Easy Does It on The High Seas

By Anthee Carassava

It's been what, months, since Stelios Hadji-Ioannou started another business. The European serial entrepreneur of easyJet fame has gone back to his family's maritime roots determined to revolutionize yet another industry with easyCruise. Like easyJet, the minimalist European airline that gave rise to the Easy empire, Hadji-Ioannou's latest venture is bold, bare-bones and very orange. "The strategy," he told attendees at a launch event in Athens, in late March, "is to target younger crowds, in their 20s and 30s, rather than wealthy older people who like more traditional cruises."

Sounds like a party boat for commitment-phobes? It may be. Rather than emphasize the shipboard experience, Hadji-Ioannou says he wants to make the glamorous ports of the French and Italian Riviera the main attraction. Beginning May 6 and at $57 a night per person, cruisers will be allowed to hop off the 4,007-ton easyCruiseOne (there is no Two at this point) at any harbor, have an afternoon of fun ashore and then party the night away before setting sail for the next destination. The catch? Passengers must book at least two nights, and there's no housekeeping service unless you're willing to pay a surcharge for clean sheets.

Industry experts predict another Easy success. Traditional cruise lines, they say, won't be threatened unless Hadji-Ioannou adds bigger boats to the Riviera lines. The Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur last week said he was talking with the world's largest cruise operator, Carnival Corp., in hopes of finding a strategic partner.

At 38, the no-frills pioneer has already founded 14 easyCompanies, ranging from movie theaters and men's cosmetics to pizza parlors and his upcoming breed of budget hotels. His greatest success, however, remains his first: easyJet, Europe's largest low-cost airline, growing 20% annually. Still, with the maritime industry booming, easyCruise may prove easy sailing for Mr. Easy. --By Anthee Carassava