Málaga Welcomes Mein Schiff 2, First Cruise Ship Since Pandemic

Málaga has become the first port in Spain’s mainland to host a cruise ship upon the restart of operations after a 15-month pause.

According to a press release, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 2 arrived from the Canary Islands on June 16 at 6:15 a.m.

Carrying 1,275 passengers, she stayed in the port until 7 p.m. of the same day, when she departed for Palma de Mallorca to start domestic itineraries in Spain.

The Mein Schiff 2 will be visiting Málaga again on June 22 and July 6, according to the MedCruise Association.

To mark the special first sailing, representatives from the port and the destination have met with Tom Roth, the captain from Mein Schiff 2, and handed a commemorating plaque.

“Today is a very important day for Málaga, (which) proves how governmental bodies have worked together, and will keep working together, for Málaga, a cruiser-friendly destination,” said the President of the Port Authority of Malaga Carlos Rubio.

The Mayor of Malaga Francisco De la Torre said that cruise tourism will help reactivate tourism in Málaga, which is an “essential cruise destination for cruise lines.”

Roth highlighted that “this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

According to the press release, TUI Cruises developed a “bubble” cruise experience, allowing only organized excursions, which guarantees that the anti-COVID-19 safety measures are respected, thus benefiting both the passenger and the crew, as well as the population of the destinations visited.

In Málaga, cruise passengers visited the city and other towns nearby in small groups, having chosen emblematic places of the historical city centre of Málaga, as well as Ronda, Mijas or Marbella, among others, supporting the recovery of the economy.

The Mein Schiff 4 was also in the Málaga port on June 16, arriving at 3 p.m. for a technical stop with no passengers.

TUI to Add Mein Schiff 6 Back in September, Cruising From Crete

The TUI Cruises restart is going so well the company is expanding to three ships as the Mein Schiff 6 will sail round-trip cruises from Crete in September with port calls.

The first week-long sailing will depart on Sept. 13.

Guests will be allowed to take company-organized shore excursions in Athens, Crete and Corfu.

TUI said it will dramatically expand shore excursion capacity so all guests can partake. The ship is expected to operate at 60 per cent occupancy. 

The Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will continue with their "Blue Voyages" (no port calls) in the North and Baltic Sea, offering five- and seven-day cruises in September, according to the company. 

For the time being all departures of the Mein Schiff fleet (departures from September) will require a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR test). The costs for this are already included in the travel price.

Before the new crew comes on board, they are tested for COVID-19 shoreside. Only crewmembers who have tested negative can come on board and then they also go into 14-day individual isolation on a balcony cabin before they begin working.

TUI Adds Second Ship Back Into Service; Doubles Capacity

TUI Cruises is already doubling capacity and spinning up a second ship as the Mein Schiff 1 will restart service at 60 per cent occupancy out of Kiel in August, according to the German cruise company.

This follows the Mein Schiff 2, which resumes service later this month with short cruises from Hamburg.

The Mein Schiff 1 will sail cruises to nowhere (known as "Blue Cruises") from Kiel, offering three- and four-day short sailings.

"This gives guests the opportunity to enjoy the Mein Schiff experience on board with the premium all-inclusive concept and at the same time treat themselves to a break at sea, of course with an adapted and expanded health and safety concept," the company said. "The basis for the resumption of cruise operations is the guiding principles of the responsible authorities, which were developed in coordination with CLIA Germany and the shipping companies as well as in cooperation with experts."

Pricing starts at 599 euro per person for a balcony stateroom. 

Passenger ship flooring: LED, sustainability and safety

Recent cruise ship flooring products include new design features such as LED and an even greater green focus

New design features and an increased focus on safety and sustainability are some of the latest trends to be found within cruise ship and ferry flooring and decking.

Bolidt has added to its Bolideck range of ship deck covering solutions, with the first delivery of Bolideck LED leading to follow up orders from several owners.

Bolideck LED features integral LED lighting, and its first installation was on board 2,894-passenger capacity TUI Cruises vessel Mein Schiff 2.

Bolideck LED has been deployed in a bar and passenger access areas on Mein Schiff 2. It is also part of a ‘floor diamonds’ artwork on the ship, developed in partnership with ICArt and design studio SOFTlab.

The novel artwork floor installation required close co-operation between the shipyard Meyer Turku, Bolidt and SPT Finland, while the vessel was under construction at the Finnish yard. The project’s success depended on fitting the LED lighting with the right sequencing and at the optimum time in the production process to enable Bolidt to complete the striking flush decking finish.

