Marella Explorer 2

Marella Explorer 2, formerly Celebrity Century and SkySea Golden Era, was the lead ship of the Century class of cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises, and the co-flagship of the Celebrity fleet, along with Millennium-class ship Celebrity Constellation, and the newest Solstice class, Celebrity Reflection. Other ships belonging to the Century class include Marella Explorer (formerly Celebrity Galaxy) and Mein Schiff 2 (formerly Celebrity Mercury).

Marella Explorer 2 as Celebrity Century
History
Name:
  • Century (1995–2008)
  • Celebrity Century (2008–2015)
  • SkySea Golden Era (2015-2019)
  • Marella Explorer 2 (2019-present)
Owner: Marella Cruises
Operator: Marella Cruises
Port of registry:
Builder:
Yard number: 637
Laid down: January 1994
Launched: 18 May 1995
Completed: 30 November 1995
Maiden voyage: 20 December 1995
In service: 1995–present
Identification:
Status: In service
Notes: [1][2]
General characteristics
Class and type: Century-class cruise ship
Tonnage:
  • 71,545 GT
  • 39,002 NT
Length: 248 m (814 ft)
Beam: 32 m (105 ft)
Draught: 7.6 m (25 ft)
Decks: 12
Speed: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Capacity: 1,814 passengers
Crew: 843
Notes: [1][2]

In March 2018, it was announced that Royal Caribbean Cruises and Ctrip were to close the SkySea Cruise Line brand and that the line's sole ship SkySea Golden Era would join the Marella fleet in place of Mein Schiff 2 which would stay with TUI Cruises.[3][4] Skysea Golden Era would take her final voyage on 29 August 2018. It was a 4-night sailing from Shanghai with a call at Fukuoka, Japan.[5]

SkySea Golden Era underwent a major refurbishment, in Cadiz, Spain, in order to become Marella Explorer 2. Its first sailing for Marella Cruises was in April 2019.

History

Century was launched in 1995 and went into a five-week drydock in April 2006 for refurbishment. Designed to incorporate a variety of Celebrity's Millennium-class attributes, the revitalization of Century was the line's most extensive refurbishment to-date, and the largest cruise ship modification completed by Fincantieri's Palermo, Italy, shipyard.

In late December 2013, it was rumored that the ship would transfer to CDF Croisières de France in 2015.[6] Celebrity Cruises continued to deny the rumors until 13 February 2014 when they formally announced her departure from the fleet in April 2015, from March 2014 through April 2015, Celebrity Century visited 77 ports in 32 countries, the most destinations of any ship in the Celebrity fleet. The line celebrated this final season with several special events, including a 14-night President's Cruise to Asia with Celebrity President and CEO Michael Bayley.[7] On 2 September 2014, it was announced that SkySea Cruises, a joint venture between Ctrip and Royal Caribbean,[8] would acquire the vessel and begin operations after April 2015.[9]

Coronavirus pandemic

On 25 March 2020, four crew members tested positive of COVID-19 and were stranded in Barbados.[10] On 30 March, the ship was sailing along the Yucatan coast with plans to dock in Progreso, Yucatan.[11] On 3 April, a male British passenger died from the disease while his wife had also been infected.[12] On 19 April, out of 19 Jamaican crew members on the ship, two of them tested positive.[13]

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References
  1. "Celebrity Century Vessel Details and Current Position". Marine Traffic. 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  2. "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Celebrity Century". VesselTracker. 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  3. Mathisen, Monty (20 March 2018). "Royal Caribbean and Ctrip to Kill SkySea Brand". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  4. Mathisen, Monty (20 March 2018). "SkySea Shutdown Sparks Ship Transfer Shuffle". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  5. "SkySea Announces Final China Season". Cruise Industry News. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  6. "Celebrity Century to join CDF Croisières de France in 2015". Seatrade Insider. 28 December 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  7. "Celebrity Cruises Confirms Departure of Celebrity Century". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  8. "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Ctrip Announce Joint Venture through SkySea Cruises" (Press release). Ctrip.com International, Ltd. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  9. "Ctrip to Acquire Celebrity Century from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd". Yahoo! Finance. 2 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  10. "Cruise ships still being turned away from ports worldwide due to coronavirus". The Independent. 25 March 2020.
  11. "Report: Cruise ship with COVID-19 patients awaits entry into Progreso". Yucatán Expat Life. 30 March 2020.
  12. "Cruise ship passenger brought to Yucatan dies of coronavirus". Yucatán Expat Life. 4 April 2020.
  13. Mills, Claude (19 April 2020). "Heartbreaking account from J'can on COVID-afflicted ship off UK coast". loopjamaica.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.

Bibliography


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