Table Of Content
In 2018, the German travel market reached ~2,2 million cruisers, of whom ~26% were served by TUI. The new liners are slightly larger (2860 lower berths each), built by Meyer Turku Finland. The deal was fully financed within TUI Cruises (joint venture) - without further contribution from TUI AG and RCCL. The list of TUI-owned airlines includes Corsair International (France), TUI Airways (UK), TUI fly Belgium, TUI fly Deutschland, TUI fly Netherlands, and TUI fly Nordic (departures from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway). TUI River Cruises is a separate company part (fully-owned subsidiary) of TUI AG (British-German travel and tourism corporation).
TUI River Cruises to breathe new life into entertainment - Seatrade Cruise News
TUI River Cruises to breathe new life into entertainment.
Posted: Tue, 06 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Scaffolding collapse during Mein Schiff Relax construction leads to worker injury
Despite the aging ships, Thomson Cruises attracted an ever-increasing number of first-time UK cruisers with affordable fares and presence of the company's travel agencies across Britain. In the 1990s, Thomson started operations as a budget cruise line and improved its product becoming more successful in the UK by improving amenities, ships and services, and introducing a wider range of itineraries. Along with sister ships TUI Skyla and TUI Maya, the 155-passenger TUI Isla offers value-for-money cruises with a large number of inclusions over and above most other river lines. All itineraries are sold as Full Board Plus, which covers all meals, wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, Wi-Fi and gratuities. Bar drinks are not included, but upgrades to all-inclusive drinks packages are available. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is the leading provider of luxury and expedition cruises in the German-speaking markets and sets international standards with its flagships.
Current itinerary of Mein Schiff 1
The next table provides a concise review of the TUI fleet's deployments (as homeports and destinations/regions). For detailed itineraries (call ports, port dates-times, and cruise prices) just follow the ship links. The Hannover travel group TUI AG (listed at London Stock Exchange) keeps an upbeat outlook of cruise shipping activities. The company owns 100% of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten and 50% of TUI Kreuzfahrten.
(NEW / neu) TUI Mein Schiff 1 inaugural itineraries 2018
The ship sails under the brand TUI River Cruises and offer adults-only itineraries on the Danube and Rhine rivers. Aimed mainly at British travellers familiar with TUI package holidays and reflecting the ocean itineraries run by sister company Marella Cruises. Marella Celebration (1984-built, former ms Noordam and Thomson Celebration) joined the fleet in 2005. During summer, the ship operated Adriatic Sea roundtrips out of Dubrovnik Croatia. For summer 2018, the ship was relocated to homeport Dubrovnik for an adults-only cruise program with full-day port stays in Bar, Korcula, Zadar, Venice, Trieste, Split.
TUI Isla Top Deck Is Used for a Variety of Activities
In November 2019, TUI reported ~30 million single-use plastic items replaced with renewable/sustainable materials-made alternatives. The steel-cutting ceremony (with which its construction officially started) was held on August 16, 2016. On February 13, 2017, was the keel-laying ceremony (hull number TUI NB-1392) at Meyer Werft's Turku Shipyard. On September 29, 2017, was the vessel's launching ceremony (float-out from drydock). The ceremony was attended by Wybcke Meier (TUI Cruises company's CEO) and Jan Meyer (Meyer Turku company's CEO). On April 25, 2018, the cruise liner was officially delivered to TUI AG.
Cruise Destinations
After buying Celebrity Galaxy, the vessel was refitted at Lloyd Werft shipyard (Bremerhaven, Germany) arriving on March 27 for 38-day, EUR 50 million conversions. Galaxy was re-christened on May 15 in Hamburg and renamed "Mein Schiff" (meaning "My Ship" in Deutsch). TUI planned to build two 100,000 GT, 2500-passenger ships in 2011 and 2012. In 2018, TUI signed a partnership deal with "Merkur Casino Mare" (part of Gauselmann Group) for the onboard gambling on Schiff 1 (since 2018), Schiff 2 (since 2019) and Schiff 3 (since 2021). The ship Casino features 6x electronic roulettes plus 14x other Merkur gaming machines, and a separate gambling lounge with 4x M-Box Buzzer (multi-gaming machines) and a blackjack table for live gaming. For 2020, Gauselmann AG reported revenue EUR 2,56 billion (~USD 3B / ~GBP 2,2B).
Mein Schiff 1 current position
The ship has no lift and no accessible cabins, so would not be suitable for those with accessibility needs. All cruises are sold on a Full Board Plus basis, with meals and drinks at mealtimes included in the price. There is an optional excursion programme which allows passengers to do as much, or as little, as they want. Marella offered roundtrips to Cuba out of Jamaica (Montego Bay) with Marella Dream. The maiden voyage was on January 31 (7-night to Grand Cayman, Havana, Cozumel). In 2020, two Marella ships (Celebration, Dream) were sold and left the fleet.