“Feedback from passengers and crew on Mein Schiff 2 has been very positive,” says Bolidt maritime division director Jacco van Overbeek. “Following on from this initial installation, Bolideck LED has attracted a lot of interest within the market and has been specified for several additional cruise vessel projects, with installations due to take place over the coming year or so.”

He says Bolideck LED offers designers a high degree of flexibility as it is available in a wide range of different formats. This allows the client to integrate LED lighting within a larger deck space or deck design, or alternatively to create specific functional features, in sports courts or exits for example. Bolideck LED also allows deck lighting to be programmed to form different patterns or to vary the intensity of individual LEDs. Bolideck LED lighting can also be made invisible when turned off.

“With any number of lighting patterns possible, Bolideck LED brings additional freedom of expression for cruise ship interior designers. But it could also be used to enhance safety,” adds Mr van Overbeek. “As with all our products the important thing is it can be seamlessly integrated with other systems onboard.”

Along with Bolideck LED, Mein Schiff 2 features over 10,000 m2 of Bolidt products on board. Other products used include Bolideck Future Teak, Bolideck Select Soft and Bolideck Select Hard.

Bolideck LED was developed in-house at the company’s research and development centre. Mr Van Overbeek says “In these uncertain times we need innovation more than ever before and, in this regard, Bolidt has a unique track record that will help it and its partners in the maritime sector find a way forward.”

Brittany Ferries, MSC, Ultramar

Elsewhere, Gerflor has supplied its Streamo floorings to cruise and ferry passengers, with its recent projects spanning the Mustay Karim Russian river cruise ship, the new LNG-powered ferry for Brittany ferries, Ultramar’s two latest fast ferries and MSC Grandiosa.

Gerflor product manager Karine Bouttier tells sister magazine Passenger Ship Interiors & Refurbishment Review “Their interiors will be enhanced with Streamo Karavel luxury vinyl tiles, offering a wide palette of wood and mineral designs but also with homogeneous floorings, available in more than 60 colours.”

Streamo is Gerflor’s dedicated range for marine IMO applications. This includes homogeneous floorings with patented surface treatment, decorative luxury vinyl tiles and a wide offering of additional finishes and accessories (skirtings, stair nosings etc). Gerflor can also supply wall protection, entrance matting and all the tools needed for optimal installation.

The company is expanding its products with a soon-to-launch IMO adhesive, a new non-directional homogeneous flooring and a rubber studded tile.

The sustainability trend within the passenger ship industry can also be seen in Gerflor’s processes. Ms Bouttier says “In line with our strong commitment to sustainable development and a focus on innovative solutions, Gerflor can supply pre-cut pieces for all crew cabins, enabling our customers to facilitate the installation process, save time and costs, and significantly minimise waste.”

She highlights how the company is forging links between onshore and maritime flooring. “Working in close co-operation with our customers and our internal group studio design, we try to bring more designs and reduce the frontiers between land-based buildings and the marine market to make the passengers and crew feel at home.”

Creating green solutions

Last year Sika launched a new visco-elastic technology, VEM X, used for damping structure-borne noise. Sikafloor Marine VEM X is a one-component polymer modified cementitious product that can be used instead of polyurethane-based products bringing identical product damping characteristics.

Using Sikafloor Marine VEM X also means delivery to the shipyard is easier as there are no dangerous goods to transfer. Polyurethane-based products must be delivered to special waste stations as they are a chemical product.

Sikafloor Marine VEM X is patented by Sika, which is in the process of phasing out its polyurethane-based PU-Red solution and replacing it.

Sika Services corporate head of marine Oscar Ovejero says “The idea was to create a green solution. Companies in the past used PU, but this is no longer welcome in the industry, so we started this project. What we have now is a one-component, elastic cementitious compound with an acoustic performance at the same level as before. The new product is faster to install and uses cheaper raw materials, benefiting the customer, and the waste is a paper bag and not metal.”

“We have provided a new solution in sustainability, price, installation and service.”

The company has also developed a complete product line of artificial teak exterior floors and interior decorative floors, constructed from resin. These have recently been installed on the passenger tourist ship Enhydra in San Francisco, carried out with Canada-headquartered A&A Installations, and have also been installed on cruise ships being built at Meyer Turku.

Mr Ovejero says “Our resin exterior artificial floors offer faster application than PVC or wood as there are no joints in between. The continuous waterproof membrane can also be used as a levelling compound.

