Mein Schiff 2 floats, 1 June 2018

The new Mein Schiff 2 was floated out on Friday at the Meyer Turku shipyard, and I was there as a reporter. My plan was to make a blog entry about it earlier, but Friday turned out to be a twenty-hour day (I got up at six am and went to bed at 2 am)

Mein Schiff 2

IMO 9783564
Built 2019, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 111 500 GT
Length 315,70 m
Width 35,80 m
Draugth 8,05 m
2 894 passengers (lower berths)
3 132 passengers (all berths)
Diesels, combined 28 000 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
Speed 21 knots

Traditions are important in shipbuilding, and the float-out ceremonies at the Turku shipyard have their own. I thought that, instead of simply showing you images of the Mein Schiff 2 at the shipyard, I would briefly run you through the ceremony.

Mein Schiff 2 and the awaiting crowd.

When I have attended float-outs in the past, we have been given a chance to go to the bottom of the building dock before the float-out (see, for instance, my reportage on the float-out of the Mein Schiff 5 at MaritimeMatters) but, alas, that didn't happen this time; instead, we proceeded directly to the caisson.

The ship still high and dry. In the background on the left you can see blocks of the upcoming Costa Smeralda, which will start assembly now that the MS2 is out of the way

The tradition part here is that beginning of the float-out is more than just opening the valves to let the drydock flood. Two teams, formed from local leadership of the various companies participating are formed, and they will compete on which one manages to open their valve first. The go-signal is given by the cannon group of the local arms historical society Arma Aboa using their replica of an 18th century cannon, and with uniforms to match.

Preparing to fire.

It seems I'm never quite prepared for the sheer noise of the shot, resulting in pictures like this every time.

Frantic opening of the valves commances as the ship is briefly enveloped in smoke.

And the dock starts slowly filling up.

And that's it, actually. In these days, most companies hold a proper naming ceremony only after they have taken delivery of the ship, so no champgne bottles are ivolved (this is not as novel as some commentators make it out to be, there has been a lot of variance from one company to another in the past) - and, of course, a building dock makes the whole process a lot less impressive than a traditional slipway. But with Arma Aboa's connon, the Turku yard have certainly managed to make their float-out ceremonies more interesting.

Kships, as per the usual, will return.

Mein Schiff 6 in Helsinki, 31 July 2017

Mein Schiff 6

IMO 9753208
Built 2017, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 99 526 GT
Length 293,20 m
Width 35,80 m
Draugth 8,05 m
2 534 passengers (lower beds)
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 28 00 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
Speed 21,7 knots

I always like it when a new Mein Schiff comes to Helsinki (especially as I've usually had the chance to visit them beforehand at the shipyard on delivery - in fact, I have a bunch of interior photos of the Mein Schiff 6 on the computer waiting for me to bother looking through them and editing for publication) and, of course, the Mein Schiff 6 is no exception. As testified by the fact her maiden call in our fair city was one of the few times that I actually managed to go out and photograph ships this summer.

As she entered service only a few months ago, there's very little to say about her history, so let's get straight down to the photos, which show the ship departing Helsinki Länsisatama (West Harbour) in the afternoon of 31 July 2017, photographed from Vattuniemi. As per the usual, you can click on the images to see them in larger size.

Two generation of Finnish-built ships in the Finnish capital: the Mein Schiff 6 and the Costa Mediterranea.

I continue to think there is a nice clarity to the design of the Mein Schiff 3 -class.

Construction of a new cruise quay underway on the left.

If I recall correctly, there was a Tallinn-Helsinki regatta on this particular day, hence the abundance of pictoresque sailboats.

MORE SAILBOATS!

Next week, it'll be time for the 500th entry into this blog. If I receive my copies of Innovation and Specialisation: The Story of Shipbuilding in Finland, I will be writing a little bit about the book; if not, I was thinking of doing a short guide to the different ship photo locations in Helsinki, which some of you have requested. So stay tuned!

Mein Schiff 5, Megastar and Mein Schiff 6 at Meyer Turku, 20 June 2016

Triple ship galore!

