Excerpts from the magazine, May 2007 issue |
Via North America and Through the Panama Canal London, Tilbury terminal, UK (Day 1); Rotterdam, Holland (2), Dunkirk (4) and Le Havre (5) France; New York, NY (13), Norfolk, VA (15) and Savannah, GA (18) all in the USA; Manzanillo, Panama (22); transit the Panama Canal (23); Papeete, Tahiti (33); Nouméa, New Caledonia (41); Brisbane (44), Sydney (46) and Melbourne (49) all in Australia; Auckland, New Zealand (54); transit the Panama Canal (68); Manzanillo (69) and Savannah (73) 2nd calls; Philadelphia, PA (76) & back to London (84). |
Through the Suez Canal and Via Asia London, Tilbury terminal, UK (Day 1); Hamburg, Germany (2); Rotterdam, Holland (4); La Spezia Italy (10); Damietta, Egypt (14); transit the Suez Canal (15); Melbourne (33), Sydney (36) and Brisbane (39), all in Australia; Auckland (43), Napier (45) and Port Chalmers (47), all in New Zealand; Melbourne, 2nd call (51) and Adelaide, Australia (53); Singapore (62); Colombo, Sri Lanka (66); transit the Suez Canal (74); Damietta (75) and La Spezia (79), 2nd calls, and back to London (84). |
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 The French Line |
La Tour and Manet Passengers: 6 Deadweight: 30,508 tons Containers: 2,262 Length: 195.6 m Speed: 20.5 knots Built: 1999-2001 Owners/Flag: CMA-CGM/Bahamas Officers & Crew: International |
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The Owner’s forward-facing twin-bedded cabin, bed sizes 2.00 x 1.10 m each, has an area of 26 sqm - €110 per person double, €145 per day, single occupancy. Two double bed cabins, one facing forward the other facing aft, bed size 2.00 x 1.40 m, each having an area of 22 sqm - €110 per person double, €120 per day, single occupancy. Each cabin has a fridge and private facilities with shower, and all are located on “E” deck, one below the Captain’s. The dining room, library and exercise room are located on “B” deck, lounge on the Captain’s deck and a small indoor swimming pool (Matisse and Utrillo only) on the Main deck. |
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Rickmers
Passengers: 4 Deadweight: 31,000 tons Containers: 2,226 Length: 195.60 m Speed: 22 knots Built: 1998 Officers & Crew: International Owners: Rickmers, German |
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The Owner’s forward-facing double bed suite on the Captain’s, “F” deck, consisting of a bedroom (bed size 2.00 x 1.50 m), separate sitting room (TV/VCR/CD) and private facilities with shower, has a total area of approx. 30 sqm - €99.50 per person double, €123 per day, single occupancy. |
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One side-facing single cabin on “E” deck, consisting of a bedroom (bed size 2.00 x 1.00 m) with sitting area (TV/VCR/CD) and private facilities with shower, has a total area of approx. 16 sqm - €99.50 per day. One forward-facing single cabin on “D” deck, consisting of a bedroom (bed size 2.00 x 1.00 m) with sitting area (CD player) and private facilities with shower, has a total area of approx. 15 sqm - €88 per day. |
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All cabins have a mini AM/FM radio and CD player. There is also a TV/VCR set, except in cabin on “D” deck. The dining room and exercise room are located on “B” deck, lounge on “E” deck and a small indoor swimming pool on the Main deck. Rickmers via Suez, more info ... Rickmers via Panama, more info ... |
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The ANL Esprit Passengers: 5 Containers: 2,400 Deadweight: 34,020 tons Length: 208 m Speed: 23 knots Built: 1998 Officers/Crew: German/Filipino Owners: NSB, German |
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Two forward-facing double bed suites on decks “E” (Purser’s) and “F” (Owner’s), each consisting of a bedroom (bed size 2.00 x 1.80 m), sitting room and bathroom, having a total area of 40 sqm. - €85/€90 pp double, €105/€110 single occupancy per day. One side- and aft-facing single cabin on the “E” deck, consisting of a bedroom (bed size 2.00 x 1.20 m) with a sitting area and private facilities with shower, having a total area of 24 sqm. - €90 per day. |
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 Cap Beatrice, Capricorn and Cleveland |
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This line offers the following slightly different itinerary via the Panama Canal on modern German, 40,000 DWT, 2007-built containerships: Bremerhaven, Germany (Day 1); Antwerp, Belgium (2), Philadelphia, PA (10); Savannah, GA (13); Cartagena, Colombia (17); transit the Panama Canal (18); Auckland or Tauranga, NZ (35); Sydney, Australia (39); Melbourne, Australia (42); Timaru or Port Chalmers (46), Napier (48), Auckland or Tauranga, 2nd call (50), all in New Zealand; transit the Panama Canal (65); Cartagena (66), Savannah (70); Philadelphia (73); London, Tilbury terminal, UK (82); Bremerhaven (84). Cap Beatrice, Cap Capricorn & Cap Cleveland |
Ms. Jocelyn Newman reports from her voyage on the Cap Vincent from England to Australia in July 2006 |
