Disney Cruise Line's New Disney Fantasy Floated Out In Germany

PAPENBURG, GERMANY, (Jan. 9, 2012) – The newest Disney Cruise Line ship, Disney Fantasy, floated out of the enclosed building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard yesterday as fireworks filled the sky. This symbolizes one of the final stages of this ship’s construction and marks a significant milestone towards the March 31, 2012 maiden voyage.

The Disney Fantasy features many of the innovations found on her sister ship, Disney Dream, with several new guest experiences exclusive to the ship that are sure to delight every member of the family. New experiences found on the Disney Fantasy include two Broadway-style musical spectaculars for the Walt Disney Theatre, a dining experience at Animator’s Palate where guests’ own drawings magically come to life, an interactive adventure quest starring the Muppets, a splashtacular water play area called AquaLab, a sophisticated nighttime entertainment area for adults inspired by European travel and much more .

The Disney Fantasy will sail seven-night alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. All voyages will depart from Port Canaveral, Fla. and include a stop at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.

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Fincantieri Floats Out New Carnival Breeze

9-16-2011 - Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone there was the launch of the “Carnival Breeze”, the new flagship of Carnival Cruise Lines, a brand in Carnival Group, the world’s leading cruise operator. Delivery is scheduled for Spring 2012.

The launch was preceded by the customary “coin ceremony” to bring good luck by welding in place a silver dollar on the last deck of the ship, in keeping with an old shipbuilding tradition. Godmother to the ship was Monica Conte, a shipyard employee.

Weighing in at 130,000 gross tonnes, for a length of 306 metres with a beam of 37 the “Carnival Breeze” is the sister ship of “Carnival Dream” and “Carnival Magic” which Monfalcone shipyard delivered in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

In building the “Carnival Breeze” Fincantieri will further strengthen its leading position as builder of build the largest passenger ships in the history of Italian shipbuilding. Indeed the new vessel will have 1,845 cabins, plus 746 for the crew, for a total maximum capacity of over 6,000. A record for ships built to date for Carnival by Fincantieri.

In the next few months the “Carnival Breeze” will be fitted out to the highest standards of comfort in readiness to offer her passengers a wide range of entertainment such as bars, restaurants, theaters, shops and wellness centers. She will boast a totally new design, inspired by intriguing tropical atmospheres with warm colors and pastel shades exclusively created in Germany by Partner Ship Design for Carnival. New also is the large availability of sea view cabins with two bathrooms suitable for up to 5 guests, ideal for larger families..

Since 1990 Fincantieri has built 60 cruise ships and a further 7 ships are under construction or scheduled to be built at Fincantieri shipyards.

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Costa Cruises New Costa Fascinosa Floated Out

Friday, 29 July 2011- The Costa Fascinosa, the latest ship to join the fleet of Costa Cruises today touched the water for the first time during her technical launch ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera.

Once the work to fit out her interiors has been completed, the Costa Fascinosa (114,500 gross tonnage and a capacity of 3,800 total Guests) will depart on her first cruise on 2nd May 2012.

About 3,000 employees and 7,000 workers from linked industries are contributing to the construction of the ship, and most of the companies involved in the shipbuilding activities, about 500, are Italian. Costa Cruises’s total investment to build the Costa Fascinosa amounts to approximately $765M dollars.

The Costa Fascinosa’s technical launch ceremony was carried out according to seafaring tradition. The launch started with the welding of a coin at the base of what was once the mainmast, a custom considered to bring good luck.

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Oceania Cruise New Riviera is Floated Out.

Oceania Cruises celebrated a major milestone on Saturday, July 16, as the line’s new 1,250-guest Riviera was afloat for the first time and moved from the construction dock to her fitting-out berth.

"The float out of a ship is a beautiful occasion which marks the beginning of her life and we are eagerly anticipating the day next spring that we can unveil her to the world,” stated Frank Del Rio, Chairman and CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings, parent company of Oceania Cruises.

The shipyard will now focus on fitting out and finishing Riviera’s exquisite interiors which were designed in concert with the renowned team from Y&S of Oslo, Norway.

