(Formerly) Royal Olympic Cruises

Update 2006: Since this article, OLYMPIC VOYAGER was renamed OLYMPIA VOYAGER after pressure from the International Olympic Organisation. The Royal Olympic subsidiary which owned OLYMPIA VOYAGER filed for bankruptcy, ultimately bringing down Royal Olympic Cruises. The vessel now owned by V-Ships group, and is chartered to Iberojet. Renamed VOYAGER, but is marketed as GRAND VOYAGER

MV OLYMPIC VOYAGER
Royal Olympic Cruise Lines Inc., Piraeus
Built: 2000
Blohm and Voss, Hamburg
Yard no: 961
25,000 gt
590 x 84 feet
24 foot draft
Four Wartsila Diesels
51,000 BHP
Twin screw
27 knots
840 passengers
360 crew

Shortly after the 1995 union of rival Greek cruise lines Sun and Epirotiki that formed Royal Olympic Cruises, a bold new ship was conceived. With a combination of mono-hull design and powerful diesel engines, this vessel would be able to achieve a remarkable 27 knot speed to incorporate an expanded weekly Aegean itinerary. The OLYMPIC VOYAGER was to be the first newbuild for either company, both of which were known for transforming second hand liners into sleek Greek cruise ships.

Epirotiki Lines began in the mid 19th century in freight shipping, expanding into the cruise ship business in 1954 with the assistance of the Hellenic National Tourist Board for Aegean cruises from Piraeus. Owned by the family of founder George Potamianos, the Epirotiki fleet sported smart blue funnels with a yellow Byzantine Cross logo and a blue banded dove gray hull with red boot topping. It's mythologically-named ships were soon familiar in many parts of the world in addition to their home base of the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, arch competitor Sun Lines was formed by Charalambos Kesseoglou in 1958 with a small but highly regarded fleet of blue hulled "Stella" (Greek for "star") liners. These destination-oriented ships had a fiercely loyal following, the most famous of which was/is the 1953-built 10,595 gt SS STELLA SOLARIS (formerly Messageries Maritimes CAMBODGE).

After the merger, yet another company, Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines stepped into the picture in 1998, when it bought the majority of shares in ROC, reforming it as Royal Olympic Cruise Lines, Inc.

Formed in 1877, the Blohm and Voss shipyard at Hamburg, Germany was selected from a number of potential bidders. Their past achievements included many of the most celebrated passenger ships ever, ranging from the Albert Ballin designed 1914-built VATERLAND and BISMARCK (at the time the world's largest) to the Bauhaus-inspired 1930-built EUROPA (at the time the world's fastest) and the mega-yacht SAVARONA of 1931.

The VOYAGER, which entered service in the summer of 2000, is to be followed in September 2001 by a slightly amended sister, the OLYMPIC EXPLORER, which was originally due in the spring of 2001. Citing technical difficulties, ROC has delayed acceptance of this ship until certain refinements are made. In the meantime, because of a claim by the Olympic Games Committee, the name OLYMPIC is to be replaced with OLYMPIA for all the members of the soon-to-be-renamed Royal Olympia fleet.

Click here to go on to page two and a tour of OLYMPIC VOYAGER's outer decks