Norwegian Breakaway Passes Two Construction Milestones

Norwegian Breakaway, under construction at Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany), passed a second milestone this morning in as many days.

In the first photo below, taken yesterday, the bow section was lifted into place, completing the assembly of the ship's hull.

The bow, known to the yard as Block 73, weighed 361 tons and took only 30 minutes to lift into place. The block measured 72 feet long, 101 feet wide and more than 39 feet high. Despite the weight, the process of lifting the bow into place took only about 30 minutes.

That was followed up this morning by another milestone when the last block of the superstructure was put into place. (below)

This is the most forward block of the superstructure that contains the navigational bridge, ports of the spa (the salt room), suites and staterooms.

Norwegian Breakaway is scheduled to enter service in April 2013.

Video Shows Royal Princess' Top Deck Features

Princess seems to be taking the top deck of the new Royal Princess in a different direction than most other cruise lines. As they detail their top deck features in this video, you'll see the difference. While most ships are featuring activity, Royal Princess seems to be more about relaxation and enjoyment.

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.