Cruise Ship name: Hebridean Spirit -> Sunrise
Length: 297 ft • 90 m
Gross Tonnage (Volume): 4200 GT
Year: 1991 • Refit: 2001
Builder:
Cabins: 49
Passengers: 80
Crew: 70
Former Cruise Operator: Hebridean Island Cruises

Photos: monacoeye • Monaco • 2008

This mini cruise ship has recently been sold by Ocean Independence. Hebridean, the former operator, announced March 2009 that it was pulling out of the international cruise market, due to financial conditions. Booked cruises are being refunded or transferred to their second ship Hebridean Princess.

According to Wikipedia Hebridean Spirit it is one of the Renaissance class ships - but it certainly looks very unlike the other ones.

Cruise Ship name: Easy Cruise One
Formerly: Renaissance II -> Neptune II
Length: 289 ft • 88 m
Gross Tonnage (Volume): 4077 GT
Year: 1990 • Refit: 2005
Builder:
Crew: 55
Capacity: 232

Photos: monacoeye • Monaco • 2005

After Monaco Easy Cruise One moved down to Greece until 2008, where her hull was painted black. According to Wikipedia, she has been retired and is currently up for sale.

Cruise Ship name: Clelia II
Formerly Renaissance IV ?
Length: 290 ft • 88 m
Gross tonnage: 4200 GT
Year: 1990
Builder:
Current Operator: Great Lakes Cruise Company

Photos: monacoeye • Monaco • 2005

Clelia II is now operated by Great Lakes Cruising and has been refitted. She will be relaunched early 2009 as an ice-strengthened cruise ship, capable of cruising Antarctic regions.

Cruise ship: Sea Cloud II
Length: 384 ft • 117 m
Year: 2001
Builder: Astilleros Gondan
Passengers: 86
Operator: Sea Cloud Cruises

Photo: NT • Monaco • May 2009
Photo: monacoeye • Monaco • 12 May 2007

Demand for former luxury private yacht Sea Cloud was so great that the cruise operator had "sistership" Sea Cloud II built in Spain in 2001.

May 2009: The cruise ships are back in Monaco - a sure sign that the new season is underway. Thanks to NT for spotting Sea Cloud II.

length - year: 384 - 2001

Cruise ship name: MSC Melody
Formerly: Atlantic • Atlantic Starship
Length: 672 ft • 205 m
Year: 1982 • Refurbished: 2001
Builder: CNIM (France)
Operator: MSC Cruises
Gross Tonnage: 35,143 GT
Speed: 18-21 knots
Passengers: 1000-1550
Crew: 500

Photos: monacoeye • Monaco • 2006-2008

The cruise ship MSC Melody, run by Italian operator MSC, successfully fought off a pirate attack in the Indian Ocean on Saturday night, 25th April 2009. According to an AP report, onboard Israeli private security forces thwarted the pirates by returning fire after the ship was attacked with automatic weapons as pirates try to board.

The attack took place about 200 miles north of the Seychelles, as Melody was returning to Genoa from a cruise in South Africa. About 1000 passengers were on board, no-one was hurt although the liner was slightly damaged.

Until now it has been unusual for civilian ships to exchange fire with pirates. Perhaps this marks the start of a new trend of preventative action… MSC Melody is a regular visitor to Port Hercule in Monaco, as can be seen in the above photos, and often displays a large sign: "For Security Reasons Do Not Approach Closer Than 50 Metres Unless Authorised."

Cruise ship: Nautica
Operator: Oceania
Length: 594 ft • 181 m
Gross Tonnage: 30,277 GT
Year: 1998
Builder: Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Capacity: 684 passengers
Crew: 386

Photo: monacoeye • Monaco • 2007

Nautica, a frequent visitor to Monaco, is the latest cruise ship to be targeted by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Nautica used a combination of speed and a pain-inducing long range acoustic device (LRAD) to foil the pirates, who approached in two skiffs and fired shots. The attack only lasted 5 minutes.

BBC

Photos: NT • Monaco • June 2008

Great sequence sent in by NT taken during Queen Mary II's visit last week. Don't worry, it all ended safely. Suggestions below please for a caption for the second photo in the sequence… ! No prizes, just for fun.

