Golden Star Cruises Mv Ocean Monarch

[dgk_kos]

I just returned from a 4 day cruise aboard MV OCEAN MONARCH of GOLDEN STAR CRUISES.

It is very nice to realize that there is an alternative to LOUIS CRUISE LINES for the Aegean and for sure the OCEAN MONARCH will satisfy passengers who want enough space for their cruise. Off course it is an old ship but very well maintained and also with very good sea keeping abilities. The cruises include the usual Greek islands (MYKONOS, PATMOS, RODOS, CRETE, SANTORINI) and Kusadasi at Turkey.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I am just glad to see OCEAN MONARCH having re-entered service, as there were strong rumors that 2005 was going to be her last year.

 

She does look like a lovely ship and personally I would much prefer her to the Louis offerings on the same route (PERLA and SEA DIAMOND). Of course she is old but for me this is a good point ;) .

 

Do you know if there is any truth to the rumor that Classic International Cruises may be buying her to run alongside her sister PRINCESS DANAE?

[dgk_kos]

Do you know if there is any truth to the rumor that Classic International Cruises may be buying her to run alongside her sister PRINCESS DANAE?

 

The ship still belongs to MAJESTIC CRUISES wich also own the OCEAN COUNTESS (ex OLYMPIA COUNTESS) and OCEAN MAJESTY.

The rumors at Pireaus indicate that next year we are going to have a stronger presence in the region under the name of GOLDEN STAR CRUISES with at least 2 ships, OCEAN MONARCH, AEGEAN 1 and probably a new one from Japan.

The most interesting thing,according to the same rumors, is that Mr Potamianos of EPIROTIKI and ROC is involved to this new scheme.

And at last, OCEAN ODYSSEY, ex JASON is ready to start a series of cruises in the region for a month!

[Magwa]

So has Ocean Monarch had sprinklers installed? this was the reason she had to be taken out of service with Page & Moy last Oct, as she then became non SOLAS compliant. It was deemed not cost effective to have her fitted. In other words is she sailing for Golden Star without such measures? Aegean 1 is still under arrest subject to a dispute of ownership.

[dgk_kos]

Yes OCEAN MONARCH has sprinklers (installed during last March the period that MAJESTIC CRUISES decided to operate the vessel in partnership with GOLDEN STAR CRUISES).

AEGEAN 1 in no longer "arrested" and Mr Aggelopoulos owns the ship again.

[dgk_kos]

A new company is formed in order to stregthen it's appearence in Aegean region. MONARCH CLASSIC CRUISES announced today the acquisition of ex WORLD RENAISSANCE which with the well known OCEAN MONARCH will take the cruise programme for the 2007 season. The name for ex WORLD RENAISSANCE will be BLUE MONARCH and probably she will make the famous seven day "golden fleece" cruises of the beloved TSS STELLA SOLARIS. I really think that we are in front of further developments in the cruise bussines in the area.

[dougnewmanatsea]

This is excellent news David.

 

Two classic ships to choose from in the Greek Isles now.

 

Do you know who owns this company? Mr Potamianos and/or Mr Aggelopoulos?

[dgk_kos]

It seems that owner of the new company is Mr. Lamprou, of MAJESTIC INTERNATIONAL CRUISES (and off course Mr. Kollakis), but i am pretty sure that Mr. Potamianos and Mr. Aggelopoulos are involved in this new scheme.

[ESMMIC]

I believe that Monarch is a marketing company organising sales for the ships Ocean Monarch (3&4 day Aegean/Greek Isle Itineraries) and Blue Monarch (7 day Golden Fleece Itinerary) commencing with 2007 season and that Ocean Monarch is owned by Majestic International Cruises and Blue Monarch is owned by Elysian Cruise Lines. Blue Monarch is the ex-World Renaissance

[dgk_kos]

As we mentioned in previous post, there is a strong connection between the MONARCH CLASSIC CRUISES and Mr Potamianos. Today i learned that the offices of the new company in Pireaus are in the building of EPIROTIKI!

[dougnewmanatsea]

As we mentioned in previous post, there is a strong connection between the MONARCH CLASSIC CRUISES and Mr Potamianos. Today i learned that the offices of the new company in Pireaus are in the building of EPIROTIKI!

Yes indeed - it seems that Monarch Classic Cruises is the reincarnation of Royal Olympic.

 

I wish them every success. Louis could use some competition.

