Serenade of the Seas To Be Delivered in Autumn 2003

The first 66 blocks of the 90,090-gt new cruise vessel Serenade of the Seas being built for Royal Caribbean, were lifted into position in the covered building dock at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Flanked by the yard’s board member, Bernard Meyer, project manager Jarmo Lassko and RCCL’s senior vice president Marine Operations Harri Kulovaara, the ceremonial “lucky coin” was laid before the first block of the new vessel was lowered down onto the keel blocks by the yard’s 600-ton crane. Like its sister ships Radiance and Brilliance of the Seas, the 961-ft. (293-m) Serenade will be fitted with two podded podded drives. The propellers will be directly driven by electric motors installed in a pod under the ship’s hull. Two environmentally friendly and smokeless gas turbines will provide the vessel with electric power for propulsion.