Cruise Ship: Emerald Princess
Operator: Princess Cruises
Length: 290 m
Year: 2007
Builder: Fincantieri
Gross Tonnage: 113,400 GT
Passengers: 3070

Photos: monacoeye • Monaco • June 2008

Photos: monacoeye • Monaco • 20 June 2008

The liner Queen Mary II stopped outside Monaco yesterday …

Cruise ship name: Queen Mary 2
Operator: Cunard • Builder: Chantier de l'Atlantique
Year: 2002 (float out) - 2003 (sea trials) - 2004 (named by Queen Elizabeth in Southampton)
Maiden voyage: Jan 2004, Southampton to Fort Lauderdale
Length: 1132 ft • 345 m
Beam: 135 ft (147.5 ft at bridge wings) • Draft: 32 ft 10
Height keel to funnel: 236 ft
Gross Tonnage: 151,400 GT
Maximum capacity: 3056 guests • Crew: 1253
Cruise speed: 28.5 knots • Power: 157,000 hp
Cost: about $800 million

QM2 has special kennels so guests can travel with pets. Every dog gets a special gift pack.

Cruise Yacht Name: Le Ponant
Length: 288 ft • 88 m
Year: 1991
Builder: SFCN - Société Française de Construction Navale
Architect: Michel Bigoin
Design: Joël Bretecher • Stirling Design International
Passengers: 64 • Crew: 32
Operator: Compagnie des Iles du Ponant

Photo: monacoeye • Nice • May 2007
Photo: monacoeye • Monaco Grand Prix • May 2006

Update: 11 April 2008

Sarkozy has announced that the hostages have now been freed !! All are safe, no violence was used, no other details given.

Breaking news 5 April 2008

Three-masted mini cruise ship Le Ponant has been seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. France is looking into its military options with a regard to releasing the hostages.

No passengers were on board, but thirty crew, mostly French, were taken hostage. 22 of the crew are French, 6 of whom are women. The remaining eight are Ukrainian and Korean.

The yacht was heading back from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean. It is a regular visitor to Nice and Monaco in the summer.

French Prime Minister François Fillon said: "This is a blatant act of piracy. We have significant military resources in the area. We are aiming to bring about the release of the hostages in the coming hours." On Saturday he clarified that the French navy was pursuing the cruise ship and would try to resolve the situation without the use of force.

France already has a military presence in neighbouring Djibouti.

Surveillance aircraft and ships from French-run anti-terrorist unit Task Force 150, part of US Operation Enduring Freedom, have headed towards the area.

Although Le Ponant is the size of a large yacht, it is a small cruise ship, which can accommodate 64 passengers. It is operated by French company La Compagnie de Iles du Ponant, which is part owned by CMA-CGM, and mostly employs French crew.

Le Ponant is one of the few ships to cruise the Indian Ocean.

The coast of Somalia is notorious for pirate attacks. In 2007 a total of 31 piracy incidents were recorded in Somalia, a big jump from the 10 reported in 2006. Pirates held 154 crew hostage in 11 hijackings.

In Nigeria, the other major hotbed of piracy, 42 incidents were reported in 2007, compared to 12 in 2006.

Across the whole world, 263 attacks were recorded in 2007, versus 239 in 2006.

Statistics: ICC CSS

Sunday Update: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says France has established contact with the boat and the crew are safe and sound. He says he expects lengthy negotiations and will do everything to avoid bloodshed.

Ransoms paid in the past, in similar situations, are reported to be in the order of half a million to one million dollars.

