At the press conference held at STX Finland Oy's Turku Shipyard on 24 May 2013, Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises and Jari Anttila, EVP & COO of STX Finland Oy were pleased to speak about the important milestones that Mein Schiff 3 and Mein Schiff 4 cruise ship projects reached today. The keel of Mein Schiff 3 was laid in Turku shipyard's dry dock. Before the keel laying ceremony the start of production of the sister ship Mein Schiff 4 took place in the shipyard's construction hall.

The production start of Mein Schiff 4 was carried out following the traditions of the shipyard. The event was witnessed by representatives from TUI Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, STX Finland, Finnvera, and the classification society Det Norske Veritas, invited guests and members of the press. Later in the evening the keel laying of Mein Schiff 3 was celebrated in Turku shipyard's dry dock.

These sophisticated and highly innovative 99,000 GT cruise ships will be approx. 294 metres long and approx. 36 metres wide. They will have 1,250 guest staterooms (2,500 lower beds) and a crew of 1,000 persons. These cruise ships will have many environmentally friendly features with a particular emphasis on energy efficiencyThey will consume roughly 30 per cent less energy compared to other cruise ships of similar size.

Mein Schiff 3 is scheduled for delivery in spring 2014 and her sister ship Mein Schiff 4 will be delivered one year later. Combined, these two vessels bring some 11.000 man-years of labour to STX Finland's Turku Shipyard.

"It´s great that we have two unique events on the same day at the Turku shipyard to celebrate the magnificent ships that are under construction for TUI Cruises. Work has progressed well on both ships and we are pleased to continue towards next milestones in the shipbuilding process", says Jari Anttila, EVP & COO of STX Finland Oy.

"With today's keel laying, Mein Schiff 3 is now taking shape and looks like a ship. Step by step we are getting closer to expanding our well-being fleet and both we and our guests are already primed with anticipation. The high numbers of booking enquiries are just one indication that our concept works," says Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises Ltd.