Overview

From a small upmarket vessel designed to carry 100 passengers in comfort and luxury, easyCruiseOne was transformed by gutting the interiors and replacing them with spartan, modular cabins that sleep nearly twice as many passengers when fully booked. Think of a Newport estate being subdivided for travel trailers, and you'll have some idea of what to expect on this ship. While the bright neon orange hull emblazoned with "easycruise.com" acted in the past as a beacon to late-night revelers returning from shoreside restaurants and clubs, the garish look has undergone transformation. A new graphite grey paint job with discrete orange trim gives the ship a more refined appearance but shouldn't hamper the party spirit of its passengers.

When the ship was initially fitted, the original cabin windows didn't line up with the modular cabin units that were installed, so they were covered over. The windowless accommodations proved too claustrophobic to many passengers, so new, smaller windows have been cut through to create an ocean view for about sixty cabins on Deck 3. However, the list of what isn't on board is still longer than the list of what is. There's still no swimming pool, casino, spa, library, or even entertainment. This could be called the anti-cruise cruise ship. Easily.

Restaurants

Meals are served on a come-when-you-want and pay-as-you-go basis. In the Sports Bar, hot breakfast items are a good bet and are served all day long; lunch and dinner selections include a creative variety of appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, steaks, burgers, pasta, seafood dishes, and dessert treats. Each evening there is a different fixed-price menu, which sometimes incorporates local ingredients. Vegetarian options are also available. The Café serves a laundry list of designer coffees and teas, pastries, and ciabatta and panini sandwiches.

Accommodations

Nearly every cabin surface is orange, the trademark color of parent company easyGroup, though the word at this writing was that the orange-ness was going to be toned down when the new windows were cut out. Not exactly the level of camping in a tent, standard cabins more closely resemble those in a cramped recreational vehicle than even the cheapest motel. Accommodations are booked by category and assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Categories are standard twin cabins for two; quadruple cabins with two sets of bunk beds; there are four suites with small sofas and balconies. Fouton-type beds set on platforms are standard throughout. Some standard doubles have marine-style windows that resemble square portholes, but none of the quads has a view to outside. All categories have private bathrooms with surprisingly chic, if minimalist, glass basins. Electrical outlets deliver 110-volt current with U.S.-style plugs. Storage consists of hooks and open shelves, so bring your wardrobe in a backpack unless you are in a suite, in which case you'll have a bit more storage space.