TUI Cruises, Bygg nr. 6312 & 6313 ved Fincantieri Shipyard, 161.000 Gt Cruiseskip "Mein Schiff Relax" og "Mein Schiff TBN"

Refvik

Administrator
Staff member
FINCANTIERI: A NEW CLASS OF ULTRA-ECO-FRIENDLY SHIPS FOR TUI CRUISES

The 2 gas-powered ships will be the largest built in Italy so far Trieste,


July 13, 2018 – Fincantieri has been awarded an order for the construction of 2 newconcept gas powered ships (Liquified Natural Gas – LNG), from TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises. The new units will be built at the Monfalcone shipyard and delivered in 2024 and in 2026, respectively.

These ships, of about 161,000 gross tons, will set up the backbone of the future TUI Cruises’ fleet. The order is based on a prototype project developed by Fincantieri which enhances the wellestablished features of modernity and sustainability of TUI Cruises, a company with one of the most modern and environmentally friendly cruise fleets in the world. With an innovative product configuration, energy efficiency lies at the heart of the project, with the twofold objective of reducing fuel consumption and minimizing environmental impact, according to the latest industry regulations.

“With the new class of ships we are responding to the wishes of our guests and creating offerings that will also inspire new cruise passengers. As with the other ships in the fleet, the passenger/space ratio remains generous”, stated Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises. “The decision to run the two additional low-emission new builds is a logical continuation of our environmental strategy”.

While commenting the announcement, Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, declared: “These will be the largest ships ever built in Italy: we proved once more we can provide the market with the best mix of reliability and innovation, pillars of Made in Italy and distinguishing features of Fincantieri in the global shipbuilding landscape. The project we developed and offered to the client allowed us to achieve this outstanding commercial record, which is not just about adding a new brand to our client portfolio, but also a confirmation of the absolutely cutting-edge technological content of our products. All of these factors consolidate our leadership in the field and further extend the workload horizon of our shipyards, which has no comparables in any other industrial sector”.

TUI Cruises is a joint venture between TUI group, the world’s number one tourism business, and the global operating cruise shipping line, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The company was founded in April 2008 and is headquartered in Hamburg. It has been offering cruises for the Germanspeaking market since May 2009. Within the expanding of its fleet, TUI Cruises will be introducing two new ships, in 2019 and 2023 with a total bed capacity of about 18,800.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company that owns and operates three global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. The company is a 50 percent joint venture owner of the German brand TUI Cruises, a 49 percent shareholder in the Spanish brand Pullmantur and a 36 percent shareholder in the Chinese brand SkySea Cruises. Together, these brands operate a combined total of 50 ships with an additional 11 on order as of May 31, 2018. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on approximately 540 destinations on all seven continents.
 
Capacity is ca. 4000 Pax only - this will be only around place 30 in a ranking of the biggest cruise ships worldwide.
All the other big cruise-companies will get more and more 5000, 6000, 7000 or more Pax ships - so TUI will be the new
leading "midsize-cruise-ship-company" with ships around 3000 (also the new Mein Schiff 7) -4000 Pax.
 
Hehe, yes - but it is just a thing of definition - under construction are also cruise-ships with up to 9000 people (Global Dream - now Disney),
and already today circa 30 ships are (much) bigger than this new TUI 8 - and the other cruise-companies will continue with new bigger ships with 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000 people in the next 20 years - so ships with 2000-4000 people is now and in future for me "midsize" only.
So for me 4200 - 9000 is "big" or "very big", "small" is 500-1800 and smaller than 500 is "boutique" and or "explorer" similar as the group "boutique-hotels".
But this is my personally definition only - so everybody can divide in other ship-groups.
And generally i am wondering about TUI - i would have ordered now brand-new ships better with ca. 5000-6000 pax - than only with 4000.
Biggest ships has normally the lowest costs per cabin and can so normally offer the cheapest prices - or - if they offer the same prices (as f.ex. TUI) they have more profit.

Generally ship-sizes are growing and growing - think container-ships also, "megaships" from the 90ies are today "very small". Problem for the ships are more and more too small ports and too small cities and sights with so many people arriving from one hour to the next.
 
InTUItion Class I får nå namnet "Mein Schiff Relax", rekner med den andre av desse også får et anna namn en Mein Schiff 9?

"Mein Schief Relax"
Mein Schief Relax.jpg
Illustrasjon: via rederiet
 
Apparently, MEIN SCHIFF RELAX is the actual name for hull 6312. MEIN SCHIFF 8 was apparently never confirmed by the line. MEIN SCHIFF RELAX (horrible name) will debut in March 2025 now. I think MEIN SCHIFF 9 will also get a different name (also something stupid probably).
 
Mein Schiff Relax launched in Monfalcone

She is the first of two vessels that Fincantieri is building for Tui Cruises

The launch of Mein Schiff Relax, the first of two InTUItion class new concept cruise ships dual-fuel powered (Liquid Natural Gas - LNG and Marine Gas Oil - MGO) that Fincantieri is building for TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises, took place at the Monfalcone shipyard. The godmother of the ship was Elena Sperti, an employee of the shipyard.

With approximately 160,000 gross tons, these units will constitute the backbone of TUI Cruises’ future fleet. The order is based on a prototype project developed by Fincantieri that enhances the consolidated characteristics of modernity and sustainability of TUI Cruises, a company with one of the most advanced fleets from an ecological point of view. With an innovative product configuration, energy efficiency is at the center of the project, with the dual objective of containing operating consumption and minimizing environmental impact, in line with all the most recent regulations on the matter. In fact, the ships will be able to use LNG, the cleanest marine fuel currently available at large scale. The vessels will be future-proof thanks to their ability to also burn low-emission fuels such as bio- or e-LNG: an important step towards climate-neutral cruising.

The units will also be equipped with catalytic converters (compliant with the Euro 6 standard) and with a generative turbine that uses the residual heat of the diesel generators and an electrical shore-power connection from the ground. All this guarantees almost emission-free operation while in port (about 40% of operating time). Finally, the ships will be equipped with an even more efficient innovative waste treatment system capable of transforming organic substances into charcoal through a thermal process.

TUI Cruises is a joint venture between the TUI Group, number one in the world in the tourism sector, and the cruise group Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The company was founded in April 2008, based in Hamburg. Since May 2009 it has been offering cruises for the German-speaking market.

Mein Schiff Relax.jpg
Foto: via rederiet
 
Back
Top