Carnival Legend in Helsinki, 26 June 2013

This entry marks the first time a ship of Carnival Cruise Lines has been featured in this blog. It might also be the last time, as Carnival are pulling their ships out of Europe due to the high cost of air fares. Now of course I might travel to North America or the Caribbean and the usual sailing grounds of Carnival ships, which will change things. In any case, photos of a Carnival ship calling in Helsinki are going to be rare in the future as well.

Carnival Legend

IMO 9224726
Built 2002, Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 85 920 GT
Length 292,50 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 7,80 m
2 124 passengers (lower berths), 2 680 passengers (maximum)
6 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 62 370 kW
2 azipods
3 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

The Carnival Legend was the fourth of the six Spirit-class ships to be constructed in Helsinki for Costa Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines. (As a minor point of interest, unusually the class was not named after the first ship in it: the Costa Atlantica was the first ship of the class, but the second ship, Carnival Spirit, gave the class its name). This was also the last class of cruise ships to be built in Helsinki and as shipbuilding in the city is being run down, it's likely that no new cruise ships will ever be built here.

In any case, the Carnival Legend was launched (floated out) on 17 December 2001 and delivered to her owners in August 2002. She was named in Harwich during the same month by Judi Dench and made a cruise out of Harwich before crossing the Atlantic to her usual waters in the Caribbean. For the 2013 summer season the Carnival Legend returned back to her "home ground" for Baltic Sea cruising.

The photographs below show the Carnival Legend departing from Helsinki West Harbour in the afternoon of 26 June 2013, photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

Leaving home: The blue building in the background is the assembly hall in which the Carnival Legend was built.

I have to say I actually quite like the Spirit-class design. And I'm not saying that just because the ships are Finnish-built, there is something very pleasant in the overall styling of the vessels.

The return of The Photoganic Tree.

Summer vegetation in the foreground.

The rosehip bush in the foreground adds a nice splash of colour.

Outbound, with Ocean Princess in the background sailing out of the South Harbour.

Next time: AIDAmar