He highlights the freedom of design and colours for the floors. “There is a lot of freedom in design in term of logos and cutting plane. We have 15 colours in total, and different colours can be combined.”

He says the colours have been tested by Sika for over 5,000 hours and the results show the “colours are stable, there are no surface cracks and it is easy to refresh the surface.”

TUI Cruises Featuring Tattoo Parlor Aboard the Mein Schiff 2

TUI Cruises is featuring tattoo artist Chris Krafft and colleagues from B. Liberty Tattoo in Hamburg aboard Mein Schiff 2 throughout May.

TUI said that maritime symbols, such as anchors and compasses were popular, but also are so-called cover-ups, where old tattoos are replaced with new ones.

"Tattooing aboard a cruise ship is a very special challenge," commented Krafft in a prepared statement. "If it rocks, a steady hand is a must. And in case of doubt, I take a break. A tattoo is a memory for life.”

After a test phase on Mein Schiff 2, TUI will decide whether to introduce the tattoo parlour across the fleet.

"The likelihood is high," said Sven Irmer, product development manager. "The parlour is fully booked every day; the response has been overwhelming."

The cost of a tattoo is calculated according to the effort and starts at 100 euros.

Meyer Turku Delivers New Mein Schiff 2

TUI Cruises has taken delivery of the new Mein Schiff 2.

“For us, it has been a thrill working with TUI Cruises on the design and construction of this ship. The passengers will surely notice and hopefully like the differences to the previous ships. We have redesigned many of the areas of the ship, e.g. the Schau Bar and the restaurant area in front of the aft diamond structure," said Meyer Turku CEO Jan Meyer.

With the Mein Schiff 2 Meyer Turku and TUI Cruises have continued taking into account the feedback from the passengers of TUI Cruise’s previous ships and further improved and refreshed the design of the ship, according to a statement. 

This time the ship sailed to Kiel for the delivery ceremonies, due to ice conditions in the Turku archipelago. 

“The commissioning of our new Mein Schiff 2 marks the successful end of our first expansion phase. Our sixth newbuild by Meyer Turku not only impresses with its design, but its inner values are also equally convincing: With the use of modern technologies we are setting standards for environmental protection," added TUI Cruises CEO Wybcke Meier.

“The essence of our business is to listen to the feedback from the passengers and then use our own expertise in design and engineering to make the next ship even better, safer and more passenger-friendly," Meyer added.

With an extensive ramp-up program including investments of over 200 million euros, continuous recruitments and training for employees, Meyer Turku will double its production in the coming five years.

Cruise Industry Trends for 2019

A record year of newbuilds, new cruise brands, expedition ships and capacity growth will dominate cruise headlines in 2019, while drydocks grow in scale.

Also impressive will be technology gains, with guests benefiting from the latest connectivity and apps that integrate into the cruise experience while cruise lines continue an arms race to save fuel and reduce their environmental footprint. Among challenge areas are new shipbuilders and emerging markets.

New Ships

Twenty-four new ships will debut in 2019, making it the biggest year ever for new ship introductions.

The Mein Schiff 2 from TUI Cruises will be the first of the 24 new ships delivered, according to projections from the 2019 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

The biggest vessel to enter service this year will be the Costa Smeralda with capacity for 5,224 passengers.

MSC's Grandiosa, a Meraviglia-plus class ship, is also large and will debut in November with capacity for just under 5,000 guests.

The smallest ship debuting? The 100-guest Magellan Explorer from Antarctica21.

MSC is one of four cruise lines with big ship introduction plans in 2019, with the Grandiosa debuting as well as the Bellissima.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will also take delivery of two expedition newbuilds, the Hanseatic Nature and Hanseatic Inspiration.

French luxury line Ponant will get a pair of 180-guest Explorer-class ships, and Costa will take delivery of two megaships.

The Costa Venezia debuts in March from Fincantieri and moves to China for year-round service, while the Smeralda will debut later in the year and sail in Europe.

New Brands

Brands are coming into the cruise industry with newbuild projects and secondhand ships.

Jalesh Cruises will start service in April from Mumbai, offering a short-cruise product for the Indian source market.

In China, CTS (China Travel Service) is expected to start service in the third quarter, which will help boost capacity in the region, which is considerably lower, according to the 2019 China Market Report by Cruise Industry News.

Heading into the future, both The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Virgin Voyages are bringing their new brands and bold new concepts and their brands into the industry with newbuild projects.

