summer and the Arabian coast during the winter.

visit www.easycruise.com for details

 

BobK/Orlando

[rusw1]

Has anyone actually sailed on one of these cruises?

[trish1c]

I read an article about this line in a magazine yesterday & checked out the web site today. They are in fact going to the Caribbean over the winter. The price per cabin was $32.40 per night US. There's a bar, a restaurant, a coffee shop & a "gift" / sundry shop on board. Drink prices, except for wine (unless that was for a bottle) didn't seem bad at all. There seemed to be a hot tub but no real pool on board.

 

I'd love to hear from anybody who actually took the trip.

[robsvacation]

I think what needs to be kept in mind is that this is more floating hostle than cruise ship. The cabins don't have so much as a closet or a desk. The prices seem good, and in the med they are cheaper than a hotel especially in some of these cities where you aren't going to find alot of low end 1 and 2 star properties. It's more a floating version of the bus tour, albeit fairly high end and private.

 

I wish them well, and I think on the right itinerary I might consider trying it. But honestly I know hostling through Europe is not for me, and in the Caribbean I'd choose the romance of Windjammer over easycruise.

[lord of the seas]

I read an article about this line in a magazine yesterday & checked out the web site today. They are in fact going to the Caribbean over the winter. The price per cabin was $32.40 per night US. There's a bar, a restaurant, a coffee shop & a "gift" / sundry shop on board. Drink prices, except for wine (unless that was for a bottle) didn't seem bad at all. There seemed to be a hot tub but no real pool on board.

 

I'd love to hear from anybody who actually took the trip.

So would I.

I like to know how the poor are doing

[nfused2cruze]

Forget about easyCRUISE. I'm goin' out and gettin' me a "CREAMSICLE" :rolleyes:

[SaylorGirl]

So would I.

I like to know how the poor are doing

 

Well, we are most definitely NOT poor and we are making plans to go on the Easy Cruise in the Med so I will report back. I think it will be great fun!! We normally sail RCL or Princess so this will be a first. But, how can you beat those prices and ports? We will consider it a great adventure.

[SaylorGirl]

Well, I did it. Goodby Princess . . . hello, Easycruise . . . What a deal!! We booked 4 nights 5 days at $42.00 US per day that is the total price for the cabin not pp. We will be sailing into Portofino, Nice, Genoa, San Remo and the final day into Cannes during the film festival!! I think it will be great fun! It will be nice for a change not to eat 5,000 calories a day on vacation and having to leave the ports at 5:00. We can sit with a drink overlooking the harbor late at night, it should be beautiful. Anyway I will see how it goes, we have a Princess cruise booked for next fall but maybe I'll just become an Easycruise convert especially if they add the Greek Islands next year.