Riviera will offer 625 elegantly appointed and custom-crafted accommodations that are among the largest at sea, ranging from 174 to a palatial 2,000+ square feet. Her top suites will be a study in chic, residential elegance and feature furnishings from Ralph Lauren Home and designs by Dakota Jackson of New York City and S.B. Long Interiors of Greenwich, CT. The ship will also feature a Lalique-designed grand lobby, 10 dining venues and numerous bars and lounges. Facilities will include a full-service Canyon Ranch SpaClub and fitness center, innovative Bon Appétit Culinary Center, swimming pool and hot tubs.

In her inaugural year, Riviera will cruise the Mediterranean and then cross the Atlantic where she will spend the winter cruising the yacht harbors of the Caribbean.
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Celebrity Equinox Is Floated out

March 2, 2010 – To witness the next solar eclipse, you have to wait until July 11, 2010. But if you’re in the area of Papenburg, Germany, you can see Celebrity Eclipse right now.

The third in Celebrity Cruises' stylish, $3.7-billion Solstice Class fleet, Celebrity Eclipse showed off her sleek profile Sunday as she emerged for the first time from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Celebrity Eclipse will enter service April 26 and, following two "short break" cruises, will offer a series of Canary Islands, Scandinavia/Russia and Spanish Mediterranean sailings roundtrip from Southampton, England. The new vessel will present Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Miami beginning in November.

Oceania Cruise Marina Floated Out

March 1, 2010 – Oceania Cruises celebrated two milestones on Friday, February 26, at the Fincantieri shipyard near Genoa . The building dock for its new 1,258-guest, flagship Marina began filling with water and the first steel was cut for Riviera , a sister ship. Marina is scheduled to sail her maiden voyage on January 22, 2011; plans call for Riviera to debut in April 2012.

To celebrate the occasion, more than 50 US and UK travel agents, Oceania Cruises past guests and journalists were invited to don hard hats and preview Marina . Guests even had the chance to partake in the first meal served in “Jacques” – the eponymous restaurant of Master Chef Jacques Pepin – which is one of six, open-seating gourmet restaurants on the new vessels.

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. “They have done everything right, Marina is already awesome, and will be fabulous,” according to past guests, Don and Betsy Horner. Travel agents were equally astounded. “Frank, Bob and the rest of the team have personally selected unique interior design elements down to the smallest detail – all making the vision of Oceania Cruises come alive,” stated Terri Burke of Cruise Planners.

Oceania Cruises’ Marina and Riviera will offer 629 elegantly appointed and custom-crafted accommodations that are among the largest at sea, ranging from 174 to a palatial 2,000+ square feet. Their top suites, destined to set new industry standards, will feature furnishings from Ralph Lauren Home and designs by Dakota Jackson and Tocar New York .

The sister ships will also feature a Lalique-designed grand lobby, 10 dining venues and several elegant bars and lounges. Facilities will include a full-service Canyon Ranch SpaClub and fitness center, innovative Bon Appetit Culinary Center , swimming pool and hot tubs.

During the festivities, a bottle of prosecco wine was smashed on the hull of Marina by the shipyard “madrina” in a nod to Italian maritime tradition. The official naming ceremony for Marina will take place in Miami ; her godmother has not yet been announced.

In her inaugural year, Marina will cross the Atlantic, transit the Panama Canal twice, visit ports in Mexico , as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco , and call at a host of Caribbean island gems, sailing round-trip from Miami . Marina will sail along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and call at Bermuda before repositioning to Europe for summer 2011.

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P&O New Ship Azura is Floated Out.

June 26, 2009 - The newest superliner for P&O Cruises, Azura, touched water for the first
time today in the traditional “floating out” ceremony, prior to her launch
next April.

The 115,000-ton ship is taking shape at Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard
near Trieste and today saw the float out of Azura in a special two part
ceremony.

Amanda Dowds, wife of Azura’s Captain, Keith Dowds acted as “madrina” or
“godmother” for a symbolic ceremony in which a newly-minted two pound coin
and a new euro are welded at the foot of the ship’s mast for good luck.

