Portuscale Cruises

[Cruisefan]

Neil,
you nailed that one down! Chapeau'!!
As for Andrew and John, they want us to believe that they have first hand experience/expertise. Well, the Internet is full of those. As for PV Enterprises, all of the precious announced cruise and ferry ventures have not come to pass. Remember the Mexican company OCEAN STAR with the ex Nordic prince mv Ocean Star Pacific? Well, PVE had signed a charter with the Mexican owners and put a greek crew onboard. After several weeks with no food and no wages paid, Captain hospitalized with cardiac arrest, the owners send the crew home. Vessel is now berthed in Cristobal and for sale. So much for mr. Villiotis accume as a ship manager/owner. Andrew issinuated that I had bad dealings with him, not at all no one wants to deal with him. Competitor? How can any one compete with an entity which has no operation ther than promises? As for Johns question re Ionian Queen I did clearly state previously what is supposed to take palce. Endeavour Line went insolvent and at the time the only ferry they operated the IQ was indeed arrested.
Cruisefan

 

[Neil]

Took a lot of time posting to a simple question......yes or no. Sounds like either you had bad dealings with him, or a competitor, either way I have to dismiss your response as rambling. Good luck to you in your endeavors.

Neil,
you nailed that one down! Chapeau'!!
As for Andrew and John, they want us to believe that they have first hand experience/expertise. Well, the Internet is full of those. As for PV Enterprises, all of the precious announced cruise and ferry ventures have not come to pass. Remember the Mexican company OCEAN STAR with the ex Nordic prince mv Ocean Star Pacific? Well, PVE had signed a charter with the Mexican owners and put a greek crew onboard. After several weeks with no food and no wages paid, Captain hospitalized with cardiac arrest, the owners send the crew home. Vessel is now berthed in Cristobal and for sale. So much for mr. Villiotis accume as a ship manager/owner. Andrew issinuated that I had bad dealings with him, not at all no one wants to deal with him. Competitor? How can any one compete with an entity which has no operation ther than promises? As for Johns question re Ionian Queen I did clearly state previously what is supposed to take palce. Endeavour Line went insolvent and at the time the only ferry they operated the IQ was indeed arrested.
Cruisefan

Hi Cruisefan

Many thanks for your comments.

I know that with some of the members English is not their first language but as some are not prepared to say their source of information I often wonder where it comes from !

Not only have I been one of the Managers on here, when this web site had different owners, but I have worked with P&O and Princess cruises for over 30 years so a lot of experience about the different types of cruise and passengers ships.

Although I still publish on here, and get on well with the new owners, I also operate ' Neil's Cruisingchat ' on Facebook and have a lot of shipping expert friends on board including ' Reubens ' who has run the Australian Classic ship site ' ss maritime ' for many years and Theodore Scull, the American ocean liner historian and author of many shipping books.

As you say there are many who seem to think they have first hand experience, and I do get a laugh out of some of their posts, but the news I post is always checked with much coming from friends or very reliable traceable sources. !

The picture below is from the refitted Porto Bar on ' ms Funchal ' which I think looks very comfortable and up to four star standards -

 

[Andrew Gl]

Your photos is photoshop from site.
Please see bellow:

 

[Andrew Gl]

 

[Neil]

Andrew -

I do not see what is gained by publishing these pictures, which include a very untidy cabin, as they appear to be taken by a passenger, or visitor to the ship, and do not represent a true picture of the refitted ship !

The way you keep running down this ship leads me to think you have a personal problem with the ships new owners who are doing a very good job and spending a lot of money to return four classic cruise ships to service !

.

 

[Andrew Gl]

It is my opinion only...

 

[Neil]

Andrew -

I do not think it is fair to the new company to publish those type of pictures unless you are complaining that something was wrong with the ship after you have taken a cruise on board !

Have you cruised as a passenger on this ship ?

As usual you do not seem to be prepared to say where the pictures came from and I think you are being most unfair to a new owners of this ship.

With the name in the corner of the pictures they do look as if they are taken from another website !

.

 

[Andrew Gl]

You try to convince me three star level it is bad level. I don't agree with you

 

[Neil]

Andrew -

You do not have to agree with me !

The Funchal has been classed as a four star cruise ship by her owner who is very experienced in the Portugese hotel industry. .

I worked with P & O & Princess Cruises for over 30 years and have plenty of experience of the different classes of passenger and cruise ships operated by these companies.

This included the emigrant ships on the UK to Australia service and deluxe cruising with Princess Cruises.

We often visited many other passenger ships which were in port with us which has included the original deluxe 1970's built Viking Line cruises ships, two of which now sail with Fred Olsen Cruises, and the american Matson line passenger ships which operated across the pacific ocean from the USA to Australia !

I also visited the Saga Cruises ship ' Saga Rose ' , when she was in service, and like her sister ship ' Saga Ruby ' they were classed as four star ships.

On holiday I have cruised on several British, Greek and Dutch owned cruise ships so plenty of salt water in my veins !

What experience have you had aboard four star cruise ships by either working on them or going on holiday ?

.