“It was worth going half way around the world to visit the fascinating old walled city of Cartegena in Colombia, the UNESCO-designated heritage city. These are Colombian school children telling the visitor from Australia about what they know of Australia. We all visited the museum together to see the gold collection and the torture instruments used on prisoners many centuries ago. The architecture is really beautiful.” |
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“This is the life! I was photographed by one of the crew as I watched the progress of the Cap Vincent through the Panama Canal. Thirty two ships surrounded us in the dawn as we waited to be allowed into the canal. Then we had this wonderful experience of going through the many locks with the help of the busy little tugs until after dark when we emerged into the Pacific Ocean. For me this was the fulfillment of the dream of a lifetime and it lived up to all that I had hoped for. It has encouraged me to go container shipping yet again as soon as the bank manager says I can!” |
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| SEAWORTHY | SEAWORTHY | |
| NEWS | NEWS |
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Rouen (Day 1) and Le Havre (2), France; Philipsburg, St. Maarten (13); Port of Spain, Trinidad (15); Cayenne (Degrad des Cannes terminal), French Guiana (19); Belem (25), Fortaleza (29) and Natal (32), all in Brazil; Algeciras, Spain (41); Leixoes, Portugal (43); Rotterdam, Holland (46); Tilbury, UK (47) and Rouen (48). |
| A new service offered by the French CMA CGM Line on four new containerships, the CMA CGM Aristote, Herodote, Homere and Platon each accommodating six passengers. |  |
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Passenger capacity: 6 Deadweight: 18,860 tons Container capacity: 1,691 Length: 170 m Speed: 21 knots Built: 2007 Owners: CMA-CGM, French Officers & Crew: International Owner's double bed cabin of approx. of 23 sqm & bed size 2.0 x 1.6 m. €100 pp double per day, €110 single occupancy, per day. Two standard double bed cabins of approx. 15-20 sqm each. €90 pp double per day, €100 single per day. |
| Passenger cabins and shared facilities, such as the dining room, lounges, exercise room and swimming pool are located on various decks. There is no elevator on board and passengers must be fully mobile and able to negotiate the stairs. Front and aft views may be obstructed by the containers stowed on deck. |  Sailing along the waterfront of Savannah, GA USA |
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Self service laundry facilities are available. The electrical current is 220/50 AC. A two-prong round adapter and converter are needed for North American appliances. A steward will clean the cabin once a week, or more often if necessary. A small onboard shop provides a limited selection of beverages, cigarettes and toiletries at duty free prices. Onboard expenses may be paid for with cash in €/US$. Tipping is at the passenger’s discretion; $/€ 5 pp per day is recommended. Telephone, fax and email connections are available through the Captain’s office. Port time can vary from half a day to two days. Reservations can be made by completing a Registration Form and providing a 25% deposit. The balance of the fare, plus €250-€300 for port and vessel fees on German ships, is payable 65 days before departure. The fare may be paid for by check or wire (by exception only, credit cards may be accepted) in either the basic tariff currency, as quoted by the steamship line, or $US at the prevailing exchange rate, subject to a final adjustment at the time the ticket is issued, a few weeks before departure. Passports must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the anticipated return date, and a visa for the USA and Australia must be obtained, depending on the citizenship and voyage. A Medical Statement of Good Health and International Health and Accident Insurance are required on all voyages, as is a vaccination against yellow fever and cholera exemption certificate. The age limit is 75 on French ships, while on German ships it is 79. Cancellation fees are as follows: over 60 days, loss of deposit; 30-59 days, 50% of the fare. No refund will be made within the 30 days from departure. To protect your investment, Cancellation and Interruption Insurance is highly recommended. Travelex Insurance packages, covering you from the moment you buy the policy - at no additional cost, are available to all Maris customers, worldwide, on our website page "Before You Sail". And if you buy the Travelex policy within three weeks of your initial trip deposit, pre-existing conditions are waived. |
Passengers Mr. and Mrs. Lilly, Mr. and Mrs. Doerr and Mr. and Mrs. Hanekroot with Capt. Zunic of Maris Freighter Cruises on board the CMA CGM La Tour |
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Capt. Bozanic |
