Costa Luminosa in Helsinki, 3 August 2011

Costa Luminosa

IMO 9398905
Built 2009, Fincantieri Marghera, Italy
Tonnage 92 700 GT
Length 294,00 m
Width 32,25 m
Draugth 8,00 m
2 260 passengers
6 MaK diesels, combined 64 000 kW
2 azipods (?)
3 bow thrusters
Speed 21,6 knots

Costa Luminosa (again) departing from Helsinki West Harbour (again), photographed from Sisä-Hattu (again). Never the less, I think you people will like these images (I know for certain that Tero will). Click on the individual images to see them in larger size.

Maybe it's the fact that it's a Costa ship, but to me this image looks like it could be from the Mediterranean, not late-summery Helsinki (of course, the Baltic Princess in the background gives the truth away).

Why should the ship always be the centerpiece? In actual fact, this one to me looks like it could be from a cruise line's promotional brochure.

Bulrushes, very nautical.

More bulrushes and a finnish granite beach, sculpted by centuries of ice. Okay, I'm starting to sound like a travel advertisement for Finland. I'll stop now.

That tree is just fantastically shaped to give backdrops (or father, frontdrops) for photography.

Jewel of the Seas, 3 August 2011

First off, I would like to apologise for the slow pace of updates recently. Initially I was busy with my studies, but the more recent break in updates was caused by the screen controller of my primary computer breaking down - the lack of a good computer can obviously slow down one's pace of working. The images here have been treated using my new secondary computer using a different set of programmes and if there are any problems or notable differences in quality compared to previous entries, I would very much appriciate you letting me know.

Now onwards to the point.

Jewel of the Seas

IMO 9228356
Built 2004, Meyer Werft Papenburg, Germany
Tonnage 90 090 GT
Length 293,20 m
Width 32,40 m
Draugth 8,50 m
2 110 passengers (double occupancy), 2 500 passengers (maximum)
2 GE/Fincantieri gas turbines, combined 39 000 kW
2 azipods
3 bow thrusters
1 stern thruster
Speed 25 knots

Jewel of the Seas was the fourth and last ship in Royal Caribbean's swish-looking gas turbine -powered Radiance-class. She entered service in April 2004 and I really have nothing else to say about her. She's been sailing with RCI ever since and seems to have enjoyed a fairly uneventful career.

The photographs below show the Jewel of the Seas departing from Helsinki west harbour on the evening of 3 August 2011, photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Click on the individual images to see them in larger size.

Pulling away from the cruise quay at Hernesaari. For whatever reasons there were a number of kayakers out on that day - these three had a the debious honour of being featured in my photo.

Yeah, it's a bit of a boring photo. But it's a very good-looking ship.

Dynamic Jewel and Finnish granite, part 1.

The elements were really conspiring to give me a good shot here. That said, it's surprisingly difficult to take a good image when you're laying on your back on rocks.

The island, surprisingly enough, also has plants growing on it.

Norwegian Sun in Helsinki, 3 August 2011

Norwegian Sun

IMO 9218131
Built 2001, Aker MTW Wismar, Germany (hull), Lloyds Werft Bremerhaven, Germany (outfitting)
Tonnage 78 309 GT
Length 258,06 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 8,00 m
1 936 passengers (double occupancy), 2 400 passengers (maximum)
6 MAN/B&W diesels, combined 50 700 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
2 stern thrusters
Speed 22 knots

The Norwegian Sun was the first Norwegian Cruise Line ship purpose-built for their Freestyle Cruising concept. However, at least theoretically she was the third ship in a three-ships series, her older sisters being Costa Cruises' Costa Victoria and NCL's Norwegian Sky. The latter was originally slated to become the Costa Olympia, but following bankruptcy of the shipyard the incomplete hull was sold to to NCL. Numerous alterations were made to the design that made the final product quite different from her earlier sister. NCL then ordered a second ship of the the Norwegian Sky design, but in the end the Sun ended up being somewhat different from the Sky, as she was adapted to the Freestyle Cruising concept - although the difference is far less radical as between the Costa Victoria and Norwegian Sky.

The Norwegian Sun entered service for NCL in 2001, initially on cruises around the Caribbean and to Alaska. In 2004 she was rebuilt at the Mobile Yard in Alabama, USA. Subsequently she was given a sun-themed hull decoration in keeping with NCL's theme of giving their ships hull murals.

The photographs below show the Norwegian Sun departing from Helsinki's West Harbour on 3 August 2011, photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Click on the individual images to see them in larger size.

The ship sortly after departing the cruise quay in Hernesaari. In the background on the right is the Suomenlinnasea fortress. The tower topping the island is the Suomenlinna church, which also functions as a lighthouse.

Most people whom I've spoken to about it seem to dislike the Norwegian Sun's side decoration, but I have to say I personally quite like it. The sun motif and the warm choice of colours give the ship a delightfully summer-y look. Particularly nice when you're looking at old photos from last summer on an overcast autumn day when it's +5 degrees centigrade outside.

