Norwegian Breakaway: Hey Look Me Over

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Norwegian Breakaway

Float-Out

Meyer Werft Shipyard

Sporting Peter Max's New York City Skyline design, Norwegian Breakaway emerged from MEYER WERFT's covered building dock II today as scheduled.

This milestone in the construction of the 145,000 gross ton cruise ship, signals the start of final construction and testing of the ship's systems.   The Papenburg, Germany shipyard has already been busy the past few weeks conducting extensive tests and machinery trials.  Following the float-out and more tests to be carried out in the harbour, the ship will be berthed alongside the yard's outfitting pier.

Watch this video to see today's float-out courtesy of MEYER WERFT.

Delays in the time schedule due to weather conditions may occur. With the ship being berthed at the yard's pier, the remaining work and tests and trials will be carried out in the next few days. Within merely a couple of days, the first crew members will move into their cabins on board, and familiarize themselves with the ship itself and its numerous systems.

The Norwegian Breakaway's conveyance down the river Ems towards the North Sea, where she will prove her seaworthiness, is scheduled for early March 2013.

Celebrity Reflection Sea Trials

Celebrity Reflection courtesy Meyer Werft Shipyard

Celebrity Reflection

Conveyance

On September 16th, the last Celebrity Solstice-class ship left the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Pagenburg, Germany. Celebrity Reflection is on her way,  down the River Ems (backward, mind you) and out to the North Sea. Her final destination for these sea trials is  Emshaven, The Netherlands. 

This marks the completion of the construction period for Celebrity Reflection.  After the completion of the sea trials, the ship will be formally turned over to the owner, Celebrity Cruises in the traditional christening ceremony.

 Inaugural Sailing:  From Amsterdam on October 12th

Celebrity Reflection Conveyance Photo Albums

Celebrity Cruises is posting pictures of the ship and the sea trials on their Facebook page.  We fell in love with the Solstice-class when we were on a pre-inaugural of Celebrity Solstice.   The final ship in the series is now almost ready to be put into service complementing her sister-ships.

Photos and Stories:

Celebrity Cruises blog                       

Celebrity Reflection Album Update II

Celebrity Reflection Conveyance Update III

Celebrity Reflection Culinary "Spots"

Celebrity Reflection Update Album IV

Celebrity Reflection Update V

Celebrity Reflection Update VI Bon Voyage

     

Breezing Along in the Adriatic

More Images: Carnival Breeze Passes Sea Trials

Important Milestone 

Reached

Less than a month away from its inaugural sailing, Carnival Breeze completed one of the final milestones in the shipbuilding process, sea trials.

A contingent of officials and technicians were onboard Carnival Breeze testing the navigation, technical, and mechanical systems. This aerial photo shows the ship breezing along nicely somewhere in the Adriatic Sea.  Following the successful completion of the sea trials, workers at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, will put the finishing touches on the ship and prepare to turn over the keys to Carnival Corporation PLC.

Carnival Breeze's sister ship, Carnival Magic, is about to complete its inaugural year of sailing as the new ship takes to the waters.   The ships are similar, but not identical.   The inaugural sailing is June 3rd from Venice, Italy.

Carnival Breeze will offer a variety of innovations, including the line’s first Thrill Theater, an immersive multi-dimensional special effects experience that makes viewers feel as if they’re part of the movie, along with popular features such as WaterWorks, with fun water slides and attractions, and SportSquare, an expansive top-deck recreation area with a ropes course, mini-golf, an outdoor fitness area and more.

Exclusive to Carnival Breeze is Bonsai Sushi, the line’s first full-service sushi restaurant, and Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ, an open-air dining venue featuring a variety of grilled barbecue favorites and traditional sides.

Carnival Breeze sets sail for Mediterranean cruises out of Barcelona after completing it's inaugural sailing from Venice.  Those cruises will run through October 25th at which time it will complete a 15-day repositioning cruise to Miami where it will take up its new homeport of Miami.  The ship will sail six and eight day Caribbean cruises on a year-round basis starting November 24th.



Ship Profile | Itineraries & Pricing | Deck Plans | Dining Menus |   Wine Lists | Kids Programs | Ship Reviews | Photos

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Related Blog Posts:

Carnival Corp. Places Orders With Fincantieri Shipbuilders

Carnival Magic Completes Sea Trials

Carnival Magic                                                     Credit: Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Magic

Carnival Cruise Lines’ newest ship, the 130,000-ton Carnival Magic, is shown here during sea trials in the Adriatic Sea. Following sea trials, Carnival Magic returned to the Fincantieri shipyard to undergo final interior outfitting before its inaugural May 1 cruise.

Completes a Major Milestone

Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, the 3,690-passenger vessel had a full contingent of officers, technicians and engineers on board who thoroughly tested the Carnival Magic’s sophisticated navigation and mechanical systems.

Click to Start VIDEO:  Fincantieri

Following sea trials, Carnival Magic returned to Monfalcone, where it is undergoing final interior outfitting prior to its delivery late next month. Watch this video to learn more about Fincantieri Shipbuilders, one of the finest in the industry.

Carnival Magic Sea Trials             Credit: Carnival Cruise Lin

Innovations on the Magic

As the line’s newest “Fun Ship,” the 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic will introduce a host of innovations, including the Caribbean-inspired RedFrog Pub; Cucina del Capitano, a family-style Italian restaurant that brings Carnival’s Italian heritage to the table; and SportSquare, an action-packed top-deck recreation area featuring cruising’s first ropes course and outdoor fitness area.