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“From our arrival on board the CMA-CGM La Tour until our departure 82 days later, the entire experience was an adventure. We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful Croatian captain and officers with whom we had dined together and spent many after dinner hours listening to the stories of their experiences. And we had many visits with the friendly Filipino crew. They loved to share stories of their families’ lives and history with us. Nine months aboard ship brings a need for them to spend time with new people. Transiting the Panama Canal was the first exciting experience for us. We spent the whole day on the sky bridge, rotating positions to stay out of the sun, watching so many sights in fascination. One was the Gatun locks operation, which was raising large ships 20 - 30 feet higher, and using the original design of 1913 when the canal opened. As we traveled on through the canal the landscape constantly changed. It was all very lush and tropical. We saw frigate birds and one crocodile. As we came through the narrows we headed for the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks. Pedro Miguel was more interesting because, here, ships are passed through both sides of the locks simultaneously. The tugs and mules bring each ship alongside seamlessly. |
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| After going through the locks, which took 11 hours, we headed out to open sea and the crew was able to settle into its routine. Today is our first of nine days at sea until we get to Tahiti. We see flying fish, dolphins and sea turtles. The Captain gave a party for the crew on the fan tail. It was quite a party with roast suckling pig and all sorts of meat, fish, vegetables, salads and desserts. The passengers, officers and crew mixed together and had fun eating, visiting and relaxing. |
Mrs. Rita Brandinali on the CMA CGM Utrillo |
We spend our days at sea very pleasantly. We walk the decks completing 7 to 14 laps at a time, do some weights, have tea at 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. in the passenger lounge, play games and spend some time on the bridge visiting with the officers and learning about navigation and other subtleties of a well run ship. |
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On arrival in Tahiti all six passengers went off together, split up, and joined again at the public park where vans were arriving and setting up little restaurants. We sat at one and ate wonderful Paella, lamb kebabs, fish in lime juice and steak! Excellent food for about $14 each. The town was clean and had many clothing and pearl shops. We found pearls for our daughters as well as other presents. The general merchandise market had clothes, tiki statues, jewelry made from shells, and other unusual items that were made in Tahiti for the most part. The buildings, such as the city hall and churches, are quite lovely and have kept to the old style. Shopkeepers spoke English, and most tried hard to help us. We found them most pleasant. New Caledonia was one of our favorite places. We hired a tour guide and he promised us a marvelous day. He was a bright cheery 'Pom' who had come from England many years ago. He has lived in Noumea for 28 years. He immediately ushered us into a car and told many jokes in a large booming voice. We visited petroglyphs, the community of Paita including its town hall and art museum. We went past nickel mines and also saw a lot of the cattle grazing in this fertile region. We stopped at an old rum distillery that had been in operation when plantation owners paid the sugar cane workers in rum. At Boulaparis we visited a hotel where the French Governor General was held while the country changed from Vichy French to Free French during WWII. We got some good shots of two WWII Willy’s Jeep’s. Just before lunch we stopped at a place where venison chorizo is made and we all got one to take back on ship. Finally we came to La Mamie’s for lunch - a very quaint restaurant up in the hills hidden from everything. |
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The tables were found on a covered deck with beautiful flowers and trees all around. There was also a creek running by, which was quite muddy at the time. Gabrielle served us homemade bread and rolls, delicious mud crab - similar in size and shape as dungeness crab - and oh so sweet! The dinner was venison stew with imojams, choco and potato with delightful gravy sauce. Dessert was a fresh fruit salad of kiwi, pineapple and papaya. I have never had a better fruit salad. The New Caledonian coffee of 70 % Robusta and 30% Arabica was perfect. And after a few pictures we were hustled into the van, off to our next spot. John brought us over the hills and through the woods to Madame Paulette’s. She’s a 66 year old dynamo who lives totally off the land and what she produces. The first thing we saw was hundreds of epiphyte vines coming from the trees. These appeared to be orchids in a beautiful blue green hue. We saw a Coeur D’Alene shrub. She also raises, either for consumption or for preservation, fruit bats, piglets, Flemish rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeons and the native NC Cagou bird, which is almost extinct. This bird barks like a little dog to attract the female. Finally, we left M. Paulette’s and hightailed it down the mountain to the main road and back to Noumea. We had about 60 miles to go and we stopped for pictures at the Marguerita Bridge. There was a goodly amount of traffic so we got to appreciate the scenery once again during the return trip. |