Sailing past Pihlajasaari and towards the open sea. Well, with a few more islands to navigate past.

Such as these. The names of which are unknown to me... and their names do not particularly add to the atmosphere of the photo so let's consider them irrelevant.

Boudicca in Helsinki, 10 October 2011

Today marked the end of the summer 2011 cruise season in Helsinki, with Fred. Olsen Cruise Line's Boudicca wrapping up the season. While the weather was far from ideal, I headed out to document the season closer. The next time we'll see something more unusual in Helsinki is around new year, when several ferries will be making four- and five-night cruises out of St. Petersburg under charter to Russian tour operators. But for today, I'm breaking the chronology of my entries to bring you Boudicca's season closing in (almost) real time.

Boudicca

IMO 7218395
Former names: Royal Viking Sky, Sunward, Birka Queen, Golden Princess, SuperStar Capricorn, Hyundai Keumgang, Grand Latino
Built 1973, Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland
Tonnage 28 388 GT
Length 205,47 m
Width 25,20 m
Draugth 7,55 m
900 passengers
4 MAN/B&W diesels, combined 14 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

For a detailed history of the Boudicca, see the previous entry on her. Unusually, this time around the Boudicca called in the West Harbour rather than the South Harbour (it seems to be a policy of the port to route the autumn visits to the West Harbour, probably due to easier navigation). This meant a homecoming of sorts for the ship, as she was built at the Hietalahti shipyard only a few hundred metres from the cruise quay.

Boudicca departing from Helsinki West Harbour on 10 October 2011. Photographed from Hernesaari. Click on the individual images to see in larger size.

As you can maybe judge from the spray and the look of the sea in general, thiswas not he weather for a neat and calm cruise. I can't say I envy the passengers on the ship this time, being as they are headed for an autumn storm on the Baltic.

SPRAY! Not to mention the attractive Knud E. Hansen A/S -designed lines of the ship herself of course.

Notice the change in the position of the way marker compared to the above image (yes, it is the same marker).

I was hoping to capture some autumn foliage into these images, but I was not much in luck. You can see some yellow tress in the background of this image though.

Superstar in Helsinki, 3 August 2011

Superstar

IMO 9365398
Built 2008, Fincantieri Ancona, Italy
Tonnage 36 400 GT
Length 175,10 m
Width 27,60 m
Draugth 7,00 m
Ice class 1A
2 080 passengers
520 berths
665 cars
1 930 lanemeters
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 50 400 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 27,5 knots

Yes, another Superstar entry. Bear with me, I promise you'll find these photos interesting.

Last August I spent quite a lot of time looking though the website of the fabulous Søren Lund Hviid (paxpix.dk) and inspired by his work I decided to try a less ship-documenting and more atmospheric approach. Sisä-Hattu, which I have visited quite often recently for ship photographing purposes proved quite ideal for this as the island has very nice vegetation and neat rocky shores. And the Superstar was a more than suitable test subject, as if the pics of her turned out to be rubbish it wouldn't be much of a loss. But I'll let you judge for yourself if this was the case or not.

Superstar departing Helsinki West Harbour on 3 August 2011. Click on the individual images to see in larger size.

Superstar from between the trees. I didn't notice them when photographing, but there were a lot of small insects haging arund between the trees that make the image look a bit dirty, particular in the higher resolution.

This one doesn't really need a caption, does it?

Superstar-under-the-Rowan.

AIDAsol in Helsinki, 3 August 2011

AIDAsol

IMO 9490040
Built 2011, Meyer Werft Papenburg, Germany
Tonnage 71 100 GT
Length 253,33 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 7,30 m
2 194 passengers (double occupancy)
2 500 berths
4 MaK diesels, combined 36 000 kW
2 azipods
2 bow thrusters
2 stern thrusters
Speed 20,5 knots

AIDAsol is the fifth ship in AIDA Cruises seven-ship Sphinx class, delivered in 2011. I don't really have anything else to say about her. The photos below show the AIDAsol departing from Helsinki West Harbour on 3 August 2011, photographed from the small Sisä-Hattu island. Click on the individual images to see in larger size.

3 August was a busy day, with four different cruise ships in port. This strategically selected image of the AIDAsol departing hides the Norwegian Sun and Superstar strategically behind the AIDAsol (though you can see the exhausts from the Norwegian Sun if you look carefully).

I'm puzzled by the vast windowless expanse on the superstructure below the blue stripe. What could be worth sacrificing so much well-placed superstructure space? (Galleys, presumably).

Passing Pihlajasaari. Notice the reflection of the sun reflecting on water on the midship "bowl" window.

The shape of the Sphinx-class' aft superstructure is interesting - when you look at the ship from bow-on, it looks like a similar wedge-shape as on the previous-generation AIDA ships. But seen from this direction, it doesn't look like that at all.