TUI Cruises

History

The company started operations in 2009 and competes with AIDA Cruises for the German market. It targets German-speaking customers who opt for a premium cruise experience. The onboard product, including food, entertainment and amenities, is tailored for German tastes and German is the main language used onboard its ships.

Due to lack of new-building capacity, TUI Cruises started by acquiring the cruise ship Celebrity Galaxy, which was built by Meyer Werft and was owned by another RCCL subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises. She left the Celebrity fleet on 16 March 2009. After acquiring Celebrity Galaxy, the ship headed to Lloyd Werft shipyards in Bremerhaven, Germany. She arrived on 27 March 2009, and received a €50 million, 38-day conversion to upgrade her facilities to suit a German-speaking market. After the conversion, she was re-christened on 15 May 2009 in Hamburg, Germany bearing her new name, Mein Schiff (My Ship). TUI planned to build two 2,500-passenger, 100,000-GT cruise ships in 2011 and 2012.

On May 27, 2010, it was announced that another Century-class ship, Celebrity Mercury, would become the latest addition to TUI's fleet, renamed Mein Schiff 2. Due to this Mein Schiff was immediately renamed Mein Schiff 1. Mein Schiff 2 entered service with TUI in February 2011 after its extensive refurbishment, with the addition of more verandas, an expanded fitness area and design elements which are also found on Mein Schiff 1.

Newbuilds

TUI and STX Finland announced a contract on 27 September 2011 to build a 97,000-GT vessel named Mein Schiff 3, first of the Blue Motion class, which was delivered in 2014. The vessel is approximately 295 m long and approximately 36 m wide. The ship has 1,250 staterooms, most of which have balconies, with a capacity of 2,500 passengers and a crew of 1,000. The ship includes several restaurants, a theatre, spa and nightclub. The contract included an option to build a second ship, dependent on the approval of TUI Cruises shareholders. It was announced on November 5, 2012 that TUI had taken up the second option for the sister ship to the Mein Schiff 3, to be named Mein Schiff 4. On April 22, 2014, Mein Schiff 3 entered service. In March 2015, Royal Caribbean International announced that they had agreed to sell to TUI Cruises in the second quarter of 2016, and that TUI would lease the ship to Thomson Cruises to replace the Island Escape. In May 2015, TUI Group announced that as part of their modernization strategy, and would be transferred to Thomson Cruises over the next few years, as a result, 2 replacement ships neue Mein Schiff 1 and neue Mein Schiff 2 were ordered. On January 15, Mein Schiff 5 was launched. On April 28, *Mein Schiff 6's * was laid down.

The new Mein Schiff 1 debuted in 2018, followed by the Mein Schiff 2 in 2019. These were both enlarged version of the previous ships, and included modification in the layout of the open decks, with an enclosed sport court, expanded forward suite area, an infilled aft deck, and a new elevated jogging track.

In July 2018, TUI Cruises announces th order of two new 160,000 ton LNG InTUItion class ships at Fincanteri.

In February 2020 TUI announced the purchase of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten. The take over was completed in July 2020.

The Mein Schiff Herz left the fleet in April 2023.

In 2023 it was announced the new InTUItion class would introduce a new naming convention, with the first ship named Mein Schiff Relax. The ship was floated out in November 2023 at Fincantieri's Monfalcone shipyard in Italy.

The final ship of the Blue Motion Class, Mein Schiff 7 debuted in 2024, and will be one of the first methanol ready ships.

On February 7, 2025, the Mein Schiff Relax was delivered to TUI Cruises. The first new prototype design for the line in over 11 years, it is also the first LNG powered and largest ship in the fleet.

