Tag Archives: Mein Schiff 2

Mein Schiff 2 Floats Out at Meyer Turku

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Mein Schiff 2

The Mein Schiff 2 touched water for the first time today at the Meyer Werft shipyard ahead of her 2019 delivery.

Delivery is set for spring 2019, and Meyer Turku said in a statement that the “timetable for the construction of the ship shows how Turku shipyard has already been ramping up the production volume to meet the increasing demands from the order book.”

“Our block production capacity is already up on the level with a previous high from 2010, when the shipyard was building Allure of the Seas. Ramping up the production at the same time as we are implementing an investment program of 200 million euros has not been a simple task. Still, as the saying at the shipyard says, if it was simple, anybody could do it and that would not be good either,” said CEO Jan Meyer, in a written statement.

The float out of New Mein Schiff 2 marks the beginning of the final stage of the ship’s construction. After the weekend she will be berthed at the outfitting pier of the shipyard, where she will be finalized for delivery.

“Our new Mein Schiff 1 has successfully completed her first cruises and has been very well received by our guests. Our new generation of ships meets our expectations completely. We are looking very much forward to taking with new Mein Schiff 2 a sister ship into service very soon,” added Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises

Meyer Turku Expanding and Hiring

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Mein Schiff 2 at Meyer Turku

With an order book stretching into 2024, Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku is investing €200 million in infrastructure improvements, new technologies, an expanded design team, and a sustained staffing ramp up for at least the next five years, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

A new 120-meter crane looms over the shipbuilder’s drydock, where crews are assembling TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 2 ahead of a 2019 delivery.

When the big blue crane goes online this summer, it will be able to lift 1,200 tons — twice that of the yard’s current lifter.

Pieces of Costa’s Smeralda sit in open-sided warehouses within earshot of construction for new steel cutting lines. Half of a 500-meter hall is ripped apart while the new technology is installed.

Crews in blue coveralls craft steel sheets for Smeralda’s superstructure in the other side of the hall. When the plasma-cutting robots are ready the crews will move over and this side will be ripped up. There’s a joke around the yard that shipbuilding has gotten much easier: Robots do all the work while people are simply there to make them comfortable.

That’s far from true, of course. There’s plenty of people work to be done. There were some grumbles when the machines took over obvious jobs — ten men sandblasting is now two pushing buttons to start and stop their mechanical colleagues — but most humans are being retrained for other, more engaging work. Furthermore, Meyer Turku is on a hiring tear, looking to grow their in-house staff of around 1,900 to 4,000, said Tapani Mylly, the yard’s communications manager. It’s not an easy task as the working language at Meyer Turku is Finnish, one of the world’s less common tongues.

Mein Schiff 2 at Meyer Turku

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft bought the facility from struggling Korean-owner STX Finland in 2014, acquiring 100 percent ownership a year later. With seven generations of shipbuilding know how the Meyer family has turned Turku’s fortune’s around considerably. “The previous owner was not interested in making investments,” Mylly said. “A family-owned company is able to make decisions very fast — around the breakfast table. … When decisions need to be made there is no need to contact Korea.”

The yard is also adding steel treatment facilities, more panel lines and storage areas, further IT and automation, and enhanced in-house design capabilities to reduce reliance on subcontractors. That said, about 800 subcontractor companies work on each ship — so many that the city of Turku is considering zoning an industrial park outside the shipyard for them.

If it’s built, Meyer Turku CEO Jan Meyer would see his subcontractors each day when bicycling into work from the city centre.

Marella Cruises aims to attract younger passengers with new adult-only ship

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Golden Era (Ex-Celebrity Century)

Marella Cruises has revealed its Explorer 2 ship will be adult-only when it launches in May 2019.

The line also said it would become an all-inclusive fleet, offer 11 new itineraries and seven ports of call from next summer.

The decision to go all inclusive is expected to appeal to passengers who are new to cruise and younger, Marella said.

