Passengers on the Queen Elizabeth II were spilling their cocktails and dropping their jaws in disbelief as easyCruiseOne sailed into Cannes on Saturday - the first port of call on the maiden voyage of Stelios Haji-Ioannou's new dream ship.

Sailing boldly past the QE2, which looked peacefully at anchor in the midday sun, easyCruiseOne blasted disco music from its fifth deck bar as its youthful passengers sipped Sex on the Boat vodka and peach schnapps cocktails and lounged on the bright orange sundeck, lying back on bright orange beach towels, beneath the bright orange funnel, beside the bright orange railings... all with the new cruise line's vital information screaming out for all the world to see: www.easycruise.com.

Stelios, easyCruise's ebullient founder (who prefers to be called by his first name), waved at the QEII passengers, who had stopped what they were doing and were staring back in astonishment; it was close enough to see the looks on their faces.

They did not wave back. EasyCruise has arrived. And it's very orange.

"We want to appeal to younger passengers than you get on usual cruise ships - a different audience altogether," said Stelios. The average age of guests on this weekend's voyage from Nice to Cannes, St Tropez and then on to Monaco on Monday, followed by Genoa (Tuesday), Portofino (Wednesday) and Imperia (Thursday) was 35. The cruise industry average is over 50.

EasyCruiseOne has six decks, one restaurant, two bars, a gym and a hot-tub. It has 86 cabins, including four suites, seven "quad rooms" with two bunks, and a cabin suitable for disabled passengers.

The capacity is 170 people. Prices start at £50 a night for standard cabins and £159 for suites - although rates will dip below the £50 mark at times when demand is low. Quad rooms start at 80 - £20 per person per night. All bookings are for a minimum of two nights. "Now is a good time to book," said Stelios. "People are still getting to know us and there is good availability over the summer."

The maiden voyage was full, with people getting used to the new low-cost approach to travelling on the high seas. Stelios is copying his successful low-cost airline model, which has made easyJet the highest revenue-making budget carrier in Europe, and hoping the public goes for it.

As on easyJet, food and drink are extra - and the atmosphere is relaxed, no stuffiness or dressing code for dinner. Beers cost £2.30, a glass of wine £2.90, cocktails £3.10, and shots of vodka £1.75 on the fifth-deck bar. The Sports Bar restaurant serves pizzas for £5.60, steaks for £7.45, salads for £3.85, and "all-day breakfasts" for £5.45. There is also a cafe, where espressos are £1.10, cappuccinos £1.55, croissants £1.25 and ham-and-cheese paninis £3.90. All prices are in pounds. The decor is modern throughout the ship - roomy and neatly desgined, even if it is all a bit orange.

Cabins are no exception to the colour coding. The standard cabins are 10 square metres, with orange headboards bearing www.easycruise.com, and tiny orange shower cubicles. Beds are comfortable and are split in to two mattresses that can be pulled together tomake a double or split to create twins.

There is no doubting that they are small, and not likely to pass muster with traditional cruise goers. There is also some concern that easyCruiseOne will attract the "wrong" sort of clientele - ie, rowdy hen and stag parties, likely to be attracted by the value for money when booking the seven quad rooms. The ship sets sail after 4am each morning, arrving at its next port of call at between midday and 1pm. The idea is that people go out to eat in port and "sample the nightlife".

The on-board bars stay open late and DJs play music at the Sports Bar, which has a small dancefloor. Is Stelios concerned that the ship will end up full of lager lads and ladettes? "Actually I think that we are priced out of that market," he said. "The costs of going out in the ports and so on could add up, though people can do the cruises very cheaply."

The passengers on the maiden crew were not overly rowdy or noisy. William Gibbons, director of the Passenger Shipping Association, which represents the interests of the shipping industry in the UK, was among those on board. He said: "I came to see what it was like. I think it works.

The low-cost concept is new to cruising, and I think it will be a success." EasyCruiseOne is registered in Cyprus, managed by V Ships (based in Monaco), built in Italy (in 1990), refurbished to easyCruise standards in Singapore and has a multi-national crew. More than half the passengers to have booked so far are British, followed by Americans, Germans and the Swiss. It is 2,840 tonnes, 88.3 metres long and has a maximum speed of 15.5 knots.

The easyCruise project has cost £10 million so far. Nikki Lovely, 27, a university administrator from the Wirral, on board with her boyfriend Conan, paid £58 for two nights in a standard cabin; their flight to Nice, on easyJet, cost £50 each; She said: It's nice and laid back. And it's very cheap. We're big fans."

Stelios, who comes from a Greek shipping family and is clearly proud of his new venture, said that he ship is likely to transfer to the Caribbean this winter, possibly using Antigua or Barbados as a bas. A decision on this will be in June, and he will decide on whether to comission the production of a new ship, which would be built from scratch, next March.

He said: "It depends on how well it goes. I'm crossing my fingers." Judging on the first day's passenger reaction, the Med and elsewhere could be getting used to more orange spectacles in years to come - whether the QEII brigade like it or not.

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