Royal Olympic Cruises, Ltd.

MTS Orpheus

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Operator: Royal Olympic Cruises, Ltd.
Year Built / Rebuilt / Last Refurbished: 1948 / 1968 / 1987
Length / Tonnage: 280 / 6,000
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 159 / 300
Officers / Crew: Greek / Greek
Operating Area: Greek Islands and surrounding areas
Telephone / Fax: Tel 113 3165 / Fax 113 1336

From the dock she won't impress you...She's small, definitely old and though she gleams in her beautiful "white world of Epirotiki" paint scheme...she even looks like a vessel built for something other than cruising the Aegean and Ionian seas...and she was...she was the MUNSTER...built by famed Belfast shipbuilders Harland & Wolff for the British + Irish Steamship Company in 1948 to cross the Irish Sea...and her cold water origins may well be why she is so sturdy and strong! Her thorough makeover into a Greek cruise ship to plans by famed designer Maurice Bailey and with decorative work by Arminio Lozzi and Russell Holmes that makes her such a welcoming, friendly ship...and if ever a ship could sing welcome songs from her heart the ORPHEUS is it! I was frankly amazed by her for I didn't expect anything at all from this old timer yet within a very few minutes this ship and I were old friends...

She has all the expected features: swimming pool, deck chairs, sun space, 187 seat Lounge of the Muses main lounge, which adjoins the 64 seat Jason Taverna, then there is the 75 seat Apollo Pool bar with adjoining lounge, library, restaurant, beauty salon, shop and cabins. I have seen prettier ships...inside and out...I have seen ships with a far wider range of facilities, features and gimmicks...but I don't remember any other ship like this one...she is a LOVE! I suspect there must have been great happiness in her over the many years before I ever went aboard this ship because more than any other ship I know the ORPHEUS feels like a place of great joy. I thought I was alone sensing what I did but when I noticed his goofy grin while we first explored the ship I asked Associate Cruise Editor Chris Smith what gave...His answer...."I LOVE this ship!" - And we had just gotten there! Listening to him, her Master, Captain Leonidas Vratsanas beamed...former Master of the wildly popular GOLDEN ODYSSEY, he doesn't feel like he has come down in the world now that he commands the ORPHEUS...nope...he runs her like she is his pet...and I guess she is...she could easily be my pet ship...or yours...if you go in her...

As you'd expect for a ship whose itinerary is the point of the cruise....on board entertainment is no extravaganza...books, chats, parties, conversation, meals, movies, dances, a crew show...will all entertain you. There's neither spa nor fitness center but with the ports this ship hits you will get plenty of exercise trooping across, up and down the stone ruins of ancient Greece...It's just nice to sail with this ship.

Nothing fancy but quite good and of course, LOTS of it! Food aboard the ORPHEUS is basically Continental with some Greek specialties (at which her chefs EXCEL!!!!)...don't expect things to taste like Grandma made unless she was Greek...the ship is provisioned in Greece so chose dishes using as many local ingredients as possible and you will love the food as I did. Don't look for lobster and chateaubriand...they don't appear on the menus here...Two sittings for dinner in the 208 seat Dionysos Restaurant plus buffets for breakfast, lunch and midnights in the Jason taverna... there's more food than you can handle!

Eight deluxe cabins and suites and 144 standard cabins. The 83 type A cabins average about 140 square feet and at 210 square feet the 8 deluxe TAs are quite roomy...(but...ahem) the remaining 61 rooms are kinda small but still well laid out and fitted with everything you'll need and after a few days will seem to have grown larger. It's curious how some cruise lines like giant Royal Caribbean gets away with their tiny cabins and most travel writers pat them on the back...while some writers criticize the size of the cabins here...and most of the cabins here are as big or bigger than those on some of those other lines... By the way...don't look for a double bed here...she has only one or two cabins so fitted...Traveling solo? Consider booking one of the 10 inside Type E rooms...fitted with one lower and one upper...they're not all that easy to sell to couples traveling together...so you might win a good price on one of these as a single... All cabins were recently refurbished and given upgraded linens, bedding, curtains and all of them are...well...nice...in all grades all cabins have private facilities, air conditioning, closets, storage space.

All kinds of people sail with this ship. Just back from a long charter to Swans Hellenic Cruises, the ORPHEUS is redeveloping her core clientele...and has loads of room for YOU to be one of them! No glitz, no gimmicks, just comfort, nothing fancy, just good food and friendly service....and GREAT itineraries...people who like those things should consider a cruise in this one. The slight downside to this ship...no elevator nor wheelchair accessible cabins...so if you need either... this may not be the ship for you.

I am wild to do one of her 7 night "Classical Aegean and Ionian Voyages" this year...When she sails from Piraeus around dinner time on Saturday nights between May 10th and October 11th, the ORPHEUS bucks the crowds heading for the Cyclades and the Dodecanese...heading instead for Itea where you can take an excursion to commune with the Oracle at Delphi (he was IN last time I was there...and he told me to tell you to visit soon), Ithaca, Saranda (in ALBANIA - yes the ORPHEUS goes there every week for a four hour call...it's OK and long enough for you to tell all your friends "ALBANIA? I've been there" yet not so long that you won't regret having gone), Corfu, Zante (where a friend of mine has a pizzeria), Katakolon and Rethymnon on Crete before she joins her fleetmates over in Mykonos...then she calls at Nauplion on Fridays before returning on Saturday mornings to Piraeus. It's an extraordinary itinerary and if you are heading to Greece this summer...you better consider it!

I LOVE this ship and can't wait to walk back up her gangway! If you need a lot of creature comforts....if you need modern cruise ship living in a huge new ship...you may want to stay away from this one....but if you like a ship that feels like a ship...whose crew makes their home in her and want you to feel like their favorite guest...where crew anticipate what you want....if you like a ship where a casual ease prevails among passengers and something of a house party atmosphere can reign...you're going to like the ORPHEUS as much as I do.