A two-masted motor sailer, not a hull like the others
The MS Mendula is a two-masted motor sailer, launched in 2012. Fifteen
cabins, thirty travellers, out of Makarska, from May to October. That is the
smallest capacity of the twenty ships in the catalogue.
The difference from the five other Croatian vessels is not cosmetic. A motor
sailer carries her masts and rigging permanently, which takes up sun deck space
and changes the profile as much as the stability. Sail mostly serves trim and
comfort with a following wind; propulsion stays with the engine for most of the
route. Do not board expecting to sail: that is not what the programme
offers.
What we cannot establish
The registered owner is named nowhere in public sources, and the hull length
varies from thirty-six to forty-one metres depending on which source you
consult. We keep the lower measurement, lacking a way to settle it, and we say
so.
No lift, no wheelchair-accessible cabin, steep stairs, minimum age twelve.
No departure appears in our inventory.
River ships from the same house
The MS Riviera Rose holds the Douro. The MS Jane Austen covers the Seine, the MS Lord Byron the Rhone, and the
MS Riviera Resplendence the great northern rivers.
The owner, the operator and you
Three roles that get confused, and that matter the day there is a problem.
The ship's owner is a third party: Swiss for most river hulls, Portuguese for
two of them, Dalmatian for the six coastal hulls. The commercial operator is
the British tour company, which owns no hull. And you buy through a Quebec
agency, which adds a protection discussed further down.
This arrangement explains something that often puzzles people: the
specifications published by the owner do not always match those published by
the operator. These are not typos; they are two separate businesses describing
the same ship.
When the doubt bears on a figure that changes your choice — density aboard,
for instance — have it confirmed in writing before you pay a deposit.
The fare in detail
Included are the cabin, full board, hot drinks throughout, wine and beer
served at dinner on the river ships, the announced excursions, port taxes and
guidance aboard.
Two structural exclusions for a client from here. First: air travel and
transfers are not part of the North American product, while they traditionally
are part of the same operator's British product. The British site redirects to
the North American one from Quebec, which makes online comparison misleading
through nobody's bad faith.
Second: crew gratuities are included on no ship in the fleet. They stay on
your account, for the ship as for local guides. We say so because the item
weighs on a seven- to fourteen-night trip and it distorts comparison with the
lines that build it in.
What to know before booking
The ship is small and the season is short: May to October among the
Dalmatian islands, back in port most evenings. Thirty to forty travellers, a
local crew, a slow rhythm. Anyone looking for the bustle of a big ship will be
happier elsewhere; anyone looking for a cove at seven in the morning is
exactly in the right place.
Physical condition matters here more than elsewhere. No lift, no
wheelchair-accessible cabin, steep stairs between decks, a narrow gangway. The
operator formally advises against booking for travellers with reduced
mobility. The minimum age is twelve.
Finally, a fact on our side: no departure for this ship appears in our
online inventory. The product sells as a package, with flight and transfers,
rather than cruise-only. Talk to an advisor for the season's calendar.
What this trip asks of you from Quebec
A flight not included in the fare, transfers to arrange, and a hotel night
before embarkation that we recommend every time. Door-to-door travel often
exceeds what the brochure suggests, especially when the embarkation city needs
a connection.
The protection question comes up weekly with clients, so let us be clear.
Nothing establishes that this British operator holds a Quebec travel agent's
licence; its North American entity is a Florida corporation. That is not a
fault on its part, simply the structure of the market.
Protection comes from the agency that sells. Voyages AquaTerra holds a
licence from Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, deposits your
payments in a trust account, and your file falls under the Compensation Fund
for Customers of Travel Agents. Write to us and we will look at what the
season allows.
