The S.S. Antoinette

1 March 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

at Oberwesel © Alf van Beem

at Oberwesel © Alf van Beem

The S.S. Antoinette (long form: Super Ship Antoinette) is a cabin passenger ship of the Swiss S.S. Antoinette GmbH that went into service in 2011, which is used in the time charter by the American tour operator Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection on the Rhine.   read more…

The Le Ponant

1 February 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Cruise Ships, Superyachts, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

at São Nicolau, Kap Verde © Christof46/cc-by-sa-4.0

at São Nicolau, Kap Verde © Christof46/cc-by-sa-4.0

Le Ponant is a three-masted, commercially operated French luxury yacht operated by Compagnie du Ponant. The ship has capacity for up to 32 passengers in 16 cabins. It was built 1991 by the Societe Francaise de Construction Navales (SFCN) shipyard in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, France. In 2008, the ship was attacked by Somali pirates and was only released after a military intervention. In 2022, the yacht was refitted for increased environmental protection to a design by Jean-Philippe Nuel Studio.   read more…

The Icon of the Seas

1 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

© royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com

© royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com

Icon of the Seas is a cruise ship built for Royal Caribbean International and will be the lead ship of the Icon class. She is scheduled to enter service on 27 January 2024 out of PortMiami in the US. At 248,663 gross tonnage (GT), Icon of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world.   read more…

The Norwegian Encore

1 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Norwegian Encore at Meyer Werft © Ein Dahmer/cc-by-sa-4.0

Norwegian Encore at Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany © Ein Dahmer/cc-by-sa-4.0

Norwegian Encore is a Breakaway Plus-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). She is the fourth Breakaway Plus-class ship in the fleet, following sister ships Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Escape, and Norwegian Joy, and debuted in November 2019.   read more…

The Mardi Gras

1 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Infodog1213879821

© Infodog1213879821

Mardi Gras is an Excellence-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. The ship is Carnival’s lead vessel of the fleet’s Excel-class, a subclass of the Excellence class, and was built by Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku in Turku, Finland. The ship has often been incorrectly referred to as Carnival Mardi Gras, though Carnival has specified that her name does not include the “Carnival” prefix, a first since the Fantasy-class vessels originally omitted “Carnival” in their names upon their debuts. Mardi Gras has been subject to numerous delays in her construction, delivery, and debut amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent impact on tourism. First scheduled for a summer 2020 delivery and debut, she was delivered to Carnival on 18 December 2020. After her debut was postponed on numerous occasions, Mardi Gras began operating weekly sailings on 31 July 2021.   read more…

The Celebrity Apex

1 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

near Hoek van Holland © flickr.com - kees torn/cc-by-sa-2.0

near Hoek van Holland © flickr.com – kees torn/cc-by-sa-2.0

Celebrity Apex is an Edge-class cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Constructed at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France, she is the second vessel in the company’s Edge-class of ships, following the delivery of her sister ship, Celebrity Edge, in 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her debut sailing was from Athens on June 19, 2021 to the Greek Islands.   read more…

The Spirit of Adventure

1 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

in Cadiz © flickr.com - A Guy Named Nyal/cc-by-sa-2.0

in Cadiz © flickr.com – A Guy Named Nyal/cc-by-sa-2.0

Spirit of Adventure is a cruise ship operated by Saga Cruises and constructed by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. As Saga’s second new-build vessel, she was originally considered as an option in the cruise line’s pursuit to renew its fleet, but the company finalised the order in 2017 after seeing rising profits in its travel business following the announcement of her sister ship, Spirit of Discovery. Her keel was laid on 3 June 2019 and she was delivered on 29 September 2020, but in response to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the inaugural cruise was continuously postponed until she officially debuted on 26 July 2021.   read more…

The Wonder of the Seas

1 August 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

in Málaga © Daniel Capilla/cc-by-sa-4.0

in Málaga © Daniel Capilla/cc-by-sa-4.0

Wonder of the Seas is the flagship of Royal Caribbean International. She was completed in 2022 in the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, the fifth in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class of cruise ships. At 236,857 GT, she was the largest cruise ship in the world by gross tonnage, surpassed by the succeeding ship, Icon of the Seas, also owned by Royal Caribbean International.   read more…

The Sea Cloud Spirit

1 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Hamburg, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  < 1 minute

Sea Cloud Spirit in Hamburg © Jkg52-wiki/cc-by-sa-4.0

Sea Cloud Spirit in Hamburg © Jkg52-wiki/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Sea Cloud Spirit is a three-masted full-rigged ship built as a cruise ship by the Hamburg shipping company Sea Cloud Cruises. The ship was ordered on March 22, 2007 from the SpanishVigo. The ship’s keel was laid on July 18, 2008. In the summer of 2010, the shipyard went bankrupt. The further construction of the ship was then initially set.   read more…

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