The Europa 2

1 March 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Swimmingpool © Monster4711/cc-by-sa-3.0

Swimmingpool © Monster4711/cc-by-sa-3.0

The MS Europa 2 is a cruise ship operating for Hapag Lloyd. She entered service in May 2013. The first steel was cut on 5 September 2011, the keel was laid on 1 March 2012 and the vessel being launched on 6 July 2012. She was built at the STX Europe shipyard at Saint-Nazaire in France. On 29 April 2013, the vessel was handed over to Hapag Lloyd. She was christened on the 10th May 2013, during the 824th Hamburg Port Anniversary. Europa 2‘s maiden voyage started on 11 May 2013 for 14 nights.   read more…

The Oasis of the Seas

1 February 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

Leaving STX shipyard in Turku, Finland © Zache/cc-by-sa-3.0

Leaving STX shipyard in Turku, Finland © Zache/cc-by-sa-3.0

MS Oasis of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship, delivered to her owner, Royal Caribbean International, in October 2009. The first of her class, she was joined by her sister ship MS Allure of the Seas in December 2010. Both vessels cruise the Caribbean from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She set a new record of carrying over 6,000 passengers. The ship surpassed the Freedom-class cruise ships (also owned by Royal Caribbean) to become the largest cruise ship in the world at that time. She has, however, since been surpassed by Allure of the Seas, which is 50 millimetres (2.0 in) longer, although this difference may have been caused by different temperatures when the measurements were made.   read more…

The Disney Fantasy

1 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

Disney Fantasy arriving in New York © Stjanss and mriedel/cc-by-sa-3.0

Disney Fantasy arriving in New York © Stjanss and mriedel/cc-by-sa-3.0

Disney Fantasy is a cruise ship of the American cruise company Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Fantasy is the fourth ship in the cruise line. In February 2007, Disney Cruise Line announced that it had commissioned two new ships for its fleet. The first steel-cut, for scrollwork on the ship’s hull, took place in March 2009 at the Meyer Werft shipyards in Papenburg. Later that month, the two ships were named, with the Disney Fantasy set to enter service on March 31, 2012, a little over a year after its sister vessel, the Disney Dream.   read more…

The floating private residence The World

1 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

The World in Monaco © Bahnfrend/cc-by-sa-3.0

The World in Monaco © Bahnfrend/cc-by-sa-3.0

The World is a cruise ship serving as a residential community owned by its residents. The residents, from about 40 different countries, live on board as the ship travels the globe—staying in most ports from 2 to 5 days. Some residents live on board full time while others visit periodically throughout the year. It is operated by ResidenSea, headquartered in Miramar, Florida.   read more…

The Europa

1 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Hamburg, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

MS Europa at Sylt © Elbe1

MS Europa at Sylt © Elbe1

The MS Europa is a cruise ship owned and operated by the German company Hapag-Lloyd. It is the 4th ship to be named Europa in the company’s history. For twelve years in row, the MS Europa was awarded the title “best cruise ship in the world” by Ward-Ranking and Berlitz. Being designed as a luxury ship, all of her cabins are described as suites. There are 204 suites. Out of the 204 suites, 168 have their own private veranda. The largest suites are 915 sq. ft, and the smallest are 291 sq. ft.   read more…

The AIDAmar

22 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Cruise Ships Reading Time:  5 minutes

AIDAmar in Geirangerfjord, Norway © Drdoht/cc-by-sa-3.0

AIDAmar in Geirangerfjord, Norway © Drdoht/cc-by-sa-3.0

AIDAmar is a Sphinx class cruise ship, built at Meyer Werft in Papenburg for AIDA Cruises. She is the sixth Sphinx series ship, preceded by sisters AIDAdiva, AIDAbella, AIDAluna, AIDAblu and AIDAsol. AIDAmar was delivered on 12, May 2012 during the 823rd Harbour Birthday Hamburg. Her home port is Genova.   read more…

The Mein Schiff 1

18 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Cruise Ships Reading Time:  7 minutes

Mein Schiff 1 at St. Georges, Grenada © Caribbeanyachtbroker

Mein Schiff 1 at St. Georges, Grenada © Caribbeanyachtbroker

Mein Schiff 1 is a Century class cruise ship owned and operated by TUI Cruises. She was built in 1996 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg as Galaxy for Celebrity Cruises, and renamed Celebrity Galaxy in 2008. In May 2009 she transferred to the fleet of TUI Cruises, a joint venture between Celebrity Cruises’ owner Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and TUI AG. The ship was renamed Mein Schiff (English: my ship) on 15 May 2009. In November 2010, she was renamed to Mein Schiff 1. In May 2011, the Celebrity Mercury has been restarted as Mein Schiff 2 for TUI Cruises. Her home port is Valletta on Malta.   read more…

The Disney Wonder

11 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Cruise Ships Reading Time:  7 minutes

Disney Wonder at Castaway Cay with Flying Dutchman © EmbraerSkyPilot

Disney Wonder at Castaway Cay with Flying Dutchman © EmbraerSkyPilot

Disney Wonder is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line. The second ship to join the Disney fleet, it entered service in 1999. It is nearly identical in construction to its sister ship, Disney Magic. Both ships have 11 public decks, can accommodate 2,400 passengers in 875 staterooms, and have a crew of approximately 950. The Disney Wonder was built in the year following completion of the Disney Magic. As of 2012, the Wonder is based out of Los Angeles until December 9th. Her “godmother” is Tinkerbell.   read more…

The Independence of the Seas

1 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

in Southampton/UK © Aztec06

in Southampton/UK © Aztec06

MS Independence of the Seas is a Freedom-class cruise ship operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line that entered service in April 2008. The 15-deck ship can accommodate 4,370 passengers and is served by 1,360 crew. She was built in the Aker Finnyards drydock in Turku, Finland, builder of Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, her sister ships of the Freedom class. At 154,407 gross tons, she joined Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas as the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels yet built. She is 1,112 feet (339 m) long, and typically cruises at 21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph). The vessel operates from Southampton, England and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.   read more…

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