| Australia was another unique experience for us. We left four fellow passengers in Adelaide and it was hard to say good-bye as we had melded so well together. We hope to return and really explore these countries some day. | 
Auckland, NZ with a CMA CGM ship in port |
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Getting off in the ports of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Freemantle was just the tip of what seems to be a very interesting and stupendous country which is 4/5ths the size of the US. The language is very interesting. Terms such as Bloody (bye our Lady); bugger; good on ya (excellent); bonza; pom (a Brit); she’ll be right (everything will be ok) are commonly used. Passing through the Tasman Sea we encountered the roughest weather we had during the entire trip. We were not allowed on outer decks as the ship rolled as mush as 16 degrees. We found it quite fun, however not all the passengers felt the same way. From Freemantle we went north to Singapore. We crossed the Equator and were warm after the southern Australian cool weather. We had almost a full day in Singapore where we also said good-bye to some of the crew who were joyfully heading home. We took a taxi to a shopping area. As we started walking a gentleman approached us and started asking where we were from, were we enjoying the city, etc. We filled him in on a few details and then he took us to a jewelry store in the Lucky shopping area. We bought a lavender jade bracelet, which it wasn’t for Pete!!! He too talked about his duty to see people enjoy the city. We walked the Orchard and Lucky shopping areas. Each shopping area is about the size of a city block. They start from one story down and go up 3 or 4 stories. There are ‘bazillions’ of small shops inside, both on the outer as well as the inner perimeters, and in the centers of buildings. Each shop has a specialty: jewelry, electronics, watches, scarves, clothing, trash souvenirs, small appliances, food, and on and on. Everything is so clean. I didn’t see even a piece of paper on the street anywhere. Little sweeping machines are all over ... We left Singapore and started into the Straits of Malacca. We met Sparky on the way to dinner and he informed us we are now in lock down for pirates. This is the second time we have been on pirate watch. Two men will walk ship all night. After dinner we saw the Bosun and ABS walking each deck and closing off companionways. We went up to bridge where the First Officer filled us in on all the precautions being taken. Aside from deck watch the fire hoses are hooked up and pumps ready to activate. There is an ABS watch on both sides of ship from bridge. All the doors are locked. We made it into the Red Sea without incident ... |
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We anchored outside the entrance to the Suez Canal. This was also our 40th anniversary so the Captain and all gave us yet another party on the day before entering the Canal. The morning we entered was gorgeous with the sun rising over the mountains to the west. Unfortunately we could not see Mt. Sinai to the east as the air was humid and dusty. Our passage through the Canal was one of the most fascinating points of the trip. There is so much lore and so much to see and appreciate that it would take a separate article. I will say we were amazed at the contrast of the Sinai side, which is a desert that is incredibly barren, and the west side, which has trees, vegetation and agriculture. |
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Mediterranean air was refreshing after the heat of the last couple of weeks. From then on we covered almost a port a day! We were disappointed that our day passing Gibraltar was so cloudy. It is a magnificent rock! We spent a fine day in both London and in Hamburg. The stops in Rotterdam and Dunkirk were at night so we did not leave the ship. In Le Havre we said good-bye to our French fellow passenger as well as to Sparky, our Administrative Officer. After Le Havre we enjoyed our last 7 days at sea with a new group of passengers as well as some new officers. We also began to get excited about seeing family and friends again. And finally, the joy and excitement of seeing Ambrose light, passing under the Verrazano Bridge and then passing the Statute of Liberty - a bone chilling, fantastic end to our journey”! |
The Doerr, Lilly and Hanekroot group on the La Tour (top)
and Brandinalis with officers on the Utrillo
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