Celebrity Reflection Leaves on Its First Voyage

(New video appears at the end of this item.)
The fifth and final Solstice-class ship, Celebrity Reflection, left Meyer Werft at Papenburg (Germany) this afternoon. The ship is different from the rest in that it is a little larger (one deck higher, one meter wider) than its four sisters.

The ship is traveling very slowly down the Ems River to the Dutch port of Eemshaven from which it will embark on a series of sea trials before delivery. The journey is very precarious due to the shallow clearance and very narrow passage in most places. To improve maneuverability, the ship travels down the river backwards with the assistance of two tugs.

The ship left the yard about 5pm (local time), about twelve hours after the original schedule due to forecasts of windy conditions which would make the ship more difficult to control.

Celebrity Reflection backs away from the finishing dock at Meyer Werft today at about 5pm (LT). It will move backward through the barrier that separates the lagoon at the shipyard from the river (seen here just beyond the ship's stern).

Having cleared the first barrier, Celebrity Reflection can be seen in the first part of the river headed toward the next barrier at Weener. To date, Celebrity Reflection is the largest ship Meyer has ever delivered, all of which must make the transit down the river before delivery.

Photos and video courtesy of Meyer Werft

Walking on the Sea

One of the new architectural features of Princess Cruises' new Royal Princess is a "Sea Walk" promenade on the ship's top deck. The glass-enclosed walkway will give passengers dramatic sea views extending out 28 feet past the side of the ship. The drama doesn't end there, because the dramatic views will be both out to the horizon and down through the glass floor to the sea 128 feet below.

Royal Princess is under construction at Fincantieri's Monfalcone (Italy) yard, and these photos taken on Tuesday will give you a first look at the Sea Walk.

In the photo above. shot from Deck 17, you can see inside what will be the glass-enclosed Sea Walk on Deck 16. The openings where the glass panels will go in the floor are covered with metal plates.

This view, still shot from Deck 17, looking forward, will give you a better perspective of the views that will be available from the Sea Walk.

Seen from below, you get a perspective of how high the Sea Walk is - and how much work there is to complete on the ship before it enters service in June.

New Living Wall aboard Crystal Symphony

A living wall was installed aboard Crystal Symphony. The freestanding wall is kind of like a vertical garden with the plants anchored in two to four inches of soil on the wall. In this case, the plants were arranged to form a map of the world.

Photos courtesy of Crystal Cruises.

First Look at Norwegian Breakaway's Peter Max-Designed Hull Art

Norwegian Cruise Line today gave the world the first look at Norwegian Breakaway's distinctive hull artwork designed by noted artist Peter Max.

It is the first time the line has commissioned hull art for one of their ships from a "name" artist.

The line features artwork on the hulls of all their vessels. Norwegian Breakaway's will have a New York theme tying in with the ship's New York year round home port.

Princess Provides New Evidence Star Princess Did NOT Pass Fisherman in Distress

Last March a man was rescued from the Pacific Ocean after being adrift for 28 days. Passengers aboard Star Princess said they had seen a man waving in distress and had taken pictures. They alerted a crew member, but Star Princess never stopped. In the side-by-side display below, provided by Princess, it shows the differences between the boat the survivor was in when he was rescued, and the boat photographed by the passengers aboard Star Princess. Experts have authenticated that they are two entirely different boats and that based on the wind and ocean currents, it is unlikely the boat in question and Star Princess ever crossed paths.

Princess also found video of the man's rescue last March. Again, it shows a marked difference between the two boats, indicating the boat the passengers aboard Star Princess saw and the one with the man in distress were different ones. It is believed that the boat the passengers photographed may be one of a group the crew of Star Princess had seen earlier with which they exchanged visual greetings.



The complete story appeared in the August 30, 2012, edition of Cruise News Daily.


Photos and video courtesy of Princess Cruises.