The hull assembly phase of Carnival Mardi Gras, a 180 000 gross tonnage cruise ship, was celebrated with a traditional coin ceremony at Meyer Turku shipyard today, the company says in a press release. The coin set on top of the keel blocks will be placed into the ship for good luck after the float-out of the ship.
This time the assembly of the ship hull had already began few weeks before by the arrival of floating engine room unit from another Meyer shipyard, Neptun Werft, in Rostock, Germany.
Mardi Gras is the second LNG powered cruise ship being built at Meyer Turku and will have many interesting attractions, including six themed zones. Ultimate Playground will have water slides, a ropes course and the first in the world roller coaster onboard a ship. The French Quarter will have New Orleans-inspired cocktail bars and restaurants, at Lido pool area passengers are able to enjoy fun in the sun . At the heart of the ship there is Grand Central, a large open three-deck space for entertainment and relaxing. A special feature of Grand Central, one that will really connect the passengers to the sea, is its floor-to-ceiling glass front, a complex feat of design and engineering skill.
“We have been very excited to design and now finally to start assembling Carnival Mardi Gras. All these different features onboard require a lot of engineering and design expertise which we have been happy to provide to our customer”, CEO of Meyer Turku Jan Meyer states.
“This is a historic day for Carnival – the official start of construction of the spectacular Mardi Gras which will usher in an exciting new chapter for our company and introduce so many guest-pleasing innovations,” said Carnival Cruise Lines SVP Newbuilds Ben Clement.
Carnival Mardi Gras is already benefiting from some of the investments of Meyer Turku’s 200 million euro investment program. The steel halls at the shipyard are going through a major rebuilding with new machines and IT-systems, but also new processes to build the ships with newly trained employees.
“We are seeing the benefits already and will continue to see more benefits later this year. Already our automated steel pre-treatment facility and storage have been up and running for some time now and supporting the steel construction of Mardi Gras”, Jan Meyer tells.
Present at today’s ceremony were CEO of Meyer Turku Jan Meyer, SVP Newbuilds Ben Clement from Carnival Cruise Line, Captain Giuseppe Giusa, Chief Engineer Ferdinando Ruocco and Hotel Director Pierre Camilleri.