CRUISE OLBIA sailing from Olbia in Sardinia

Just over a week ago I went to Sardinia for the first time, sailed from Mainland Italy using the Tuscany Port of Livorno, a city steeped in maritime history, my round trip was to the Port of Olbia in Northern Sardinia, outbound sailed on ZEUS PALACE, my second trip on the ship, returning on CRUISE OLBIA, my first trip on this former SUPERFAST FERRIES cruise ferry, a ship very similar to my very well known CAP FINISTERE of BRITTANY FERRIES, Olbia is a wonderful destination for ships enthusiasts, cruise ferries book a presence on daily basis and also cruise ships call now and then. Photos selected were taken onboard the GRIMALDI's CRUISE OLBIA on the 26th April 2017.

M.V. "ZEUS PALACE" passenger facilities

"ZEUS PALACE"'s Passenger Facilities are in need of a makeover, they look tired, outdated and in need of refurbishment, the ship is only 13 years old but she looks like 25 in some areas, her crew is outstanding doing the best to keep the ship clean which is a difficult task because some of the passengers don't really co-operate making a difficult job for the the majority of the Philippines crew, rumours have linked her with the Newcastle to Bergen service to be re-instated during the Spring of 2014 or so it seems, nothing official has been confirmed yet, if she is the ship selected, then a big refit is needed in order to keep her ready for the new job, it was good to see her travelling with 180 trailers, this is an important route, it reduces costs for the Haulage companies and is a safe and relaxing way to travel, "ZEUS PALACE" is normally operated in Greece and was only employed on the Barcelona/Civitavecchia route to cover for the CRUISE ROMA annual refit, her officers are Italian, photos taken on board 22sd and 23rd November 2013

M.V. "ZEUS PALACE" sailing the stormy Mediterranean

Recently on board "ZEUS PALACE" I have experienced one of the most severe storms during these last twenty years that I have been living on Cruise Ferries. The GRIMALDI ship was covering for the CRUISE ROMA that went for her annual refit, we sailed from Barcelona to Civitavecchia direct with no stop at Porto Torres, I believe this call will resume in spring next year. The normal ship's departure is daily at 22.45 from Barcelona with expected E.T.A. in Italy at 18.15 the following day, soon we were notified by a text message that the departure due to bad weather would be 3.30am, in the end the ship didn't sail until 5am, the crossing in terms of weather went from bad to worse with the ship facing force 11 and 6/7 meter swells, we got to a stage where the captain changed the course of the ship, the starboard side of the "ZEUS PALACE" was a total washout, I did venture where nobody else did but to be honest do not recommend it with this sort of weather, how the decks were opened I will never understand, the ship behave remarkably well against such atrocious weather and to my astonishment we kept sailing between 22 to 23 knots. One trip to remember no doubt on board the ship that has been announced to re-start the Newcastle/Bergen route in April next year. Photos taken 22/23 of November 2013