Mariella on Helsinki, 20 May 2015

Mariella

IMO 8320573
Built 1985, Wärtsilä Turku New Shipyard, Finland
Tonnage 37 860 GT
Length 175,70 m
Width 28,40 m
Draugth 6,78 m
Ice class 1A Super
2 500 passengers
2 500 berths
400 cars
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 23 008 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

The grand old lady Mariella was given a thorough refit in April, including new restaurants, refurbished cabins and a rebuilt nightclub. On the outside, the ship was given a new livery with the new style hull stripes introduced with the Viking Grace (this change means the Gabriella is now the only ship in the Viking Line fleet still in the old livery). I finally got around to photographing her in these new colours on 20 May 2015 at Kustaanmiekka. As per the usual, click on the images to see them in larger size.

Notice the changes, part 1: the stylified wings have been removed from the bow.

Part 2: Obviously, there's the new stripes on the hull, and the hull markings have been moved aft like on other Viking Line ships (the letter G is slightly out of alignment from the rest).

Part 3: The ship's name has been moved from the bow to the forward superstructure, bringing her in-line with the rest of the fleet (except the Rosella, which still has her name on the bow, even after the recent repaint).

I kinda wish they would have added a black stripe along the windows of deck 7. It would modernise her appearance a bit, I think, and would match ger running mate Gabriella better.

Nothing much new and interesting from the rear view. There is a new summer terrace at the aft outer deck, but that doesn't really show in these pics as such.

Next time: Err... depends on when I can be bothered to head out for more photography. Or if that takes ridiclously long, on which old pics I'll dig up to share with you.