Capacity Growth

New ships on order and set to be delivered in 2019 represent an additional 42,488 berths into the industry, obliterating 2018’s record introduction of approximately 34,000 new berths.

According to the  2019 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, the 42,488 berths represent 7.5 percent additional berths across the industry.

The companies with the biggest plans to fill cabins this year are both European brands. MSC will add 9,388 berths between the Bellissima and Grandiosa, while Costa will add 9,120 berths with the Costa Venezia and Smeralda.

Drydocks Grow in Scale

Refurbishment projects across the industry are only growing in scale, according to the 2019 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report by Cruise Industry News.

The biggest project this year, and the biggest drydock ever to take place, will see the Carnival Triumph converted into the Carnival Sunrise over a two-month work period in Cadiz with a budget of $200 million. The ship will debut in Norfolk, Virginia in late April with additional capacity, and a number of new entertainment and food and beverage features.

Elsewhere, Royal Caribbean International’s Navigator of the Seas will be reimagined with a budget of $115 million  and then reintroduced into the hot short cruise market in May 2019.

Expedition Boom

The newbuild boom in the expedition market that saw the first of a large number of new ships launching in 2018 shows no signs of slowing down for 2019.

Expedition newbuilds are all over the orderbook this year, with 12 expedition ships set to launch into service.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has the single biggest year, with 460 berths coming online with the Hanseatic Nature and Hanseatic Inspiration.

Ponant will mark its second year in a row in which it takes delivery of two ships as well, with the new Le Bougainville being joined by Le Dumont-d'Urville.

The most notable delivery will happen in China, as SunStone will welcome the first of up to 10 expedition newbuilds. The Greg Mortimer will debut in August on a long-term charter contract to Aurora Expeditions.

China Questions

China was set to become the world’s largest cruise market, and may still get there, but 2019 will be about the so-called readjustment period in the region.

Too much supply brought on too fast, a challenged distribution model (chartering), a short-in booking window and lack of product differentiation put a stop to runaway growth in China.

A readjustment period is now the term, and will give Chinese officials time to work on policies and port development; it will also give way to another new Chinese cruise brand coming late this year.

China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) will buy two cruise ships ahead of building a series new ships.

The company will take delivery of the Costa Atlantica in late 2019, followed by the Costa Mediterranea a year later.

Shipyard Problems

Delayed deliveries, strikes, ownership changes and other major questions revolve around a new set of shipyards that have aggressively entered the cruise business in recent years.

Facing a collapse in the offshore business, shipyards turned to small, expedition and niche cruise lines to gain business back.

Those yards have been met with a host of challenges ranging from ownership changes to yard strikes as they have found out that building a cruise ship is a highly complex task – mainly attributed to the customized hotel aspect of the project.

Technology

While Princess Cruises continues to roll out its OceanMedallion platform, the cruise lines are working hard to upgrade connectivity and provide new apps and digital experiences for passengers.

Royal Caribbean Cruises is utilizing facial recognition to get passengers onboard the ship within 10 minutes of arriving at the terminal; while on the new Celebrity Edge, guests can use an app to turn on and off stateroom lights and even unlock the door.

At MSC Cruises, a personal assistant, Zoe, will debut in every stateroom aboard the Bellissima when the ship is delivered in February.

Passenger-facing apps and connectivity solutions will continue to be hot topics, but behind-the-scenes, a technical arms race will continue to save fuel while lowering environmental impact when it comes to air and water emissions.

TUI Poised to Be Biggest Premium European Cruise Line

Mein Schiff 6

The runaway growth from TUI Cruises targeting German cruise passengers will have an unintended effect for the cruise line: it will become the biggest operator in Europe offering a premium level product experience in the near future.

Come 2019, the brand will have a fleet of six modern large Mein Schiff ships, plus the existing Mein Schiff 2, for a total of seven vessels and over 17,500 berths, with a projected capacity of over 650,000 guests.

This will move them past P&O UK, which has been the largest premium European brand for some time, which has a projected 2019 capacity of around 550,000 cruise passengers with seven ships and 17,311 berths.

Other premium lines in Europe include Cunard Line, Fred. Olsen and Saga Cruises.

Mein Schiff 2 Floats Out at Meyer Turku

The Mein Schiff 2 touched water for the first time today at the Meyer Werft shipyard ahead of her 2019 delivery. 

