Orient Queen (1968/15,781gt) will open the 2013 season of three- and four-night cruises from Piraeus in March. She then moves to Lavrion for a series of five-night cruises, handing over in Piraeus to Louis Olympia (1982/37,773gt). Now the oldest ship in the much-reduced Louis Cruise Lines fleet, Orient Queen was built as Starward for the then still young Norwegian Caribbean Cruise Line. In 1995 she became Festival Cruises’ Bolero and, following the collapse of that company, had a life-prolonging refit before beginning service with Abou Merhi Lines in 2004.
Meanwhile, Louis Cristal, the former Sally Albatros and Silja Opera, does not feature in the 2013 programme from Piraeus as published, but there have been recent rumours of her sale or charter, denied by the company.
