Easy Cruise
 

Has anyone used Stellios' follow-on from Easyjet?? Just curious.

We have not used it, but about a month ago there there was a fairly lengthy article about it in the Los Angeles Times travel section.

I found it interesting that the ship makes a continuous loop to various ports, and passengers can embark and disembark at ANY two ports over ANY length of time (similar to a hop-on hop-off bus), instead of everyone having the same itinerary.

Woody

I'm very interested, but apparently too old. The article I read specifically referred to under-40 somethings. I found it strange at the time. Could they really set an age limitation? Was I the only one who saw that age reference?

It is not limited to under 40's. But it is sort of a "hostel on the seas" targeted to younger travelers.

No Julie, we saw it too. Then we went ahead and booked!! And they let us on. Yes, we are well over 40 and thought it looked interesting. I like the idea of being able to get on and off at fun-looking places and not being stuck on a ship with a bunch of people I might not choose to be with. The idea of a conventional cruise turns me right off, but this might be OK. On the other hand, it might be full of British lager louts.
Will let you know.

Does anyone else think the bright orange cabins look like prison cells?

Never having been in a prison cell....

It all sounds a bit more like an overnight ferry than a cruise to me (and I'm no luxury-lover).

(From memory) I understand that for some reason the portholes have been closed and maybe even painted over. But apparently Stelios has agreed this might need a re-think....

I wouldn't touch anything "Easy-". Here in the UK they have a television programme that features the airline EasyJet. The customer service appears to be diabolical, and the clientele tend to be wearing metaphorical "kiss me quick" hats. A couple of hours in an aeroplane with them would be bad enough, but a cruise could be hell.

Money isn't everything, and this is a case where it's better to go without than subject yourself to torture.

M_kingdom, reading this post in conjunction with your earlier post on council houses on Primrose Hill, one would have thought that the non wealthy were there purely to annoy you.

I've been on many overnight ferries in the Mediterranean, and Easy Cruise sounds nothing like as good as them. It's a small ship with basic orange cabins and, I believe, no restaurant. The ship just potters around the Riviera, spending a day in Cannes then a day in Nice (even though they're half an hour apart by train). There are cheap hotels in Nice or Cannes which will be as least as comfortable as this ship. There is just one Easy Cruise ship making a weekly cruise so you cannot just hop off and on: if you hop off, you have to wait a week for the ship to come back. There are big ferries every night from France or Italy to Corsica or Sardinia with a choice of cabins, restaurants, etc, and far higher standards than this little orange burger bar.

Having re read my posting regarding M_kingdom, I realise I had ommitted a smiley, so it looks far more offensive in tone than was intended.

A recent UK newspaper article was quite dismissive of Easycruise, mainly for the reasons already given - small rooms, very orange colour scheme, more Ferry than Cruise.

Anyone who thinks Easy Cruise is "more ferry than cruise" has obviously had no experience of Mediterranean ferries. My last Mediterranean ferry crossing was from Split to Ancona in December: I had a nice dinner in an elegant dining saloon while a pianist played, then retired to my wooden-panelled cabin; I had a shower in the morning, an espresso at the bar, then went ashore. Nothing was painted orange.

I haven't been on EasyCruise, and don't suppose I ever will, but to dispel some of the myths – not all cabins are windowless – as on nearly all cruise ships (not that I would call easyCruiseOne a liner) there are internal cabins without windows but it is possible to book cabins with windows and a balcony at a supplement. There is a cocktail bar, a sports bar themed restaurant-bar, and a separate café – these are all franchises and so are not orange. Apparently, once on deck you can’t see the garish colour of the ship!

Your wisdom is wonderful, but has anyone actually been there done it themselves??

Yes! I have been on the Orange boat!

First: Age: there were more people over 40 than under, on my week on board.

Food: There is a nice 'starbucks' type coffee shop, a restaurant and a bar on the upper deck.

Orange: Yes, there is orange, but it's really not as obnoxious as it sounds. I grew to love it and got the orange towel and watch.

Fun: I met some great people, and had lots of adventures in the West Indies. It wasn't just a party. Like minded people (adventure seeking people who don't mind small rooms, and like to save some money) having a nice time.

Room: I upgraded to a large suite that included a private balcony. It wasn't posh, but nice and modern. I had to move down to the small room for two of the nights and my luggage took up most of the room. Pack very light.

I talked to people that went on the Mediterranean trip and said that they had a wonderful time.

Would I go again? Maybe, if they added some different routes. It was a good way to test what islands I would return to on a regular vacation.

