Golden Sun Cruises

mts Aegean Spirit

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Operator:Golden Sun Cruises
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1950 / 1994
Length / Tonnage: 579 / 16,495
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 335 / 654
Officers / Crew: Greek / Ukrainian
Operating Area: Greek Island/Turkey (spring, summer, fall) Canary Islands, Morocco (winter)

Note: Before reading the rest of this review please check out our comments at the bottom of this page under "Heavy Word".

You may think you know all about this ship, and where she is from and who she was. But intuition and experience tells me you've got every chance in the world of getting it wrong.

S.G.T.M. are the initials of the company that ordered her construction and first owned her. That's the Societé Générale des Transportes Maritimes to me and any or all of you who speak French. Like her sister BRETAGNE, this ship came down the ways at the Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson yards in Newcastle in 1950. These French ships were built in Britain because French yards were so busy rebuilding their merchant marine after World War II that there were simply no building ways for S.G.T.M's order for this pair of 16,000 ton passenger and migrant liners for the Europe to South America run. This ship entered service in 1951 as the PROVENCE and like her sister, she carried 157 in first class, 167 in tourist class, and 978 in third....470 of those housed in large open dormitories. The PROVENCE proved the stuff she was made of in 1954, when the Liberian tanker SAXONSEA crashed into her in the River Plate. It was a terrible crash and any other ship so badly damaged would probably have been lost, but this one was so strongly built that she was reparable. As it was, she was out of work for over a year, but she came back better than ever. As Italy's Costa Line began its incremental expansion in the late 1950s, they shored up their position in their competition against state run Italian Line by entering into working agreements with other and less powerful firms. In S.G.T.M., Costa found a good partner and within a very short time was really the force behind the passenger operation of the PROVENCE and BRETAGNE. Fast forward to 1962....Costa chartered the PROVENCE outright but before this new joint operation started, the ship was altered and a third swimming pool built.

It was the first of many rebuildings, some of them all encompassing, that would be lavished on this ship. Around that same time American, charter cruise outfit Caribbean Cruise Lines chartered the BRETAGNE. She made a series of cruises from the U.S., and then went back to the South America Line. Meanwhile, the PROVENCE worked the South American service as always and though Caribbean Cruise Lines chartered the BRETAGNE for the 1963 season, Chandris showed up on the scene and wrote a bigger check and bought her. At first it looked like the new owners would allow the ship to fulfill her cruising commitment, and Chandris delivered the ship to Caribbean Cruise Line who obligingly airbrushed in Chandris' funnel colors and distinctive white "X" on their folders, and advertised cruises on the S.S. BRITTANY. Bought not for cruising, but for their, Europe/Australia line the BRITTANY's summer of 1963 cruise season from New York was canceled, and Caribbean Cruise Lines hurriedly arranged to charter the sister ship PROVENCE. These machinations forced them to sacrifice but one ten day cruise.. Sad to say that while at the Skaramangas yards, refitting to better suit Chandris' Australia line, the BRITTANY she was hit by lightening. Her remains were sold for scrap.

Much luckier was the PROVENCE. After finishing her cruises from New York, she returned to Costa's operation and when France's overseas passenger companies began whittling down their money losing passenger ships to a precious few, S.G.T.M. found Costa a willing buyer. In 1965, she became the ENRICO C.. Costa immediately had her interiors altered, and she re entered service in 1966, if every bed and upper were used, she was then able to sleep 218 passengers in first class, and up to 980 in tourist. Costa Line also abandoned the expensive passenger line between Genoa and Buenos Aires, limiting it after 1972 to one or two sailings a year performed by flagship EUGENIO C. and ENRICO C... From 1972, with her capacity limited to 750, the ENRICO C. was employed as a full time cruise ship. Over the next fifteen years, she made quite a good name for herself among Italian travelers... and many passengers of other nationalities came to love her too. Her name was changed to ENRICO COSTA in 1987, and in 1990, when you would expect a ship of her years to be quietly sold off for scrap, Costa invested a small fortune in her, thoroughly refitting her accommodations, and arranging her to carry a maximum of 845 passengers in 332 cabins. It was curious that Costa took such a direction with this veteran, because those were the days when the company set on the road that eventually led them to sell fifty per cent of their shares to Carnival....the incorporation of new ships and a totally new look.

