Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2012 by Shawn Dake
Continuing Shawn J. Dake’s
Cruise Ships 2011, The Year In Review: Louis Cruise Lines and Rio Cruises
LOUIS MAJESTY at Genoa, photo © Peter Knego, February 2010
Louis Cruise Lines took the first steps to move away from Greek registry on their ships, switching them to the Maltese flag, in a dispute over new Greek pension fund legislation. If all ships are reflagged, it will affect about 350 Greek crew members, mostly among the engine room, deck and hotel staff. The first two ships to make the switch were the LOUIS CRISTAL (ex VIKING SAGA, SALLY ALBATROSS, LEEWARD, SUPERSTAR TAURUS, SILJA OPERA, CRISTAL) and the LOUIS CALYPSO (ex CANGURO VERDE, DURR, IONIAN HARMONY, SUN FIESTA, REGENT JEWEL, THE CALYPSO). The latest acquisition, the 40,876 gross ton LOUIS MAJESTY (ex ROYAL MAJESTY, NORWEGIAN MAJESTY) already was registered in Malta. The switch is expected to save 300,000 euros per ship, per month. It could also spell the end of any Greek flag passenger shipping. Louis has finally settled their dispute with Genting Hong Kong over their failure to complete the purchase of the NORWEGIAN DREAM, paying that company US$13.3 million. An additional $15.5 million loss the company can be expected to incur involves the sale of the AEGEAN PEARL in 2010. That is the amount still owed of the total sale price of $19.5 million to an investment group that later declared bankruptcy.
MV AEGEAN PEARL as PERLA at Istanbul. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2008.
Rio Cruises tenure with their only ship RIO (ex SOUTHWARD, SEAWING, PERLA, AEGEAN PEARL, THE AEGEAN PEARL) was short-lived. The registered owners of the vessel, Eagles Holding S.A. acquired the 1971-built former Norwegian Caribbean Lines ship from Louis during 2010, but by May the company was bankrupt. While the ship remained idle at Ashdod, Israel, 320 members of the crew refused to disembark unless they were paid, many remaining on the ship into July under increasingly poor conditions. In September the 16,710 gross ton ship was auctioned “as is” to an undisclosed buyer for $4.8 million. At 40 years of age it remains to be seen if this externally very attractive veteran of the early cruise ship era will see further service.
Kenneth Eden
May 18, 2012 at 8:52 am
We all have seen the accounts of what is happening monitarilly and polically in Greece, and it is a shame that another cruise line has to reregister for the sake of the bottom line, savings. It is also ashame that Greeces tourism will also sufer, and an even bigger shame that the happy go lucky Greeks will not be spared in this fiasco.
Seems like a million years ago that Greece and Cyprus were at war, the laatest one, and Greek line was called into action, and that became the end of the line for Greek Line, Carnival at least got the QUEEN ANNA MARIA, the OLYMPIA went on to other uses, and Sun Line “hid” out in New York, doing the Bermuda/Bahamas run during that year. What a sight the STELLA SOLARIS was in the Hudson, and in Bermuda, historical to be sure. Not quite sure of the year,. I think is was 1970????
david r
May 20, 2012 at 8:28 pm
The Stella Solaris was based in New York during the year of the first gulf war 1990
Eerik Laine
May 20, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Rio started her service at the end of May last year and continued it only for couple of weeks until the middle of June 2011. The ship was later sold to an other Israeli investor group and has been renamed VENUS. She is due to start cruising again out of Ashdod at the end of this month. Last month the ship was moved to Greek port of Chalkis were she is still being prepared for her new traffic. Last years problems with Magic 1 and Rio make it difficult for this new company to gain peoples trust again, but lets hope things go better this year for this lovely ship.
Shawn Dake
May 21, 2012 at 6:04 pm
Eerik, If you get more information on the company that is running the renamed VENUS please do add it here. If you have their corporate name, we will add it to our upcoming Guide To Cruise Ships as I know it is not on there yet. Thanks for the update.
Kenneth Eden
May 22, 2012 at 5:29 am
STELLA sailed from New York in the 1980′s, NY to Bahamas, Caribbean, Bernuda and New England Canada. I had friends that took one I could see her from the OCEANIC on the Hudson, as well as from the QE2.
Eerik Laine
May 22, 2012 at 2:54 pm
The company name is Venus Hflgot (cruises) and their website can be found on http://venus1.co.il/. They also have a nice pages on Facebook.
The ships first planned cruise is tomorrow on the 24th of May, but according the ships AIS signal VENUS is still in Greece. So there will once again be dissapointed costumers at the port of Ashdod… Let’s hope they will really get the ship in service.
Kalle Id
May 22, 2012 at 2:59 pm
With regards to Louis’ flagging out ships it should be borne in mind that the the Greek flag is already a foreign flag for the line – Louis is based on Cyprus and their first ships were also registered there.
Eerik Laine
May 23, 2012 at 1:29 am
A little update on the VENUS. Her maiden voyage from Ashdod has been postponed until the 10th of June. She has today in the morning arrived to the Greek island of Syros, where she apparently is going to be dry docked.
Kenneth Eden
May 23, 2012 at 4:45 am
Will SOLAS regulations apply to the VENUS or whatever this cruise line will sail or when? I have always been amazed at what people will book and sail over the years, and often question the cruise line and the haste in which they, maverick cruise liens, seem to emerge.
Does anyone check the validity and safety of the ships, and will passengers be abandoned or crew not paid? Seems to be a real issue. One thing I have always insisted upon, US Coast Guard visits and USCDC for inspections for a given ship, not for a cruise line, also, sailings or calls at a US port.
We were burned once, and that was enough, with Commodore Cruise Line, quite literally at their “end”. Booked ENCHANTED ISLE price too good to be true, plastered down a $2,000.00 deposit, line went belly up, never got deposit back. So much for a cruise line with several decades of sailing, and a once good rep.
Croix Picoriello
May 23, 2012 at 6:48 am
I have some lovely pics of the Stella, during here NYC season, I’m guessing 1984-5. I was working at 17 Battery Place and used to shoot from the 9th floor before Battery Park City and the Ritz Carlton blocked the view!!!
Kenneth Eden
May 24, 2012 at 6:25 am
Thank you Croix for the confirmatipon of the STELLA date(s).
I personally would enjoy seeing your pix of her, the chic Grecian Goddess on the Hudson.
alan dumelow
May 31, 2012 at 1:32 am
Louis Cruises advise that “The Calypso” has definately NOT moved to the Malta registry. The little ship is presently still laid up, but due to be re-activated end-June.
Negotiations are still continuing for the sale of “The Emerald”. A
new bidder is about to intervene. An American company is considering
taking her back home as “Santa Rosa” for use as a conference centre.
There is a rumour circulating today that “Pacific” aka “Love Boat”
hasn’t gone to Turkey, but is anchored off a French port and is being
offered for sale. Is she at Marseille?
Peter Knego
May 31, 2012 at 2:23 am
Alan, thanks for this update on THE CALYPSO. I was on board PACIFIC two weeks ago in Genoa. The sale for scrap did fall through but she is being offered for sale once again. We shall see what awaits her but I have not heard anything about her being moved. That would be a costly maneuver, plus she is still a ward of the Italian court. All the best, Peter