Carnival Magic is set to debut in Europe with a series of seven- to 12-day Mediterranean cruises operating May 1 – Oct. 16, 2011.  Following a 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing, Carnival Magic will launch seven-day Caribbean service from Galveston, Texas, Nov. 14, 2011, becoming the port’s largest year-round cruise ship.

Carnival Splendor to Leave San Francisco and Return to Service

Carnival Splendor Repaired

Last November, Carnival Splendor experienced an engine fire that would put her out of service for several months and cost Carnival Corporation millions of dollars in repairs and lost revenue.   Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or loss of life in the fire.  Carnival Splendor's comeback journey follows.

After being towed back to San Diego, Carnival Splendor's fire investigation and repair work began.  A replacement engine would be needed, which caused additional down time for the ship. Since the ship was originally built in Italy, it was necessary to have the replacement engine manufactured there and shipped back to California, where it would be installed in a dry-dock facility in San Francisco.  It was necessary to cut a hole in the hull to remove the damaged engine and replace it with the new one.

This brings you up to date... The repair work is now completed and the ship is ready for sea trials and a return to service where it will resume Mexican Riviera cruises February 20th.   The ship will depart San Francisco and return to Long Beach, California as follows:

FEBRUARY 14: CARNIVAL SPLENDOR SEA TRIALS AND VOYAGE TO LONG BEACH

FEBRUARY 19: CARNIVAL SPLENDOR ARRIVES AT LONG BEACH CRUISE TERMINAL

FEBRUARY 19: TRAVEL AGENT FUNCTION

FEBRUARY 2O: CARNIVAL SPLENDOR RE-ENTERS SERVICE

John Heald, Carnival's Senior Cruise Director, will join the ship for the sea trials and host the special event February 19th.  Carnival Corporation officials asked John to do the honors since he was the calm voice that passengers and crew heard that fateful day in November when Alpha, Alpha, Alpha woke up passengers and crew early that morning.

Related Blog Posts:

Carnival Splendor Heads North for More Repairs
Carnival Splendor Cruise Cancellations Extended
Carnival Splendor Repair Status
Carnival Splendor Fire Investigation 
Assisting Carnival Splendor 
Carnival Splendor Without Power After Engine Fire 
Carnival Splendor Cruises Cancelled until January 16

Oasis of the Seas Takes to Water

Photos Courtesy STX Europe

Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas

Begins Sea Trials

Like a "duck to water" Royal Caribbean International's latest ship, Oasis of the Seas, took to the water in Turku, Finland last week as she began the first of her sea trials. Weighing in at 225,000 GT she becomes the largest cruise ship in the world. In fact, when Oasis of the Seas leaves Turku for Miami, Fl. this autumn, it will be the biggest export product of Finland ever.It is quite an accomplishment for shipbuilder STX Europe ASA. Formely known as Aker Yards ASA, the group changed its name to STX Europe in November, 2008.

Oasis of the Seas is 47 metres wide and 360 metres long, i.e. 40 m longer than the height of the Eiffel tower! Height over the water line is 65 m. Building the vessel has been compared to a huge 3-dimensional puzzle. The vessel consists of 180 grand blocks, the biggest with a size of length 22 m, width 30 m and weight 600 tons! The vessel´s weight is 12 times the weight of the Eiffel tower.

It's hard to believe that it was just on November 21, 2008, that the launching ceremony of the Oasis of the Seas took place at STX Europe's shipyard in Turku. Martin Landtman, President of STX Finland Cruise Oy was joined by Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and other executives of the yard and owners to turn the valves releasing water into the drydock and letting the vessel float out to its own element.

According to Royal Caribbean's Chairman & CEO, Richard Fain, who was onhand for the event, "Most of the trials were a terrific success. The ship performed her various tests very well and everyone is very excited." The ship is now back in her construction berth.

There was one surprise, however. They were thinking of adding an aerostat to the ship and were doing a test to see if it was practical/desirable. You can see the blimp in the picture above. However, if you had been there, you would have noticed that it was missing later. In fact, they had to fetch it out of the water. So, I guess it's back to the drawing board for this new innovation. Fain took it light-heartedly saying "This is precisely why we do such tests (and why I don’t take credit until we know whether or not they are successful)".

Oasis of the Seas will be like a floating resort with seven neighbourhoods - themed areas offering experiences for passengers of all ages: the Promenade, a shopping mall with boutiques and restaurants, Boardwalk with the first amfi theatre at sea, Vitality Spa, Pool & Sports Zone with water park activities, Youth Zone with playing possibilities from babies to teens, Entertainment Place with casino and dance hall. And the Central Park with a revolutionary design in which the centre of the ship opens to the sky. With the length of a soccer field, some 110 metres and a width of 19 metres the park will have growing lawn, trees and other vegetation. Sun will be shining to this unique open outdoor space surrounded with restaurants, shops and cafés. Learn more about all the neighbourhoods.

See the Video: Oasis of the Seas Sea Trial

STX Europe is not just building the Oasis of the Seas, but it has also laid the keel for it's sister ship, Allure of the Seas which is due out in 2010.

Perhaps this summarizes it best: "We are not building just ships, we are building experiences" says Martin Landtman, President of STX Finland Cruise Oy. "The world's largest cruise vessels are innovations themselves, and have several innovations inside. Cruise passengers are expecting new unparalleled experiences, and that is what the owners and the yard continuously are creating in good cooperation".