EasyCruise

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
easyCruise
legal form Limited Company (Ltd.)
founding April 2004
resolution Early 2010
Seat Athens , GreeceGreeceGreece 
Branch Package tours
Website easyCruise.com

The former EasyCruise One

EasyCruise was a Greek shipping company based in Athens and from 2009 a subsidiary of Hellenic Seaways . It existed from 2004 to 2010 and transferred the concept of low-cost airlines to cruises .

Companies

concept

The founder of the shipping company, Stelios Haji-Ioannou , was previously with the group of companies Easy Group and budget airline easyJet known. In 2004 he founded the shipping company EasyCruise and expanded the EasyGroup portfolio to include cheap cruises.

The target group were 18 to 40-year-olds who wanted to travel as cheaply as possible and celebrate on the ship as if they were going ashore in the evening. In addition, the rhythm of voyage and shore leave was swapped: during the day the ships were on the move to reach the destination for the evening out and to enable visits to clubs and entertainment venues. Departure was then in the early morning hours. The concept included the simplest possible accommodation of passengers in small multiple cabins, and additional services had to be paid for separately.

Start of operations and first expansion

The first ship, the EasyCruise One , went into service in early May 2005. In the summer it drove in the western Mediterranean on a fixed weekly route on the Italian Riviera and the Côte d'Azur between Cannes , Nice , St. Tropez , Portofino and San Remo . Each port was a port of entry or exit, so that the passengers could choose a route section and determine the length of the journey themselves. In winter, the shipping company relocated the ship's area of ​​operation and carried out cruises in the Caribbean.

A year later, in 2006, the concept was carried over to river cruises and the EasyCruise Two was operated by a franchisee . This ship also shuttled between individual ports, the area of ​​operation was the Netherlands and Belgium: easyCruise Two shuttled between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels and Antwerp. She was also on the road during the day and arrived at the destination in the evening and drove to the next destination in the early hours of the morning after the passengers had returned. The operation of the ship had to be stopped in 2007 due to financial difficulties of the franchisee.

Expansions and sales

A year later, in 2008, the shipping company replaced the EasyCruise One with a new ship. A converted ferry was used, which was older, but with around 500 seats, could take twice as many passengers. The concept was basically retained with slightly upgraded equipment, but the ship was used in the eastern Mediterranean and shuttled back to Piraeus from Piraeus via Mykonos , Kusadasi in Turkey, Patmos , Crete and Santorini .

At the same time the first two newbuildings were being discussed for the shipping company. The planned shipyard was the Greek Nerion shipyard on the Cycladic island of Syros , including an option for two more newbuildings. After signing the preliminary contract for the first of the two planned ships, the EasyCruise Three , the realization did not materialize.

Until August 2009, EasyCruise belonged to the easyGroup of Haji-Ioannou, who eventually sold it to Hellenic Seaways . For this shipping company, which is active in the passenger and freight transport, the acquisition should be the entry into the cruise business, whereby the ship and brand should continue to operate under license. In 2009 the shipping company sold its last ship. The operation was then silently closed.

fleet

EasyCruise One

The takeover of the first cruise ship, the EasyCruise One , was announced on April 16, 2004. It was the previous Neptune 2 , a ship built in 1990 with a length of 88.3 meters, 4,077 GRT, 14.5 knots and space for 170 passengers and 54 crew members. The EasyCruise One had 74 two-person cabins, seven four-person cabins and four suites with balconies. In October 2008 the ship was decommissioned and sold. It was then launched in Dubai .

EasyCruise Two

The EasyCruise Two was a river cruise ship operated under license from 2006 to August 2007 , which was built in 1981 at the Husum shipyard as a hotel ship. The ship was 80.0 meters long, 9.5 meters wide, 1.50 meters deep, was measured at 415 tons, traveled 20 km / h and had 52 cabins for 100 passengers with a crew of 16 to 18 men.

The ship was operated in 2006 by United Cruise Line in Kampen and then by Fortuna BV , also in Kampen, until it was closed in 2007 . After several sales and name changes, the ship burned down in 2010 and was scrapped in 2014

The EasyCruise Life was still called the Soviet Lev Tolstoy

EasyCruise Life

The second ocean-going vessel, the EasyCruise Life , was taken over by the Dutch shipping company Boonstra River Line . It went into operation on August 11, 2006, but was sold again in 2009. It then drove as Ocean Life until it was launched in 2011 and was canceled in Aliağa on August 15, 2014 .

Planned ships

The ships number three and four were to be the shipping company's first newbuildings. The construction of the first of the two ships, the EasyCruise Three , was announced in the media , but not implemented. The EasyCruise Three was to be 100 meters long, 18 meters wide, 4.75 meters deep and measured at 7500 GT. She should reach 15 knots, offer space for 504 passengers in 224 cabins with a crew of 85 men.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schulz, p. 123
  2. ↑ Gerd Höhler: Easycruise sets out for new shores . In: Handelsblatt dated June 2, 2005 ( online version )
  3. ↑ easyCruise cruises at kreuzfahrt-netz.de
  4. ↑ a b c Showker, Sehlinger, p. 622
  5. ↑ a b Schulz, p. 65
  6. ^ Smith, p. 198
  7. ↑ EasyCruise orders new ships, plans Greek islands cruises at smartertravel.com
  8. ↑ EasyCruise Sold to Hellenic Seaways , www.cruiseindustrynews.com, August 18, 2009, accessed May 12, 2014.
  9. ↑ easyCruise Fleet List at simplonpc.co.uk
  10. ↑ EasyCruise Two at marine-marchande.net
  11. ↑ Sancouci (5107580) at binnenvaart.eu
  12. ↑ Gert Uwe Detlefsen: Ports - Werften - Ships: Chronicle of shipping on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein , Verlag H. Lühr and Dircks, Sankt Peter-Ording 1987, ISBN 3-921416-45-0 , p. 211
  13. ↑ EasyCruise Three at meretmarine.com
  14. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated February 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. homepage easycruise @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / info.easycruise.com