TUI Group secured 3x financing packages (with its major shareholders, banks and Germany's Economic Stabilization Fund). In March 2023 was created the "Mein Schiff Destinations Department". Other executives include Marcus Puttich (director of destinations), Dennis Tetzlaff (VP of fleet operations and newbuilds), Denis Wiechert (VP of product management and guest experiences). Fares also include flights from UK airports, an up to 23kg luggage allowance and transfers to and from the ship. In comparison to the fleetmates Schiff 3 and Schiff 4, the Schiff 1 is 20 m (66 ft) longer and has new cabins categories (Schone Aussicht Suite, Horizont Suite, Ubersee Suite, Panorama Suite).
History, Review, Itineraries, Ships, Deck Plans, News
The 151-passenger ship launched in 2021, along with sister ships TUI Maya and TUI Isla. Royal Caribbean sold its stake in Island Cruises to TUI Travel (Thomson's parent company) in 2008. In 2009 Island Star left the fleet and joined the Spanish brand of Royal Caribbean - Pullmantur. Island Escape joined Thomson fleet in 2009 and continued to offer informal cruises to the UK source market. Thomson Dream (Marella Dream) joined the fleet in spring 2010 being long-term chartered from Costa Cruises. TUI Cruises started operations by acquiring Celebrity Galaxy (owned by Celebrity Cruises - another RCCL subsidiary).
Superior French balcony staterooms, which can be configured as doubles or twins, are situated on the middle and upper decks and all measure 161 square feet. They have floor-to-ceiling windows that open, fixed double beds and a desk. A French Balcony cabin for single occupancy is located on the middle deck and is the same size, with the addition of a desk and chair. Marella's UK-Caribbean fly-cruise deals are via TUI Airways (sister-company, part of TUI Group). The packages include direct flights from the UK (London-Gatwick and Birmingham) to Melbourne Orlando Airport.
The itineraries visit destinations in Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, Dominica, Antigua, St Maarten, Tortola BVI, and Samana Dominicana (new port for Marella). Marella "cruise and stay" holiday package deals include hotel or apartment at the beginning or at the end of the voyage. It was formed in 2007 as a joint venture between the German tourism company TUI AG and the American cruise line operator Royal Caribbean Group, both of whom hold a 50% stake in the company.
Passengers can relax as there is no need to book for dinner -- all dining is open seating. Marella Discovery 2 is homeported in Limassol Cyprus (commencing May 7, 2025) for the summer, marking the brand's return to Limassol since the winter of 2017 (under the Thomson brand). The liner will operate two different itineraries - "Aegean Gems" (Kusadasi, Mykonos, Piraeus-Athens, Souda Crete, Rhodes) and "Grecian Discovery" (Piraeus, Santorini, Crete, Rhodes). In mid-October 2021, TUI announced that Mein Schiff Herz will be transferred in 2023 to Marella's fleet. Following a drydock refurbishment, the boat will be renamed Marella Voyager, starting operations for Marella on June 3, 2023.
With 5 star plus, the “MS Europa” and the “MS Europa 2” have been awarded the highest ranking in the Berlitz Cruise Guide and are the only vessels in this category worldwide. In the expedition segment, the company sets out on a worldwide course of discovery with three ultra-modern ships at 5-star level. Since 2021, the expedition ship HANSEATIC spirit, which is identical in construction, has also been part of the fleet.
The boat has 16 decks, of which 14 are passenger accessible and 10 with cabins. The new TUI Mein Schiff 1 took the name of the old ship Schiff 1 (launched in 1996, currently operated as Marella Explorer). In 2017, the old Schiff 1 was sold to Marella Cruises (fka Thomson) and transferred to the Marella's fleet in 2018.
When it comes to booking a holiday, we know everyone likes something different – so we've designed our getaways with you in mind. Our Sensatori by TUI BLUE resorts are all about luxury, while our TUI BLUE hotels combine best-in-class service, authentic local cuisine and activities to suit you. Plus, our destinations range from Spain and Italy to far-flung St Lucia and Mexico – not to mention city breaks. As well as an award-winning airline, we've teamed up with other tour operators to give you more choice on when and where you can fly.
Vessels' previously designated names were "Mein Schiff 7" and "Mein Schiff 8", but as the old namesakes went to Marella Cruises UK (within TUI Group), the newbuilds took their names. In fact, unusual for river ships, there is little regional fare on offer, unless you opt for the “German dinner”. However, there are local wines, though these didn’t vary as we made our way along the river. All cabins were given a refresh in the makeover and so look and feel fresh and modern, with light-coloured curtains and furniture. Each cabin has a bed, fixed desk, wardrobe and cupboards with a safe, a chair, a kettle, hair-dryer, mini-fridge and a wall-mounted, flat-screen TV and a water bottle each as there are no single use plastics onboard.
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