I have a good friend who lives in Monaco and he's not entirely thrilled at the thought of the ship pulling into harbour and hordes of the Ibiza/Falaraki spilling out, but having read this just the other day, I'd say that it's got a lot going for it.... (depending on your taste, of course)

http://www.fodors.com/wire/archives/001420.cfm

Depending on one's taste...precisely.

The photograph just about did it for me. How naff can one person be? In his oversized polo shirt, wannabe lookalike steel rolex, the off-white (cream?) slacks, and a comb-over swatch of grey. I think that one might find the "kiss me quick" (or the other expression) crowd far more entertaining.

My thought about the cruise is you can be miserable and look at negatives, or you can just enjoy the adventure and let go of your "inner Hilton"...

In the Caribbean, be prepared to know what you want to do on each island, because the staff doesn't really help much with this. The shore events that they planned must have a minimum number of people signed up and when I was on board, they were all canceled.
You can do as much or as little as you want on each island. BUT, bring your own travel guides and books.

m_kingdom2: Haha! No it wouldn't be to my preferred taste but as a way of visiting several cities, most of the time of which would be spent onshore, it's probably good value if you just look at it as somewhere to sleep and a method of transport.

We don't all have the money for 5* lifestyles dahling!

My cruise cost was a part of the promotion that circulated, and I paid $2 (US) per night. My upgrade to the suite was $140 more for the 5 nights.
(couldn't quite let all my Hilton girl go) Food and drink are not included.

I am also interested in taking Easycruise to the French Riviera. But I am wondering just how out of place I may be. I just hit the 5-0 although I certainly don't think of myself as that old. I am single and like to travel alone and have been wanting to cruise the south of France but am not intersted in sitting on a ship all day which is why this Easycruise initially appealed to me. Anyone who has taken this who can tell me if I will feel really weird doing this? I used to take alot of Club Med trips and was a G.O. at Club Med more years ago than I care to think about so luxury isn't a big deal to me although I do want basic cleanliness, and comfort, etc. Do many single people go by themselves or is it all groups and couples?

Aremorra:

Do you ever go ANYWHERE that the majority of folks are younger than you? Does that make you feel weird?

It's a cheap cruise. Some people would say you should feel weird for not taking advantage of it if it seems like the right thing to do. I have this funny feeling nobody is going to force you to interact with anyone on board if you don't want to.

Just returned from 8 days 1/22 to 1/29/06 on Caribbean cruise. I am 65 and I have to tell you that we had a fabulous time and have no complaints.
We upgraded to a "quad" room and it was a dandy. It only cost us $160 US
to do the upgrade at the reception desk when we checked in on the ship.
I loved the food and the ambience and it was clean as a whistle. The staff went out of their way to provide us with the best service I have ever had on a cruise trip. I actually liked the fact that the ship was small and it was easy to get around and find people. And the fellow passengers were all so friendly. We became one big family. So much fun I hated to get off !! My only regret is that I didn't book it for two weeks instead of one. Any questions I would be happy to answer.

Do it! You will have a blast. I didn't think I would really interact much but we too became like a family. I liked that the boat was small.

I upgraded to the big room too, but it's tooooo expensive to book it ahead of time. I priced it out and it was crazy expensive. I got on the boat right at 3:00 and it was available at a discount.

The average age during my Carib. trip was about 35-40. I hung out with an English woman that did the Europe trip and she said it was a blast! She is a grandmother in her late 50's and said it was so much fun.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

:)

Thanks for the helpful (and one not so helpful) replies. It sounds like something I might like to try although I was a bit apprehensive 'cause I am a little too old now to want to take part in stuff like foam parties. :) I'm also checking out the Club Med 2 cruise but this is a whole lot cheaper and since I can't go for too long, don't want to be stuck on a boat for the whole time. I am thinking of just getting a standard room and consdering upgrading to a suite if that's possible. Maybe I can do that onboard 'cause booking a suite online now is very expensive. Sounds like it might be worth the extra money for a suite though if I can get a good deal just to enjoy the balcony!

It was cheaper upgrading on the boat and the extra room in the suite was great. To be honest, you aren't in your room very much (if you are alone) and I used the balcony in the mornings to see where we were, but then went to the coffee shop and hung out on deck and made plans for the day. Then, maybe for a few minutes before I went to bed. Once the boat is going its very very windy on the balcony and you are on the very top. You wouldn't probably be hanging out up there a lot.

I took full advantage of the trip and went full steam the whole time. I figured I'd rest when I'm old! (I mean
really old) I have some great memories of the places we went and the people. You will enjoy it, just make sure you are up for an adventure!