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Royal Olympic Cruises

MV Stella Oceanis

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Reviewed by: Byron Russell
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: August 3, 1997
Itinerary: Mediterranean

Our family of four took the 11 night trip on the Stella Oceanis from Civitavecchia to the eastern Mediterranean, Istanbul and Piraeus, a trip sponsored our Alumni Association. This ship is old, poorly maintained and badly in need of major refurbishment. I can't believe that the ship underwent refurbishment in 1995. There was no evidence of this.

I have to admit that part of our discontent with the trip was that the cost was high for what we got. It turned out that we were paying the full rate or possibly more through our Alumni Association for the trip. The modest accommodations called for much more modest pricing. Had this been priced at the rate I would expect for an inter-island ferry rather than a luxury cruise ship I would have had less to gripe about. Of course, one doesn't usually have to put up with inter-island ferry accommodations for 11 nights.

Tired furniture and carpeting. Below decks it was hard to find an area away from smokers. There were more Europeans than Americans on the trip and the majority of the Europeans were smokers. On deck I tripped over the teak planking that was buckling and sprung. Below decks the companionways were often filled with work crews, piping and wiring, as repairs seemed to in progress as we traveled.

We had a mid-price range outside cabin. With four of us we were assured that one quad cabin would be adequate. With all four beds open only one person at a time could maneuver. We had no control of the temperature. We had several sweaty, sleepless nights followed by frigid nights requiring extra blankets for all then back to steamy, high humidity. The bathroom was the worst. Dark. No matter how you arranged the shower curtain water got on the floor of the bathroom. We used all the spare towels to mop up the water sloshing about. Then there was the toilet. It flushed with such force that some of the contents of the bowel were blown out onto the floor. Several calls to the cabin steward failed to get this remedied so we just called the staff to mop up the sewage when necessary.

We were lucky. One of party had a shower that never did work for the entire cruise. Because the ship was full, changing cabins wasn't options. I am not sure but I don't believe Olympic ever offered compensation to her.

I've seen better and I've seen worse

Messina, Malta, Santorini, Rhodes, Kusadesi(Ephesus), Istanbul, Piraeus. Wonderful, though very brief, visits to many spots that I would like to go back to and visit at a more leisurely pace.

60% Europeans, 40% Americans. The Europeans were mostly adults, 50ish. The Americans included many families with kids 7-18.