Construction starts on Star Cruises megaship

Posted on 11 February, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Star Cruises has cut the first steel for a 4,500-passenger ship scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2016.

The unnamed ship, and a similar one due to enter service in fall 2017, will sail in Asia.

The Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, is building the vessels, which will be the largest by far in the Star Cruises fleet at 151,000 gross tons. Today, the line’s largest ship is the SuperStar Virgo, at 75,000 gross tons and capacity for about 2,000 passengers.

“The delivery of these two newly commissioned mega cruise ships will enable us to continue to strengthen and further enhance our competitiveness across our key source markets,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, CEO of Genting Hong Kong, the company that owns Star Cruises.

One of ship’s unique features will be a “street night market” with hawker stalls serving delicacies from various Asian countries. The megaship also will have a theater and a water park with slides.

Huge Norwegian Escape Block Only Just Fits Through Yard Entrance

Posted on 16 December, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Huge Norwegian Escape Block Only Just Fits Through Yard Entrance

video- Norwegian Escape block float out

The Norwegian Escape has only just managed to get through the entrance of its shipyard on Friday December 5th at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

As you can see from the video footage the large block was floated out of the construction yard for the first time and it was done inch by inch. The operation began in the early hours of the morning and it only just managed to get through. At times it was moving so slow it didn’t even seem like it was moving at all!

All the blocks are set to come together to make up the Norwegian Escape which will be the first Breakaway Plus vessel for Norwegian Cruise Line. There will also be a second sister ship built named Norwegian Bliss at the same shipyard.

When a major construction milestone is made at Meyer Werft there is often local cruise enthusiasts who head to the banks of the river to record or watch the process. Recently Royal Caribbeans Quantum of the Seas was the star of the shipyard but that ship has now entered service.

Norwegian Escape will be 164,600 gross tons and will carry over 4,000 passengers. It’s scheduled to be built by October 2015 and Once completed shall be sailing from the worlds busiest cruise port in Miami, Florida.

Royal Caribbean’s third Quantum Class ship commenced construction

Posted on 24 October, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean’s third Quantum Class ship commenced construction at Meyer Werft’s Papenburg shipyard. In addition to celebrating the construction of the new ship, Royal Caribbean also announced the ship will join the fleet as Ovation of the Seas.

Ovation of the Seas, sister to both Quantum and Anthem of the Seas, will be constructed at Meyer Werft’s primary yard in Papenburg, Germany. The new ship will feature similar features and design to her earlier Quantum Class sisters, including North Star, RipCord, The Bionic Bar, SeaPlex, the Two70 entertainment complex, and virtual balconies.

Ovation of the Seas is scheduled to debut with Royal Caribbean in the fall of 2016. At this time, Royal Caribbean has made no indication of the new ship’s potential itineraries or homeport.