Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku has launched the production of a new generation of Mein Schiff ships, being built for Hamburg-based cruise line TUI Cruises, with a steel cutting ceremony at the shipbuilder’s steel hall.
The company’s new Mein Schiff 1, hull number NB-1392, will be around 20 meters longer than the previous Mein Schiff vessels and will have space for additional 180 cabins, the shipbuilder said.
Based on double occupancy, the 111,500 gross ton vessel will be able to accommodate up to 2,894 guests.
The new cruise ship is scheduled to join its owner in 2018 and will replace the existing Mein Schiff 1, while the new Mein Schiff 2 will replace the older one in 2019.
The first two TUI Cruises ships will be handed over within the TUI Group to Thomson Cruises.
Mein Schiff 5, TUI Cruises’ latest addition to the fleet, was named on July 15 in the Bay of Lübeck, Travemünde, Germany.
The 98,785 gross ton ship, which features a length of 295.3 meters and a width of 35.8 meters, was handed over to its owner on June 20 and arrived in Kiel three days later.
With 1,267 cabins, the newly built cruise ship can accommodate 2,534 passengers and 1,000 crew.