Marella Discovery
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The Marella Discovery (formerly Splendor of the Seas , dt. Splendor of the Seas ) is the second cruise ship in the Vision class, a series of Panamax -Kreuzfahrtschiffen that of the American shipping company Royal Caribbean International has ordered. The ship was designed for worldwide cruises and is one of the fastest cruise lines in the world. After commissioning, the Splendor of the Seas initially operated under the Norwegian flag before being registered in the Bahamas in 2005. She is the sister ship of the Marella Discovery 2 , the former Legend of the Seas .
history
Construction and commissioning
After the contract was signed on March 1, 1993, the keel of the ship with hull number B31 was laid on September 4, 1994 at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire. After the construction dock was flooded on June 17, 1995, the ship was moved to the equipment quay, completed there and, according to the classification by Det Norske Veritas , could be delivered to the shipping company on March 15, 1996. The christening took place on March 29, 1996 by Lisa Wilhelmsen in Southampton . The construction costs were stated at US $ 325 million.
commitment
Immediately after the christening, the Splendor of the Seas left for her first cruise on March 31, 1996, which ran from Southampton to Barcelona . Due to its overall design, it was used worldwide for cruises, including regular transatlantic passages , in the following years .
An extensive renovation took place in 2001. In November 2011, extensive modernization work was carried out again as part of a stay in the dry dock of the Spanish shipyard Navantia in Cádiz . 124 outside cabins were given balconies and a ducktail was attached to the hull of the ship . The 270-ton ducktail is hollow on the inside, giving it additional buoyancy, but also bringing ballast to the lowest possible point of the ship. In this way, additional weight can be compensated that has arisen over the years due to new installations in the ship, but also due to the additional balconies. At the same time, the ducktail makes the Splendor of the Seas easier to maneuver. In addition, 13 new passenger cabins and nine new cabins for crew members have been added. A family suite and an inside cabin were added to the passenger cabins, but above all eleven new outside cabins with large panoramic windows that extend from the ceiling to the floor. All cabins and bathrooms have been renovated and equipped with new furniture and technology. The Viking Crown Lounge has been enriched with two specialty restaurants, the Izumi and the Chops Grill. In the “Centrum”, the large atrium from decks 4 to 9, the Champagne Bar was replaced by the “R Bar” (“R” stands for Renaissance) and a newly designed staircase was installed, the area of which, among other things, serves as a stage for the new aerial acrobatics -Show "Centrum Wow", which was first introduced on the Splendor of the Seas . A large screen for films was also installed outside. The cost of the renovation was approximately $ 50 million.
Most recently, the ship was regularly used for weekly Mediterranean cruises from Venice for a long time in the summer months . In winter she was traveling in South America . In 2015 TUI Cruises bought the ship in order to charter it out to the subsidiary Thomson Cruises from spring 2016 , where it replaced the Island Escape . The ship should be named Thomson Discovery and be stationed in Port de Palma . However, it was later decided that the ship should be named TUI Discovery . On April 21, 2016, Royal Caribbean International decommissioned the Splendor of the Seas cruise in Venice. The TUI Discovery was christened on June 9, 2016 in Palma . In 2017 the shipping company was renamed Marella Cruises and the ship was renamed Marella Discovery .
On July 21, 2019, the Marella Discovery picked up 111 people in distress (including 33 children) about 40 nautical miles west of the Peloponnese. The refugees were safely brought to the Greek port of Kalamata and went ashore there.
Machine system and drive
power supply
The Marella Discovery is equipped with a diesel-electric machine system that is very powerful for this ship size. It consists of five V-12-cylinder diesel engines of the Wärtsilä 46 series, which are characterized by low pollutant emissions and low-vibration operation. They drive generators from GEC Alstom, which supply the entire ship with electrical energy. The waste heat from the diesel engines is used in exhaust gas boilers to generate process steam, which is used to produce drinking water, among other things. The ship is equipped with two diesel generators for the emergency power supply. The drive motors are 12-cylinder Detroit Diesel 12V92TA diesel engines. In order to ensure high stability on the open sea, the machinery is arranged in the middle of the hull.
Propulsion and maneuvering aids
The Marella Discovery is driven by two fixed propellers, which are driven by three-phase synchronous motors (manufacturer: Alstom Marine ) via shaft systems. The high propulsion power of over 20 MW per engine enables speeds of over 25 knots at propeller speeds of up to 145 / min, although noticeable vibrations are created. At lower speeds, the ship is considered to run very smoothly. The conventional rudder system to assist at low speeds and when maneuvering that has Splendor of the Seas two Brunvoll - transverse thrusters at the bow and at the stern.
Cabins and on-board facilities
The Splendor of the Seas offers space for a maximum of 2,064 passengers in a total of 902 cabins. 232 of the 575 outside cabins have a balcony. 388 cabins have three or four beds. 17 cabins are barrier-free. Since the ship is also designed for longer cruises, the cabins have been enlarged compared to the shipping company's older ships. The interior of the ship was designed by the Norwegian architect Njal R. Eide. Special features are the floor-to-ceiling windows, glass domes and skylights with a total area of more than 8,000 m².
See also
literature
- Douglas Ward: Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006 . Berlitz Publishing, 2006. ISBN 3-493-60252-9
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Det Norske Veritas: Technical and administrative data of the "Splendor of the Seas". Retrieved May 24, 2016 .
- ^ A b Royal Caribbean International: RCI - Our Ships - Splendor of the Seas. Retrieved May 23, 2011 .
- ^ Converteam: Reference in Cruise Ships. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010 ; Retrieved May 23, 2011 .
- ↑ Wärtsilä: Technical information on the Wärtsilä 46 marine diesel engine.Retrieved on May 20, 2011 .
- ↑ Splendor of the Seas Enters Navantia Shipyard. Cruise Industry News, accessed October 27, 2011 .
- ↑ Cruise Tricks Franz Neumeier: Renovation of the Splendor of the Seas in detail. Retrieved July 29, 2012 .
- ↑ Tui Cruises buys Splendor on the Seas. March 2, 2015, accessed March 2, 2015 .
- ↑ Thomson Cruises Names Nesest Addition Thomson Discovery And Confirms Palma As Its Homeport. ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Press release on thomson.co.uk, April 14, 2015.
- ↑ Le Splendor of the Seas va devenir TUI Discovery. April 4, 2016, Retrieved April 14, 2016 .
- ↑ Le Splendor of the Seas fait ses adieux à Royal Caribbean. April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016 .
- ↑ Thomson launches TUI Discovery. June 10, 2016, accessed June 20, 2016 .
- ↑ Cruise with sea rescue. July 22, 2019, accessed July 22, 2019 .
