S: First New Build Ships
Tropicale
In 1982, Carnival introduced their first purpose-built ship, the Tropicale. This was the first ship where the iconic winged funnel was introduced, designed by Joe Farcus, who would become a longtime Carnival Cruise Line design collaborator, which has since been used on all ships in the fleet.
In 1984, Carnival would introduce a new television marketing campaign during this time, starring Kathie Lee Gifford, who continues to be a longtime collaborator with the line.
Holiday
Following the success of the Tropicale, and increased competition in Miami with newer ships, Carnival ordered the Holiday in 1985, followed by the Jubilee in 1986 and Celebration in 1987.
What Are Princess Cruise Lines
The Princess Cruise Line has nine Grand Class ships. The Caribbean, Crown, Emerald, Golden, Grand and Ruby travel to the Caribbean and Mediterranean the Diamond visits Alaska and the Mexican Riviera the Sapphire has itineraries in Alaska, Australia and Asia and the Star goes to the Caribbean, Europe, Canada and New England.
Dont Overlook The Details
In creating the ships decor and other plans, designers must consider where the ship will spend most of its time sailing. This can affect the height or width of the ship, as some canals or bridges around the world can hinder potential travel plans. It also affects the types of fabrics and materials used around the ship to withstand certain weather conditions.
In the case of Celebrity Apex, much of the artwork found around the vessel was hand-chosen by Richard Fain, the chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. Fain has also been known to sit in every different type of chair to see how it feels and works within that space. Once those final touches are complete , its time to set sail and let the vacation begin.
Read Also: Cruise Out Of Mobile Al
Stx France Ulysseas Cruise Ship Project
In March 2015, the major shipbuilder STX France unveiled a revolutionary new expedition ship design named “Ulysseas”. It represents an innovative idea for a small cruise ship aimed at the expedition cruising market.
The main reason for the Ulysseas project is that currently, the expedition cruise market uses mostly second-hand vessels. Unique for this new ship design is the excessive usage of glass and the French balconies on all passenger cabins. Every passenger-use facility on the new vessel features floor-ceiling windows. There will be a unique forward-located observation lounge for 360-degree views.
The Ulysseas ship’s aft-section is an STX-patented design for saving energy. This is a movable duck-tail, which position depends on cruising speeds and weather conditions. The vessel is powered by two 2,5 MWT azipods , with 4x diesel-electric generators and 1x scrubber. This cruise ship design also features a helipad , a helicopter storage space , zodiac boats for ship-to-shore operations.
Where Is Princess Cruise Lines
Princess Cruises is a cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. It is the second largest cruise line by revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P& O Princess Cruises, and is part of Holland America Group, which controls the Princess Cruises brand.
Don’t Miss: What To Do In Skagway Cruise Port
What Is A Shipyard
What is a shipyard, exactly? Unlike a dockyard, where ships are more often stored or repaired, a shipyard is where ships and boats are initially built. It is a construction site with large cranes to position each part of the ship into place and machinery to prepare and secure the hull before floating it in the water for the first time. At a shipyard, you will find dry docks, painting facilities, equipment to weld portions of the ship together and slipways that allow for completed portions to be floated in the water.
The ships are not built entirely on site, however certain pieces are built off-site and brought to the shipyard to be added to the growing vessel. For example, while the shipyard constructs the hull of a cruise ship, modular passenger cabins are being produced elsewhere before being trucked to the shipyard and plugged into the overall design like building blocks.
The watertight hull first takes shape on land before the rest of the ship’s pieces and parts are placed atop it. To verify the hull’s structure, dams unleash torrents of water in a controlled factory-test environment before the entire ship is eventually pushed into a real body of water.
Getting Ready For Launch
The prefab approach is nothing new, but enormity of scale makes building mega-ships a massive undertaking. Years of planning and design are carried out even before construction begins, and the movement from factory to dry-dock and launch is another exacting step, especially when the mega-ship has to negotiate the winding Ems River.
High tides, phases of the moon, and even wind has to be taken into consideration. Ships the size of Quantum of the Seas, costing around $1.5 billion to build, have only a one metre clearance above the river bed in ideal conditions. At one point in the journey down the Ems River there was just over half a metre clearance either side of the ship, and payment isnt guaranteed to Meyer Werft until the ship has safely arrived at the North Sea. Each new launch from the Meyer shipyard brings many thousands of astounded locals out to line the shore of the river and witness the latest and grandest arrival to the cruise industry.
Also Check: How Much Does An Alaska Cruise Cost
Entertainment On Scarlet Lady
Custom-designed for adult passengers, Scarlet Lady offers multiple entertainment venues. Deck 17 has The Runway- a raised red jogging track, and The Perch which is an outdoor wellness space. Deck 16 features Athletic Club- yacht-inspired fitness heaven, The Cabanas- a private hideaways, Richards Rooftop- the VIP sundeck and bar, Sun Club Café- an outdoor eatery, sports area, boxing ring and training camp for group fitness.
