Surprising for a country as small as Cyprus it gave rise to one of the biggest International Cruises Organisations. Louis Cruise Lines, running ships as far as the Caribbean and enjoying 22% of the Mediterranean, had their humble beginnings in a liner-ticketing office founded by Mr. Louis Loizou in 1938 in Limassol, then as now Cyprus's main seaport. He did well, correctly anticipating the substantial emigration of Cypriots during and after WWII.

As air travel supplanted sea in the late '50s Mr. Loizou's business, now 'Louis Travel Agency', expanded and remodelled. Hotels' reservations led to Hotels' management, then Hotels' ownership. Finally in the early '80s Louis ventured into cruises, literally launching on an unsuspecting public the idea it could experience a number of Greek isles in one go at a reasonable price. Business flourished, and soon more ships were added to offer mini-cruises to neighbouring countries: Egypt, the Holy lands, Lebanon, Syria.

The subject cruise departs from Limassol on Friday evening, arrives at Beirouth on Saturday dawn, departs at midnight and docks back home on Sunday at 11:00'. A mini cruise it is, but there's nothing mini about it except the price.

The ship is the first joy: MS CALYPSO has ample public places. Surprising for a boat this small (11,162 Tonnage), it sports eight decks. The top 3 offer satisfactory open-air walking space. There is no wrap-around but the sideways promenades are quite spacious. Nicely wooden-panelled too. The sun deck features two basketball courts! At its front, on top of the bridge, there is a rather secluded roomy side-to-side balcony, perfect for quiet sunbathing during the day and star gazing in the night.

The Tropical Bar at the stern overlooks a small pool, more of a dip really, two decks down. Adjacent to it is the Sunshine Bar, which doubles as a self-service buffet during meals. At the main restaurant you are waiter-served. The main lounge is called Festival; here shows are held every evening. There are two more lounges which offer dancing music and Disco after hours. There is also a Library, but it should be called 'Reading area' as there are no books on the shelves... Enough nitpicking, nothing is really missing or amiss, what with Children's Playroom, Gym, Sauna, Hairdresser, Duty-Free Shops and a cute little Casino. One could argue for a Cinema theater or an Internet Cafe but on cruises this short their absence is inconsequential.

Our cabin was another pleasant surprise. Not excessively roomy, but certainly not cramped. Closet space is adequate and the shower box will accommodate anyone under 1.9m. Furniture and fittings seemed recently refit and the bedlinen were clean -as was the whole of this ship. There was a TV set, hairdryer and telephone -I'm told this is standard equipment in all classes. Wake-up/reminder service is available. Neat. Lastly, we've never been on a quieter cruise, not even engine noise was discernible.

On to food: Almost five stars (see below)! Mediterranean-style cuisine, plentiful and tasty. Multi-ethnic staff was attentive and eager to please. Same can be said of all personnel, like when I enquired after a bridge tour. The entertainers too seemed eager to please, no sea-sick looking bunch this one! We thoroughly enjoyed the evening shows comprised of singers, stand-up comedy, dancers and a magician. On Sunday morning, while we were having a Bingo game, the magician held a show especially for children.

The one thing I cannot comment on is the Lebanon day trip. We opted out, deciding to stroll around Beirouth and neighbouring districts on our own. Knowing Lebanon from previous visits, it was heartbreaking to see the effects of last summer's war. But this is a subject for a separate piece.

So there you have it: if you are in Cyprus you could do a lot worse than taking this cruise (like taking a trip to the Turkish-occupied North, for example). And for the money, it's an absolute winner! Because, in the end, our only grievance was that the bacon was unchewable...

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665 words -whew! This was written originally as an entry to

Lean-n-mean Five

but a cruise page was not available and it took some time to set it up (thanks Di!). Oh, well...

Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Families