A Journey of Ten Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step - and a Backward Cruise

If you logged onto the Meyer website on Sunday afternoon you would have seen Norwegian Joy leaving the Papenburg yard on its way to Eemshaven at the other end of the River Ems, the first leg of its journey to Shanghai.

It moves with the speed of paint drying because the ship is so big (the largest class ever built in Germany at 168,800 gross tons), the river is so shallow, and the passages are so narrow. Not only that, but it sails backwards for better maneuverability.

Details appeared in the March 28 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Photo courtesy of Meyer Werft. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.