TUI Cruises Confirms Order for Second 2,500 Passenger Newbuild

An artist’s rendition of TUI’s newbuilds

Germany’s TUI Cruises confirmed Monday that the company has ordered a second 2,500 passenger cruise ship from STX Finland.

The 99,300 GRT cruise ship will measure approximately 294 meters long by 36 meters wide. The ship will have 1,250 staterooms, serve 2,500 passengers and have a crew of 1,000 persons. As with the first vessel, TUI says the newbuild will come equipped with a number of environmentally friendly features, with a particular emphasis on energy efficiency.

“We are extremely pleased that TUI Cruises confirmed the order of the sister ship for the magnificent Mein Schiff 3 cruise ship. We have today reached this milestone of production start of the first ship after the well performed and intensive basic design phase. After this production start, manning on this project will increase significantly during the coming months to reach the maximum level before summer next year,” says Jari Anttila, EVP and COO of STX Finland.

“After being just four years in the business and after successfully putting two ships on the market – Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 – we are proud to proceed with building our first new ship and that way continue the growth of our fleet”, says Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises. “We have been extremely busy with the planning over the past two years, but now things are really starting to move.”

Hamburg-based TUI Cruises was founded in April 2008 as a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and TUI AG, and specializes in the German-speaking market.

The production of the second ship is expected to start in summer 2013 and it will be delivered from STX Finland’s Turku Shipyard in spring 2015. The company’s first newbuild, announced in November 2011, is scheduled to enter service in spring 2014.