Scarlet Lady also features a tattoo parlour called Squid Ink, which houses two full-time resident tattoo artists.
Other entertainment venues onboard include Redemption Spa, Gym and Tonic Bar, Well-Being pool, four basketball courts, Crows Nest yoga centre, and Stubble & Groom barber shop. The cruise ship also features The Manor, a nightlife space designed by Roman and Williams.
The Stages Of Building A Cruise Ship
A cruise ship undergoes different stages before it is certified seaworthy. Here are the typical steps in building cruise ships.
Also Check: Do Cruise Ships Go Through The Panama Canal
Silenseas Sailing Cruise Ship Design By Stx France
In early March 2018, STX France revealed a carbon-free cruise vessel design using wind as main power source. The new wind-power technology was trialled on Ponant‘s yacht Le Ponant, on which one of the existing sails was replaced and the new technology tested.
STX France’s project was something never done before. The carbon-free sailship design is an alternative to the popular hybrid-powered vessels. Hydrogen and fuel cells are still expensive, plus hydrogen is not available in most ports.
The technology uses the company’s patented “Solidsail” concept. The sails are mounted on masts but without any ropes or cables. The STX France design has 3 masts and 3 rigs, with masts rotating in order to adapt the sails to the wind. The new design also includes the latest hybrid propulsion technologies, combining wind with LNG, and potentially batteries, solar panels, and fuel cells.
The sailing ship can reach speeds of 12 knots under sail in 15 knots winds. In winds over 15 knots, the vessel’s propellers will be used, acting as a turbine that draws power from the sails. On Caribbean Sea routes, the new technology could reduce propulsion energy by 60%.
Solidsail system debuted on October 31, 2018, on the yacht Le Ponant. The new Solid Sail was constructed at Chantiers de L’Atlantique and installed in . The 3-masted Le Ponant departed from France to Cape Verde Islands, then embarked on Transatlantic crossing to Cuba, testing the new sail for 1 year.
New Expedition Cruise Ship Designs
A new contract was awarded to the shipbuilder Uljanik for a 10,000-GT, 237-passenger luxury cruise ship scheduled for delivery in 2018. Based on these dimensions, the new ship will be the same general size as Ponant’s fleet, the latest of which was built at Fincantieri’s Shipyard Ancona . Uljanik has not disclosed the identity of the purchaser, but new ships are also expected from Lindblad and Seabourn in 2018.
Other designs fitting the expedition vessel category include:
The above is STX France’s Project Ulysseas was officially revealed in March 2015. Next is the 2020-announced icebreaking cruise ship design developed by Knud E. Hansen.
The PC3 ice-classed vessel has deadweight 1965 tons, LOA length 144 m, beam 22 m, draught 7 m, max passenger capacity 300 and 150 staterooms. Most cabins are with step-out balconies and interconnecting, featuring the company’s “Flex Cabin System” that allows their walls to be reconfigured in order to convert a Suite into two separate cabins. The newbuild has max cruising speed 17 knots , can operate in solid ice and has diesel-electric propulsion , 6 electricity generators plus a lithium-ion battery pack . The new passenger ship design features an Ice Bar, multi-purpose Lounge, a tender garage , an aft-located helicopter deck .
Knud E Hansen’s expedition ship design is with 150 staterooms and heavy-duty, ice-rated hull.
The next video shows various passenger and research ship designs developed by Knud E Hansen .
Recommended Reading: How Much Does An Alaska Cruise Cost
Cruise Ship Building Vs Ship Refurbishments
Unlike the scheduled cruise ship refurbishments, major refits may include even a cruise ship lengthening, like in the case of Royal Caribbean ship Enchantment of the Seas lengthened in 2005 . The Enchantment ship lengthening cost ~ US$55 million, it was a process of cutting the ship in two and inserting a whole new 73 ft 3,500 tons midsection, pre-built at the Aker Finnyards.
The month-long dry-dock at the Keppel Verolme shipyards resulted in adding 151 brand new cabins, a 50% bigger Pool Deck area, a new kids area, a teen centre, several new bars and lounges, an expanded main dining room, a new specialty restaurant. This “refurbishment cost” record was recently beaten by the CCL line and the US$155 million Carnival Destiny refit 2013 producing a brand new ship named Carnival Sunshine!
The average cost of building a cruise ship is around the US $450 for mid-sized vessels and up to $800 million for bigger cruise ships. These prices, along with the current economy status force many cruise lines to hold off from building new ships – the biggest expense of all. As a rule, all new cruise ships on order/currently under construction are by contracts signed years ago when the dollar had a good rate.
