Maritime and Port Bureau has reported another Hong Kong-based operator, Profit Summit Deluxe Cruise, has submitted an application to start cruising out of Taiwan using the Ocean Dream, former Pacific Star and built in 1981 as Tropicale for Carnival. The ship is currently on charter to Peace Boat.

The oldest ship in the MSC Cruises fleet, the MSC Melody, may be heading for a new home according to various reports.

It would be kind of surprising that they dumped the charter that quickly but maybe the realized the ship was not well suited to their around the world market and decided to cut their loses and replace her with a better ship.

MSC has been offering up the old Atlantic for quite a while now with no solid offers on her. She is sort of a fish out of water in the current cruise market and they had no idea what was a fair price for her.

Profit Summit Deluxe Cruise operates well a cruise ship named OCEAN DREAM, but this ship is the former Festival Cruises' FLAMENCO, former FLAMENCO I / NEW FLAMENCO / FLAMENCO / SOUTHERN CROSS / STARSHIP MAJESTIC / SUN PRINCESS / SPIRIT OF LONDON.

I place her in the same category as the old Norwegian Sea (nee Seaward); another bow-wow.

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Originally posted by Grant:
I've heard from inside HAL that Statendam is now on the sales list. She is probably in much better shape; perhaps too good for this operation.

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While the STATENDAM may be on the sales list, I would not expect HAL to sell her very soon, as they havo no newbuilds on order. They might just be testing the waters, so to say.
If STATENDAM does get sold, I wonder if Fred Olsen or Saga would be willing and able to fork out the cash to buy her. Seems like a good ship for them.

[ 07-18-2012: Message edited by: rd77 ]

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Originally posted by linerguy:
She might fit well into the Peaceboat role, but IMO she is a dog of a ship. Plastic handrails, that hideous pontoon welded to her hull, those monontanous chrome ceiling light fixtures all over the place....yuk!

I place her in the same category as the old Norwegian Sea (nee Seaward); another bow-wow.

-Russ

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She is a product of her time. I was on her maiden voyage in 1982 as well as the previews days before and several subsequent trips. She did not wow us but she was a logical successor to the Doric and in many ways nicer. Big cabins was one her best features. Her decor was very Italian and Home Lines typical of what they were doing in the era.

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Originally posted by SSTRAVELER:
There have been various rumors/reports that Peace Boat was experiencing problems with the old Tropicale from almost the moment she sailed on her first world cruise. There were reports of an a/c malfunction and various mechanical problems cropping up on the ship.

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Originally posted by NAL:
SSTRAVELER....did you ever get an explanation from Home Lines Cruises as to why they located the dining rooms on lower decks when the trend was to put them higher up with big ocean views? I was surprised with the Atlantic and even more so with Homeric.

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The Home Lines guys were old fashioned through and through. Putting the dining room lower the thinking was gave it a better ride and meant you did not sacrifice space for higher priced cabins. Also you could have the domes and high overheads by going with the lower decks.

I agree; our cabin was huge. We even had a crib in our room and there was still plenty of space. My biggest problem with the ship (and Seaward) was that everything looked cheaply made...from the light fixtures to the cabin furniture. I was on her when she was with Premier, so, decor-wise, I'm not sure if I experienced her original interiors or not. I just know I didn't care for them.

But of course there is a flip-side to everything, and I really liked her huge, open deck at the stern. The service was very good, and the food was better than anything Carnival or Royal Caribbean offered at the time; it wasn't a total loss.

Even if I don't care for a particular ship, I'm always glad I went. Not only is it a notch in my proverbial cruising belt, but I'm one who believes that every day above ground is a good day, and a day on a ship, any ship, is even better.

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Originally posted by SSTRAVELER:

The Home Lines guys were old fashioned through and through. Putting the dining room lower the thinking was gave it a better ride and meant you did not sacrifice space for higher priced cabins. Also you could have the domes and high overheads by going with the lower decks.

The Tropicale also had a low dining room coming out about the same time as the Atlantic. Everyone else had more or less given in to the trend to go for the big windows in the dining room.

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Originally posted by linerguy:
My biggest problem with the ship (and Seaward) was that everything looked cheaply made...from the light fixtures to the cabin furniture. I was on her when she was with Premier, so, decor-wise, I'm not sure if I experienced her original interiors or not.

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Not. Premier liberally ripped out the Home Lines decor from parts of the ship as I recall. The casino went into what had been a open lobby space. The forward lounge with a small bar starboard were ripped out for the buffets. Home Lines had Murano glass and leather in those spaces.

I would have to look at my Premier pictures to tell what else was totally removed on the lounge deck, but I can tell you for the most part Home Lines did not use anything that was cheaply made in the furnishings. All the glass light were Murano glass for example. The decor in places was hard to swallow even in 1982 but that was design taste not quality issues. By modern standards the Atlantic would be considered hideous, garish and ..... but in 1982 she was not as bad.

The Atlantic though was a transition ship. Her overheads were low, she used lots of metal, glass and mirrors. Soundproofing between the cabins was non-existent and she had septic system problems.