Hello everybody,

I have published a photo gallery with 32 pictures of Festival Cruises' M/V "Flamenco". Festival is a major Europen cruise line, which is marketed as First European Cruises in North America. The "Flamenco" belongs to Festival's Discovery Fleet of smaller, classic cruise liners, while the company also owns three new mid-sized ships, making up the so-called Premium Fleet. The "Flamenco" was originally planned for Norwegian Caribbean Line but during construction, the ship was acquired by P&O Lines in 1971 and entered service as the "Spirit of London" in 1972. The vessel later (1974-1989) became Princess Cruises' first "Sun Princess" and was one of Premier Cruise Line's "Big Red Boats" - named "Starship Majestic" - from 1989 to 1995. Following a two-year charter to UK-based CTC Cruise Lines, the ship was acquired by Festival Cruises in 1997. Beginning next month, the "Flamenco" will operate under a 20-month charter for Spanish tour operator Travelplan.

I visited the "Flamenco" in the port of Kiel, Germany, in August, 2002. A picture gallery with 32 photos of that visit is now available:

http://www.ruderhaus.de/fest-flam_frames.htm

Alternatively, you may click on the "funnel" on the home page at http://english.ruderhaus.de/ to see the pictures. All older features - including the recent photo gallery of Silversea Cruises' "Silver Shadow" - continue to be available through the table of contents, by the way.

Enjoy the photos!

Best regards,

Raoul Fiebig
Das Ruderhaus

Raoul - what did you think of the ship?

She does not look bad, but a little tired, from the photos (bent panels in the fitness-center overhead for instance).

I have always loved her exterior profile... Her interiors have never been that successful though and have been redone numerous times. I have never seen photos of the originals but they were done by the famous British design team Ward and Austin, and apparently very, well, 1970s. (I don't think she was considered one of their best works - rather the opposite.) At any rate, there is none of that left that I can see - most of the decor must date to her Princess years at oldest, but much of it looks very Premier, and I'm sure there are bits of Festival additions in there too... (The decor, or at least the top layer of it, in the theatre looks very new.)

PS: Her original name for NCL was to be SEAWARD.

Hi Doug,

I agree with you. Especially the dining room looks very "Premier", indeed.

I have to say that as somebody who really loves vintage liners but also today's brand-new ships (the latter ones usually not because of their exterior appearance, however), I don't really know what to think of those "first generation cruise ships" built in the 1960s and 1970s. There are a couple of exceptions (the "Caronia" comes to mind), but generally I don't really like most of those ships.

The "Flamenco" has a couple of nice areas, but others look very tired, indeed. I was very disappointed with the cabins, which look old-fashioned even compared with the "Norway's" original cabins. So, ultimately, I thought the ship was "just okay", but not much more.

Best regards,

Raoul Fiebig
Das Ruderhaus

quote:

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Originally posted by Raoul Fiebig:
I have to say that as somebody who really loves vintage liners but also today's brand-new ships (the latter ones usually _not_ because of their exterior appearance, however), I don't really know what to think of those "first generation cruise ships" built in the 1960s and 1970s. There are a couple of exceptions (the "Caronia" comes to mind), but generally I don't really like most of those ships.

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I agree with you... Ships between, say, VISTAFJORD and FAIRSKY (exclusive) were generally lower quality than the ones that came both before and after.

CARONIA of course is a real outcast in the time period where she was built... Her hull and most of her layout is really from SAGAFJORD, so design wise, she's a 1960s dual purpose cruise ship/liner even though she was built in the early 1970s and only ever used as a cruise ship.

quote:

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So, ultimately, I thought the ship was "just okay", but not much more.

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Pretty much what I'd expect of a ship of that era .