Shipyard De Hoop of the Netherlands has joined other European offshore shipbuilders in the expedition cruise game with an order from Miami-based cruise giant Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCCL).
RCCL has ordered a 6,000-gt, 100-passenger expedition cruiseship — the Celebrity Flora — for its Celebrity Cruises brand at De Hoop’s yard in Lobith. Delivery is inked for 2019.
The ship will replace two of the three small expedition cruiseships that RCCL operates in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.
The Dutch yard is best known as a builder of platform supply vessels and tugs of various types, but it has also built a dozen or so river cruiseships.
Celebrity Cruises, in a statement to TradeWinds, said De Hoop won a bidding process against three other yards.
"De Hoop was a clear winner in several aspects and Celebrity and RCCL’s newbuild department feel confident that through the collaboration of our experience, any challenges can be addressed," Celebrity Cruises said. "Our experiences to date reinforce our belief that De Hoop was the right choice.
“There are very few yards building vessels of this size that could be considered as more experienced. Many yards have had a good run building offshore and are just now turning to cruise vessel design and build projects. De Hoop has had a long history of building river cruise vessels and offshore work vessels.”
The IHS International Ships Register suggests an identical sistership to the Celebrity Flora has also been ordered and assigned the next Hull No of 489. Celebrity Cruises claims it has only ordered one ship, but does not say whether it holds an option for a second vessel.
