TUI Cruises’ first vessel, Mein Schiff 1, will be transferred to Thomson Cruises in 2018, the Hamburg based operator of the ship said in a statement.

The ship will operate the winter season 2017-18 in Asia and its final voyage for the German company will be a 42 night cruise from Singapore to Palma de Mallorca, which will depart on 1 February

Thomson Cruises is part of TUI AG, the German-British tour operator, which also owns 50% of TUI Cruises. TUI has said it intends to renew the five ship fleet of Thomson Cruises with more modern tonnage. The current vessels were built in 1983-92.

Mein Schiff 1 was built as Galaxy for Celebrity Cruises in 1995. It launched TUI Cruises in 2010 after a major refit. It has a gross tonnage of 76,522

This summer, Thomson Cruises will receive the former Splendour of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International. The 1995 built vessel replaces the 1982 built Island Escape, a converted ferry and one of the last mainstream cruise vessels with upper and lower berths in standard cabins. The newcomer will be called Thomson Discovery.