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Norwich man leads cruise ship rescue mission
ROB GARRATT
Last updated: 22/04/2010 14:00:00
Captain Panagiotis Skylogiannis who is leading the Celebrity Eclipse ship to Bilbao to bring home 2000 stranded Brits.
A rescue mission to bring 2,000 stranded holidaymakers back to their native British shores is being led by a ship's captain from Norwich.
Capt Panagiotis Skylogiannis is at the helm of a £500m cruiser's maiden voyage as it journeys towards Spain to come to the aid of hundreds of people stranded in foreign lands.
An estimated 150,000 Britons have been stuck overseas by the flight ban due to volcanic ash - but 2,000 people will be a step closer to home thanks to a voyage under the command of a Norwich man.
The Celebrity Eclipse set sail on Tuesday morning on a rescue mission that aims to reunite stranded friends and families with their loved ones back home.
Capt Skylogiannis' wife Lisa, 38, told the Evening News of the pride she feels for her husband, a Greek national, from their home in Wroxham Road, Sprowston.
The mother-of-three said: “This is not every day in his life - 2,000 people is a considerable number.
“We are very proud of him, and so are all of his family in Greece; it's quite an achievement.”
The 122,000 tonne Eclipse is a new luxury vessel, complete with a lawn on its top deck, which was due for a two-day publicity launch cruise. But it was quickly diverted to a rescue bid and set sail for Bilbao, in the north of Spain, with Capt Skylogiannis at the helm, and is hoped to return packed full of relieved passengers on Saturday.
“The ship is brand new so it doesn't have people waiting to get on - so they made the decision that's it's ready to go over there and bring some people back, when there are so many people stranded,” said Mrs Skylogiannis.
Capt Skylogiannis has worked the waves with Celebrity Cruises for more than 20 years, graduating to the rank of captain eight years ago.
The couple have been married 13 years, and met when on board a cruise when Mrs Skylogiannis was working as a nurse. The couple's three children are Toula, aged eight, Nikolas, aged five and Emilia, aged two.
The rescue mission has been launched in partnership with Thomson, First Choice, Thomas Cook and CTTG, and there will only be space on the cruise for passengers holidaying with these firms.
The Eclipse is yet to be formally christened, and will be named by Hampshire yachtswoman and breast cancer survivor Emma Pontin late on Saturday afternoon, and will be based in Southampton.
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Saturday, Apr 24, 2010
2,200 holidaymakers rescued by a brand new cruise ship have finally got back to Britain.
The relieved passengers, who were caught out abroad by the Icelandic ash travel chaos, docked in Southampton refreshed by the 30-hour trip aboard the £500 million Celebrity Eclipse.
The tourists - many who had been stranded for up to seven days - embarked in Bilbao, Northern Spain, on Thursday for the free cruise on the luxury ship.
Many had endured coach overnight journeys of up to 16 hours to get to the port and finally home, and tempers for some were short.
Guests were treated to beds, food and entertainment aboard the ship, which cancelled its inaugural celebrations to come to the rescue. And in the final hours, the cruise line told passengers the drinks were free in what has been a publicity coup for the company.
The ship had sped to Southampton at its top speed of 24 knots to get people back because many on board were from Scotland, northern England, the Midlands and Wales and so had lengthy finals legs to complete.
A fleet of 65 coaches was at the port to get the passengers on the road, and those with the longest way to go disembarked first.
School support worker Alice Hoon and her husband Chris were on board with their children Catriona, 20, and Alasdair, 16. They had been stranded for four days in the Algarve, Portugal, on an all-inclusive trip, but the family were now looking at a further 11-hour journey home to near Oban in Scotland.
"We took the option of the ship because we had to get back as our children have exams," Mrs Hoon explained.
"We're relieved to be back in the UK and the ship's brilliant, we have loved it. We now have a 10-hour journey to Glasgow Airport to pick up our car and then another hour home but we have to do it."
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Worked well for everyone then! Not sure it was a good idea to offer free drinks if people later had to drive home but hope it all went ok and they got home safely.
I would think there are a lot of people who need another holiday now to get over the ones they have taken recently.
Lizx
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Dear Purple
Hello
Hope you are keeping well and doing okay.
A belated Happy St Georges Day to you.
What a great story.
At least all these people have got home safely thanks to the efforts of this captain.
Take care
Very best wishes
xx
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Thank you Elizabeth, belated wishes to you too.
It's good to see the people getting a free trip home instead of being ripped off as many were with inflated prices for transport. I know it's great publicity for the new cruise ship, but does it matter when it did a good job of getting folk home safely and comfortably.
Lizx
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It was good of the ship's owners to agree to pick up stranded people - but it had to have a 'maiden' journey before it could accept paying customers!!
So, nice gesture - good publicity and 'maiden' voyage completed!!
Totally agree about people being ripped off on hire cars etc.
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Hi Maggie, you are up late today! Hope you are ok,
It was an exercise between some holiday companies so only those people who were booked with them were allowed on, but as you say, it's the maiden voyage over and done with and did a good job at the same time.
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