Dear Friends and Customers,
You can find pictures of her
on
www.risawoleska.de/funchal
www.risawoleska.de/funchal
Unfortunately, I have no idea how to integrate text into this gallery. Therefore, here are some impressions and notes.
The ship is now owned by the
newly-formed Portuguese "Portuscale Cruises", who seemingly
understand that an old ship today is of some value for all real-ship-lovers.
But the first impression is a
negative one, as the fantastic Danish styled reception disappeared as well as the beautiful spiral staircase
close to it today being, for “security reasons”, walled in and wall-papered in
a horrible fashion.
The same goes for the carpet
and this fine old ship has now lost a lot of its character.
So the question must be asked,
are some of the newly-designed rooms really a step backwards?
Such as of the debatable
"Safari Bar", the forward lounge.
The dining room in contrast is
dominated by Bordeaux-red and although being very light, it feels extremely
cosy.
I found the new corridors very
stylish.
Although her original
silhouette has only been spoiled a little, the passengers gain a lot more comfort
and space on the open deck at the stern of the ship.
Even some more
spiral-staircases have been installed framing the area there and creating a
hint of a Sagafjord amphitheatre.
The handrails are freshly
sanded and covered with high-gloss varnish as well, the obvious sign of good
maintenance.
I was moved to see that the
old brass window frames at the forward part of the superstructure were sanded
and varnished as well, in a most careful way.
Even the addition of the
scrolled P on the funnel, for some spectators felt to be elegant, for others absurd,
does not really spoil the classic look of the ship now with its dark hull
with white-red boot-topping.
By the way, the black of the
hull is a very, very dark blue.
I was so pleasantly surprised
by this opportunity that I forgot to take pictures of the reception or to ask
for access to some cabins.
I had no tripod with me,
either, and the strong midday sun was fine for outside pictures, but inside, it
spoiled the result with its harsh contrasts in light quality.
For travellers like me, who
want to be sure that the most beautiful ship in port is the one to return to
after an excursion, she is the only choice for sure!
But more important, the
commercial success of the Funchal will be a criterion that can only be
guaranteed in one way, by booking a trip on this outstanding ship created in
the shadow of the Hamlet-castle on the north of Zealand in 1961, a ship that
has never changed its name.