Delivery is set for spring 2019, and Meyer Turku said in a statement that the "timetable for the construction of the ship shows how Turku shipyard has already been ramping up the production volume to meet the increasing demands from the order book."

“Our block production capacity is already up on the level with a previous high from 2010, when the shipyard was building Allure of the Seas. Ramping up the production at the same time as we are implementing an investment program of 200 million euros has not been a simple task. Still, as the saying at the shipyard says, if it was simple, anybody could do it and that would not be good either," said CEO Jan Meyer, in a written statement. 

The float out of New Mein Schiff 2 marks the beginning of the final stage of the ship’s construction. After the weekend she will be berthed at the outfitting pier of the shipyard, where she will be finalized for delivery.

“Our new Mein Schiff 1 has successfully completed her first cruises and has been very well received by our guests. Our new generation of ships meets our expectations completely. We are looking very much forward to taking with new Mein Schiff 2 a sister ship into service very soon," added Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises

Meyer Turku Expanding and Hiring

With an order book stretching into 2024, Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku is investing €200 million in infrastructure improvements, new technologies, an expanded design team, and a sustained staffing ramp up for at least the next five years, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

A new 120-meter crane looms over the shipbuilder’s drydock, where crews are assembling TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 2 ahead of a 2019 delivery.

When the big blue crane goes online this summer, it will be able to lift 1,200 tons — twice that of the yard’s current lifter. 

Pieces of Costa’s Smeralda sit in open-sided warehouses within earshot of construction for new steel cutting lines. Half of a 500-meter hall is ripped apart while the new technology is installed.

Crews in blue coveralls craft steel sheets for Smeralda’s superstructure in the other side of the hall. When the plasma-cutting robots are ready the crews will move over and this side will be ripped up. There’s a joke around the yard that shipbuilding has gotten much easier: Robots do all the work while people are simply there to make them comfortable.

That’s far from true, of course. There’s plenty of people work to be done. There were some grumbles when the machines took over obvious jobs — ten men sandblasting is now two pushing buttons to start and stop their mechanical colleagues — but most humans are being retrained for other, more engaging work. Furthermore, Meyer Turku is on a hiring tear, looking to grow their in-house staff of around 1,900 to 4,000, said Tapani Mylly, the yard’s communications manager. It’s not an easy task as the working language at Meyer Turku is Finnish, one of the world’s less common tongues.

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft bought the facility from struggling Korean-owner STX Finland in 2014, acquiring 100 percent ownership a year later. With seven generations of shipbuilding know how the Meyer family has turned Turku’s fortune’s around considerably. “The previous owner was not interested in making investments,” Mylly said. “A family-owned company is able to make decisions very fast — around the breakfast table. ... When decisions need to be made there is no need to contact Korea.”

The yard is also adding steel treatment facilities, more panel lines and storage areas, further IT and automation, and enhanced in-house design capabilities to reduce reliance on subcontractors. That said, about 800 subcontractor companies work on each ship — so many that the city of Turku is considering zoning an industrial park outside the shipyard for them.

If it’s built, Meyer Turku CEO Jan Meyer would see his subcontractors each day when bicycling into work from the city centre.

Marella Cruises aims to attract younger passengers with new adult-only ship

Marella Cruises aims to attract younger passengers with new adult-only ship

Golden Era (Ex-Celebrity Century)

Marella Cruises has revealed its Explorer 2 ship will be adult-only when it launches in May 2019.

The line also said it would become an all-inclusive fleet, offer 11 new itineraries and seven ports of call from next summer.

The decision to go all inclusive is expected to appeal to passengers who are new to cruise and younger, Marella said.

Marella Explorer 2 will enter the fleet as a result of the ending of a Chinese joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Chinese travel firm Ctrip.

The vessel Golden Era earmarked for SkySea Cruise Line for the Chinese market will instead be bought by the Tui-owned UK line.

The ship will launch as Marella Explorer 2 in 2019 following an extensive renovation.

This will enable Tui Cruises in Germany to retain Mein Schiff 2 which had been destined to be sold to sister brand Marella.

Both Golden Era and Mein Schiff 2 are former Celebrity Cruises’ Century-class ships.

Golden Era was previously Celebrity Century, which entered service in 1995 with a capacity for 1,814 passengers, while Mein Schiff 2 formerly operated as Celebrity Mercury, entering service in 1997 and capable of carrying 1,912 passengers.

Royal Caribbean (RCL) is a half owner of Tui Cruises but is dissolving a 36% shareholding with Ctrip in SkySea Cruises.

