Last year witnessed nine cruise ship namings but the year 2010 sees close to double that number with the official launching of 15 large/midsize and small cruise ships, sure to satisfy the fancies of all cruisers.
Costa Deliziosa during sea trials
|
In the large or mid-size cruise ship categories, this winter sees the official launch of three newbuilds. On January 21, Silversea’s new ship Silver Spirit is officially christened in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (www.silversea.com). The ship was delivered to Silversea in late December.
The month of February sees two namings. On February 9, Aida Cruises’ (www.aidacruises.com) AIDABlu will be named in Hamburg; and on February 23, Costa Cruises (www.costacruises.com) newest ship
Costa Deliziosa makes her debut with a christening in Dubai—the first time a cruise ship has been named in an Arab country.
The next month, sees MSC Cruises’ (www.msccruises.com ) MSC Magnifica inaugurated in Hamburg on March 7.
In early spring, P&O Cruise Line’s new Azura is christened on April 12 in Southampton, UK (www.pocruises.com). Two weeks later on April 26, Southampton is again the venue for the naming of Celebrity’s second ship in the Solstice class, the Celebrity Eclipse (www.celebrity.com ). Then on June 6, Seabourn’s second ship in the Odyssey class--Seabourn Sojourn--is christened in Greenwich, England (www.seabourn.com).
Summer starts out with the festive christening of Norwegian Cruise Lines (www.ncl.com) eagerly awaited Norwegian Epic in New York during the first week of July. The same week Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam has her naming in Venice on July 6 (www.hollandamerica.com ).
There is a summer lull as August and September sport no namings. But in early fall, on October 12, the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth is christened in Southampton (www.cunard.com ). The ship is the successor to the beloved Queen Elizabeth 2 now lying dormant in Dubai and her future as a floating hotel remains cloudy.
In December, Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, sister ship to behemoth Oasis of the Seas, will be christened in Fort Lauderdale (www.royalcaribbean.com).
Small ships:Three small cruise ships also are scheduled for their namings this year as well. On May 6 the French line Compagnie du Ponant (www.ponant.com) names its newbuild Le Boreal in Marseille. In June, American Cruise Lines’ (www.americancruiselines.com) 3,000-ton Independence will be named in Boston. Two months later in September, expedition cruise line Cruceros Australis (www.australis.com) accepts delivery of its new ship Stella Australisfor cruises in the waters off the southern tip of South America. And in October, Hamburg-based Sea Cloud Cruises’ (www.seacloud.com) sailing ship Sea Cloud Hussar makes her debut officially in Malta.
And the three residential ships originally slated for a 2010 launch?
After much hoopla and publicity about three residential ships—Four Seasons, the Orphalese, and the Magellan--slated to debut in 2010, Shipsandcruises has found out that the Four Seasons project has been cancelled. No word about the other two ships—The Orphalese promoted by Global Strategies, and The Magellan conceived by Arizona real estate developer Randall Jackson—but phone calls to the two companies behind the projects were not answered and emails were returned as invalid.
-- PW Mooney, Editor