Residential Ship Njord to Be Built at Meyer Werft, Delivery Targeted for 2025

Posted on 31 July, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Ocean Residences has announced that it has signed a ship construction contract with Meyer Werft to build the M/Y Njord with target delivery in 2025.

“We are fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with Meyer Werft, a company that has kept its shipbuilding on course for 226 years – that’s seven generations – and which is the world leader in building innovative and complex passenger vessels with a stellar reputation for exceptional quality, precision and on-time deliveries,” said the CEO of Ocean Residences Development, Kristian Stensby. “Around 50 luxury liners have left their shipyard to date.”

According to a press release, the Njord is designed to meet the strictest environmental regulations, both at delivery and for the future. The vessel will be powered by dual-fuel engines, with tank capacity for marine gas oil and LNG, batteries for hybridization, heat recovery systems, and advanced power management systems.

To ensure that the vessel is future-proof, the engines and fuel tanks will be ready for easy conversion, to take advantage of future fuels with lower or neutral carbon footprint, Ocean Residences said.

Meyer Werft and ALMACO Complete Catering Project for New Iona

Posted on 25 July, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

ALMACO has announced the completion of a catering project for P&O Cruises’ new vessel, the Iona.

“Completing a project like this in the middle of a pandemic brought some unforeseeable challenges. Still, the project proceeded according to the plan and the co-operation with Meyer Werft run smoothly throughout the process. We are very proud of the end result,” ALMACO’s Project Manager at the building site, Valerie Maes, said.

According to a press release, ALMACO was contracted by Meyer Werft in January 2018 to provide catering solutions for the ship. Its scope of work consisted of the turnkey delivery and installation for all the cold rooms and freezer rooms – an area of around 1,900 sq. meters.

The Iona was delivered to P&O Cruises on Oct. 9, 2020. The vessel is the first British cruise ship to be powered by LNG, ALMACO said. It is also the largest, greenest, and most innovative ship in the P&O Cruises fleet.

ALMACO said that it is “very proud to have been a part of building this green, sea-friendly ship.”

The Iona will be sailing in Northern Europe, Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands.

Royal Caribbean Status Update

Posted on 15 February, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Thanks to https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/ 

Royal Caribbean International has seen a number of company adjustments, fleet changes and deployment moves since COVID-19 began, plus the resumption of cruising aboard the Quantum of the Seas from Singapore.

Here are the main moves that took place for the cruise line since the pandemic started:

Newbuilds Odyssey of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas Delayed

In July, Royal Caribbean confirmed that the Odyssey of the Seas was not going to be delivered as initially planned.

Under construction in Germany, the Quantum-Class ship was delayed six months and is now scheduled to join the fleet in April.

A few weeks later, the company revealed that the Wonder of the Seas was also delayed. The China-bound Oasis-Class ship was previously scheduled for a mid-2021 delivery and is now expected in 2022.

In both cases, Royal Caribbean cited the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts as the main reason for the changes.

Royal Amplified Postponed Until Further Notice

When the pandemic started, Royal Caribbean was in the middle of a program of fleet modernization called Royal Amplified.

Two ships were scheduled to go trough the work in the second quarter of 2021, including the Allure of the Seas. The Oasis-Class vessel was set to undergo a 58-day, $165 million drydock, starting in March.

Now, all the work is suspended until further notice. While mandatory shipyard work was actually performed on some of the vessels, the major modifications were suspended.

Empress of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas Sold

In December, Royal Caribbean confirmed that the Majesty of the Seas and the Empress of the Seas were going to leave the fleet.

While the Empress was bought by a new Indian cruise line, the Majesty seems to have been acquired by Seajets, a Greek ferry operator.

Grandeur of the Seas Stays and Debuts a New Homeport

A few weeks after confirming the Majesty and Empress departures, Royal Caribbean announced that the Grandeur of the Seas will operate a new program from Barbados, starting in December.

Built in 1996, the ship was in limbo after the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros filed for insolvency last June. The sister company was set to receive the Grandeur early this year, which was announced back in 2019.

Healthy Sail Panel Launched in Partnership with Norwegian

In an effort to develop what it called “enhanced cruise health and safety standards in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic”, the Royal Caribbean Group partnered with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in July.

Putting together a group of experts, the companies formed the “Healthy Sail Panel”, which, in September, revealed a 65-plus-page report detailing 74 best practices to protect the public health and safety of guests, crew and the communities where cruise ships call.

The new protocol is expected to be adopted by Royal Caribbean International when sailings are resumed globally.

Cruises Resumed in Singapore and Global Resumption Plans

With the approval from local authorities, Royal Caribbean started sailing from Singapore in early December. Sailing a program of short cruises to nowhere, the Quantum of the Seas became the first ship to resume service in the company’s fleet.

Globally, company cruises are cancelled until May 1, when the company may restart operations in some areas of the world. Some destinations, however, have different timelines.

By the numbers:

Ships: