Star Becomes Explorer

Genting Cruise Lines announced on 11th September the latest addition to the Dream Cruises family, namely the 75,338gt/1999 built and 1,870 passenger capacity Explorer Dream, built as the Superstar Virgo (above). The ship moves over from sister brand Star Cruises and will undergo a $30 million transformation in March 2019 that will incorporate new facilities including The Palace, Dream Cruises’ signature, luxury private enclave featuring 50 suites and butler service. Dream Cruises will be extending its sphere of operation to 300 million Chinese in Shanghai and Tianjin/Beijing next summer as well as offering cruises in Australia and New Zealand to its Asian-sourced passengers during winter 2019, the first time Dream Cruises will be cruising outside Asia.

Encore for Spanish Artist

Norwegian Cruise Line revealed on 12th September that Eduardo Arranz-Bravo, the award-winning Spanish artist, has created the hull artwork for the fourth and final ship of the 167,800gt/4,000 guest capacity Breakaway-Plus class, the Norwegian Encore (above), which makes her debut in Miami in November 2019. A representation of his modern and abstract style, the ship’s hull will feature a labyrinth of colour inspired by his life by the sea in Barcelona and paying tribute to the vibrant guest experience for which the NCL brand is recognised. Following her unveiling, the Norwegian Encore will cruise out of Miami every Sunday and sail 7 day voyages to the Eastern Caribbean, beginning with her first journey on 17th November 2019 through to 12th April 2020.

That’s the Spirit

On 21st October Marella Cruises, formerly Thomson Cruises, said an official farewell to the 33,930gt/1983 built Marella Spirit (above), formerly Thomson Spirit, after 15 years during her Continental Coasts itinerary sailing around Malaga, Barcelona, Toulon and Valencia. Guests were treated to sparkling wine on arrival followed by a sail away party featuring a saxophonist and several surprises. The final night deck party featured the Captain’s speech and an extravagant celebratory cake. The Marella Spirit was built as the Nieuw Amsterdam for Holland America Line and is now owned by Celestyal Cruises, to who she now returns. The 69,472gt/1996 built Marella Discovery also had a revamp of one of her feature bars on deck 5 in October, ready for the winter sailings. Venue has been transformed into the traditional British pub concept Squid & Anchor which was first seen on the Marella Explorer. In 2019 the Marella Fleet will be boosted by the arrival of the adults only Marella Explorer 2.

Global Keel Laying

The keel laying ceremony for Dream Cruises’ Global Class flagship took place at Genting Hong Kong’s MV Werften shipyard in Rostock on 11th September. The first keel section measured 22m in length, 26m wide and weighed 410 tons, amounting to around half of the full keel and the ceremony marked the start of construction of the largest cruise ship ever built in Germany.

According to Genting, the Global Class is designed from the keel up for the Asian source market which requires more exciting public areas and larger cabins than traditional cruise ships. The new ship will also be supported by the world’s leading technology and digital systems catering to Asians who are more used to digital technology. Amenities will include a theme park featuring a roller coaster with virtual reality, a Cineplex, Asian spa and a Western spa, ample shopping facilities as well as authentic Asian and international dining experiences and fast food restaurants. The two Global Class ships, who’s maximum passenger capacity is an eye-watering 9,500 guests per ship, follow on from the 150,695gt and Meyer Werft built Genting Dream & World Dream of 2016/17. Dream Cruises is expanding the brand globally and this goes hand-in-hand with an aggressive newbuild programme that will more than double the fleet’s capacity by 2021 to help the company realise its aspiration to be ‘Asia’s Global Cruise Line’. The new 204,000gt and 342m long/46m beam newbuild will be constructed simultaneously at the Wismar and Rostock shipyards. The 220m midship section is being manufactured in Rostock and will move to Wismar in 2019, where the bow and stern, as well as the superstructures, will be united. The 2,500 passenger cabins produced by MV Werften Fertigmodule in Wismar will also be installed in Wismar. A total of around 600 companies are involved in the construction process. On 26th September Crystal Cruises revealed the exterior renderings for the new 67,000gt/800 guest Diamond Class ships, the first of which is set to join the fleet in 2022. The ships will be built at the MV Werften shipyard in Stralsund, Germany.

Beyond the Apex

The second Edge Class ship for Celebrity Cruises will be delivered to and named at Southampton in April 2020. The announcement was made on 13th September as the first ship in the class, the Celebrity Edge, was being completed at the Chantier de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire. The Celebrity Apex (above), originally to be christened the Celebrity Beyond, will feature all the signature spaces including the Magic Carpet and the Edge Stateroom with Infinite Balcony. The new ship will join the 122,210gt/2011 built Celebrity Silhouette at Southampton for the 2020 season, the first time that two ships from the company have served the port since the Celebrity Constellation visited during a season when the Celebrity Eclipse was also resident. Alas the 129,500gt Celebrity Edge will not be shown off to the UK media and travel trade before she crosses the Atlantic on her delivery voyage.

A Second for SunStone

Sunstone Ships has ordered a second expedition cruise vessel from Ulstein following on from the initial order contract for an X-Bow ship in 2017. The contract included nine options, and the first option has now been declared, with delivery scheduled for August 2020. The first vessel, to be named Greg Mortimer (above), is well underway at the CMHI (China Merchants Heavy Industry) yard, and is due to set off on her first cruise after her completion in the fourth quarter of 2019. This vessel, as well as the next one, is to be chartered by the Australian Aurora Expeditions. These expedition cruise vessels are the first of their kind in which the Ulstein X-Bow hull design has been implemented. Designed for passenger comfort and luxury, the Ulstein CX103 expedition cruise ship is 104.3m long and 18.4m wide. The SunStone vessels are part of the Infinity Class, in which the passenger capacity can range from 130 to 200, and the crew capacity from 85 to 115. The hull will be built according to Polar Code 6, Category B, with dynamic positioning system and zero-speed stabilizers.

Emergency Deployment

The 47,263gt/1987 built Bahamas Paradise Cruise Lines ship Grand Celebration (above) has cancelled two months of sailings in order to deploy to Massachusetts for an emergency relief effort. She has been chartered by utility firm Columbia Gas to provide housing for the hundreds of repair workers who are helping to restore service in the wake of the Merrimack Valley gas explosions, which killed one and injured dozens in several towns north of Boston. The Grand Celebration departed Palm Beach, Florida for Boston on 1st October to provide housing for up to 1,900 workers in support of the Andover repair project. Columbia Gas deployed 200 construction crews with 3,000 employees and contractors in a push to restore service by 19th November, just in time for Thanksgiving. The ship was expected to resume her normal schedule in December, leaving the Grand Classica to operate the company’s services.

Farewell Hanseatic

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ 8,445gt/1991 built expedition cruise vessel Hanseatic completed her final voyage for the German cruise operator on 30th September and went to dry dock at Hamburg’s Blohm & Voss shipyard. The ship has been purchased by Canada’s One Ocean Expedition Cruises and renamed the RCGS Resolute (above). The Canadian operator, based in Squamish, British Colombia, took delivery of the vessel during the first week of October and she was noted heading through the English Channel on 8th October. The ship joined the Hapag-Lloyd fleet on 23rd March and she holds the record for going the furthest north of any non-icebreaking ship (480km from the North Pole) and was also the first non-Russian passenger ship in the Northeast Passage. The Hanseatic sailed a total of 1,932,341 miles over her Hapag-Lloyd career, logging 677 different cruises and visiting 148 countries. Over 25 years she also sailed 128 expeditions to Antarctica, according to the company. In addition, she transitted the Panama Canal 23 times, sailed 11 Northwest Passage transits and two Northeast Passage cruises. The 146 guest capacity RCGS Resolute was christened in Sydney, Nova Scotia, on 16th October and the ship has boosted the fleet by 40-50% as One Ocean already operates the 6,450gt/1989 built Akademik Ioffe and the 6,344gt/1988 built Akademik Sergey Vavilo, which are Russian research vessels.

Newbuild Trio

On 8th October Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Silversea Cruises announced agreements to build three new ships for Silversea Cruises. Silversea signed a memorandum of understanding with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to build the first two Evolution Class vessels, the first of which is expected to be delivered in 2022. Silversea also signed a contract with Dutch shipbuilder Shipyard De Hoop to construct a new expedition vessel, to be named Silver Origin, that will serve the Galapagos Islands itinerary currently operated by the 4,203gt/1990 built Silver Galapagos. The new ship is due for delivery in March 2020. The newbuild agreements are subject to certain contingencies which are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.