Please click on the thumbnails to see the full-sized pictures. The "Delphin" photo gallery includes lots of additional pictures, which could not be included here due to the limited space available. If the top navigation bar is missing, please click here to add it. Please hit the "Zurück" button in the navigation bar to return to the previous document. "Probably the shortest cruise in maritime history" could have been Hansa Kreuzfahrten's slogan for a May, 2004 "voyage" for invited guests, through which the Bremen-based company celebrated the inaugural of its "new" flagship, M/S "Delphin". The "cruise" started in Bremerhaven's Fishing Harbor and ended a handful of miles down the river Weser at the Columbus Cruise Center Bremerhaven - and it even included passing the Fishing Harbor's double locks! The author is pretty confident that he is among a very low number of cruise passengers to have spent the whole duration of their "cruise" - from leaving the pier at the port of embarkation to mooring at the final destination - on an open deck without leaving it even once. Too bad nobody from the Book of Records was around. M/S "Delphin" (German for "Dolphin") is the personal "baby" of its proud owner, Hamburg-based shipowner Heinz-Herbert Hey. It is also a ship which has had a very eventful life so far with several ups and downs. In the early 1970s the Soviet Union commissioned renowned Finnish shipbuilder Wärtsilä with the construction of a new class of ships. Like the earlier, somewhat larger "Poet-class" vessels built in the German Democratic Republic , there were to be five units in the new class. The newbuilds' design was fairly innovative for their time and yet looked pleasantly elegant compared with many other first generation cruise ships. As the first ship in this new class today's "Delphin" was launched at Wärtsilä's Turku shipyard on March 6th, 1974 as newbuild #1212 and was named "Belorussiya" (for the Soviet Republic of Belarus). On January 15th, 1975 the vessel was handed over to its owners, Odessa-based Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO). The other four ships in the series were the "Gruziya" ("Georgia", delivered in June, 1975), "Azerbaydzhan" ("Azerbaijan", delivered in December, 1975), "Kazakhstan" (delivered in June, 1976) and "Kareliya" ("Karelia", delivered in December, 1976). When they first entered service, the "Belorussiya" and her sister ships were 16.631 grt, 156 meters (511.8 ft.) in length, 22.05 meters (72.3 ft.) in breadth and had a draft of 5.90 meters (19.4 ft.). A feature not particularly uncommon for first-generation cruise ships was that the "Belorussiya"-class ships had a car deck which allowed for them to be used as ferries if required, even though they were clearly built with cruises in mind. The "Belorussiya" offered space for 256 cars or 23 lorries, and for up to 1,009 passengers, even though 505 of these were deck passengers. The ship had 84 twin cabins, 20 cabins for three and 69 quad cabins. There were also 114 reclining seats as the least comfortable "means of accommodation". The vessel had a crew of 191 and was powered through two 18-cylinder Pielstick-Wärtsilä diesels with a total output of 18,000 HP. "Belorussiya's" maximum speed was approx. 21 knots. Following its delivery the ship was mainly used as a cruise ferry in the Black Sea, between Odessa (Soviet Republic of Ukraine) and Batumi (Soviet Republic of Georgia). On the seven-day round-trips, during which the ship spent quite a lot of time in port, Novorossiysk, Yalta and Sochi were also visited. In 1980, the "Belorussiya" was chartered by CTC Cruises for cruises, mainly from Australia. In February 1986 the ship arrived at Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany, where a new air conditioning plant was installed. Among other refurbishments were a redecoration of the public spaces and the addition of 59 new cabins, through which the car deck capacity was reduced. The "Belorussiya" now offered cabin accommodations for a maximum of 650 passengers and continued to operate under charter for CTC Cruises and Croisières Transtours, while it was also chartered to other operators for short periods of time. In September, 1990 another refurbishment worth 6.7 million Deutschmarks (approx. US$ 4 million at today's exchange rate) was carried out at Lloyd Werft. During the drydocking a fire broke out in the ship's infirmary through which the ship's doctor was injured. With the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 hammer and sickle were replaced by the Ukrainian flag and the ship's name was now transliterated as "Byelorussiya". In autumn, 1992 the