Disney Cruise Line reached a significant milestone in the construction of its next ship, the Disney Treasure, with the keel laying ceremony at Meyer Werft shipyard.
The ship is scheduled to enter service in 2024.
The ceremony, which follows maritime tradition and brings good fortune, was celebrated with the placement of a newly-minted coin under the keel of the ship, according to a statement.
The commemorative coin used in the ceremony featured an etching of Captain Minnie Mouse donning a new look that embodies the ship’s adventure motif. The theme of adventure, inspired by Walt Disney’s love of exploration, will pave the way for captivating onboard experiences that immerse guests in some of the company’s most legendary stories.
MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique today celebrated two significant new-build milestones for the construction of the line’s next generation of environmentally advanced vessels.
The new MSC World Europa was floated out, while the coin ceremony was held for the MSC Euribia. Of note, MSC also confirmed the World Europa will have a fuel cell on board.
The MSC World Europa and MSC Euribia will become the first LNG-powered vessels to join the MSC fleet next year representing an investment of €3 billion in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) ships with the construction on MSC World Europa II due to commence in early 2023, according to a statement.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises, said: “Today is another important milestone in our journey towards net zero emissions by 2050 for our marine operations. Following billions of euros of investment, we are announcing significant construction developments in not just one but two of our next-generation LNG-powered vessels bringing us ever closer to our vision of the emissions-free cruise industry.
“We have a lot more to do but I am pleased that despite all that we have faced from the pandemic over the last two years, we have still been able to achieve with our partners at Chantiers de L’Atlantique the launch of these new LNG vessels – the first ever made in France that will also introduce potential new fuel cell technologies to make them even more efficient. We now need to take even bigger steps and we will need the continued support of our suppliers, partners and Governments to achieve this. We all need to work together to achieve our green future.”
Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, added: “It is indeed a very special moment we are living today. This is not only because these ships are respectively the 15th and the 16th we are building for MSC Cruises- which shows the outstanding quality of the relationship we established between our two companies since the ’90s. This is not only because they will rank among the largest and the finest of the world’s cruise market. But it is also and especially because they represent a giant step towards what the cruise ships of the future will look like. At their delivery, they will have the best carbon footprint of the market, in terms of emissions per passenger and per day”
MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique also confirmed today the installation of a fuel cell pilot plant onboard the MSC World Europa known as Blue Horizon. The technology will use LNG to convert fuel into electricity at one of the highest efficiencies of any power solution available today, producing electricity and heat on the ship, the company said.
The fuel cell technology selected by Chantiers de l’Atlantique (CdA) and MSC Cruises is the SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) developed by Bloom Energy.
The SOFC will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by about a further 30 per cent compared with a conventional LNG engine without producing emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides or fine particles.
Anne Claire Juventin responsible for Quality Control from Chantiers de l’Atlantique, and Valentina Mancini, Brand Manager from MSC Cruises performed the traditional maritime ritual as godmothers representing the shipowner and the shipbuilder when they placed two coins under the keel as the historical sign of blessing and good fortune for the project, and the ship’s operational life at sea.
The float out of MSC World Europa, which will be the first LNG-powered vessel to join the MSC Cruises fleet took place at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire where she will now be moved to a wet dock for work to continue on the ship until her delivery in November 2022.
Fincantieri’s Clementina Zecchin helps to weld the coins into place (Image: Carnival Cruise Line)
Carnival Cruise Line held a coin ceremony for its newbuild Carnival Horizon at Fincantieri’s Marghera yard in Italy on 10 March 2017.
Signifying the successful completion of Carnival Horizon’s exterior outfitting, the coin ceremony tradition was started by the ancient Romans who believed that attaching coins to a ship provided divine protection.
Fabrizio Timossi from Carnival’s corporate shipbuilding department represented the cruise line at the ceremony, while Fincantieri’s Clementina Zecchin served as godmother and welded the commemorative coins to the ship’s mast.
Built as a sister to the recently launched Carnival Vista, the 133,500gt Carnival Horizon will debut in Europe on 2 April 2018.
Onboard highlights will include indoor and outdoor dining, bars, the bike-ride-in-the-sky attraction called SkyRide, an IMAX Theatre and WaterWorks aqua park with corkscrew slides, a tipping bucket and more. Guests can choose from a wide range of accommodation, including spa cabins with exclusive privileges at the Cloud 9 Spa, larger staterooms in the Family Harbor area, and tropical-inspired Havana staterooms and suites with exclusive daytime access to a Cuban-themed bar and pool.
Carnival Horizon will sail her 13-day maiden Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona – the first of four roundtrip departures from the Spanish port. Carnival Horizon will reposition to the US via a 14-day transatlantic crossing from Barcelona to New York, US from 9-23 May 2018.
Following a summer schedule of four-day Bermuda and eight-day Caribbean departures from New York, Carnival Horizon will kick off a year-round schedule of six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises from Miami, US in September.
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