| IMO | 9641730 |
|---|---|
| Gross tonnage | 99,700 GT |
| Length | 295.0 m |
| Beam | 35.8 m |
| Passenger capacity (max) | 2506 |
| Service speed | 21.7 knots |
| Builder | STX Finland |
| Yard | Perno shipyard |
| Hull number | 1383 |
| Launched | 2014 |
| Maiden voyage | 2014 |
| Operator | TUI Cruises |
| Status | Active |
Overview
Mein Schiff 3 — "My Ship 3" — is the first cruise ship purpose-built for TUI Cruises, the German line formed as a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean. TUI's first two ships were second-hand conversions inherited from Celebrity Cruises; Mein Schiff 3, delivered from Turku in May 2014, was the ship the line designed for itself, and she set the pattern for the modern Mein Schiff fleet: a premium, largely all-inclusive product for the German market, built around space, quiet and food rather than attractions. She was also built against a backdrop of shipyard crisis — her existence was at one point in doubt as STX Finland fought for survival — which makes her as much a landmark in Finnish shipbuilding as in German cruising.
Key specifications
Mein Schiff 3 measures 99,700 GT (99,526 GT as measured on delivery), 295.0 metres in length with a beam of 35.8 metres and a draught of about 8.05 metres. She has 1,253 staterooms carrying 2,500 passengers at double occupancy and up to 2,506, with a crew of about 1,000. Propulsion is diesel-electric through conventional shafts and fixed-pitch propellers — a deliberate departure from the podded drives used on most Royal Caribbean-group ships — driven by four Wärtsilä engines, with three bow thrusters and two stern thrusters. Her service speed is 21.7 knots. She is registered at Valletta, Malta, cost a reported €360 million, and was built as STX Finland hull number 1383.
Design and construction
The contract was signed on 27 September 2011, with an option for a sister that was confirmed in November 2012. The keel was laid on 12 December 2012 under the name "Newbuilding 1383." Construction then ran into the near-collapse of the Finnish yard: STX Finland's funding for the TUI pair had been linked to winning the third Oasis-class contract for Royal Caribbean, which went to France instead, and the Finnish government declined a €50 million emergency loan. The project was rescued in February 2013 by a package of €31 million in state "innovation aid," the city of Turku buying the shipyard land for €23.5 million, support from the Korean parent, and more flexible payments from TUI. The ship was floated out on 8 November 2013. Environmental design was a headline: an exhaust-gas cleaning system cutting sulphur emissions by up to 99 per cent, and energy consumption around 30 per cent below comparable older ships.
Naming, launch and maiden voyage
Following her float-out on 8 November 2013, the ship ran her only set of sea trials on 22 April 2014 — the tight schedule allowed just one — and was handed over to TUI Cruises on 22 May 2014. She was christened at Hamburg on 12 June 2014 by the singer Helene Fischer, under the motto "Diamond meets Pearl," a reference to the ship's glass Diamond at the stern and to Hamburg, the "pearl on the Elbe." Her nine-day maiden voyage began the next day, 13 June 2014, from Hamburg by way of Le Havre, La Coruña, Leixões, Lisbon and Cádiz to Mallorca.
Career by operator
| Years | Name | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| 2014–present | Mein Schiff 3 | TUI Cruises |
She has sailed her entire career for TUI Cruises under her original name, in the line's programme of European and, seasonally, longer-haul voyages for the German market. (The dataset's operator history also lists Celebrity Cruises; that reflects the origins of the earlier, second-hand Mein Schiff 1 and 2, not this hull, which has never sailed for Celebrity — see the batch notes.)
Onboard character
Mein Schiff 3 defined the Mein Schiff idea: premium-inclusive cruising in German, with most food, drink and gratuities in the fare. Her signature architectural feature is the Diamond — a 167-square-metre glass structure at the stern spanning two decks, housing specialty restaurants, a lounge and a bar behind a wall of glass over the wake. She also introduced a 300-seat acoustically designed concert hall, the Klanghaus, for classical and jazz performance; glass-bottomed balcony lookouts high on the ship; and a 25-metre pool, among the longest at sea when she debuted. The mood is deliberately calm: this is a ship designed against the theme-park direction of contemporary cruise design.
Major refits and incidents
No major casualty or incident is recorded for Mein Schiff 3 in the sources used for this guide. Her build-time crisis at STX Finland — twice close to stopping work in 2013 before state support and renegotiated payments carried the yard through — is the nearest thing to a dramatic episode in her history, and it happened before she carried a single passenger. She has since had the routine drydock maintenance cycle normal for a front-line ship.
Sister ships and class
Mein Schiff 3 is the lead ship of TUI's first newbuild series: Mein Schiff 4 followed in 2015, and the slightly modified Mein Schiff 5 in 2016 and Mein Schiff 6 in 2017, all from the same Turku yard. The design was then stretched for the new Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 of 2018 and 2019. The Turku yard itself passed to Meyer ownership during the series' construction, becoming Meyer Turku.
Fate and where she is now
Mein Schiff 3 remains in active service with TUI Cruises, the ship that turned a two-ship start-up of converted tonnage into a purpose-built fleet.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cruise_ships, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Schiff_3, http://www.castlesoftheseas.nl/mein-schiff-3.html