ship entered drydock in Singapore were the unbelievable happened: on October 25th, 1992 "Byelorussiya" capsized and was partially submerged up to the Boat Deck. Salvage specialists from Smit-TAK were able to raise the ship in January, 1993. The heavily damaged "Byelorussiya" was towed to Bremerhaven where she arrived in May, 1993. There, at Lloyd Werft, the ship's interiors were more or less completely replaced. Shortly before this, BLASCO had succeeded in signing a long-term charter agreement with German cruise operator Delphin Seereisen (German for "Dolphin Sea Travel") which planned to use the freshly-rebuilt "Byelorussiya" as a replacement for sister ship "Kazakhstan" which Delphin Seereisen had been chartering since 1981. Renamed "Kazakhstan II", the former "Byelorussiya" entered service with the Offenbach-based company on December 22nd, 1993 with a Christmas Cruise from Genoa, Italy. The driving force behind Delphin Seereisen is shipping entrepreneur Heinz-Herbert Hey who joined the company as joint-owner in 1994. In June, 1995 the "Kazakhstan II" was registered in The Bahamas for a few days and was then transferred to BLASCO affiliate Lady Lou Shipping Co. and registered in Cyprus. Through this move, BLASCO hoped that the vessel would not be arrested sooner or later because of Ukraine's immense debts. Several other BLASCO ships were indeed arrested in various ports throughout the world at that time. In May, 1996 the ship was sold to Sea Delphin Shipping Co., and the newly established MTC Marine Trade Consulting, Hamburg, began serving as the vessel's manager. The "Kazakhstan II" was registered in Malta to avoid the problem - which in still in existence today, by the way - that Cypriot ships are not allowed to enter Turkish ports. At the same time "Kazakhstan II" was renamed "Delphin" to further stress the ship's membership in the Delphin Seereisen family. Shipowner Hey became the company's sole owner and - together with his wife - had the ship redecorated in accordance with his personal ideas, which resulted in an atmosphere of personal touches and individuality rarely found on cruise ships. Mr. Hey's philosophy was (and still is) to combine as much of the ship's operation "in one hand" as at all possible. Hence, marketing & sales, management, crewing and catering are all carried out by companies that are part of the Delphin group. In December, 1998 Sea Delphin became Dolphin Maritime Ltd. Throughout the following years the "Delphin" earned itself a good reputation on the German-speaking cruise market and was able to attract a very high number of repeat guests. It even achieved a four-star rating in the prestigious Berlitz Guide. "Delphin" was deployed on a multitude of itineraries, which even included some world cruises. Yet, it was clear that the development of the German cruise market would in the medium term require a replacement of the "Delphin" by a more modern, larger ship. In fall, 2001 the at that time fifth-largest cruise operator in the world, Renaissance Cruises, filed for bankruptcy and left behind ten ships, of which eight virtually identical sister ships - bearing the ingenious names "R One" through "R Eight" - were less than three years old. At a size of 30,277 gt, a passenger capacity of approx. 700 and lots of balcony cabins, the so-called "R" ships were small from the North American market's perspective but of an ideal size by European standards - even though their fairly elegant, but here and there "over-the-top" interiors, resembling a British country club atmosphere, were certainly tailored to meet an American taste. From early 2003, rumors said that Heinz-Herbert Hey was looking for an "R" ship to replace "Delphin" before long. The official announcement of the new "Delphin Renaissance" (formerly "R Seven", built in 2000) was followed by the surprise that the new ship would take over the "Delphin's" cruises from Summer, 2003 already. In a quick operation, both ships met in Bremerhaven where the "Delphin's" era at Delphin Seereisen came to an abrupt end. However, at first many "Delphin" regulars were unwilling to accept the "huge new American ship", which is almost twice the size of its predecessor. Delphin Seereisen faced a difficult time convincing their past passengers of the new ship's advantages, even though pricing for 2003 remained at the same level, hence offering an even better value for the money. The "Delphin" was chartered to Israel-based Diesenhaus Group - a disastrous mistake. After only a handful of cruises, the ship was arrested due to Diesenhaus' inability to pay its bills. After difficult negotiations, MTC succeeded in ending