Refitted as she was, the ENRICO COSTA didn't quite fit into the new fleet even though some of her better cabins were redecorated to look like the cabins in the COSTA ALLEGRA. But the ENRICO COSTA turned out to be a perfect ship for Starlauro of Naples, who bought her December, 1994, and she began cruising as SYMPHONY in the spring of 1995....on the popular seven day western Mediterranean itinerary. Hen Starlauro became MSC, she passed over to the cruise ship fleet of MSC in October, 1995, and has since carried many thousands of happy passengers. The spring of 2000 saw her begin a new career…as the AEGEAN SPIRIT…one of the three ships in the fleet of Greece's Golden Sun Cruises…On a five year charter with an option to purchase, Golden Sun has changed a few things…like her flag and crew…and it seemed to me that someone had literally taken a vacuum cleaner to rival Royal Olympic's (ROC) STELLA SOLARIS, ODYSSEUS and TRITON and sucked up the best officers, staff and crew and dropped them all here… Her Master, Captain Apostolos Kanaris was the last Greek Captain of the STELLA MARIS II, her Chief Purser, Aleko Tsamados, 25 year veteran of Epirotiki and Royal Olympic spent most of the 90s as chief on the TRITON before going for two years to the STELLA SOLARIS, the chef came from the ODYSSEUS as did Chief Steward Takis Diamandis, the Asst. Maitre d'Hotel came from the SOLARIS, bartenders came from the ODYSSEUS, TRITON and SOLARIS…and let's not forget Cruise Director Marion Buitelaar, Dutch beauty…she previously worked the SOLARIS, ODYSSEUS, WORLD RENAISSANCE and a few other ROC ships. Sun Line, Epirotiki Line and ROC past passengers will find many familiar faces here onboard the AEGEAN SPIRIT…

The AEGEAN SPIRIT looks like a real Atlantic liner, which is what she was…Now a smallish and rather high density ship....at least she would be high density if every berth is taken, but that is rarely the case. Even when she's pretty heavily booked, she has enough deck space and public rooms, and stops in ports often enough to avoid any feeling of overcrowding. Though we have many friends who work in her, she is not really on our list of favorite ships, and she probably won't be your favorite either, should you take her you would come away with the feeling that you had a very enjoyable cruise and you'll be certain that this grand old cruise ship is the reason why. I think you would be right.

Somebody spent a lot of money endowing the SYMPHONY with an almost deco personality. Her Italian owners and Greek operators don't say she's deco...they call her decorative style "liberty". But with its sinuous floral accents and countless mirrors and windows, and frequent sharp lines, it's close enough to deco for us to call it that. You would expect the conversion of a three class passenger liner into a one class cruise ship would entail some sacrifices. In the case of the conversion of the PROVENCE into the ENRICO C. and then into the SYMPHONY, you would be wrong, because every subsequent work they have made on this ship has helped to maintain her both internally and externally, and has kept her quite comfortable and stylish. Let's start with her open deck spaces. They are small, but there are three of them....swimming pools, that is...even when the ship is full you'll find enough room to take a dip. There's open deck space on Lounge Deck, and promenade deck space on Promenade Deck, which features a near wrap around arrangement for exercise. So if you aren't in the mood to be inside, the AEGEAN SPIRIT provides many places for you to go and commune with the salt air and sea. Within, Lounge Deck is given over to a succession of very well thought out spaces.

From a typical traditional cruise ship main lounge, complete with bar at one end and orchestra platform with dance floor at the other....that's the Riviera Lounge....and with its big floor to ceiling windows wrapping around from side to side and across the ship's bridge front, it makes a dandy observation room by day. People wanting to get away from a nonstop round of music, entertainment and laughter will appreciate the quiet of a little lounge call the Old Time Club…it's the Casino now…and they can try their luck against a friendly British staff. To make this deck a real magnet for social life and interaction, as only the Italians can, what would be dead spaces in other vessels has been used here as a pair of small Italian style piazze.....town squares, if you will. The one forward provides circular seating and is a good place to take a load off your feet during a busy shopping expedition, as there are three shops adjacent…while the after one fronts on one side on the Cruise Staff office and photographers' desk and on the other, the main bar.... a clever space which gives into the show lounge, a room provided with those big windows which give it enough light by day for people just looking for a spot to sit and shmooze. Below on other decks is a taverna, which doubles as a late night spot, and one deck below that, a cinema.

