Royal Olympic Cruises, Ltd.

MTS Stella Maris

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Operator: Royal Olympic Cruises, Ltd.
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1965 / 1998
Length / Tonnage: 300 / 3,500
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 90 / 180
Officers / Crew: Greek / Greek
Operating Area: Worldwide

I didn't think it would happen because I'd known all about her for so much of my life...and always thought she would be TOO small...but I shoulda known better...the Stella Maris II is a honey...and in short order...I fell in love with this "yachtlike" STELLA...it was kinda like falling for the girl next door...Now that you know how I feel about her... PLEASE ... DON'T tell the STELLA SOLARIS...she'd be awful jealous of her older sister...."Yachtlike"...a word so often used by cruise liner operators, it's now but a trite, mostly meaningless description, but no other word so aptly and quickly describes the Stella Maris II...no other word fits...At 300 feet in length and with a 45 foot beam, she IS small at 3,500 gross tons, so it's no wonder that Royal Olympic staff and devotees think of her as "the BABY". Stella Maris II has a lot of friends from many countries and gets her fair share of repeat passengers who like her cozy size and great itineraries. A real Sun Liner back when Sun Line was Epirotiki's competitor, not partner...the MARIS can go anywhere and it seems she has! During several winter seasons she has sailed out of the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic bound for the sunny Caribbean where her small size prompted Sun Line to plan cruises to some of the most rarely visited and lovely ports in the region.

She was built for West Germany in 1960 as the BREMERHAVEN. Sun Line founder Charalambos Keusseoglou found her in for sale a mere five years later. Enchanted by the possibilities he saw in her, he bought her and after an extensive conversion at an Italian yard, she made her debut in March 1966 as Sun Line's new flagship, the Stella Maris II. A real gem of a small cruise liner, she has been refurbished several times to keep her up to date and I'm here to tell you this ship is as classy, if not classier than ever. I recently did two 7 night cruises in her...and though I had not chosen her for the first of them, the wonderful Ionian/Aegean voyage, I was thrilled by her and glad to have chosen her for a Lands of Antiquity Cruise to Israel and Cyprus a week after I got off her in mid June 1998. I came away with the impression that the Stella Maris is THE BEST LITTLE CRUISE SHIP in the world...the real successor to the first Stella Maris, the earlier "Princess of Cruise Yachts".

There are two main public rooms, the Athenian Lounge, forward and the Belvedere Lounge, aft, and they adjoin each other on Sun Deck. Either can hold most, if not all, passengers at one time. Chris and I once overheard an underwhelmed visitor say about the Stella Maris II: "She's decorated like a STELLA SOLARIS clone!" She is also something of a STELLA OCEANIS clone, yet each of the three STELLAs has her own decorative personality...and I love ALL three ships!!!

Actually, I think in some ways the Stella Maris is a bit ahead of her big sister..the Athenian Lounge on the Stella Maris may be the most beautiful such lounge aboard ANY Greek cruise ship. Like the decor or not, there is nothing decoratively jarring in this ship...just good solid comfortable decor. Deep, comfortable chairs and peach and ivory velvet set a springtime tone in the Athenian, where lectures, shows and dances are held. Since STELLA MARIS II cruises have always been destination oriented, lectures often outshine floor shows yet the group of entertainers we saw here were pretty damn good...one or two were brilliant... A small bar separates that room on starboard side from the Belvedere Lounge, a room conceived as a multi-purpose space...I can think of ten different things this "U" shaped apartment serves...for fans of safety...and you should become one, too...boat drills are held in here.

The ship has four lifeboats, two on either side and both muster stations are in here. Port side features the book cabinet and some comfortable seating while at the window is the ship's tiny casino - a lone black jack table and four slot machines...nothing in your face about the gaming here...it's for passenger's amusement...not to squeeze them for money. There is a fine cocktail bar just aft...and we've had many an aperitif in the area...perched to watch the people coming up the stairs...or just looking out to the sea and sky aft. With a giant screen TV the starboard side of the Belvedere is convertible to a cinema...while it's after end is arranged as a boutique...closed both in port and during services of breakfast and lunch buffets...as well as during midnight snacks time. Thousands of lunches have been enjoyed in that comfortable room with a view of the pool deck and out to the ship's sides.

Abaft the Belvedere is the lido, wooden deck area surrounding a tiny but perfect swimming pool...here, as well as the decks above and below are furnished with the deck furniture expected by sun seekers...and the small passenger loads assure you a choice place in the sun...

Named for the Greek god of the seas is the Poseidon Dining Room, where all passengers are served at a single, smoke- free, leisurely sitting (which effectively cuts passenger capacity to 160). That same Royal Olympic emphasis on quality is as evident there as in the dining rooms of her fleetmates, but some of the food we had in the Poseidon Dining Room was even better than anything we have had on other of the company's vessels. In general the food is very good and all of the lamb dishes I tried were superb...I had seconds more than once...If there was any culinary disappointment...it was a chocolate mousse cake that was more like a chocolate pudding placed onto a graham cracker and topped with paint...but her...one amusingly bad dessert added a note of levity and the people at the next table who had also ordered it joined us in a chuckle while we awaited the arrival of a warm apple pie a la mode...THAT was delicious!

Stella Maris passengers have a choice of 80 outside and 10 inside cabins. Recently recarpeted, thoroughly cleaned with pristine linens and new pillows, these are comfortable private quarters...indeed...many of the Stella Maris's cabins are a treat. Fan of top grade cabins that I am...I like the sixteen deluxe cabins. Of generous proportions, each of them has both a cabin number and a name...like Olympia, Lindos..Santorini...and these rooms have BIG picture windows, two or three closets and a bathroom with bath tub. Lesser rooms have ample closet space, private facilities and air conditioning. Decorated much in the style of a deluxe Italian hotel, these are charming rooms...Are the cabins lacking for anything? YES...and after two nights I was very glad my cabin had neither phone, television nor video recorder.

When Sun Line and Epirotiki formed successor Royal Olympic Cruises in 1995, it looked like the end of the line for the little "MARIS"...When she returned to Piraeus on November 4, 1995 from her last cruise and was withdrawn...she was not expected to return to scheduled service the following year. Instead, she was offered for charter work or sale...but popular demand brought her back in the spring of 1996...and in 1997 and 1998...so don't count this one out...not by a long shot...even though we hear rumors that she has been sold...and if she has..who ever bought her has a good ship on his hands...This year, 1998, saw her operating both the 7 night Ionian/Aegean itinerary...my personal favorite Greek islands trip...but the 7 night "Lands of Antiquity run to Israel, Cyprus, Kusadasi and Greek Islands.

She was never geared to the first time passenger, but experienced cruisers, especially fans of personal service, and those who love privacy love her. The Stella Maris most appeals to passengers who are able to interact and amuse themselves without great visual distractions accompanied by sound and light. She's a great place to make friends as you sail whatever waters she plies. Capacity is LIMITED to 180 passengers and with the single sitting policy, capacity is more like 150-160 and many of her cruises sell out fast.

What a friendly little ship! She's small, cozy, intimate and thoroughly charming...welcoming, warm and quite a lot of sedate fun...I don't only love her for that, I love her for what she is not...one of those gigantic resort hotels cum shopping malls so prevalent today...pure and simple...a real winner for sophisticated travelers in no need of overpaying for a cruise. I don't want to say TOO much...because I don't want to have her so full that I can't get on her! She's a winner in my book!