Navigator of the Seas Delivered by Kvaerner Masa-Yards

The delivery of MS Navigator of the Seas took place today at Kvaerner Masa-Yards' Turku shipyard. Navigator of the Seas, newbuilding 1347, is fourth in the Voyager-class series of cruise ships for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The first three ships in the series, Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas were delivered in October 1999, September 2000 and October 2001 respectively, and have proven very successful in operation. With a gross tonnage of approx. 140,000, a passenger capacity of 3,800 passengers and a crew capacity of 1,200 persons, totaling some 5,000 people onboard, the Voyager-class cruise ships are by far the biggest in the world. The total length of Navigator of the Seas is 311.1 metres (1020 ft), the breadth is 38.6 meters (126 ft) at waterline level (49.1 metres / 161 ft breadth at the bridge wings) and the height is 72.3 metres (237 ft) from keel to the top of the funnel. In connection with the delivery, Jorma Eloranta, President and CEO of Kvaerner Masa-Yards said: "Again we have built and handed over a great cruise ship to our client - to specification - on time and to budget. Together with our co-operation partners, we have all reason to be proud of this achievement. The skills of this great team are our most important assets for handling the current challenges of the shipbuilding industry." This Post-Panamax size has allowed for unique design features and interior solutions. The cruise ship features a four deck high horizontal promenade, the Royal Promenade, a design featured for the first time on this Voyager-class cruise ship series. The length of the promenade is some 120 metres, and it has in each end an 11 deck high atrium, the Centrums. The Royal Promenade also features inside staterooms with a view. Almost 10 percent of Navigator's staterooms have bay windows overlooking the Royal Promenade. The big Metropolis theater seats 1,360 guests. There are numerous restaurants onboard. The main restaurant is three decks high, and seats a total of 1,900 in five distinct areas. In addition, there is an ice skating rink onboard, Studio B, seating 900 passengers, a rock climbing wall and a wedding chapel highest up. In mid December, Navigator of the Seas will begin seven days cruises in the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Miami, Florida. The concept design of the Voyager-class cruise ships was made by Kvaerner Masa-Yards Technology in close co-operation with Royal Caribbean. Production of Navigator of the Seas started in August 2000 and it was docked out on January 1, 2002. The successful sea trials took place in the first week of September this year. All tests performed proved the vessel to meet or exceed specified parameters. Navigator of the Seas has been built in a very short time for this size of a cruise vessel. The ship has been built by the yard together with a large number of turn-key and other suppliers. The classification society is Det Norske Veritas. The layout of the ship areas have been designed by the yard and the owner together with several highly reputed architects such as the Norwegian Njål R. Eide, - RCI Newbuilding Design, RTKL Snoweiss Design Group Tom Graboski & Associates, Morris Nathanson Design and Wilson Butler Lodge Inc. from USA - Tillberg Design and Arkitektbyrån from Sweden, - Design Team, Stephenjohn Design and London Contemporary Art (artwork) from the UK.