Azura was blessed by a priest as a bottle of Italian Prosecco smashed
against the hull. The valves of the giant dry dock at the Monfalcone
shipyard then opened allowing the ship to meet the water for the first
time.

P&O Cruises, managing director, Nigel Esdale, said: “The float out ceremony
is a significant event in the build of a new ship. Azura is designed with
traditional cruise values of service and quality combined with the
flexibility and choice that today’s contemporary customer expects and the
high level of early bookings proves this demand.

“For Azura we’ve gone ‘back to the future’. We’re looking at how
travelling at sea really should be; sophisticated, relaxing, indulgent and
exciting, whilst we are also looking forward at the same time. Firsts for
P&O Cruises will include an open-air cinema-at-sea, an open air spa terrace
and single staterooms.”

Azura will feature an Indian fine dining restaurant, Sindhu, the creation
of celebrated Michelin starred Chef Atul Kochhar who attended today’s
ceremony. Sindhu means meeting point, amalgamation or fusion, and the menu
will offer a fusion of fine British and Indian cuisine with dishes such as
pan-fried lobster tail in coconut milk and tamarind sauce.

TV wine expert Olly Smith has also been enlisted to help create a new wine
bar and restaurant concept – The Glass House. A must for wine lovers, The
Glass House menu will feature different wines recommended with each course,
all served by the glass and expertly matched by Olly, who was also present
in Italy.

The Saturday Kitchen star will act as consultant in the creation of the
drinks menus for Azura’s other bars and restaurants and will travel
regularly throughout the year to host light hearted tasting sessions in his
own irreverent style.

Azura will be named in Southampton in April 2010 and depart on her maiden
voyage on 12 April 2010. A 16-night Mediterranean holiday departing 5
September 2010, calling in Malaga, Katakolon, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Venice,
Korcula and Gibraltar starts from £1,685* per person.

Silversea Cruises Silver Spirit Floated Out

(27 February 2009) Silversea Cruises' newest ultra-luxury ship, Silver Spirit, reached an important milestone on Friday, 27 February when she was transferred ("floated out" in shipbuilding parlance) from dry dock to wet dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy.

Silver Spirit's first connection with the sea was marked by an official ceremony at the shipyard attended by senior management from Silversea and Fincantieri. Over the coming months, the new build will undergo her final outfitting works and be ready for delivery in December.
“This is the dawn of a new era of luxury cruising for Silversea and the industry at large”, declared Manfredi Lefebvre, Silversea chairman. “Much planning and collaboration has gone into the design of our newborn, and it is exciting both as a company, and personally, to see Silver Spirit evolve through the final phases of her construction."

On 23 December, the all-suite luxury ship will embark on an 11-day "Holiday Spirit" maiden voyage, sailing from Barcelona to Lisbon, followed on 3 January by a 16-day "Maiden Crossing" from Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale, where a formal naming ceremony will be held on 21 January.
After the event, Silver Spirit will set a course for New York on a fascinating Grand Inaugural Voyage. During this magnificent 91-day "Spirit of South America" journey, guests will visit more than 45 ports in over 20 different countries and island destinations across two continents. Highlights include a visit to Rio de Janeiro in time for Carnival, a journey around the end of the earth at Cape Horn, an in-depth exploration of the Mexican Riviera and a crossing of the Panama Canal.

After completing her inaugural season, Silver Spirit will spend the summer in the Mediterranean and then reposition to the Caribbean for fall and winter cruises.

The 36,000-ton vessel will welcome 540 guests who shall indulge not only in the spaciousness of their suites, the largest in the fleet, 95% of which feature a private veranda but also in one of the highest space-to-guest ratios at sea (namely 6,700 cubic feet of personal space per guest). The décor designed by Italian architect Giacomo Mortola will lend a sophisticated 1930s Art Deco ambience to the public areas, and new wellness and dining venues further enhance the shipboard experience: a new 8,300 square feet (770 square metres) indoor/outdoor spa with a whirlpool (and another three by the pool), and a choice of no less than six restaurants, including an alternative venue for Asian-inspired fusion cuisine and an innovative supper club offering contemporary foods and all-night entertainment