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Meyer Turku cuts steel for Carnival's LNG-powered newbuild

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 15 November 2018 15 November 2018

Meyer Turku started today the production of a 5,286-lower berth cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line. The ship will be the first North American-based cruise ship to run on LNG and will also be the largest Carnival cruise ship ever built with 180 000 gross tons.

With the first steel cutting the physical form of the ship will start to takeshape. The new Carnival ship will offer a variety never-before-seen innovations and will be part of Carnival Corporation’s “green cruising” design platform.

“This new ship promises to be truly special, from its ground-breaking one-of-a-kind features to a distinctive hull painting and hull design that is both timeless and forward-thinking while paying tribute to our nearly 50-year history of making wonderful vacation memories for our guests,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Production ramp-up is moving forward at Meyer Turku shipyard with this large, state-of-the-art cruise ship. Meyer Turku’s production is already at the level of previous all-time high and more than doubled from 2014 when Meyer family bought the shipyard.

“We are extremely pleased to work together with Carnival on this large and highly innovative ship. With the first steel cutting, our efforts in designing the hull, features and interior of the ship start to take shape. We are also very proud to build the first-ever LNG using cruise ship for North American market, making this state-of-the-art green technology a reality,” commented Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.

New pace of normal

To enable the ramp-up of production, Meyer Turku has hired more than 700 new shipbuilders since 2014 and recruitments are continuing with a pace of approximately 200 people each year.

Meyer Turku has been also investing heavily, with largest investments, a large part of 200 million investment program going to the steel factory. The shipyard’s steel halls will have a new plate cutting line, a new profile cutting line and a new panel line, all under final stages of construction at the moment.

“With our new steel pre-treatment facility and storage and of course the new gantry crane that started operation in May, we are already seeing the effects of these investments. Next we will take further custom designed machines with increased automation into use in hull production. This all is happening in parallel with our ramp-up of both design and production in order to deliver on the promises we have made to our customers. For us and the network this is very exciting time as we are able to really show what we are capable of with the design and also the construction of these very sophisticated cruise ships,” CEO of Meyer Turku Jan Meyer states.

Carnival XL1 will be built on new green cruising platform for Carnival, yet it will feature completely newly designed interior spaces that Meyer Turku interior design team is working together with Carnival designers.

The as-yet-unnamed Carnival cruises ship will operate from Florida beginning in 2020. The ship’s name is scheduled to be revealed in early December. Details on the ship’s inaugural season are planned to be announced in January, with information on the vessel’s vast array of exciting culinary, beverage and entertainment options to be revealed later in 2019. A second XL class ship is scheduled for delivery in 2022.

Meyer Turku Oy employs 2,000 persons and specializes in building highly complex, innovative and environmentally friendly cruise ships, car-passenger ferries and special vessels. Together with two sister shipyards in Germany, Meyer Werft in Papenburg and Neptun Werft in Rostock, Meyer Turku is one of the world’s leading cruise ship builders. The successful shipbuilding tradition in Turku has been continuing since 1737. The company is currently building cruise ships for TUI Cruises and Costa Crocier. The order book also icludes cruise ships for Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean International.

The design and construction of the ships are supported by the subsidiaries of Meyer Turku: Piikkio Works Oy, which is a Cabin Factory in Piikkiö, Shipbuilding Completion Oy, which provides turnkey solutions to public spaces in ships, and ENG´nD Oy, which is an engineering company offering services for shipbuilding and offshore.

Construction of Le Commandant Charcot starts at Vard’s Tulcea yard

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 14 November 2018 14 November 2018

Construction of the polar exploration vessel Le Commandant Charcot of Ponant, the French expedition cruise line, has started at Vard’s shipyard in Tulcea in Romania with the traditional steel cutting ceremony taking place on 6 November.

Delivery of the new flagship, the most ambitious ever designed both in terms of travel experience and respect for the environment, is scheduled for 2021, Ponant said in a statement.

“The vessel will bear the name of a great French explorer: Le Commandant Charcot. An explorer by vocation with a true passion for sailing, Jean-Baptiste Charcot is one of the emblematic figures of French polar expeditions. By naming its forthcoming polar exploration vessel after him, Ponant is paying tribute to this 'gentleman of the poles,' a man respected by all,” the company said.

Le Commandant Charcot will be the first exploration vessel to surpass the ecological standards set out in international regulations. An electric hybrid vessel, it will be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Designed for intense polar explorations, and with PC2 Polar Class certification, Le Commandant Charcot will push back the boundaries of imagination, by sailing to the Geographic North Pole.

Carnival Radiance’s 2020 inaugural season to include voyages to Europe, Bermuda, Canada/New England and Caribbean and line’s first Cuba cruises from New York and Norfolk

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 November 2018 13 November 2018

Carnival Cruise Line has announced the diverse inaugural schedule for the totally transformed Carnival Radiance, including 9- to 13-night European voyages, the line’s first to Cuba from New York and Norfolk, 4- to 9-night sailings to the Caribbean, Canada/New England from New York, and a winter season of voyages to the Caribbean and Cuba from Port Canaveral, Fla.