[twosides]

We (four members of the same family) just returned from the three day Aegean itinerary offered by Golden Star Cruises on the MV Ocean Monarch. The food was good, the port calls well worth the visit, and the staff attentive and professional. We had mini suite staterooms. They were attractive, and comfortable. The rooms had mini-fridges, ice buckets were refilled regularly, staterooms kept clean and tidy by our discreet and hard-working stewardess, Alla. In the dining room, Ghosen and Kumar were totally responsive, and the food generally good and attractively presented. Cruise Director Christina and her small troupe of entertainers put on a pretty engaging program: lots of energy, and talent, glitzy costumes, good staging.

 

I am not a professional mariner, but it appeared to me that Capt. Elefteriou and his crew ( 19 different nationalities) knew their business. The ship was very stable (a deep draft, we heard) but did vibrate a lot. The exits were correctly marked and there were lighted strips up and down the stairways leading to the emergency exits. The safety drill was held right after departure. We were mustered in the restaurant and the life jacket procedure and muster routine explained.

 

We took the three day cruise from Piraeus leaving on Friday, October 6. We made port in trendy Mykonos Friday night, visited Kusadasi, Turkey on Saturday morning (big bargains in leather coats, to which I succumbed without much of a struggle), then on to Patmos Friday evening. After the hustle of Kusadasi, Patmos was a nice place for a quiet drink under a plane tree in a square near the waterfront. Early Sunday we disembarked in Crete for a tour of the famous Knossos archaeological site. This was the only organized tour we took, as they were rather expensive. It certainly was well worth doing if one has any interest in Greeece's ancient clvilization. Sunday night we toasted the setting sun in the magnificent cliffside town of Thira on the stunning island of Santorini.

 

A word of caution: Ocean Monarch is a small, regional line and the vessel itself is rather elderly. It has 230 staterooms, 7 decks, a crew of about 200. Some of the infrastructure looked carelessly painted or clumsily repaired. (Everything in our stateroom worked just fine, but the stateroom of our traveling companions had hot water problems.) It has one dining room, a couple of bars, small casino, and a nice upper deck with a pool. (Beware of funnel soot on the deck furniture.) In other words, Princess Cruises it aint! It does not have the wide variety of dining and entertainment options one gets on the big, mass-market lines. Meals were at fixed time, and if you didn't, for example, feel like lunch between 12:00 and 1:15, you were out of luck. One could have breakfast or lunch at a buffet on the upper deck or in the dining room. Dinner was at 8:30, in the dining room, no other options. At 4 pm there was an afternoon tea buffet on the upper deck, very nice, and just right to tide one over to dinner. However, on two days out of three, disembarkation for island excursions was also scheduled at 4pm , leaving most of the nice selections of sandwiches, cakes and bread pudding uneaten. Being an afternoon tea lover, I suggested changing tea time to 3:30 so as not to miss the launch to Santorini. But no, the buffet opened at 4 pm and although I scarfed the scalding tea, I missed the boat. (The ship's bridge kindly ordered another for me, bless 'em!

 

Embarcation was from the Cruise Ship Terminal in Piraeus. Embarcation and disembarcation were efficient and painless.

 

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our excursion on the Ocean Monarch. The courteous and responsive staff, good food, and smooth ride, plus an interesting and varied itinerary left us wishing we'd tried the four day cruise offered by the same line.

 

FYI: I have no personal or financial interest in Golden Star Cruises, the vessel or its crew. I was just a passenger. These comments are contributed to help CC readers who are thinking about a trip.

 

:)

[dougnewmanatsea]

Glad to hear a good review of OCEAN MONARCH. She sounds like a nice alternative to Louis.

 

You can also read a great blog/review of OCEAN MONARCH here.

[dgk_kos]

According to http://www.goldenstarcruises.com/Gsc/aegean2.htm the summer season for 2007 will find GOLDEN STAR with two ships, AEGEAN I and AEGEAN II. This is the former AUSONIA of LOUIS CRUISES a really nice ship, and of course we are waiting the developments for the Greek cruise market.

[dougnewmanatsea]

A pity they've chosen such a dull name (AEGEAN II), but splendid news nonetheless! I was hoping to try OCEAN MONARCH next year but now I may have to sneak in an AEGEAN II cruise as well!

[dgk_kos]

Finally the OCEAN MONARCH will not sail for MCC this summer.

Her place is taken by OCEAN COUNTESS ex OLYMPIC COUNTESS due to higher passenger capacity. This means that reservations are good till now.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Well, I will not sail with MCC next summer as OCEAN COUNTESS is not really a ship that appeals to me :( .

 

Do you know what will happen to OCEAN MONARCH?

 

I'm still planning on trying AEGEAN II, a ship which appeals to me very much!