Ending less than two years of construction, TUI Cruises has officially expanded its fleet with the addition of the Mein Schiff 7. The vessel was officially handed over in a ceremony at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland on June 10, 2024.
“On June 14, 2022, the steel cutting for Mein Schiff 7 took place at our shipyard. We are very proud that today, less than two years later, we can hand over the Mein Schiff 7 to TUI Cruises,” said Meyer Turku’s CEO Tim Meyer as the handover took place.
TUI Cruises’ CEO Wybcke Meier accepted the handover, saying, “Ten years ago, we picked up our first ship of the Blu Motion class here in Turku. Mein Schiff 3 was the first new build for TUI Cruises, and by 2019, we had built a total of six ships. We thank the Meyer Turku shipyard for the excellent cooperation and the development of our ‘feel-good’ fleet.”
Mein Schiff 7, which will be based in Kiel, Germany, is set to depart on a 2-night roundtrip christening voyage in the Bay of Kiel in the Danish Sea on June 12.
It will then sail on a 5-night “anticipation” journey from Kiel to Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oslo, Norway, on June 16 before launching fully into its inaugural season.
Cruises for the 2,896-passenger and 1,000-crew ship will range from 8 to 17 days and explore Northern Europe, visiting Norway, Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Denmark, and other ports in Germany.
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The seventh ship in the Mein Schiff fleet and the first constructed for TUI Cruises since 2019, Mein Schiff 7 is a sister ship to Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2. “It offers many features that our guests appreciate, along with numerous new highlights based on guest feedback,” said Meier.
The new highlights include a new design, additional cabin categories, and 12 restaurants and bistros across its 16 decks.
TUI Cruises Expands Fleet with Focus on Sustainability
Mein Schiff 7 will be the first ship in the fleet to be operated exclusively with low-emission marine diesel and is equipped with catalysts and a shore power connection. The ship was built to run on methanol, including green methanol in the future, which will make the ship’s propulsion almost carbon neutral.
TUI Cruises is currently developing the methanol propulsion of four-stroke engines, as it yet exists, and plans to equip the new ship with them by 2026. It would be the first cruise ship powered by methanol propulsion.
Designed to meet demands for sustainability and efficiency, Mein Schiff 7 has also been equipped with an innovative waste processing system that thermally treats organic waste, shredding it and preparing it for further use on land.
Called “HydroTreat,” the process uses heat and pressure to separate the liquid parts of the waste, which are then directed to the ship’s own wastewater treatment system. The solid waste parts are converted into so-called BioChar, which is considered versatile in agriculture for soil improvement or as a feed additive.
TUI Cruises is further expanding its Mein Schiff fleet with the addition of two new ships: the 160,000-gross-ton Mein Schiff Relax and Mein Schiff 9. These vessels are currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy and are scheduled to debut in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
