Mein Schiff 3 Made Maiden Call at Sri Lankan Port
The super luxury passenger vessel MV Mein Schif 3 of TUI Cruises with 2,430 passengers and 995 crew on board made her maiden call at the Port of Colombo on 26th November 2018. The vessel was welcomed at the East Container Terminal (ECT) of Sri Lank Ports Authority (SLPA).Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) – Dr.Parakrama Dissanayake said that the Port of Colombo was honored by the presence of Mein Shiff 3 in Colombo. “The Port of Colombo has become an extremely busy port and this year the port also became the fastest growing port in the world in terms of handling containers. The next area we are focusing is the passenger vessels and we have plans to construct a state of the art passenger terminal at the Port of Colombo…
Meyer Turku Cuts Steel for New Mein Schiff
The production of a new generation of Mein Schiff ships started today at Meyer Turku shipyard, Finland, with the steel cutting ceremony. The new Mein Schiff 1, NB-1392, will be around 20 meters longer than the previous Mein Schiff ships and will have space for additional 180 cabins. The steel cutting for hull number NB-1392 or the new Mein Schiff 1 was started by Georgios Vagiannis, Project Manager Newbuild, TUI Cruises, in a ceremony at the steel hall of Meyer Turku. The first steel cutting marks the start of production of a new generation of TUI Cruises ships. Mein Schiff 1 will be around 20 meters longer than the existing new builds and will have space for 180 additional cabins.
Thomson Cruises Acquires Second Royal Caribbean Ship
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has entered into an agreement to sell Legend of the Seas to Thomson Cruises in the UK. Legend will depart Royal Caribbean’s 25-ship fleet in March 2017 and immediately transition to its new owner. The 1,832-passenger ship will join the Thomson fleet in May 2017, and will sail under the name of TUI Discovery 2. The news comes nine days before the launch of the line's latest ship TUI Discovery - another former Royal Caribbean ship and a sister to Legend, Splendour of the Seas. While financial terms of the ship's sale were not disclosed, the transaction would result in "an immaterial gain" upon its delivery to Thomson, the Miami-based cruise company said.
Thomson Cruises Names New Ship
Thomson Cruises’ newly acquired Splendour of the Seas will be renamed Thomson Discovery when it joins the company’s fleet in summer 2016 and it will homeport in Palma. Before setting sail under the Thomson name, the ship will undergo a re-brand and refurbishment. The 915-cabin ship will replace Island Escape when it joins the fleet, keeping the total number of ships operated at five. The vessel, which will be the largest in the Thomson Cruises fleet, at a passenger capacity of 1,830. It will offer 40% balconies which managing director Helen Carron believes will prove a popular unique selling point. Under her new owners the interior of the ship will stay the same so you won’t have to ‘wave’ a teary goodbye to her fun features like the rock climbing wall…
Royal Caribbean to Sell Splendour of the Seas
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its cruise ship Splendour of the Seas to TUI Cruises in the second quarter of 2016. The ship will then be leased to Thomson Cruises, which will operate the vessel. Richard D. Splendour of the Seas will complete all scheduled open deployment, and no sailings will be altered or disrupted due to the sale. Her final sailing will commence on April 4, 2016, and all officers and crew will remain with…
Saga Ruby in for Repair at Gibdock
Saga Cruises has highlighted Gibraltar’s continuing attractions for cruise owners, returning to Gibdock for repair and maintenance work on one of the "grand old ladies" of the cruise industry, the 24,492grt, 670-passenger capacity Saga Ruby. Delivered by Swan Hunter in 1972 to Norwegian American Line as Vistafjord, the ship is the last cruise vessel built on the Tyne. Having previously docked Spirit of Adventure in 2011 for the same owner, the 13-day renewal Saga Ruby drydocking project required flexibility on the part of the yard…
Record 52 Cruise Ships to Visit Liverpool in 2014
Liverpool Cruise Terminal said it will break its previous record next year with 52 cruise ships scheduled to call, bringing 70,000 visitors to the city. Among the cruise liners making their Mersey debut in 2014 will be the new MS Europa 2, Ruby Princess and MSC Magnifica. The high points of Liverpool Cruise Terminal’s fast-growing popularity were revealed at a conference organized by the Mersey Maritime Group trade body. During the cruise terminal’s first full season of operation in 2008 there were just 13 calls, rising to 42 calls last year.
Back-to-Back Cruise Dockings for Gibdock
Back-to-back cruise ship projects at Gibdock’s No. 1 dock have seen the return of the 37,584gt, 1,575-passenger capacity Thomson Destiny for its fourth visit since a first refit in Gibraltar in 2006. The Thomson Destiny arrived at the yard on November 13 to undertake works afloat and then docked on November 21 one day after the Pullmantur Zenith had left the 260m x 38m x 10m dock after a 12-day stay. “In many ways this was a routine dry docking, but with two large cruise ships docking one after the other we had to make doubly sure we managed the time pressures very carefully…
First Cruise Vessel Calls at DCT Gdansk
The new Polish container terminal operator DCT Gdansk has handled its first cruise ship, Thomson Cruises’ 33,930 grt Thomson Spirit berthing on September 11. The vessel had 1,235 passengers on board, most of whom were from the U.K. According to Fred Kamperman, DCT Gdansk’s General Manager, both Thomson Cruises’ port agent, Morska Agencja Gdynia and the tour operator Baltic Gateway group were satisfied with the service rendered both to the vessel and passengers by DCT Gdańsk terminal. Thomson Spirit made a smooth approach to the deepwater berth and did not require tugs, either on arrival or departure. Kamperman noted that this was the first occasion that a cruise ship had called DCT Gdansk.