Cruise name: Signora del Vento
Length: 278 ft 10 • 85 m
Passengers: 200
Year: 1962
Builder: Poland

Photo: monacoeye • Monaco • Dec 2007

Cruise ship: Westerdam
Operator: Holland America Line
Maiden voyage: 2004
Passengers: 1,848
Crew: 800
Gross Tonnage: 81,811 GT
Length: 935 feet
Beam: 106 ft
Top speed: 24 knots

Details, links and larger photos for this and entries below to follow later in the week…

Cruise ship: Sea Princess
Operator: Princess Cruises
Year: 1998
Passengers: 2016
Gross Tonnage: 77,000 GT
Crew: 875
Decks: 15

Cruise Ship: Seabourn Legend
Operator: Seabourn Cruises
Maiden voyage: 1989
Guests: 208
Gross Tonnage: 10,000 GT
Length: 440 ft
Beam: 63 ft
Draft: 16.5 ft
Cruising speed: 16 knots
Crew: 164

Cruise Ship: SS Oceanic
Operator: Pullmantur Cruises
Gross Tonnage: 39,000 GT
Length: 238.4 m
Beam: 29.5 m
Draft: 8.6 m
Top speed: 27 knots
Crew: 565
Capacity: 1136 passengers

Cruise ship: Insignia
Operator: Oceania
Length: 594 ft • 181 m
Builder: Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Capacity: 684
Year: 1998
Gross Tonnage: 30,277 GT

Cruise ship: F Diamond • Fashion TV
Length: 140 m
Cabins: 100
Passengers: "Parties with over 1000 exclusive F People"

Cruise Ship: QE2 • Queen Elizabeth 2
Operator: Cunard
Length: 963 ft
Beam: 105 ft
Draft: 32 ft
Height of Keel to funnel: 204 ft
Gross Tonnage: 70,327 GT
Top speed: 32.5 knots

Keel laid: 1965
Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth: 1965
Maiden voyage: 1969
Passes the Cunard flagship status to Queen Mary 2 in 2004

Passengers: 1778
Crew: 1016

QE2 has sailed 5.5 million nautical miles, more than any other ship ever. The equivalent of sailing to the moon and back 13 times. She has carried 2.1 million passengers and completed 24 full world cruises. She is the fastest merchant ship in operation. One million people turned out to see her when she stopped at Liverpool in 1990.

Cruise ship: Crystal Serenity
Operator: Crystal Cruises
Guests: 1,080
Total Crew: 655
Gross Tonnage: 68,000 GT
Length: 820 ft • 249.9 m
Beam: 106 ft • 32.3 m
Draft: 25 ft. • 7.6 m
Top speed: 22 knots

Cruise ship: Black Prince
Operator: Fred Olsen
Built: 1966
Refit: 1999
Gross Tonnage: 11,209 GT
Passengers: 451
Crew: 200
Cabins: 238

Cruise Ship: Silver Whisper
Length: 610 ft • 185.9 m
Year: 2001
Speed: 21 knots
Passengers: 382
Gross Tonnage: 28000 GT

The cruise ships are back in town. That's The One behind…

Photo: monacoeye • Monaco • 13 May 2007

Cruise Ship: Le Ponant
Length: 88 m
Year: 1991
Design: Michel Bigoin
Builder: SFCN - Société Française de Construction Navale
Passengers: 64 • Crew: 32
Operator: Compagnie des Iles du Ponant

Photo: monacoeye • Nice • May 2007

Le Ponant is the size of large yacht but is really a cruise ship. Often visits Monaco.

Breaking news - 5 April 2008

Three-masted mini cruise ship Le Ponant has been seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. France is looking into its military options with a regard to releasing the hostages.

No passengers were on board, but thirty crew, mostly French, were taken hostage.

The yacht was heading back from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean. It is a regular visitor to Nice and Monaco in the summer.

French Prime Minister François Fillon said, "it is a blatant act of piracy. We have relatively large military means in this area. We are mobilised to obtain the release of hostages as quickly as posssible."

France already has a military presence in neighbouring Djibouti.

Surveillance aircraft and ships from French-run anti-terrorist unit Task Force 150, part of Operation Enduring Freedom, have headed towards the area.

Although Le Ponant is the size of a large yacht, it can take 64 passengers, and works as a small cruise ship. It is operated by French company La Compagnie de Iles du Ponant, which is part owned by CMA-CGM, and mostly employs French crew.

The ship was designed Michel Bigoin, who also designed Phocea.

Le Ponant is one of few ships to cruise the Indian Ocean. The coast of Somalia is notorious for pirate attacks.