TUI Cruises, the German premium market cruise shipping company, and the Meyer Turku shipyard that is building the final two units of a series of six newbuildings for the Hamburg based company, say the project has reached milestones.
“Today the construction of these ships is entering a next stage: The keel laying of New Mein Schiff 1 and the start of production of New Mein Schiff 2 were celebrated by invited guests, Meyer Turku employees, the CEO of TUI Cruises Wybcke Meier and the CEO of Meyer Turku Jan Meyer. At the same time Mein Schiff 6 is being completed for delivery at the outfitting key,” the Finnish shipyard said in a statement
New Mein Schiff 1 and New Mein Schiff 2 will be longer with 315 meters compared to the 295 meters of the previous ships. This lengthening allowed for a substantial redesign giving the ships several new features and interesting spaces for guests to enjoy. Both ships will be 111 500 gross tons and accommodate 2894 passengers.
“With the New Mein Schiff 1 and New Mein Schiff 2 the ratio of space per passenger will stay the same as the previous ships at a generous 40 square meters”, said Wybcke Meier, CEO from TUI Cruises.
“When the new Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 go into service, we will be operating one of the most modern fleets in the world. Both ships are characterized by innovative and environmentally-friendly construction methods, as well as state-of-the-art technology standards,” Meier adds.
Both important milestones in ship building were executed with traditional ceremonies: CEO Wybcke Meier started the steel production of New Mein Schiff 2 by starting Meyer Turku’s plasma cutter. In the following keel laying ceremony, the traditional lucky coins were placed on top of the keel block. After the float out of the ship the coins will be gathered and then eventually placed into to the ship for good luck.
Meyer Turku will deliver New Mein Schiff 1 in spring 2018 and New Mein Schiff 2 in 2019. The current Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 are transfers from Celebrity Cruises, which is part of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL) that owns 50% of the shares in TUI Cruises. They will enter service with Thomson Cruises, a TUI group unit in the UK, when the newbuildings enter service.
