Portuscale Cruises

[Andrew Gl]

Dear Neil, Cruisefan,
On site any vessel under name ASTORIA no marketed already after crushing BBC... Yes, on basis experience I can have own opinion around situation which you can guess only... Above I already told that these old vessels to have the right to life... However, I am not sure in bigger profitability of the project today and tomorrow in comparison with management of Potamjanos the grandfather with his communications in the market. However, it not our watch and problems... Thank You for understanding in advance.

 

[Andrew Gl]

Re: Azores... No any charter to Ambiente... There are JV where Ambiente marketed vessel for German market and the Owner to carry out cruises on own the risk.

 

[Cruisefan]

Sorry, me no undertand your gibberish, maybe you could use a nice Babushka to translate for you Andrew -
Crusiefan

 

[Andrew Gl]

have a rest and relax

 

[Neil]

Andrew

Technical terms such as ' JV' mean nothing to the average poster on here so are a waste of time !

Regarding the operation of the CIC fleet it was the owner's sons who got Classic International Cruises in a financial mess, after the owner died, according to shipping news financial reports .

It was said this was due to their lack of experience in operating the companies cruise ships !

It was also reported that the two sons would keep the ' Princess Daphne ' , once the financial problems were sorted with the banks , but she still remains laid up in Crete and is now advertised for sale on one of the shipbrokers websites.

The new company owners have bought in an excellent experienced shipping management team to advise them, many of whom also have a financial interest in the new company, so they should be able to operate the fleet of classic ships with no problems.

Regarding me quessing at things, you seem to forget that I have been involved with and worked on passenger and cruise ships for over 50 years !

I also have some very good contacts in the industry including the management of a number of cruising companies, such as the Carnival group, where I am a share holder !

I may have forgotten more about passenger and cruise ships than you have ever known ! lol

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[Andrew Gl]

Each opponent has the view of things. I very much appreciate your merits and an extensive experience in cruise business. However, in the past our group of companies organized and carried out more than 200 cruises for the CIS market and Europe, had the regular line on the Black Sea, and agree, I too can have the view of some things.

 

[Neil]

Andrew

You may have carried out more than 200 cruises but was this just booking a party on a cruise ship or was it a charter of 200 cruise ships for only your passengers to use ?

If it was the chartering of cruise ships which cruise ships did your company charter ?

The 1961 built Portuscale Cruises ship ' Funchal ' has been on a cruise in the Mediterranean, since her cruise from Lisbon to the Azores, and visited ports including Gibraltar, Nice, Civitavecchia, Cannes, Piraeus, Kusadasi, Valletta and Monaco.

She is now heading for Gibraltar where she arrives on the 19th October 2013.

Picture below of the ' Funchal ' sailing from the Malta port of Valletta.

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[Andrew Gl]

I send e-mail You with Background

 

[Cruisefan]

Hi,
the obsure Russian ROYAL CARAVELLA CRUISES is now showing the GEMINI as their new vessel. I wager that again this will not materialize, same as with their previous vessels. this time the operators do not show a photograph of the vessel only the ships particulars.
PORTUSCALES mv LISBOA has been chartered by a French Company, neil do you know the name of this company by any chance?
Happy weekend
Cruisefan

 

[Neil]

Hi Cruisesfan

I have already reported on my ' Neil's Cruisingchat ' facebook site that it appears this russian group are planning to operate the ship although they have not named the ship so perhaps it has to be cleared by the KGB first ! lol

The details appear correct for the ' Gemini ' which has been laid up at the UK port of Tilbury since being used as a hotel ship at the UK 2012 Olympic games

She has been on offer as for sale or for charter !

Re the ' Lisboa ' it appears she is returninjg to the previous French charterers who operated the 1955 British built ship when she was named ' Princess Danae '

The company operates under the name of ' Croisiere Notre temps '..
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This same company has issued details of the Louis cruises ship ' ms Aura ' ,which was Louis Cruises previously named ' Orient Queen' , which they have on charter for some cruises in May & June 2014.
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[John_Tinos]

Hi,
As Portuscale cruises charter Lisboa and Athena to other cruise lines, she stay with Porto and Funchal, they have not announced yet the cruises.
For Royal Caravella here in Greece we dont believe them, the cruises are very strange, they have only 1 cruise in May and after they have little cruises From October to December.
Do you think that they do the cruises?
And about LISBOA they have announced their cruises?

