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 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 Marella Discovery

1 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  11 minutes

leaving the River Tyne, England © Spooglecruft/cc-by-sa-4.0

leaving the River Tyne, England © Spooglecruft/cc-by-sa-4.0

Marella Discovery (formerly Splendour of the Seas and TUI Discovery) is a former Royal Caribbean International Vision-class cruise ship now sailing for Marella Cruises. The second in the line of the Vision-class ships, she features a seven-story lobby, rock-climbing wall, and a 9-hole miniature golf course. Following the announcement on 9 October 2017 that Thomson Cruises would be renamed Marella Cruises, TUI Group also announced that TUI Discovery would adopt the name Marella Discovery at the end of October 2017, and also that she would become the first ship in the Thomson fleet to be based in Asia, home porting Malaysia in Autumn 2018, following the end of her UK debut season.   read more…

The MSC Preziosa

1 January 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  10 minutes

MSC Preziosa at Hook of Holland © flickr.com - kees torn/cc-by-sa-2.0

MSC Preziosa at Hook of Holland © flickr.com – kees torn/cc-by-sa-2.0

MSC Preziosa is a Fantasia-class cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She entered service in March 2013. She is an enhanced version of her first two class member ships, MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia, and is identical to the previous MSC Divina. She debuted on March 13 as the fourth ship in the Fantasia class. MSC Preziosa was constructed from 2010 to 2013 at the STX shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, and was delivered in March 2013, being named MSC Preziosa while under construction in 2012. She has a capacity of 3,502 passengers in 1,310 outside cabins and 327 inside cabins, who are accommodated with a crew complement of 1,370. She was the 13th cruise ship of the MSC Cruises line. Homeport ist Panama City in Panama.   read more…

The MSC Meraviglia

1 June 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

at Grand Harbour in Malta © Estormiz

at Grand Harbour in Malta © Estormiz

MSC Meraviglia is a cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises, built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, by STX France. MSC Meraviglia is the lead ship of MSC’s new “Vista Project” vessels, the Meraviglia class, with MSC Bellissima following in 2019. Each vessel has a passenger capacity of 4,500. When it entered service in June 2017, it was the sixth largest cruise ship in the world, behind Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class cruise ships and AIDAnova.   read more…

The Symphony of the Seas

1 April 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

at PortMiami © WikiEK/cc-by-sa-4.0

at PortMiami © WikiEK/cc-by-sa-4.0

Symphony of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. She was built in 2018 in the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, the fourth in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class of cruise ships. At 228,081 GT, she is the largest cruise ship in the world by gross tonnage, surpassing her sister ship Harmony of the Seas, also owned by Royal Caribbean International.   read more…

The MSC Orchestra

1 December 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

in Tallinn © Bin im Garten/cc-by-sa-3.0

in Tallinn © Bin im Garten/cc-by-sa-3.0

MS MSC Orchestra is a cruise ship that was built in 2007 for MSC Cruises. She is the second ship of the Musica class. She could at the time accommodate 2,550 passengers in 1,275 cabins. Most inside cabins were later refitted with two bunk beds and therefore she can now accommodate 3,200 passengers. Her crew complement is approximately 990.   read more…

The MSC Musica

1 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  4 minutes

at Santorini, Greece © A. Stumpf/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

at Santorini, Greece © A. Stumpf/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

The MSC Musica is a cruise ship belonging to MSC Cruises. It was christened in Venice by the Italian actress Sophia Loren in June 2006 and went on its maiden voyage on July 1. The ship has four different restaurants, a sushi bar, an 800 m² casino, the Havana Club smoking room and a theater 1200 seats and a discotheque, as well as a tennis and a mini golf course. Other features:   read more…

The Insignia

1 November 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

in Split © Ivan T./cc-by-sa-3.0

in Split © Ivan T./cc-by-sa-3.0

MS Insignia is the lead ship of the R class of cruise ships built for Renaissance Cruises. She is now owned by Oceania Cruises as part of its Regatta Class of ships, but recently sailed for Hapag-Lloyd as the Columbus 2. She was built in 1998 by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France for Renaissance Cruises as MS R One. Renaissance Cruises had begun operations in 1989, with a series of eight small luxury cruise ships constructed during the course of the next three years. In the mid-90s the company placed an order for eight identical 30,277 GT vessels.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top