Silja Line, which is part of the Estonian cruise ferry company Tallink Grupp, says its fleet renewal programme will start with the 1990 built Silja Serenade of 58,800 gross tons that operates between Helsinki and Stockholm. The ship will be taken out of service from 6 January and it will resume trading on 15 February.

The buffet restaurant will be upgraded to become Grand Buffet, while Tavolata, an Italian restaurant, will replace the current Bistro Maxime. Conference suites on deck 9 will be replaced by three new premium suites, while Commodore class accommodation will receive a facelift. The Sunflower Oasis spa will be updated and duty free shopping will be expanded so that the retail outlets will expand by 51%.

The work will cost about €10 million and the company has employed L.E.K. Consulting, which has worked with airlines, hotels and airports, plus Harrison Fraser, another London based architect. Heikki Mattila and Marjut Nousiainen, two Finnish architects, have also been commissioned to work on the project.

Silja Symphony, which was built in 1991 and which operates on the same service, is scheduled to undergo a similar refit in the autumn.