Length 264 m Yard number B31 Crew 720-750 crew | Launched 17 June 1995 Tonnage 69,130 GT | |
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Name 1995–2016 Splendour of the Seas
2016–Present TUI Discovery Owner 1996–2016 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Operator 1995–2016 Royal Caribbean International
2016–Present TUI Cruises/Thomson Cruises Port of registry Norway, Oslo (1996–2005)
Bahamas, Nassau (2005–2016)
Malta, Valletta (2016 onwards) Route Palma De Mallorca, Spain And Bridgetown, Barbados Builder Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Saint-Nazaire, France Capacity 2,076 passengers in 902 staterooms Height 50 metres (160 ft) air draft | ||
Thomson tui discovery cruise ship jan 2017
TUI Discovery is a Vision-class cruise ship which sails for Thomson Cruises. Prior to April 2016, she was operated by Royal Caribbean International as Splendour of the Seas. The second in the line of the Vision-class ships, she features a seven-story lobby, rock-climbing wall, and an 9-hole miniature golf course.
Contents
History
TUI Discovery was built for Royal Caribbean International as Splendour of the Seas by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The ship was assigned the yard number "B31", and was launched on June 17, 1995 by Lisa Wilhelmsen. The ship is registered to the port of Nassau, in the Bahamas. Maiden voyage for Splendour of the Seas commenced on March 31, 1996.
On 31 October 2011, Royal Caribbean and Spanish shipyard Navantia signed a contract for Splendour of the Seas to receive structural modifications, maintenance to the propellers, propeller shafts and rudder, and interior upgrades, including new dining and public areas, 124 new balconies, and improvements to staterooms. The work was expected to take about five weeks to complete.
Until April 2016, Splendour of the Seas was based in Brazil during the southern hemisphere summer, doing a series of itineraries from three to twelve nights throughout South America, and is based out of Venice, Italy during the northern hemisphere summer, sailing seven night cruises to the Eastern Mediterranean.
In March 2015, Royal Caribbean sold Splendour of the Seas to TUI Cruises who was then sub-chartered to Thomson Cruises, with the final sailing for Royal Caribbean departing on April 4, 2016. The ship was renamed TUI Discovery and was based in Palma, Mallorca and Bridgetown, Barbados starting in June 2016 after refurbishment. She was originally going to be renamed Thomson Discovery, but they changed it to TUI Discovery as part of their rebranding.
On October 22, 2015 whilst sailing on a cruise in the Mediterranean, Splendour of the Seas suffered an engine-room fire, which was extinguished after 2 hours by the crew. There were no injuries reported by Royal Caribbean and the ship continued its journey to the port of Venice.
Splendour of the Seas spent her last season with Royal Caribbean International by sailing from Dubai on 7-8 night cruises, visiting destinations such as Muscat, Oman and Abu Dhabi throughout November 2015- March 2016.
Design
The gross tonnage of TUI Discovery is 69,130, and she has a displacement of 35,396 tonnes (34,837 long tons; 39,017 short tons). The cruise ship is 264 metres (866 ft) in length overall, with a beam of 32 metres (105 ft), a draft of 7.9 metres (26 ft) in summer conditions, and an air draft of 50 metres (160 ft). The propulsion system consists of five Wärtsilä Vasa 12V46B engines, which supply 11,700 kilowatts (15,700 hp) each to the ship's two, 5.8-metre (19 ft) diameter, fixed pitch propellers. Maximum speed is 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), with the ship taking 1,892 metres (6,207 ft) and 6 minutes, 45 seconds to come to a full stop. Main propulsion is supplemented by two 1,500-kilowatt (2,000 hp) bow thrusters and a 1,728-kilowatt (2,317 hp) stern thruster. Two 10.8-square-metre (116 sq ft), 6.1-metre (20 ft), the ship is also equipped with stabilizers.
Facilities and layout
The ship has eleven decks, with passenger accommodation located on decks 2 to 3 and 6 to 8. Up to 2,074 passengers can be carried, with 902 staterooms aboard (including 20 suites and 67 junior suites). Decks 9 and 10 make up the 'outdoor' portion of the ship, with the main pool, rock climbing wall, 9-hole miniature golf course, and solarium. Deck 11, the uppermost deck, hosts the ship's Viking Crown Lounge.
All guest rooms contain safes, and as the ship operates in both the American and European regions, electrical power is both 110-volt and 220-volt. Also contained within the ship are most of the passenger facilities, including the theater, the casino, shops, themed bars and lounges, and the main dining room. All guest rooms have telephones for internal phone calls or ship-to-shore communications via satellite. Support for some cellular phone networks is also provided.
The standard crew complement is 720, with accommodation for another 30 if required; all crew accommodation is located near the bottom of the ship, on deck 1. The bridge is located forward on deck 8. Onboard equipment can generate 1,100,000 litres (240,000 imp gal; 290,000 US gal) of fresh water every day, 600,000 litres (130,000 imp gal; 160,000 US gal) of which will be used aboard during the same period.