Britanis Plies Western Caribbean on a Budget

These colorful islands in the Caribbean, off the Panama mainland, are as close as Chandris’ Britanis is going to go to the isthmus while the troubles between Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega and the United States continue.

Instead of docking at Cristobal and taking passengers overland to Panama City and the Miraflores Locks as it usually does, the Panamanian-registered ship has substituted an all-day call at Grand Cayman Island.

While some passengers grumbled, most accepted the altered itinerary as the best solution under the circumstances. One passenger even appeared as Gen. Noriega on masquerade night.

But appealing as the winter itinerary is (between November and April the Britanis sails from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to call at Aruba, Cartagena, the San Blas Islands and, under normal conditions, Panama), the real key to the success of the ship is its low prices. It represents a great cruise value for the right passenger; per-day prices from $78 to $165 per person double occupancy. Low-cost air/sea packages for an additional $100 to $400 are available from 70 North American gateways.

Down-to-Earth Passengers

Who are the right passengers? On this sailing are more than 800 people from Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, Ohio, New Jersey, Long Island, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Jamaica and Colombia. Passengers and crew represent 67 countries, but few are Californians.

They’re not a dressy, high-style crowd, just friendly, down-to-earth people, many from small cities and towns--teachers, insurance brokers, honeymooners and housewives, not the kind to complain about plastic foam cups and tea bags at tea time on the promenade deck or a predictable all-you-can-eat lunch buffet built around cold cuts, steam table main dishes, carved roast, macaroni salads and Jell-O.

“I like it,” said a personable retiree from Florida making his second cruise on the Britanis in two years. “It’s not as fancy as some ships. The food is the same kind I eat at home and the price is right.”

At age 56, the Britanis is the oldest cruise ship still in service. Most of its passengers are younger.

Designed by marine architect William Francis Gibbs, who later created the United States, and built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. of Quincy, Mass., it made its maiden voyage in 1932 as the Monterey for San Francisco-based Matson Lines.

Rebuilt and Renamed

After distinguished service as a troop ship during World War II, including the dramatic night rescue of 1,675 troops from the torpedoed Santa Elena, the ship was laid up awaiting a refitting until 1956.

By then there was another Monterey in the works, so this 1932 vessel was rebuilt and sailed for Matson on the Hawaii run as the Matsonia, then as the Lurline, until Chandris bought it in 1970.

Not much of the interior remains from the 1932 vessel, which was stripped down to the steel in 1956 and rebuilt to new safety standards. Unfortunately, that eliminated the elegant mahogany-paneled interiors.

But we can still find traditional touches. On both sittings, unlike aboard some budget ships, you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at your own table with your own waiter.

Entertainment is excellent, with four musical revues during the week starring a talented singer-comedienne named Diana Bert and featuring fresh material.

There’s a vast choice of things to do every waking moment, from gambling in the big, busy casino to getting a Tarot card reading from a resident psychic in (where else?) the Fantasy Lounge.

Select Cabin Carefully

On the other hand, you have to be prepared to spend some time selecting from the wide variety of cabins available.

The more-or-less original cabins are quite spacious. Also many of the inside cabins on the upper and main decks, while those in the minimum price range can be very cozy.

In the bottom price categories, try to avoid the Caracas deck at the stern and the Barbados deck near the sauna; they have a lot of engine noise and vibration when the ship is cruising at full speed.

The upper deck cabins directly below the buffet setups on the promenades aren’t good for light sleepers either, because preparing for early breakfast seems to involve a lot of dropping and dragging of heavy items at 5:30 a.m.

Conversely, the two deluxe suites, 164 and 167, are really a bargain, at only $165 per person a day, cheaper than some of the more modest cabins on other ships. They have a large sitting area with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a big bathroom with tub, separate dressing area, plenty of storage room and a double bed.

The six slightly less expensive junior suites, also good buys, have a smaller sitting area and portholes instead of windows, but the other amenities are the same.

Service Found Wanting

On the down side, service is not always up to that of more expensive cruise ships. While most of the dining-room waiters and room stewards do a fine job, some of the newer bar servers recruited from Central America don’t speak English well enough to communicate with passengers.

Officers and owners are Greek, with the crew recruited from the Caribbean, Central America, the Philippines, India, Korea and Bangladesh.

Although the overall price of a cruise is a bargain, budgeters should watch out for some high-priced extras from concessionaires who are charging top prices on some items such as bar drinks ($2.40 and up), photos ($5) and standard store items such as logo T-shirts ($10 to $25).

In the dining room, soups are excellent and some of the main dishes good, but dessert, salad and vegetable preparation is uneven. Themed midnight buffet spreads attract a high percentage of the passengers, especially an imaginative Mexican buffet set up in the galley.

Food and bar services are operated by Apollo, a Miami-based cruise ship catering firm.

South American Journey

After a summer of five-day sailings from Miami to the western Caribbean and two-day Nassau cruises, the Britanis is scheduled to make a 47-day trip around South America, round trip from Miami, starting at $4,700 per person double or $6,000 for a single in an inside cabin with upper and lower berths.

Top price for the deluxe suites is $10,850 per person double. The sailing leaves on Sept. 30 and returns Nov. 16, after which the ship resumes its winter schedule out of Montego Bay.

Chandris officials say they have ordered a 1,600-passenger ship from a West German yard to be delivered in April, 1990; it will spend its inaugural season cruising to Bermuda. At that point the Britanis may be transferred to European service for several years before retirement.