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…

The sail training ship Pelican of London

1 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Figurehead © Bjorn som tegner/cc-by-sa-3.0

Figurehead © Bjorn som tegner/cc-by-sa-3.0

Pelican of London is a sail training ship based in the United Kingdom. Built in 1948 as Pelican she served as an Arctic trawler and then a coastal trading vessel named Kadett until 1995. In 2007 an extended conversion to a sail-training ship was completed.   read more…

The Viking Octantis

1 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Shiphistory62/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Shiphistory62/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Viking Octantis is a Polar Class 6 purpose-built expedition ship completed in December 2021 for Viking Expeditions Cruises, a subdivision of Viking Cruises. The ship has a capacity of 378 passengers with 189 staterooms. Named after the Sigma Octantis, the south star, the ship’s primary routes include Antarctica and the Great Lakes where the ship carries out scientific research during its cruises. The ship was joined by an identical sister ship Viking Polaris in fall of 2022.   read more…

Paddle steamer

1 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

SS Montreux outside Lutry on Lake Geneva, Swiss © Barryfromwales/cc-by-sa-4.0

SS Montreux outside Lutry on Lake Geneva, Swiss © Barryfromwales/cc-by-sa-4.0

A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans.   read more…

The USNS Lewis and Clark

1 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

USNS Lewis and Clark at Souda Bay, Crete © U.S. Navy photo - Paul Farley

USNS Lewis and Clark at Souda Bay, Crete © U.S. Navy photo – Paul Farley

USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE-1) is an American dry cargo ship, the lead ship of her namesake class. It was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The contract to build her was awarded to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) of San Diego, California, on 18 October 2001 and her keel was laid down on 22 April 2004. She was launched on 21 May 2005, co-sponsored by Jane Lewis Sale Henley and Lisa Clark, descendants of the ship’s namesakes. She was delivered to the Navy on 20 June 2006.   read more…

The Vasco da Gama

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

in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal © Christian Gebhardt/cc-by-sa-4.0

in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal © Christian Gebhardt/cc-by-sa-4.0

Vasco da Gama is a cruise ship operated by German cruise line nicko cruises. Completed in 1993, she previously sailed for Holland America Line as MS Statendam, for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Eden and for Cruise & Maritime Voyages as Vasco da Gama. In 2020, following CMV’s filing for administration, she was sold by CW Kellock & Co Ltd. at auction to Mystic Cruises’ parent company, Mystic Invest for US$10,187,000.   read more…

The MSC Splendida

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

MSC Splendida in Marseille, France © MarcoMi66/cc-by-sa-3.0

MSC Splendida in Marseille, France © MarcoMi66/cc-by-sa-3.0

MSC Splendida is a Fantasia-class cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises. MSC Splendida was completed in 2009 at a cost of $550 million and is a sister ship to MSC Fantasia, originally, she was to be named MSC Serenata, but the name was changed in May 2007 to MSC Splendida. She measures 137,936 GT, and is 333.30 m long with a beam of 37.98 m, a height of 66.81 m and a draft of 8.29 m. Her capacity is 3,900 passengers. The two Neopanamax vessels were to be the largest ships in a European cruise line’s fleet at the time of delivery.   read more…

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