TUI Cruises orders two more from Turku

Mein Schiff 4

JULY 1, 2015 — The boards of TUI Group and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have approved orders for two additional cruise ships for TUI Cruises and orders for them have now been placed with the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

Meyer Turku Oy says the order further strengthens its order book, which now has a high work load until the year 2020.

“We are very happy and proud to continue our successful partnership with TUI Cruises by adding two new cruise ships to this advanced fleet of ships built by the yard in Turku. We are also working on further improving the ships again”, said Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku Oy. “For Turku shipyard this order is of great importance. We have now a solid platform to operate the shipyard at an output of 30% above the 2015 level until 2020. We have now the long term view and stability to plan investments and further recruitments – i.e. to work on our competitiveness in the long run.”

Mein Schiff 4 was successfully delivered by the shipbuilder on May 8, 2015 and Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 6 are to be delivered in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The cruise ships ordered today will be delivered in 2018 and 2019.

“We regard the cruise market as a growth market for our Group,” said TUI Board member Sebastian Ebel. “By expanding our activities in this segment we want to drive the planned revenue and earnings increases for the TUI Group and at the same time develop into one of Europe’s leading cruise providers.”

“The evolution of TUI Cruises has been extraordinary,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “The addition of two newbuilds reinforces TUI’s leadership position in the premium cruise market and further solidifies the successful partnership of our two companies.”

“TUI Cruises has firmly established itself in the German-speaking market, with occupancy of our fleet totaling more than 100 percent last year,” said Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises. “This year, demand has also been excellent so far – with bookings currently being taken for five ships. A further expansion provides a great opportunity to strengthen our position with one of the most modern fleets in the German market.”

The newbuilds planned for 2018 and 2019 will successively replace Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2, which will be passed on to the TUI Group’s Thomson Cruises .

Mein Schiff 4 was launched in the market on June 6 2015, Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 6 are to be commissioned in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The other two newbuilds would follow in 2018 and 2019. With a modern six ship fleet, TUI Cruises says it is well positioned to participate in the growth of the market in the long term.