Fleet

Current fleet

Future fleet

Former fleet

References

References

1. (28 April 2008). "Royal Caribbean and TUI AG complete joint venture for TUI Cruises". Cruise Industry News.
2. (2020-02-07). "Tui bündelt Kreuzfahrt-Geschäft in Gemeinschaftsunternehmen mit Royal Caribbean Cruises". Manager-Magazin.
3. (18 May 2009). "TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff Sets sail". Cruise Industry News.
4. (13 November 2008). "TUI commissions Lloyd shipyards with conversion of 1st ship". Cruise Industry News.
5. (3 October 2008). "TUI close to selecting shipyards". Cruise Industry News.
6. (11 February 2009). "TUI plans still intact". Cruise Industry News.
7. [http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/4068-52710-celebrity-mercury-to-become-second-ship-in-tui-cruises-fleet.html Celebrity Mercury to become second ship in TUI Cruises fleet]. ''Cruise Industry News''. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010
8. (2023-12-01). "TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 7 launched at Meyer Turku".
9. (27 September 2011). "STX Finland Oy Signs Design and Construction Contract for 97.000 GT Cruise Vessel". Shipbuilding Tribune.
10. (5 November 2012). "TUI Picks Up Option – Orders Second Ship from STX Finland – Cruise Industry News – Cruise News".
11. (2 March 2015). "Splendour of the Seas Sold to TUI for Thomson Cruises". cruiseindustrynews.com.
12. (13 May 2015). "TUI: Thomson to Get Mein Schiff 1 and 2 – Cruise Industry News – Cruise News".
13. (15 January 2016). "Mein Schiff 5 Float Out – Cruise Industry News – Cruise News".
14. (28 April 2016). "Meyer Turku: Keel-Laying for Mein Schiff 6 – Cruise Industry News – Cruise News".
15. Industry News, Cruise. "Preview: Mein Schiff 1 - Cruise Industry News {{!}} Cruise News".
16. (2018-07-13). "TUI Cruises setzt auf nachhaltiges Wachstum - Flottenerweiterung um zwei weitere Neubauten bedient steigende Nachfrage".
17. "TUI Cruises orders first two LNG ships from Fincantieri".
18. (February 7, 2020). "TUI sells 5% of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises to Royal Caribbean".
19. Industry News, Cruise. "Mein Schiff Herz Sets Sail on Final Cruise for TUI - Cruise Industry News {{!}} Cruise News".
20. (2023-11-15). "Mein Schiff Relax is the name of TUI Cruises' first InTUIition class ship".
21. "Fincantieri {{!}} Mein Schiff Relax launched in Monfalcone".
22. Maritime, Baird. (2018-02-13). "TUI Cruises orders cruise ship from Meyer Turku".
23. "Fincantieri Delivers Mein Schiff Relax in Monfalcone - Cruise Industry News {{!}} Cruise News".
24. (2016-06-23). "Mein Schiff 7 & Mein Schiff 8 werden zu Mein Schiff 1 & Mein Schiff 2".
25. (2015-07-01). "Meyer Turku to build Mein Schiff 7 and 8 for TUI Cruises".
26. (2024-06-10). "TUI's Mein Schiff 7 Delivered by Meyer Turku".
27. (2024-06-10). "TUI Cruises setzt Wachstumskurs der Mein Schiff Flotte fort: Mein Schiff 7 feierlich in Turku/Finnland übernommen".
28. [https://www.meyerwerft.de/en/ships/mein_schiff_7.jsp Meyer Werft: Mein SChiff 7]
29. "DNV: Mein Schiff 7".
30. (2022-06-14). "TUI's Mein Schiff 7 Will Be Methanol-Ready".
31. (2022-06-14). "Produktionsstart für Neubau Mein Schiff 7 erfolgt: TUI Cruises setzt auf nachhaltiges Wachstum".
32. (2022-06-14). "Production of Mein Shiff 7 launched at the Meyer Turku shipyard".
33. "Finnische Werft Meyer Turku strebt nach Führungsrolle bei Klimaneutralität".
34. https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/10/tuis-next-ship-to-carry-name-mein-schiff-flow/
35. "Mein Schiff: Beste Aussichten auf ein sehr gutes Reisejahr 2024".
36. "Mein Schiff: Beste Aussichten auf ein sehr gutes Reisejahr 2024".
37. (16 January 2024). "TUI Cruises auf Kurs in die Zukunft: Drei Schiffe gleichzeitig im Bau".
38. Dixon, Gary. (2025-09-29). "TUI and Royal Caribbean order $2bn-plus cruise ship double at Fincantieri".
39. "Fincantieri {{!}} Fincantieri and TUI Cruises sign contract for two new cruise ships".