SkySea Cruise Line began operations in May 2015 and established two home ports in Shanghai and Xiamen.

Tui Cruises announced last month plans to expand its fleet to serve the German market with an additional new build vessel for delivery in 2023. Tui Group’s overall cruise ship fleet will grow to 18 vessels by then.

Sebastian Ebel, the member of Tui Group’s executive board in charge of cruises, said: “We will continue to invest in our cruise portfolio and expand, modernise and rejuvenate our fleet. With these decisions, we increase the offer at Tui Cruises and accelerate the expansion of this growing segment.“

Marella Explorer 2 will feature new cabin types, including the 102 metres squared Royal Suite where occupants will be able to use a separate bedroom, dressing room, dining area and a whirlpool bath.

Forty percent of the 907 cabins will have balconies.

Marella said the popularity of adult-only sailings from Dubrovnik and the Asia itineraries for winter 2018 prompted the decision to offer an adult-only ship.

Marella Explorer 2 will be the first ship to be exclusively for adults in the fleet.

The vessel will be tailored to meet the needs of couples and groups by doubling the size of its sunbathing area, called The Veranda, featured on the Marella Explorer.

The Veranda on Marella Explorer 2 will feature new facilities, the line said.

Marella Cruises will also offer 11 new itineraries, such as Cities and Ice, Idyllic Italia and Secrets of the Mediterranean, and seven new ports of call next summer across its fleet.

Skagen in Denmark, Castellon in Spain, Alta in Norway and Margherita in Italy will all be included in Marella itineraries for the first time.

Chris Hackney, Marella Cruises’ managing director, said: “We continue to look at ways to offer something different to our current customers who have come to enjoy our ships and friendly service onboard and those who may be thinking about booking a cruise for the first time.”

The summer 2019 programme will go on sale on April 5.

The planned transfer of Mein Schiff 1 to Marella Cruises as Marella Explorer in May is unaffected, with the UK line also introducing its 2019 itineraries on April 5.

The vessel previously operated as Celebrity Galaxy as a sister ship to Century and Mercury, first entering service at the end of 1996.

The US cruise giant said: “Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Ctrip announced today that they are ending the SkySea Cruise Line joint venture.

“Tui AG’s Marella Cruises has agreed to purchase Golden Era, with delivery expected in December 2018.

“As a result of this transaction, Tui Cruises will now retain Mein Schiff 2 in its fleet, rather than selling it to Marella Cruises, giving Tui Cruises increased capacity in the strong German market.

“After the sale of Golden Era, it is expected that SkySea will wind down its business operations before the end of 2018.

“The companies expect that favourable business conditions in China and elsewhere will allow them to absorb most SkySea employees into available positions at RCL and Ctrip.

“Through its Royal Caribbean International brand, RCL will continue to serve the Chinese market, with the largest fleet deployment in the region and a strong collaborative relationship with Ctrip.”

Royal Caribbean expects the impact of the transactions to fall in a range of $0.12 to $0.15 a share this year. The loss will be excluded from 2018 adjusted net income, the company said.

Keel Laid for Mein Schiff 2

Meyer Turku shipyard

The keel for the new Mein Schiff 2 was laid today at the Meyer Turku shipyard. This important production milestone marks the beginning of the hull assembly, the yard said.

She will be a sixth ship build by Meyer Turku for TUI Cruises. Delivery is scheduled for early 2019.

The new Mein Schiff 2 will be a sister ship to new Mein Schiff 1, which will be delivered from Meyer Turku  in the spring of 2018.

The new class will be 20 meters longer (315m) than Mein Schiff 6. Both ships will have space for 2,894 guests.

TUI Cruises CEOs Wybcke Meier and Frank Kuhlmann were present at the keel laying and were one of the VIP guests to weld coins under the keel of the ship.

“It is always great to visit the shipyard and to see the progress with our coming ships. With new Mein Schiff 1 and 2 we will get two great new ships to lead our fleet in the coming years. We are very happy to see how these ships are taking form," said Meier. 

Of note hte yard is also adding a new massive gantry crane to help speed up cruise ship production times. 

“We have just floated out the newly developed New Mein Schiff 1 and will now begin directly assembling its sister, New Mein Schiff 2, from pre-produced grand blocks. It shows the increasing pace that we are working at, while at the same time implementing our large investment program with the large goliath gantry crane being only one example of it. Working on our ships and our capabilities will prepare us for the increasing international competition," added Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.