The Santa Maria Manuela

1 September 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Tall ships, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

© panoramio.com - Ramon Espiña Fernand…/cc-by-sa-3.0

© panoramio.com – Ramon Espiña Fernand…/cc-by-sa-3.0

Santa Maria Manuela is a Portuguese four-masted schooner. Originally a codfish fishing ship, Santa Maria Manuela is now used for sail training, hands on sailing holidays, environmental expeditions and team development programs. It belongs to Grupo Jerónimo Martins and is the sistership of the Portuguese Navy‘s Creoula. It’s one of the last ships of the former Portugese “Frota Branca/White Fleet”.   read more…

The AIDAbella

1 August 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

in Kiel, Germany © Wolfgang Fricke/cc-by-3.0

in Kiel, Germany © Wolfgang Fricke/cc-by-3.0

AIDAbella is a cruise ship operated by AIDA Cruises. Built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, she is a sister ship to AIDAdiva and AIDAluna. The ship has a passenger capacity of over 2,050. The name AIDAbella was chosen after a competition to name the new ship. The name was meant to signify how beautiful the ship is. Her homeport is Genoa in Italy.   read more…

The Wind Surf

1 July 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

at the Virgin Islands © Windstar cruises/cc-by-sa-4.0

at the Virgin Islands © Windstar cruises/cc-by-sa-4.0

MSY Wind Surf is a five-mast staysail schooner that is one of the largest sailing cruise ships in the world, with two electric propulsion motors powered by four diesel electric generating sets also. She can carry up to 342 passengers, in a total of 150 ocean-view staterooms, 18 ocean-view suites and 2 deluxe bridge suites, with a crew of 210. Wind Surf had been owned and operated by Club Med under the name Club Med 1, and was later transferred to Windstar Cruises.   read more…

The Stad Amsterdam

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

© Żeglarz

© Żeglarz

The Stad Amsterdam (City of Amsterdam) is a three-masted clipper that was built in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2000 at the Damen Shipyard.   read more…

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…

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