the charter and the "Delphin" was first taken to Marseille and later to Hamburg were she was laid up for sale. But an acquisition by Dutch company Club Cruise failed. Instead, the ship was to celebrate a return to the German market within less than a year of leaving - not with Delphin Seereisen, however, but with Hansa Kreuzfahrten, another company in which Heinz-Herbert Hey is involved. There "Delphin" is being marketed as a three-star-plus ship and serves as the company's flagship being deployed on classic Northern European and Mediterranean Cruises and in the Caribbean. So, in May 2004, Hansa Kreuzfahrten had invited travel agency partners and media representatives to introduce the "Delphin". The 16,214 gt ship's exteriors remain virtually unchanged. The Delphin Seereisen logo continues to decorate the funnel, which, however, had its exhaust tubes lengthened which more effectively keeps soot away from the aft open decks. Stepping into the lobby with the purser's office gives a taste of what to expect onboard M/S "Delphin": a both warm and in a way maritime atmosphere prevails. And while the mirrored ceiling panels look somewhat "Greek" (mirrored ceilings being a favorite of Greek design firm Katzourakis), the carpet includes a detail found all over the ship - a symbol of two dolphins. The first impression certainly is a good one. M/S "Delphin" has a good selection of public rooms, most of which are spread over the Salondeck. All the way aft is an open deck space, while further forward the Pazifik Restaurant is situated, which accommodates all passengers in one seating. In order to achieve this, the restaurant was enlarged through an aft space that on the other "Belorussiya"-class ships has a different purpose, e.g. serving as a bar. At the same time the inclusion of this area offered the possibility of having a smoking section, virtually completely separated from the rest of the dining room. This effectively helps keeping the smoke away from the non-smoking passengers during mealtimes. Panorama-sized windows or oversized portholes line three sides of the restaurant. In order to make the huge room look less monotonous, the center section received a darker, more detailed ceiling. The main part of the restaurant has mostly square tables which is somewhat space-saving, but the tables are fairly close together. The aft "smoking section" has round tables. Right after the restaurant, the Hansa Salon - located all the way forward and being the ship's main lounge - is the second-largest public room onboard. It also accommodates all passengers at the same time - in theory that is. Actually, the seats are sometimes that close together that it's virtually impossible to use all of them at the same time. A large wooden dance floor and a bar are featured, but the room lacks a notable decent which results in less than good views from the aft seats. The views are better from the raised sections on both sides of the room. The dining room entrance and the forward stair tower right aft of the Hansa Salon are connected through a sweeping interior promenade which - due to the main galley being situated on starboard side - is located on the portside half of the vessel and is lined by the Photo Gallery, two shops and the Library. Further forward on starboard, somewhat close to the show lounge as far as the acoustics are concerned, lies the Delphin Lounge, which serves as a piano bar. Because of its warm and cozy ambience with comfortable seating, a little marble and a large bar, the Delphin Lounge is a popular place for having a cocktail or two. The Library, called Salon Pinguin, also serves as a card playroom and as a TV room, even though all cabins onboard M/S "Delphin" have TV sets. If possible, big sports events etc. are also shown in the Hansa Salon using an LCD beamer. The selection of books in the library is fairly small. One deck up, on Bootsdeck, the ship's sole swimming pool is found aft. Like on the other ships in this class, the pool is circular (and sadly fairly small) and has a small "pendant" - a children's pool. When the weather allows it, the pool area sometimes serves as a surprisingly nice setting for the ship's entertainment program. Thanks to a specially made cover, the pool can be turned into a raised stage. Around the pool, comfortable seating is on wooden deck furniture, which is so much better than the plastic seats and tables found on other ships. And breakfast from the nearby Lido Bar tastes even better in the fresh sea breeze, of course. The excellent Pool Bar is large and another favorite spot. A huge blue awning provides shade and to some extent protects the