MARINA’s First Trial
Oceania Cruises’ 65,000 gt cruise ship MARINA completed her trials in the Mediterranean Sea on September 26. The 1,250-passenger MARINA is a product of the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestre Ponente, Italy and is scheduled for delivery January 17, 2011. During her three days at sea, technicians and engineers from Fincantieri as well as Oceania Cruises’ marine and technical teams evaluated the vessel’s speed, maneuverability, hydrodynamics and propulsion, along with other aspects of MARINA’s performance.
“She is a beautiful ship. MARINA was extremely maneuverable with virtually no vibration to be felt, even at high speeds,” stated Captain Dimitrios Flokos, the ship’s master. “MARINA exceeded all expectations. In fact, shipyard representatives commented this was the most successful sea trial in recent history for technical performance.”
Robin Lindsay, Oceana’s executive vice president of vessel operations, who was on board during the sea trials, said. “Her first foray at sea was a resounding success. MARINA exhibited exceptional sea-keeping abilities, is amazingly agile and cruised at more than 22 knots with plenty of power in reserve,”
The ship’s final trials will be run just prior to her hand-over in January. MARINA’s 13-day maiden voyage begins January 22, 2011 from Barcelona to Miami. On February 8, she departs on the first of two 18-day Panama Canal transits that visit San Francisco or San Diego, both maiden calls for Oceania Cruises. MARINA will operate a 12-day Caribbean cruise, round-trip from Miami, departing March 16, before sailing along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and on to Europe to begin her first Mediterranean season.
See previous video of MARINA at her float out: clips by Peter Knego on the Video Page
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It will be interesting to see how this new ship does being that it is over twice the size of the fleets current ships and is the approximate size of the retired QE2 and the current Holland America’s Rotterdam VI and Amsterdam, as well as the Crystal Serenity. Looking forward to seeing interior pictures of the finished product.
SHE TRULY LOOKS BEATIFUL ! A CROSS BETWEEN THE CROWN ODYSSEY OF 1988 AND THE GOLDEN ODYSSEY OF 1974. ONE THE FEW SLEEK NON-TOPHEAVY LOOKING NORWEGIAN EPIC A.K.A. NORWEGIAN ULGY !!
As an avid Oceania fan (every year!), fingers crossed they get this “upsizing” right… it’s making we “small ship” enthusiasts very nervous indeed. I do miss that there is no walk-around boat deck (or any sort of one at all) on this. And man, what a BORING name! But what counts here, one hopes, is the same superlative cuisine and personalised service that Oceania just excells in.
At 65,000 gross registered tons, the new Marina is far lighter than the newest HAl ships, which weigh in in the 90,000 GRT, and is quite a bit shorter than the QE2, which is 999 feet long, as opposed to the Marina, at 774 feet in length. While aboard one of my several Oceania cruises, during a repeaters party when the new ship was announced, and unnamed, the new ship was to be 54,000 GRT’s, or about the same tonnage as the Statendam Class(ie: Maasdam, Ryndam, et cetera), of HAL.
Later, during another cruise, the ship had been named, and the dimensions and a model of the ship were presented. Oceania decided on a longer, and larger ship, to allow for exceptional; passenger space, and one that would sail well and contain all of the hallmarks that Oceania Cruises is famous for, only improved.
While aboard the QM2 this past July, several Canyon Ranch Spa employees, whom I have known over the years on the Mary, were readying the new Canyon Ranch Spa, with further training in Lennox, Mass. CRS home facility, and would be going to the ship fo finalize the set-up of the new spa. This was done before the Mary was in service, as well. There is NO connection between Cunard and Oceania. They just happen to have the best spa operatoins at sea.
I will see first had what the Marina is like, when we take our son and his wife on 14 day cruise in 2011, in two Conceirge suites.
True, a full promenade would be wonderful, however, there is not one. A plus, for stability, at least thre necks more are not on the ship, less top-heavy.
Am I the only one who thinks that based on actual photographs, the Marina looks somewhat disappointing externally? (Can’t really comment on the interiors yet).
Unrelatedly to the above, @Kenneth Eden: Gross register tons are not a unit of weight but of volume. Your point is perfectly correct, but technically it’s incorrect to say the Marina is lighter at 65,000 GRT (and a further technicality, the GRT is a retired unit and now all ships are measured in gross tons (GT), which uses a slightly different formula).
MR. EDEN: The QE2 (elongated forecastle, ocean liner bow, and all) was 963′ not 999′, making the Marina is 189′ shorter not 225′, and Marina is (slightly) larger yet nearly exact is GRT as the 4 Holland-America Rotterdam/Volendam-class ships.
Here’s another picture of her under construction. Not bad looking externally, but as Mr. Eden mentioned it is the exceptional service, food, and interior passenger spaces (and amenities) that count.
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=1090134
I certainly agree with the tonnes, tonnage and GRT of ships, a fact of “volume”, not putting a ship on a scale and weighing it. Several points that used to be made during ones cruise or crossing, by the captain, or in the daily ships news paper, another bit of ships trivia that has passed, along with most passenger lists and educating passengers as to what a ship is as opposed to a boat, and what a deck is as opposed to a “floor”, ie: Stella said her “room” was on the” 6th floor”, on the right side of the boat – we’ve all heard this many times. Its as stupid a statement as “does the crew sleep on the ship”
I agree with Kalle ID that the Marina does look somewhat disappoiinting externally. I like a round aft, and wedding cake sweep of rear decks, overlooking a lido pool, think QE2, Sagafjord, Royal Viking Sun (Prinsendam) and Fred Olsen. Oh, well, it is what goes on inside the ship that counts