 

[Neil]

Hi John

The next advertised cruise for the ' Funchal ' is the New Years cruise to Madeira.

I can not see there is a market in Europe for Royal Caravella Cruises with the large selection of other companies offering cruises.

With their older fleet of planes flying in Russia I would also not want to fly on one of their planes to join a cruise !.

There is also the question of how much experience they have had in operating a cruise ship in recent times.

There may be a market in Russia for her cruises , if they are operated , but if you pay and then they are cancelled I wonder what protection there is to get the money back.

With the recent closing down of the Finnish ' Katrina Cruises ' all passengers are being re-embursed as the fares paid were held in a special account.

The 58 years old British built cruise ship ' Lisboa ' is advertised as doing a 135 day round the world cruise early in 2015 which she has done before when she was operated by Classic International Cruises.

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[John_Tinos]

Great news about Lisboa, hope to see her in my island Tinos

 

[Cruisefan]

Hi Cruisesfan

I have already reported on my ' Neil's Cruisingchat ' facebook site that it appears this russian group are planning to operate the ship although they have not named the ship so perhaps it has to be cleared by the KGB first ! lol

The details appear correct for the ' Gemini ' which has been laid up at the UK port of Tilbury since being used as a hotel ship at the UK 2012 Olympic games

She has been on offer as for sale or for charter !

Re the ' Lisboa ' it appears she is returninjg to the previous French charterers who operated the 1955 British built ship when she was named ' Princess Danae '

The company operates under the name of ' Croisiere Notre temps '..
.
This same company has issued details of the Louis cruises ship ' ms Aura ' ,which was Louis Cruises previously named ' Orient Queen' , which they have on charter for some cruises in May & June 2014.
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Hi Neil,
many thanks very informaive as usual. A small mistake however "Croisiere Notre temps" means only "these are our present Cruises", and not a name of a Company. I tried several queries by Google search but could not come up with the French Company.
stay well
Cruisefan

 

[Neil]

Hi

Add ' Rivages du Monde ' to the original post but I do not think the cruise details have yet been published.

I got the details of the voyage through a contact.
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[John_Tinos]

Hi everyone!!
Here is the cruises for 2014 of Lisboa.. Portuscale Cruises France

 

[Neil]

Hi John -

Many thanks for the link

It is great to see the ship back at sea.

I hope they are full up on every cruise.

The ' Lisboa ' , which is Portugese owned, was built in the UK in 1955 and previously sailed with Classic International Cruises as the ' Princess Danae '.
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[Neil]

Portuscale Cruises have announced that the planned cruises by the ' Lisboa ' for 2014 have been cancelled.

It appears that when the upgrading of the ship was started, to enable her to meet the new 2015 emission regulations, it was found that a larger than expected anount of steel in the ship needed to be replaced.

The ship remains in Lisbon while the costs of the work are examined but her future could be in doubt !

The main cruises for the ' Funchal ' in 2014 have been announced and operate from the 13th April until the 18th September 2014.

These will include a number of cruises starting from the UK Cornish port of Falmouth.

Picture of the ' Funchal ' below -
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[ClassicalSax]

The apparent newly found steel problems with Lisboa are disappointing. Too bad Portuscale can't go over to Gibraltar's drydock and negotiate a buy/trade of Lisboa for Saga Ruby and save her from her announced Chinese hotel fate. A few weeks ago, when Saga Ruby got delayed in Lisbon due to weather for a few days - she looked so perfect next to Funchal and Porto as she already has close to the Portuscale livery colors - just needs the fancy new logo and font. Anyone notice that Lisboa (unlike her new siblings) came out of drydock with her name painted in the same simple font as Saga Ruby... hmm... makes for an interesting comparison.
Saga Ruby - Captain's Blog - Saga Cruising
http://maritimematters.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Saga-RubyPnewallw.jpg
Photos: Lisboa in Drydock - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News

 

[Neil]

Latest news from Portuscale Cruises is that they now considering some new cruise ships.

The ideal size is said to have between 300 and 400 cabins.

They also said they have no interest in mega size ships !

The ' Funchal ' will operate four UK cruises from the UK Cornish port of Falmouth in 2014 with bookings possible through ' Newells Travel ' who have several offices in Cornwall.
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