CRUISE veterans Louis yesterday announced they had reached an agreement with easyCruise to provide consultancy services for the future expansion of the fledging low-cost line founded by Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
An announcement by Louis said the consultancy was for an initial period of six months during which Louis would also help easyCruise evaluate cruise ships, both second hand and new.
“As a young company without many resources, I am delighted that we use the resources and expertise of Louis Cruises, a company with vast experience in operating cost effectively in the Mediterranean region,” said serial entrepreneur Haji-Ioannou, who has built an empire under the ‘easy’ brand including easyJet, easyCinema, easyMoney, easyPizza, easyMobile, easyCar, easyInternetcaf?, and more recently easyHotel.
Costakis Loizou, Executive Chairman of Louis Public Company Ltd, commenting on the deal with easyCruise, said: “We are delighted to assist Stelios in his first steps in the cruise business and get first hand experience from such a novel concept in our industry.”
EasyCruise is one of the latest ventures with the aim of offering a unique holiday experience to independently minded travellers in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
This summer, easyCruise’s first ship, named easyCruiseOne was based in the French and the Italian Rivieras, one of the most glamorous parts of the world, known globally as the playground for the rich and famous.
The easyCruise ship, however, did not have an easy ride from the media in the UK after more upmarket passengers at those resorts complained about the ‘eyesore’ that was the ‘easy’ brand’s distinctive trademark orange colour.
During the winter of 2005/06, easyCruiseOne will move on to sail Barbados and the surrounding Caribbean islands, the company said.
Unlike traditional cruising, easyCruise ships stay in port in the afternoon and the evening to encourage people to have fun ashore and sail late at night for the next destination.
The flexible one week itineraries allow travellers to embark and depart at any port on the route, provided they stay on board at least two nights.