In her Dining Room, the AEGEAN SPIRIT serves her passengers at two sittings...it's an all "No Smoking Dining Room. A foyer just outside is furnished with a sofa and smokers can be found taking cigarette breaks during every meal…Funny enough, smokers and their friends invariable strike up conversations here and the occasional friendship has blossomed over the increasingly forbidden weed. Because these Golden Sun ships are so heavily booked by Europeans and South Americans who eat later than we Yankees, dinner sittings begin a few minutes later than many U.S. based cruise lines....so if you don't like getting your main course served to you after 9:30 at night, you may find second sitting...which starts at 8:45, 9:00PM or even 9:30 and once in a great while at 9:45! It might be a little too late for you. If you are reading this in English, you will probably want first sitting, because with a 7:00 start up time, you will get your main course around 7:45, and that's generally late enough for most of us, whether we are from the U.S., the U.K. or Canada. Because of this, first sitting attracts a larger quotient of English speakers, and second sitting will undoubtedly be the choice of all Latin Americans, Spaniards, Portuguese and most Italians on board, with the French, Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians divided on eating time preferences. .

Watch out when lunches or dinners are served in "open sitting"...get there early or you may just face a long wait for a table...of course you could take your food from the buffet...but American passengers, in particular, fond of breakfast and lunch buffets as they are...seem to shy away from dinner buffets when they are offered. And when at Mykonos on Mondays, there is always a buffet in the Dining Room…The buffet area topsides used to be called this buffet area the Trattoria del Sole, but I would call it the Trattoria del Sole e della Sombra....the sun and shadow....MSC has thoughtfully provided a great awning to shelter diners from a sweltering midday sun and Golden Sun plans to expand the covered area. But take heart for those of you who cannot eat without letting your skin broil....there are quite a number of tables exposed to the rays. At lunch time, the main meal for many Greeks, Italians as well as many Latin Americans, expect to see both at the buffet and the dining room the full range of menu items you would expect for a major meal. But watch carefully, and you will see that Greeks and Italians rarely combine soup and pasta in the same meal...and pasta is not generally a main course in Italy or Greece. Typically, an Italian will begin his meal with a pasta, and will then have a meat or fish entree accompanied by a contorni...the accompaniments....which are vegetables and most often potato. Italian food is a good deal more than spaghetti and meatballs. Greek food is more than moussaka and the Greek Dinner served once per cruise features very tasty items from the traditional Greek kitchen…

In general the food is quite good though once in a while a particular menu will not spark the appetite…though I don't presume to suggest to tell you which dishes will please you most.

The AEGEAN SPIRIT, the former SYMPHONY, as she was as ENRICO C. and PROVENCE before that, is no pretentious vessel....and her rates reflect this. She has more inside than outside cabins and almost a third of them are equipped with upper and lower beds. Quite a number of inside rooms are fitted with double beds so those who don't want to sleep alone yet don't want to pay a lot for a cruise might do well to remember this. There are no fantasy suites though six forwardmost cabins on Promenade Deck are graded as SC type suites… The two inboard rooms have double bed, the outer four are fitted with a single bed running for and aft and a sofa bed athwartships. Best and biggest cabin on the ship is 527, whose bathroom includes and oversized tub. When the ship was built, this was the sleeping area of Suite B…Now graded TA, it's the best of the premium rooms aboard this ship. The TAs are all fitted with double beds as are the TBS, the next best grade and these cabins are probably where you want to live on this ship. If you consider a cruise in the AEGEAN SPIRIT, and if she is going where you are she is a good choice and provides good value for our vacation buck, keep in mind that of her 335 cabins, fully 90 of them are small rooms with bed and upper berth. They are both inside, the far more numerous Category E, and outside rooms, Category C. It's rumored that Golden Sun is going to market these small rooms as singles and/or as "value" cabins, and make sure that the intending traveler knows he/she is buying a ticket for budget space.