The next photo shows the construction of the world’s largest cruise ship – Harmony of the Seas – at Saint-Nazaire .
The following tag link lists all of CruiseMapper’s news related to shipbuilding.
Wood Weight And ‘wow Factor’
Wood is not allowed in the construction of the ship because it can easily burn. Those walls in your room might be covered by wallpaper and artwork, but they are actually made from metal and steel.
The weight of the ship must be balanced and optimized, with a focus on keeping the center of gravity low to the waterline. Celebrity Cruises has a team that manages the weight of everything aboard the ship. Once designers choose what they want to install on the ship, a separate team of engineers gets involved to see if there are more lightweight options to use.
It is a balancing act to reduce weight while also maintaining the overall design aesthetic and wow factor of the ship.
Heavier materials are less efficient at the top of the ship no one wants a top-heavy ocean liner. Thus, the Celebrity Apex uses a more eco-friendly material that looks just like glass for the transparent atrium in the Solarium though it weighs only 1% of what glass would weigh. Other materials like lightweight carbon fiber help offset the weight of steel and fuel tanks.
Even the smallest details like room and public area signage is examined by a variety of teams from lawyers to marketing experts. To convey important messages, the cruise line wants to be informative without being stern.
For example, small placards by toilets in cabin bathrooms say, Excuse me, only toilet paper please. Throwing anything else into these vacuum toilets can cause plumbing stopups.
Recommended Reading: What Cruise Lines Go Out Of Mobile Al
Modular Production Line Construction Methods
The construction of massive modern cruise ships is in some ways comparable to an automobile manufacturing factory, with much of the work repeated in a production line procedure. For example, entire cruise ship cabins are prefabricated in the workshop before being fitted on the ship like giant Lego pieces. In fact, much of the ship, including steel hull plates are constructed in a modular approach. Modular methods are used out of necessity as well as convenience the 30mm thick hull steel sections are incredibly heavy, some weighing almost 180 tonnes. The largest robotic laser cutters in Europe are used to cut through the steel sections which are then welded together.
Top 10 Largest Cruise Ships In 2021
By MI News Network | In: Know More | Last Updated on August 25, 2021
The international cruise industry has expanded rapidly in the last few years, and it showed no signs of slowing down till the coronavirus pandemic hit the world.
The world witnessed what was never thought of, i.e. complete halt of the cruise business. However, the cruise shipping companies are doing everything in their power to sustain these tough times, and the industry is expected to come back at the earliest with some of the largest and most technologically advanced cruise ships in the year 2021.
As more new ships enter the scene, the industry is more equipped to offer the best vacation experiences to its guests across the world.
In order to meet the various preferences of travellers, the new technologically advanced cruise ships come in bigger sizes, with better amenities, and indeed, as luxurious, they can be.
Here we have a list of the worlds largest cruise ships, ranked in terms of their gross tonnage and passenger capacity, among others in 2021.
Also Check: Bahamas Cruise From Norfolk
Where Are Cruise Ships Built
It might surprise you to know that there are only four shipyards in operation today with the capability to build cruise ships. Weve touched on three of them earlier, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, rounding out the number.
Fincantieri, based in Italy, delivered its first cruise ship back in 1990 and is currently the largest shipbuilder in Europe. Family-owned and based in Germany, Meyer Werft started building cruise ships in the mid-1980s. Their shipyard is in a somewhat unique location, since it has no actual direct access to the ocean all ships must be transferred via a river to the North Sea. Lastly, STX Europe despite the name is based in South Korea and was the yard responsible for building Royal Caribbeans Oasis and Allure of the Seas.
Scarlet Lady Cruise Ship Design And Features
The mid-sized luxury cruise ship features an innovative design integrating clever cabin touches and upgraded bath amenities. It also features a unique, patent-pending cabin layout, which was designed in collaboration with Pearson Lloyd Design. Tom Dixon, Roman and Williams, and Concrete Amsterdam also offered their world-class designs for the ship.
The ship measures approximately 278m-long and 38m-wide with a gross tonnage of 110,000t. It can accommodate more than 2,700 passengers and 1,500 crew members on board. Scarlet Lady features restaurants, RockStar suites, lounges, and cabins with solo options among others.
The cruise ship has 17 decks, which houses a total of 1,330 cabins and 78 RockStar Suites. The cabins are divided into six categories, namely XL Sea Terrace, Sea Terrace, Sea View, Insider, and Social Insider. Views of the Sea can be enjoyed from the majority of the cabins, with 86% of the cabins featuring sea terraces.
Automatic light, temperature adjusters, autonomous charge unit, 4K flat-screen 43in HDTVs, and mini-bars form a part of the standard cabin design. The ship also features a transformational seabed designed by Walter Knoll.
Also Check: Average Price Of Disney Cruise