Knyaz Vladimir

The 1971-built MV Knyaz Vladimir cruise ship (fka "Roy Star" and "Royal Iris") was originally designed as a passenger and car ferry and constructed in Nantes France (by Chantier Dubigeon-Normandie SA). In 1981, the vessel was converted/rebuilt as a cruise ship. Since 2017, the shipowner is the Russian Federation's Ministry of Transport, while the boat is operated by the newly formed Russian company "Black Sea Cruises".

The vessel (IMO number 7032997) is currently Russia-flagged (MMSI 273397120) and homeported in Novorossiysk.

History - construction and ownership

The 1000-passenger ship Knyaz Vladimir (aka "Prince Vladimir") initially sailed as MV Eagle (the first name of the vessel), operated by the British company "Southern Ferries". At first, the ship entered service as a car/cruise ferry. A few years later it was sold to the Paquet Cruises, a subsidiary company of Nouvelle Compagnie de Paquebots (Marseille). In 1981, MV Eagle was rebuilt as a cruise ship, and renamed "MV Azur". During the drydock refit, many passenger cabins were added.

In 1994, the vessel was sold to Festival Cruises and served the company for 10 years (until 2004 when announced bankruptcy). MV Azur had to be arrested by harbour authorities in Gibraltar. The vessel was sold to Mano Maritime for a price of over USD 12 million. After acquiring the vessel, Mano Maritime renamed it to "Royal Iris" and the cruise ship was repainted with a smiling yellow fish on both sides of the hull.

MV Roy Star used to operate on Eastern Mediterranean cruises to ports in Cyprus and the Greek Islands. In 2014, Mano Cruises stopped the operations of the ship.

In late December 2016, Victor Olersky (Rosmorrechflot's Director and Russia's Deputy Minister of Transport) chaired a meeting of the Marine Board of the Russian Government on establishing regular passenger service to Crimea ports. Ministry of Transport experts said that the most effective solution could be establishing a regular cruise line service on the route Sochi-Novorossiysk-Yalta-Sevastopol-Istanbul-Sochi. Since the service includes calls at Crimean ports, the vessel's time-charter was excluded as an option. Therefore, the Ministry offered to purchase the cruise ship.

In early-2017, the Russian Ministry of Transport held preliminary talks with Rosmorport and Sovfracht Group to launch a regular passenger shipping service to Crimean ports. To implement the project the Ministry intended to deploy the Roy Star cruise ship. Provisional estimates showed that the project's cost is around RUB 700 million (USD 11,7 million), including vessel acquisition and refurbishment.

This Russian cruise liner offers high-quality comfort and as facilities features:

• Sun Deck (Solarium with 2 swimming pools and 1 Jacuzzi) on deck 6 (aft)
• 1 swimming pool (midship on deck 8 / top deck)
• 1 dining room restaurant, 4 bars, 1 disco, Music Hall (Concert Hall). Free coffee and tea are offered before breakfast, along with tea or free beverages after excursions.
• duty-free shops, Library, Souvenir Shop, Art Salon with a selection of gifts, Guest Services Desk, Tour Desk (onboard booking of shore excursions)
• Sauna, Beauty Salon (hairdresser and barber services), Spa Salon (massages, cosmetic studio)
• Cinema (movie theatre), Karaoke Bar, Bar Lounge
• Kids Club (indoor playground with an inflatable bouncer, toys, art-craft tables, games and contests, doubles as a nursery).

Decks and Cabins

The ship has a total of 360 staterooms in 3 main categories - Suite, Outside (A), Inside (B).

• Suites are relatively small, each with a double bed and sofabed.
• Most Outside cabins are double (with 2 lower beds convertible to Queen). Some cabins are triple and quad (with capacity up to 3-4 passengers) fitted with 2 lower (fixed) beds plus either 1 or 2 upper bunk beds (wall-mounted).
• Most Inside cabins are triple and quad (with capacity up to 3-4 passengers) fitted with lower (fixed) and upper bunk beds (wall-mounted). In some cabins, lower beds are convertible to Queen.

Each cabin's capacity is shown on the deck plans. Cribs are available for rent.

All staterooms offer as standard amenities writing desk (with large mirror and drawers), chair, bed lights (reading lamps), phone (onboard calls only), LCDTV (satellite television and onboard TV channels), complimentary bottled water (0,33L, 1 per person / replenished daily), 220 V power sockets, USB ports, en-suite bathroom (WC, glass shower, washbasin, bathroom accessories), hairdryer, air-conditioning.

New bedsheets are provided every 3 days in Suite / Semi-Suites, and every 5 days in all other staterooms. A free face towel change is offered in all staterooms by request, while the daily change of face and foot towels is provided at Suites/ Semi-Suites.

The boat has 8 decks, of which 7 are passenger-accessible and 5 with cabins.

Itineraries

Knyaz Vladimir cruise itinerary program offers 7-day Black Sea cruises with roundtrip (Sunday) departures from Sochi (homeport). The ship's cruising season runs May through October. The week-long itineraries visit as ports of call the Russian cities Novorossiysk, Sevastopol (overnight) and Yalta (overnight). There is also a possibility Istanbul Turkey to be added to the ports list. Interporting (roundtrip deals from all itinerary ports of call) are also available.

During winter months, the cruise liner remains docked in Novorossiysk. According to the shipowner Rosmorport, around 60% of all cruise ship tourists embark in Sochi, around 20% in Novorossiysk, 10% in Yalta and 10% in Sevastopol.

The liner's expanded 2020 season (March through October) was planned as Black Sea Cruises' longest program and had a total of 35 roundtrips (weekly departures from homeport Sochi). Following the Coronavirus crisis (2020-21), the company Black Sea Cruises restarted operations with MS Knyaz Vladimir on June 13, 2021, leaving from Sochi.