Black Sea Cruise on the MS Europa, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Most travel to relax and renew. Others, like Robert Louis Stevenson, simply like to be on the road. It’s the sea that moves me, and having been seriously afloat for 25 years, on everything from heaving Clyde steamers to gracious Caribbean cruisers, I stood on the dock at Piraeus, intrigued at the prospect of stepping aboard the very ship hailed as the world’s best.

Or would I have to wait? Boarding time was 3 pm, and it was just noon. Perhaps we could drop our luggage at the gangway and make ourselves scarce in a nearby restaurant?

No way, said the gangway’s young man in impeccable whites, taking care of the bags. Welcome board, said the smiling receptionist. Champagne arrived, and so had we.

This was the Europa of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, rated best ship in the world with five stars-plus by the Berlitz guide to Ocean Cruising and Cruise Ships. Clearly this is a ship, as Frankie Howerd would have said, worth a trip around the bay.

It was going to be better than that – Europa, gleaming white with orange and blue trim, was going to circle the Black Sea. So were our fellow passengers, some 400 Germans and a handful of Swiss, who arrived, on time or course, in a fleet of buses. Older Germans, like the French, like the convoy system as they don’t do languages very well.

So how were we going to manage on a cruise where almost everyone else would be speaking another language?

As it happens we had sailed with Hapag-Lloyd in Antarctica, where the expedition ship Hanseatic, with its ice-hardened hull and elegant interior, is the best of both worlds, and although that cruise had been sold only to English-speaking passengers, we had found the crew totally bilingual.

My shipmate and I enjoy the sea and ships, and each other’s company, so we raised another glass of champagne and told the captain to get on with it.

Europa is 28,000 tons, a similar size and exterior design as the Silversea ships (they share the same architect) but while the latter’s ships are showing signs of wear, Europa is immaculate in every respect. Its contemporary design, liberally sprinkled with decent artworks, high quality soft furnishings and superb lighting make this a ship that is incredibly elegant yet warm.

As for the service – this crew is the Household Cavalry of the seas. They are young men and women, amazingly well groomed, confident, obliging, trained at the best hotel schools and restaurants in Europe, and perfectly bilingual. If one of the joys of a Michelin three-star restaurant is simply being there and taking in the theatre of good service, the same goes for being on the Europa.

Take the evening, soon after sailing, when I arranged to meet someone in the bar. I arrived first and got a drink, with crisp linen coaster under the glass. When my guest turned up we adjourned to a table, which then became a race for the server to get there first to get a coaster under my glass before I could put it on the table!  Presumably the  restaurant training includes catching falling forks.

All this was of interest, because as a seasoned cruiser on ships run Bristol and Miami-style, I was intrigued to see how the other half lived. Here it should be pointed out that Hapag-Lloyd is not a one-ship wonder, but a long-established company with four passenger ships, a cargo fleet and an airline as well.

Not only that but the original company, Hapag, claims to have invented cruising in 1891, when the Augusta Victoria undertook a voyage in the Mediterranean that had nothing to do with emigrants or cargo, but was simply a pleasure trip with no other purpose than to entertain the passengers.
This visionary idea helped Hapag become a major line with some of the world’s best ships including a Blue Riband winner in 1930 when the Europa 111 made the fastest Atlantic crossing.

The current Europa is the sixth vessel to bear the name, and this one has plenty to write home about starting with Azipods, a propulsion system with stern-mounted electric motors which drive the ship without vibration.  Europa claims to offer more space per passenger than any other cruise ship, and almost all of its 204 cabins have verandas. They also have bathtubs and separate showers, robes and walk-in dressing areas. Penthouse suites come with butler service.

There are four restaurants including one Italian and another serving Asian cuisine. In the main dining room passengers were assigned one-sitting tables for the entire cruise, with superb meals and service

One thing I liked was that the captain was very visible, taking time to walk around the ship and talk to passengers, and sometimes sitting down with them for breakfast or lunch. Compare this with other ships with Italian or Greek masters, where you have a better chance of seeing Elvis that bumping into the captain.

There are six bars, and at each one delicious German beer served from a barrel. On the other hand, few Europa passengers went to a bar for aperitifs, one possible reason being their cabin mini-bars were topped up with free beer (and soft drinks) daily.

German people, like most Europeans, are not good at lining up, so a little patience at the lunch buffet is called for. Having said that, the high quality food never runs out.

Typical at a lunch buffet were fresh oysters and king crab legs, but caviar was only on the menu twice, otherwise it has to be paid for. So has wine at all times, and drinks, although prices are reasonable and tips are not included or requested.

Itineraries are about adventure and culture, starting with 100-plus days on an annual world cruise. Our Black Sea sailing, from Athens to Istanbul, had good ports with reasonably priced shore excursions, but naturally they were in German.

At some ports it was simply a matter of taking a stroll, at others a taxi. Some required a little more effort, and here the concierge was invaluable. He was a Norwegian, Gunnar Hauglid, a polished practitioner formerly with the remarkable Royal Viking Line.

At Yalta, Sevastopol and Odessa, the concierge organized a car and English-speaking guide, and in every case the experience was beyond expectation and within budget. In the Crimea, for example, the guide knew every yard of the charge of the Light Brigade, even down to quoting Tennyson.
Europa carries 12 powered inflatable boats, has a good spa, well equipped gym, a well-attended golf facility with pro and simulator offering 32 golf courses worldwide, and a small, private deck area for nude sunbathing.

At the other extreme, dress codes on board are not just suggestions, like traffic lights in Mexico. For example, passengers are informed that for formal nights, evening dress is compulsory.

I had been worried about the entertainment. Would it be oompa-pa bands by day and lashings of Wagner every night? In fact our cruise featured artists from the Lucerne Festival, an annual Swiss event featuring classical music and jazz. Every evening a talented musician -- such as a pianist or cellist, and sometimes a duo – would provide quality entertainment to appreciative audiences in the ship’s handsome showroom.

Also on board was a large showband, two young dancers who gave high-energy performances as well as frequent dance lessons,  and a most entertaining rock ‘n’ roll man called Claus Debusman, but actually better known as Mr Red Shoes because that’s what he wore day and night.

Debusman, who used to play classical piano at the Berlin Opera and then do a late turn at Joe’s Beer Saloon, shook up his keyboard in the best tradition of Jerry Lee Lewis but stopped short at setting the piano on fire.

And so we went down the gangway humming awop bop alu bop, awap bam boom. It had been a great experience, in any language.