 

[Andrew Gl]

Maxim Gorky, Fedor Dostoyevky, Astra II and know business within. Let me to wait new Berlitz Guide where are new Funchal classed

 

[Neil]

Not much experience from the look of things !

Re the lowest price two berth inboard cabin picture you published, below is how it should have been shown , and not looking a mess with people using the cabin !

As I said before I think you are having a vendetta against the new owners of these classic cruise ships !

.

 

[Andrew Gl]

Higher small list of vessels which level four stars only .No comments for other

 

[Neil]

Andrew -

Many informed people in the cruising business do not follow the Berlitz cruising guide, which is published once a year, as their reports are often well out of date and far more up to date information about cruise ships can be found on line !

I also notice you do not comment on the correct picture I posted for the inboard cabin on the ' Funchal ' !

It seems that you do not do a lot of research before posting with the result the picture you posted was very misleading !

.

 

[Andrew Gl]

Andrew -

I also notice you do not comment on the correct picture I posted for the inboard cabin on the ' Funchal ' !

.

Sorry Neil, I not to see distinction... typical inside cabin only...

 

[Andrew Gl]

In any case, this classical liner will find the market segment if good management are in place

 

[Neil]

Andrew -

I see on your Facebook site you say that you are the General Manager of Royal Caravalla Holding llc !

Are you upset and running down the ' Funchal ' because the company you work with could not go ahead with the planned charter of the cruise ship which your company had a picture of and named her as the ' Astoria ' but which was the then named ' Athena ' and one of the original ' Classic International Cruises ' ships which included the ' Funchal ' in their fleet ?

The new Portugese owners of both the ' Funchal ' and ' Athena ' , Portuscale Cruises, have renamed the ' Athena ' as ' Azores ' and chartered to a German company for about nine months in 2014 which as the new owners of the ship they are fully entitled to do !

I notice on the Royal Caravalla website today you still have not been able to charter a ship and say your website is under moderation but still mention the ' Astoria ' but now without a picture of the cruise ship ! .

.

 

[Cruisefan]

Stop it Neil,
my tummy is hurting from laughing so much. Well GM Andrew a direct descendant from General Potemkin no daubt. On the moderated website he shows also a Bowling alley and under the heading Ships for Charter the Daphne. Seems as you have again clearly stated, GM Andrew has an axe to grind and (ab)uses this Forum. From broker friends I have heard that Andrew is busy trying to push old cruise ships for sale and or charter and is looking for investors.
Royal!Caravella, what a gas.
Cruisefan

 

[Neil]

Hi Cruisefan

Many thanks for your comments.

Pleased to read I gave you a laugh !

I had thought for some time that Andrew has had a problem with the either the present or past owners of the ' Funchal ' and then when I was on my facebook page I found the connection as he is a friend on one of my two Facebook sites !

The ' Delphin ' has been advertised for sale on one of the shipbrokers websites but who placed the advert with them I do not know.

The owners of the ' Delphin ' did have an Indian investor, when she returned to service having been laid up in Venice , after the financial problems of her original German owner.

It is going to be interesting to see if his company can manage to charter a cruise ship having not obtained the ex ' Athena '..

Having found Andrew's link I did wonder if his company may have lost money if any down payment had been made for the charter of the ex ' Athena ' !

Can you give me a link to this moderated website you mention - many thanks.

You can email it to me direct at - [email protected]

.

 

[Cruisefan]

Not much experience from the look of things !

Re the lowest price two berth inboard cabin picture you published, below is how it should have been shown , and not looking a mess with people using the cabin !

As I said before I think you are having a vendetta against the new owners of these classic cruise ships !

.

The walls seem a bit boring, lack perhaps a mirror and some paintings.
Hi neil,
the website I am referring to is only in the germanic idiom, have you studied the Fatherlands language?
The indian owner of mv Delphin (Passat kreuzafhrten the name of the Company) is Pradeep Agrawal, he is a millionaire who ahs made his rupees by being a Coke Bottler. After the Company restartet he fired the Son of previous owner herbert heye and installed a fellow country man as GM. This fellow Yogesh Gupta has repeatedly announced that by 2014 0r later (?) the Company willo seek a second vessel. Most ehre doubt that knowing how the old Delphin is strugglin to be filled at decent rates. On baord the Delphin - 85% of the crew have been on her when she was owned by previous owner - are onboard and are from Ukrania. They like to tell that their compayn will snn merge with PLANTURS KREUZFAHRTEN who have chartered the ex c.columbus, now mv hamburg. they imply that Planturs - owned by Ligabue, Venice) is tired and wants out. The vessel is in fact owned by a fininacial house in Munich called CONTI which has sold KG-anteile (fonds) to investors.
personally I doubt that Passat will get a second ship. We shall see.
Crusiefan

 

[Neil]

Many thanks for the update.

As that picture only shows the beds in the cabin on the ' Funchal ' , and all cabins are ensuite, it is possible that some wall fittings are missing from the picture.

Re the ' Delphin ' , she has been advertised for sale on one of the ship brokers websites at Euros 12 million for some time !