Mein Schiff 5

IMO 9753193
Built 2016, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 99 526 GT
Length 293,20 m
Width 35,80 m
Draugth 8,05 m
2 534 passengers (lower beds)
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 28 00 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
Speed 21,7 knots

Mein Schiff 6

IMO 9753208
Built 2017, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 99 526 GT
Length 293,20 m
Width 35,80 m
Draugth 8,05 m
2 534 passengers (lower beds)
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 28 00 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
Speed 21,7 knots

Megastar

IMO 9773064
Built 2017, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 49 000 GT
Length 212 m
2 800 passengers
4 Wärtsilä LNG/diesel hybrid engines
2 propellers
Speed 27 knots

On 20 June. when the Mein Schiff 5 was delivered, three ships in various stages on construction could be seen at the Meyer Turku shipyard: the complete Mein Schiff 5 for TUI Cruises, Megastar for Tallink almost ready for float-out, and the Mein Schiff 6 for TUI Cruises in early stages of assembly.

The Megastar will be named and floated out Friday this week, with the naming ceremony to be carried out by Finland's former president Tarja Halonen; I will be in Turku to witness the ceremony, so look forward to more photos later this week. The ship will be delivered early next year, if all goes well. The Mein Schiff 6, on the other hand, is slated for a spring 2016 delivery.

As per the usual, click on the individual images to see them in larger size.

From left to right Mein Schiff 6, Megastar and Mein Schiff 5.

A solo shot of the Mein Schiff 5. The general opinion seems to be that the ship looks awful, but I think she's quite alright in terms of exterior design. A nice, simple design that avoids trying too hard.

Another shot showing all three, because why the hell not?

The Megastar will be an interesting one, her exterior design is a radical departure from the style of Tallink's previous Finnish-built newbuilds, and the dSign Vertti Kivi & Co -designed interiors promise to be different from her predecessors too.

Kships will return.

Mein Schiff 5 interiors, 20 June 2016

Mein Schiff 5

IMO 9753193
Built 2016, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 99 526 GT
Length 293,20 m
Width 35,80 m
Draugth 8,05 m
2 534 passengers (lower beds)
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 28 00 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
Speed 21,7 knots

The Mein Schiff 5 is, of course, both the most recent ship built in Finland, delivered two days ago from Meyer Turku, and the newest ship in the TUI Cruises fleet – so new, in fact, that the ship is not yet in service. It will undertake the first in a series of four short "anticipatory cruises" on 29 June, and will only be officially named on 15 July. I was onboard as a press representative for Cruise Business Review when the ship was shown to Finnish and German media on 20 June, coinciding with the delivery to TUI Cruises.

I was, in fact, also onboard Mein Schiff 4 last year when she was delivered. For some reason, I've never put up the photos taken on that occasion here. Those wanting to compare the Mein Schiff 5 with its older sibling can take a look at a short piece I wrote about that ship's delivery press showing for MaritimeMatters.

All photos were taken on 20 June 2016, while the Mein Schiff 5 was at the Meyer Turku shipyard. As per the usual, this will be a deck-by-deck tour.

Deck 15 (Brise) consists exclusively of sun decks, the forward areas being exclusive for suite passengers.

Deck 14 (Horizont) has the suite-only X-Lounge forward, followed by penthouse suites, sun decks, children's playrooms, a sports deck and the Außenalster – Bar & Grill outdoors restaurant right aft.

X-Lounge seating areas.

X-Lounge serves complimentary buffet-style breakfast and lunch, but morphs into a waiter-service restaurant in the evening.

The Arena aft of deck 15 has a "floating" floor construction, as it is located directly above the buffet restaurant. Supposedly little to no sound is carried down to the restaurant.

Arena artwork.

Deck 12 (Aqua) – there is no deck 13 – features a spa complex forward, pool areas amidships and buffet restaurants aft.

The forward (main) pool is unusually long for a cruise ship at 25 metres. This is not one of those play pools you have on cruise ships built for the English-language markets, but a proper swimming pool.

The Lagunen pool area ahead of the funnel is more conventional as far as cruise ship pools go. On the previous ships in the class, it was an indoors area, but has been opened up onboard the Mein Schiff 5.

Deck 11 (Krabbe) has extensive sauma areas forward – as a Finn I approve – with the rest of the deck filled with cabins.