Additionally, the company revealed details of Carnival Sunrise’s 2020 schedule, including an expanded series of New York to Cuba cruises, as well as 4- to 9-night voyages to the Caribbean from New York and Norfolk, Va.

Following a $200 million dry dock that will take place in Cadiz, Spain, Carnival Radiance will debut April 29, 2020, with a 10-night Mediterranean sailing from Barcelona followed by 9-and 12-night departures visiting top destinations throughout the region, including Italy, France, Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain. The ship will then embark on a 13-night trans-Atlantic crossing from Barcelona to New York June 11-24, 2020, positioning the vessel for its inaugural season in the Big Apple.

Once in New York, Carnival Radiance will offer a series of 4- and 6-night Bermuda cruises as well as a 4-night cruise to Saint John, New Brunswick, eight-day eastern Caribbean voyages and the line’s first Cuba cruises from New York – nine-day sailings that include a full-day and overnight stay in Havana and two Bahamian ports of call. The New York program will conclude with a series of Canada/New England voyages featuring stops in Boston, Portland, Saint John, and Halifax.

The ship will also offer four five- to seven-day voyages from Norfolk in October and November 2020, including the line’s first Cuba cruises from that port. The week-long Cuba cruises will feature an extended stop in the capital of Havana along with visits to two tropical Bahamian ports. There will also be a five-day Bahamas cruise and a six-day cruise visiting three of the country’s most popular destinations, including the private island of Half Moon Cay.

Following the cruises from the Northeast, Carnival Radiance will reposition to Port Canaveral, Fla., to operate a winter schedule of six- to eight-day voyages to the Caribbean and Cuba beginning Nov. 8, 2020. The program includes six-day voyages featuring a day-long visit and overnight call in Havana and two Bahamian ports; a six-day sailing to Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Dominican Republic and Nassau, The Bahamas; and seven-and eight-day Caribbean voyages visiting some of the region’s most popular and beautiful islands, including Aruba, Curacao, St. Kitts and Grand Turk.

Building upon the popularity of short Bermuda cruises introduced on Carnival Horizon, Carnival Sunrise will offer a series of “long weekend” getaways to Bermuda as well as longer length Caribbean voyages and cruises to Cuba from the Big Apple beginning May 21, 2020.

The program includes eight, nine-day voyages to Cuba featuring a full day and overnight call in Havana along with stops at the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay and Nassau. Eight, four-day “long weekend” voyages to Bermuda will also be offered, departing Thursdays and returning Mondays and spending a full day on the island. Seven, eight-day voyages visiting beautiful ports in the Caribbean and Bahamas will be offered as well. The program concludes with a 12-day Carnival Journeys partial Panama Canal transit from New York to Fort Lauderdale Oct. 19-31, 2020.

Carnival Sunrise will also sail from Norfolk, Va., in May 2020, offering a pair of five-day cruises to Nassau and Freeport, along with a three-port, six-day voyage featuring Half Moon Cay, Nassau, and Freeport.

Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Radiance will each undergo extensive dry docks in 2019 and 2020, respectively, that will add an array of exciting food, beverage and entertainment choices. New culinary and beverage offerings will include Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse developed by Food Network star and longtime partner Guy Fieri, a classic American steakhouse called Fahrenheit 555, and the Cucina del Capitano family-style Italian restaurant, the Caribbean-inspired RedFrog Pub. Carnival Radiance will also feature Big Chicken, a seagoing version of a landside restaurant operated by the line’s Chief Fun Officer, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.

A sprawling new WaterWorks aqua park featuring the new AquaTunnel slide as well as a SportSquare open-air recreation complex with a suspended ropes course will be added, as well. All staterooms will be renovated with a tropical color palette reminiscent of the ships’ Caribbean itineraries.

Mystic Cruises orders two more ships – report

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 November 2018 13 November 2018

Mystic Cruises, the nascent expedition cruise operator in the Mystic Invest group of companies in Portugal, has ordered two more 9,300 gross ton ships from the West Sea shipyard in Viana do Castello in Portugal, Mer et Marine reports on its website.

The ships are due to enter service in 2021 and 2022, respectively, They will be 129 metres in length and carry 200 passengers and have a crew of 111 persons, the report said, adding that mystic Cruises intends to build about 10 expedition cruise ships.

The first ship of the company, World Explorer, will be 126 metres in length and carry 176 passengers plus a crew of 125, the West Sea shipyard said on its website. It is due to enter service next year.

World Explorer will be operated by Nicko Cruises, a German company in the mystic Invest group and its first cruise is scheduled to commence on 2 May 2019 from Palma de Mallorca, information on the Nicko Cruises website shows.

Mein Schiff Herz to offer cruise combinations of up to eight weeks

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 13 November 2018 13 November 2018

Mein Schiff Herz of TUI Cruises of Hamburg will introduce a new route concept for the company, whereby passengers can combine various Mediterranean cruises of seven nights’ duration to a voyage of up to eight weeks in length, the company said in a statement.

The ship will be based in the Mediterranean from May to October 2020, when this option will be available. The cruises included will cover both the eastern and western Mediterranean, and there would be hardly any repetition of ports of calls, the company stated.