Marella Explorer 2 will enter the fleet as a result of the ending of a Chinese joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Chinese travel firm Ctrip.

The vessel Golden Era earmarked for SkySea Cruise Line for the Chinese market will instead be bought by the Tui-owned UK line.

The ship will launch as Marella Explorer 2 in 2019 following an extensive renovation.

This will enable Tui Cruises in Germany to retain Mein Schiff 2 which had been destined to be sold to sister brand Marella.

Both Golden Era and Mein Schiff 2 are former Celebrity Cruises’ Century-class ships.

Golden Era was previously Celebrity Century, which entered service in 1995 with a capacity for 1,814 passengers, while Mein Schiff 2 formerly operated as Celebrity Mercury, entering service in 1997 and capable of carrying 1,912 passengers.

Royal Caribbean (RCL) is a half owner of Tui Cruises but is dissolving a 36% shareholding with Ctrip in SkySea Cruises.

SkySea Cruise Line began operations in May 2015 and established two home ports in Shanghai and Xiamen.

Tui Cruises announced last month plans to expand its fleet to serve the German market with an additional new build vessel for delivery in 2023. Tui Group’s overall cruise ship fleet will grow to 18 vessels by then.

Sebastian Ebel, the member of Tui Group’s executive board in charge of cruises, said: “We will continue to invest in our cruise portfolio and expand, modernise and rejuvenate our fleet. With these decisions, we increase the offer at Tui Cruises and accelerate the expansion of this growing segment.“

Marella Explorer 2 will feature new cabin types, including the 102 metres squared Royal Suite where occupants will be able to use a separate bedroom, dressing room, dining area and a whirlpool bath.

Forty percent of the 907 cabins will have balconies.

Marella said the popularity of adult-only sailings from Dubrovnik and the Asia itineraries for winter 2018 prompted the decision to offer an adult-only ship.

Marella Explorer 2 will be the first ship to be exclusively for adults in the fleet.

The vessel will be tailored to meet the needs of couples and groups by doubling the size of its sunbathing area, called The Veranda, featured on the Marella Explorer.

The Veranda on Marella Explorer 2 will feature new facilities, the line said.

Marella Cruises will also offer 11 new itineraries, such as Cities and Ice, Idyllic Italia and Secrets of the Mediterranean, and seven new ports of call next summer across its fleet.

Skagen in Denmark, Castellon in Spain, Alta in Norway and Margherita in Italy will all be included in Marella itineraries for the first time.

Chris Hackney, Marella Cruises’ managing director, said: “We continue to look at ways to offer something different to our current customers who have come to enjoy our ships and friendly service onboard and those who may be thinking about booking a cruise for the first time.”

The summer 2019 programme will go on sale on April 5.

The planned transfer of Mein Schiff 1 to Marella Cruises as Marella Explorer in May is unaffected, with the UK line also introducing its 2019 itineraries on April 5.

The vessel previously operated as Celebrity Galaxy as a sister ship to Century and Mercury, first entering service at the end of 1996.

The US cruise giant said: “Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Ctrip announced today that they are ending the SkySea Cruise Line joint venture.

“Tui AG’s Marella Cruises has agreed to purchase Golden Era, with delivery expected in December 2018.

“As a result of this transaction, Tui Cruises will now retain Mein Schiff 2 in its fleet, rather than selling it to Marella Cruises, giving Tui Cruises increased capacity in the strong German market.

“After the sale of Golden Era, it is expected that SkySea will wind down its business operations before the end of 2018.

“The companies expect that favourable business conditions in China and elsewhere will allow them to absorb most SkySea employees into available positions at RCL and Ctrip.

“Through its Royal Caribbean International brand, RCL will continue to serve the Chinese market, with the largest fleet deployment in the region and a strong collaborative relationship with Ctrip.”

Royal Caribbean expects the impact of the transactions to fall in a range of $0.12 to $0.15 a share this year. The loss will be excluded from 2018 adjusted net income, the company said.