Deck 10 (Perle) has the navigation bridge forward, followed by cabins and suites.

Decks 9-6 (Koralle, Muschel, Hanse and Boje) are all given over entirely to cabins.

Deck 5 (Pier) is public room territory, with the three-deck-high theatre forward, with the rest of the deck filled by various shops, bars and restaurants. Right aft is the Große Freiheit extra cost dining complex.

The Theater on Mein Schiff 5 has a different colour scheme from the previous sisters (personally I liked the blues and yellows of the MS4 better).

Artwork on the Neuer Wall shopping arcade.

Tag und Nacht is – as the name indicates – the ship's 24-hour eatery. On the Mein Schiff 5 it was given a neat Nordic decor.

Located across from Tag und Nacht is Osteria, a new italian-style dining venue added on the Mein Schiff 5.

Schau Bar.

Located within the Große Freiheit complex, Surf & Turf is the Mein Schiff 5's extra-cost steakhouse.

On the other side of Große Freiheit from Surf & Turf is Schmankerl – Entspannt genießen, a new Austrian-style eatery introduced onboard the Mein Schiff 5.

The last restaurant in the Große Freiheit complex is Hamami. Technically it is down on deck 4, but since it's only accessible via deck five I'm including it here.

On the older sisters Hamami was located amidships in smaller premises, but it proved so popular amongst passengers that it was moved here on the Mein Schiff 5.

An additional positive feature of the relocation is the fact that passengers can enjoy rather excellent views over the ship's wake from Mein Schiff 5's Hamami.

Deck 4 (Seestern) had  the middle-level of the theatre forward, with the rest of the deck given over to further restaurants, bars and shopping opportunities.

Lumas Bar is another new venue, which gives passengers the chance to buy art photography prints from Lumas.

The proper bar seating area of Lumas Bar.

Off Lumas Bar there is also a games lounge. Amusingly, it seemed only members of our small youngster's department photographed the space. If I have understood correctly, this space is open for all passengers, not just teenagers, which I consider a huge improvement.

TUI Bar is one of TUI Cruises signature spaces, found onboard all of their ships.

Big, multi-storey dining rooms seem to be on the way out; on the Mein  Schiff 5, this has been solved by breaking the main dining room into three distinct areas, spread over two decks. Here is the somewhat oddly named Atlantik – Mediterran which, as the name suggests, serves mediterranean fare.

I really like the decor of this restaurant.

On the other side of the ship is Atlantik – Brasserie.

Deck 3 (Atlantik) is primarily given over to cabins, but with the Theater forward (but not actually accessible via this deck) plus the reception and main dining room midships.

On the Mein Schiff 5, the reception area doubles as a reading lounge, operated in collaboration with the German bookstore chain Thalia, and a coffee bar.

There's also a faux fireplace, which is not one of my favourite design elements on an otherwise very attractive ship.

Another view of the reception area, showing the Nespresso bar. (At least) one of the people who designed the ship's interiors can also be seen in this photo, though I was so intent in taking photos that I only noticed him afterwards.

Atlantik – Klassik is the main level of the Atlantik dining complex, serving – as the name suggests – classic cruise ship fare.

For those interested in more detailed information about the Mein Schiff 5 and how it differs from the earlier ships in the series, my article on the subject will be published in the next issue of Cruise Business Review.

Kships will return.

Mein Schiff 4 in Helsinki, 11 June 2015

Finally I had some time to put up photos here. And it's a brand-new cruise ship built in Finland, woo!

Mein Schiff 4

IMO 9678408
Built 2015, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 99 526 GT
Length 293,20 m
Width 35,80 m
Draugth 8,05 m
2 501 passengers (lower beds), 2 790 passengers (all berths)
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 28 00 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
Speed 21,7 knots

The Mein Schiff 4 is, as you should know, the newest ship of the German-market cruise line TUI Cruises. She was ordered from what was then called STX Finland's Turku shipyard in November 2012, when TUI Cruises took up the option for a sister ship included in the earlier order for the Mein Schiff 3. While the ship was under construction, the Turku shipyard was sold to a consortium of Meyer Werft and the Finnish State, although the Meyer family took full ownership of the yard before the Mein Schiff 4 was delivered. When the ship was delivered on 8 May 2015, she became the first ship to be delivered by Meyer Turku.