pool area as far as wind and possible soot from the funnel are concerned. The Lido Bar, situated directly forward of the pool deck, not only serves as a breakfast alternative to the restaurant but also as another lounge, in which e.g. games and edutainment programs are offered. The Lido Bar is reached either via the pool area or by very steep stairs from the restaurant entrance below. The often very steep stairs all over the ship are one of "Delphin's" biggest disadvantages. While on paper the ship is actually suited for disabled passengers, ramps and lifts cannot hide the fact that walking impaired passengers in particular will be having problems on board. The author even ran into a number of (non-disabled!) passengers who were simply afraid of using the extremely steep stairs and instead made sometimes lengthy roundabout ways. However, the elevators do serve virtually all areas of the ship. A wrap-around promenade encircles the ship on Bootsdeck. Like the pool deck, it features fine teakwood. All the way forward, the promenade widens to a large forward open deck with great views, as it is no longer found in today's newbuilds. The next-higher deck, named Offiziersdeck (Officers' Deck) is - surprise, surprise - mainly a "crew only" deck. Even higher in the ship, on Brückendeck, not only the ship's bridge is situated but - further aft - also the Sky Club, which appears quiet during daytime but turns into a busy disco at night. Aft of the Sky Club, the ship's outdoor sports court is located, and in the funnel's base, a small but fairly well-equipped gym is found. Low down in the ship is a small spa area, complete with sauna (including "flood shower" and rest room), solarium, steam room and massage. Sadly, there is no indoor pool. The "Delphin's" cabins are probably best described as being functional and somewhat plain, although - thanks to the use of warm wood tones - they are fairly cozy. For a ship that was originally built as a dual-purpose cruise ship / ferry the accommodations are surprisingly spacious. The lower categories have two single beds of which one turns into a sofa during the day. Closet and drawer space are limited. The functional bathrooms also have limited space for one's personal toiletry items. However, this isn't such a problem any longer as the ship operates shorter cruises than during its Delphin Seereisen days. Comfort and Luxury Staterooms as well as Suites are situated on Bootsdeck and have a large double bed, a sitting area and much more space for one's belongings. In accordance with the ship's German-speaking passengers' preferences, duvets are featured. I'd like to say it right up front: I truly enjoyed M/S "Delphin". The personal ambience with the recurring motifs of the two dolphins and the ship's silhouette creates a very cozy atmosphere and the ship is impeccably maintained. The friendly, mostly Ukrainian crew adds to help that the passengers truly feel "at home". Lots of wood is used on the open decks both for the decking itself and the furniture - "Delphin Renaissance" as the ship's successor at Delphin Seereisen doesn't come even close in that respect. There is no "luxurious twaddle" to be found onboard M/S "Delphin" - but one also won't find notable signs of aging. The - apologies - "older lady" (a ship in its 30s does deserves that title, in my humble opinion) is superbly maintained. Of course the fact that the ship was completely rebuilt in 1993 helps here, but regular extensive refurbishments but the everyday maintenance work is particularly noteworthy, as well. Sadly, the ship appears somewhat less spacious (the ceilings are fairly low, even in the public rooms) than some competitors, due to its general design. Also, the sometimes very steep stairs reminds of the fact that the "Belorussiya" was originally built as a cruise ferry. It is good to see that the costs for drinks etc. are very low indeed. And since the passengers do not have a feeling of being "ripped off" on board, many of them have a second cocktail or book another shore excursion they originally didn't plan to take. So in the end, everybody - including the cruise lines - is happy. Following the "shock" of the "Delphin's" sudden removal from the German market, the ship's many loyal followers were overwhelmed when it was announced last year that "their" beloved ship would return so soon. M/S "Delphin" is an ideal ship for Hansa Kreuzfahrten and a worthy flagship, as well. It is also the Bremen-based company's only year-round ship. One must hope that M/S "Delphin" will continue to sail on the German-speaking market for many more years to come. Copyright 2005 © Raoul Fiebig