Single travelers might do well to consider any of the inside or outside rooms on any of the decks where they are offered....even on Capri Deck, though I panned it just above...because I think of two people in a cabin with two lowers...not bunk beds. We would do you a disservice if we recommended any of the lower priced cabins on Capri Deck, and of the inside rooms on lower decks, we prefer cabins 305, 306, 315 and 316, four big inside rooms on Bordighera Deck to any of the other rooms on that deck, including the outside rooms....those outsides, by the way, are the lowest priced outside rooms fitted with two lower beds. A good inside room on Amalfi Deck is 3110, with two lowers and two uppers should four passengers be traveling together. It has four closets as do most of the rooms able to take four people. What makes this cabin desirable is its location near the aft stairs and elevator. None of the cabins in the AEGEAN SPIRIT is a big deal, and none except for 527 is very big. But all of them are furnished with private facilities, phone, air conditioning, and plenty of storage space. Kept clean by either Greek stewards (up top on Promenade and on Restaurant Decks) or by Ukrainian stewardesses, they are all adequate for the usual 3 or 4 day cruise this ship spends most of her time operating.

In some measure depends on where she is going. On her voyages of greatest interest to us...the positioning trips between Europe and the United States, you will find a nice mix of nationalities and a big percentage of travelers having a common love of sea travel....that's why they are here....to make the crossing from one place to another. And these are people who require less organized entertainment than most other cruise passengers. Obviously, her Caribbean sailings will appeal to a lot of Americans and Canadians.....and these passengers know a good bargain when they see one....GSC's rates for these cruises are low! In Europe, the AEGEAN SPIRIT attracts large numbers of value seeking vacationers and her Mediterranean cruises draw lots of passengers from all of Western Europe. A fair number of Americans have begun to discover that cruising Europe with European passengers is not only a highly logical plan, but has allowed them a distinct view of Europe not so readily apparent to shiploads of passengers limited to American and Canadian citizens.

Through November 2000, when she steams out of Piraeus on a charter cruise to Lebanon and Syria, the AEGEAN SPIRIT does two cruises every week. From Piraeus on Friday mornings at 11:00AM, the ship sails for Mykonos. Saturdays are spent at Rhodes while Sundays see her call at Kusadasi and Patmos before heading back for a 6:00AM arrival at Piraeus on Monday. Then it's a quick disembarkation followed at 8:45AM by embarkation of four day guests who travel to those same ports plus Herakleion, Crete and Santorini. She caters particularly to tour groups from many countries and don't forget, hers is a port intensive itinerary and the ship with its facilities is little more than a hotel and eatery for travelers visiting the places she calls. We'll tell you this, almost all of the tour leaders are GREAT and really look after their passengers..

Until recently this cruise line and ship provided a solid product at a very affordable price. Unfortunately, over the past few months (summer 2001) the quality of the product and operation of these ships has degraded to such an extent that we can no longer recommend anyone sail on these vessels.

From Cruise News, July 9 2001: Sailing as the Ocean Glory 1, this vessel was was prevented from leaving port in Dover, England last July after safety officials discovered a number of safety and health violations. Safety inspectors described the ship as one of the worst they had seen.

Among the problems discovered during an inspection was the fact that the Ukrainian crew of the Panamanian-registered vessel did not speak enough English to carry out a fire drill. In addition, escape routes were blocked, radio equipment broken and engine room pumps were leaking. There was no fire extinguisher in the engine room where machinery was leaking fuel. There were also hygiene problems in the galley, including cockroaches.

According to the company that had charted the ship, the 600 passengers who were ordered off the ship due to the safety problems will all receive full refunds. According to Andrew Gardner, spokesman for Cruise Collection which chartered the vessel, "Our main concern was for the passengers and we are terribly sorry for what has happened to them and did all that we could."

According to British authorities, the almost 50 year old vessel will remain in Dover until it passes a new inspection. As of Saturday, the ship had been from her original berth at Cruise Terminal one, and berthed against the harbour wall. At this time it is not clear when she will be ready to leave.