I was present at a press showing during the delivery day, as a representative of the Finnish Ulkomatala web magazine. A detailed report from the ship will be published in Ulkomatala's next issue, which will be out on 30 June (so next Tuesday). I also wrote a short reportage with images in English for MaritimeMatters, which you can read here. I plan to post a comprehensive tour of the ship here when I have the time to look through the images properly. Considering how busy I've been of the late, this might take a while, unfortunately.

The photos below show the Mein Schiff 4 departing Helsinki Länsisatama (West Harbour) on the afternoon of 11 June 2015, her first visit to our fine city. Photographed from Vattuniemi (the water was still too cold to wade to Sisä-Hattu). As always, click on the images to see them in larger size.

Quite a few people have criticized the looks of the Turku-built Mein Schiffs, but to be honest I think they look rather good for modern cruise ships. It's a clean, unpretentious design and's quite pleasant to my eyes. Plus the fact they chose to paint the hull something other than white is a huge bonus.

Water levels were unsuaully low, which naturally suggested photos such as these.

I'm sorely tempted to write something about Finnish nature and Finnish design appearing side by side here.

This photo would be better without the seagull.

The Mein Schiff 4 is a frequest visitor this summer, so "see you again!" is the most appropriate slogan here.

Next time: Another newcomer in the form of Le Soléal.

Mein Schiff 2 in Helsinki, 25 August 2011

Mein Schiff 2

IMO 9106302
Former names: Mercury, Celebrity Mercury
Built 1997, Meyer Werft Papenburg, Germany
Tonnage 77 713 GT
Length 259,70 m
Width 32,20 m
Draugth 7,70 m
1 870 passengers (lower beds), 2 681 passengers (all berths)
4 MAN diesels, combined 29 250 kW
2 propellers
3 bow thrusters
2 stern thruster
Speed 21,5 knots

Mein Schiff 2 is, as the name suggest, the second ship of TUI Cruises. She started life as the Mercury, and as such was the fifth newbuilt ship for Celebtiry Cruises. In 2008 Celebrity Cruises decided to adopt the common naming scheme of having the company name as a prefix to the name and hence the Mercury became Celebrity Mercury. With this small policy change Celebrity largely ruined their naming scheme that had been until that point - in my opinion anyway - the absolute coolest naming scheme of all time. How could you not like names like Meridian, Zenith, Mercury or Constellation? With the prefix the names suddenly become a lot less cool.

Anyways, the time as Celebrity Mercury proved to be a fairly short detour for the ship, as almost exactly three years after the name change she was transferred to the fleet of TUI Cruises, a joint venture between Royal Caribbean International and TUI aimed at the German market. TUI Cruises had begun operations in 2008 with the Mercury's sister ship Galaxy (not to be confused with the Tallink/Silja Line ship by the same name) which was named Mein Schiff. Corresponding with the arrival of the ex-Mercury the name of the first ship was maneded into Mein Schiff 1 and her sister now became the Mein Schiff 2.

The photographs below show the Mein Schiff 2 departing from Helsinki West Harbour on 25 August 2011 in somewhat windy weather. Photographed from Sisä-Hattu. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

The ship looks surprisingly good in the TUI Cruises livery. I was expecting the (original) Mein Schiff to look rubbish without the snazzy angular modernist Celebrity livery, but both Mein Schiffs look very good in these colours.

Windy day = sailboats. Also notice that you can still just see the outline of Celebrity Cruises' X funnel symbol behind TUI's smiley logo.

The day was generally overcast, but just as the Mein Schiff 2 was departing, a few rays of the evening sun broke through.

I admit this photo is nothing special, no sailboats or funky foreground objects... but I like it rather a lot never the less.

Oh, and speaking of TUI Cruises' livery working nicely with the exterior stylings of these ships, it remains to be seen what the newbuilding (I presume that she will be named Mein Schiff 3) to be delivered from STX Turku in 2014 will look like. The advance images show a lot less interesting-looking ship than the first two. Have a look for instance here.