TUI Cruises

TUI Cruises
Subsidiary
Industry Transportation
Founded 2007
Headquarters Hamburg, Germany
Key people
Wybcke Meier
Products Cruise ship holidays
Parent Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. & TUI AG
Website www.tuicruises.com

TUI Cruises is a Germany-based, Joint venture cruise line of the German Tourist firm, TUI AG and the American cruise line operator, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.. The company started operations in 2009 and is marketed in German clienteles, in addition to Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten. The concept is for German-speaking customers who opt for premium cruise experience. Onboard product are custom-tailored for German tastes and encompasses food, entertainment and amenities. German is the main language used onboard their ships.[1]

Fleet

Current fleet

Due to lack of new-building capacity, TUI Cruises started having cruise ships by acquiring the cruise ship Celebrity Galaxy, which was built by Meyer Werft and was owned by another RCCL subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises. She left the Celebrity fleet on 16 March 2009.[2] After acquiring Celebrity Galaxy, the ship headed to Lloyd Werft shipyards in Bremerhaven, Germany. She arrived on 27 March 2009, and received a €50 Million, 38-day conversion to upgrade her facilities to suit a German-speaking market.[3] After the conversion, she was re-christened on 15 May 2009 in Hamburg, Germany bearing her new name, Mein Schiff (My Ship). TUI planned to build two 2,500-passenger, 100,000-GT cruise ships in 2011 and 2012.[4][5]

On May 27, 2010, it was announced that another Century-class ship, Celebrity Mercury, would become the latest addition to TUI's fleet, renamed Mein Schiff 2. Due to this Mein Schiff Was renamed into Mein Schiff 1 before the refit. She entered service with TUI in February 2011 after its extensive refurbishment, with the addition of more verandas, an expanded wellness area and design elements which are found on Mein Schiff 1.[6]

TUI and STX Finland announced a contract on 27 September 2011 to build a 97,000-GT vessel named Mein Schiff 3, which was delivered in 2014.[7] The vessel is approximately 295 metres (968 ft) long and approximately 36 metres (118 ft) wide.[7] The ship has 1,250 staterooms, most of which has balconies, with a capacity of 2,500 passengers and a crew of 1,000.[7] The ship includes several restaurants, a theater, a spa and a nightclub.[7] The contract included an option to build a second ship, dependenced on the approval of TUI Cruises shareholders.[7] It was announced on November 5, 2012 that TUI ordered the second option for the ship sister to the Mein Schiff 3 the ship will be named Mein Schiff 4.[8] On April 22, 2014, Mein Schiff 3 Entered Service. In March 2015, Royal Caribbean International announced that they had agreed to sell Splendour of the Seas to TUI Cruises in the second quarter of 2016, and that TUI would lease the ship to Thomson Cruises to replace the Island Escape.[9] In May 2015, TUI Group announced that as part of their modernization strategy, Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 would be transferred to Thomson Cruises over the next few years, as a result, 2 repacement ships neue Mein Schiff 1 and neue Mein Schiff 2 were ordered.[10] On January 15, Mein Schiff 5 was launched.[11] On April 28, Mein Schiff 6's was laid down.[12]

Ship Built Builder Entered service
with TUI
Gross tonnage Flag Notes Image
Mein Schiff 1 1996 Meyer Werft 2009 76,522 tons  Malta Previously Celebrity Galaxy, Will be transferred out of the fleet in 2018.
Mein Schiff 2 1997 Meyer Werft 2011 77,713 tons  Malta Previously Celebrity Mercury, Will be transferred out of the fleet in 2019.
Mein Schiff 3 2014 STX Finland 2014 99,300 tons  Malta First newly build for TUI Cruises
Mein Schiff 4 2015 STX Finland/Meyer Turku 2015 99,300 tons  Malta First Sister to the first newly build.[8]
Mein Schiff 5 2016 Meyer Turku 2016 99,300 tons  Malta Second Sister to the first newly build[13]

Future fleet

Ship Inaugural Run Builder Gross Tonnage Planned Flag Notes
Mein Schiff 6 2017 Meyer Turku 99,300 tons  Malta Third Sister to the first newly build
neue Mein Schiff 1[14] 2018 Meyer Turku 111,500 tons  Malta Fourth Sister to the first newly build
neue Mein Schiff 2[14] 2019 Meyer Turku 111,500 tons  Malta Fifth Sister to the first newly build[15]

Destinations

References

  1. "Royal Caribbean and TUI AG complete joint venture for TUI Cruises". Cruise Industry News. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  2. "TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff Sets sail". Cruise Industry News. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  3. "TUI commissions Lloyd shipyards with conversion of 1st ship". Cruise Industry News. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  4. "TUI close to selecting shipyards". Cruise Industry News. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  5. "TUI plans still intact". Cruise Industry News. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  6. Celebrity Mercury to become second ship in TUI Cruises fleet. Cruise Industry News. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "STX Finland Oy Signs Design and Construction Contract for 97.000 GT Cruise Vessel". Shipbuilding Tribune. 27 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  8. 1 2 "TUI Picks Up Option - Orders Second Ship from STX Finland - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  9. "Splendour of the Seas Sold to TUI for Thomson Cruises". cruiseindustrynews.com.
  10. "TUI: Thomson to Get Mein Schiff 1 and 2 - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  11. "Mein Schiff 5 Float Out - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  12. "Meyer Turku: Keel-Laying for Mein Schiff 6 - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  13. "TUI Cruises takes delivery of its third new build". 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  14. 1 2 "Mein Schiff 7 & Mein Schiff 8 werden zu Mein Schiff 1 & Mein Schiff 2" (in German). 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
  15. "Meyer Turku to build Mein Schiff 7 and 8 for TUI Cruises". 2015-07-01.
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