What Does it Take to Launch a Cruise Ship?

Perfection doesn’t just happen you know!

Marella Cruises gives an insight into what is Involved in launching a ship as their newest ship Marella Voyager enters dry dock ahead of her debut in June

If you love random ship statistics, this post is just for you!

Have you ever wondered just what goes into the launch of a new cruise ship? Before immersing myself into the cruise world, I used to think that it pretty much just involved a dignitary cracking a bottle of fizz over the bow. I gave little thought about what it took to get to that point.

Of course, now I know there is much more to it, and to give you an idea one cruise line reveals all, as the countdown begins for the maiden voyage of its new vessel. Just three weeks before Marella Voyager sets sail for the very first time, Marella Cruises reveals exactly what it takes to launch a cruise ship,

What Happens Behind the Scenes of a Ship Launch?

There has been plenty going on to get the ship ready for her first Western Mediterranean sailing from Palma, Majorca 3rd June 2023.

The fifth and largest ship to the fleet (in terms of tonnage), is undergoing a drastic makeover and spending a total of 36 days in the dry dock in Cadiz. This includes 24 hours at the start to empty the dock and 12 hours at the end to flood the dock to allow the ship to float out..

The transformation will require a collective effort of 11,460 dry dock working hours to prepare the ship, with the help of: 630 contractors, 193 technical crew, 120 yard personnel staff, a team of 12 from technical projects and not forgetting, the hotel staff and their additional working hours to get the ship in running order. To put this into perspective, that’s enough people to fill the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and approximately 477 days that the team are working to turn around, in just over one month - a mammoth task by any standard.

In terms of the exterior and interior across the ship, multiple materials and products will be used to revamp Marella Voyager including:

37,600 square metres of carpet will be laid – enough to cover five standard size football pitches
18,500 litres of paint will be used to revamp the hull – enough to fill 14 six-seater hot tubs
6,000 metres of technical cabling is to be installed (excluding IT equipment) – nearly four miles long, or the distance between London King’s Cross to London Victoria
70,000 tiles will be fixed to the walls, floors and counters in the new food hall venue, The Kitchens, and is being kitted out with 20 tonnes of new catering equipment. That’s about the same weight as three African Elephants.
There are a total of 150 new dishes that will be introduced to guests on Marella Voyager, across the 17 food venues, of which 25 per cent of the new menus will feature vegetarian dishes. Over 250 hours have been spent developing the new menus, or the approximate time it would take the average human to walk from London, UK to Nice, France.

For when the days draw to a close, the entertainment team will come together across the various venues on board and host an array of interactive activities and put on show stopping performances for guests to sit back and enjoy. With the largest seat capacity yet in a Broadway Show Lounge across the fleet with 900 seats, the entertainment cast will spend a total of 586 hours, or approximately full 24 days, rehearsing to learn 12 new production shows, before they’ve even boarded the ship. For reference, 24 days is the average time it takes to cross the Atlantic on a sailboat.

Moreover, over 500 bespoke costumes have been designed and created exclusively for the shows – about 16 times more than a fashion designer would show on a runway at New York Fashion Week and over 850 individual tracks of instruments have been arranged and recorded, equating to 38,250 minutes of recording time – or the equivalent of listening to Bob Marley’s album, ‘Exodus’ 1,027 times. And for the guests who are wanting to challenge their competitiveness, the team have carefully curated 300 ‘Teatime Teaser’ quiz questions, ready to put them to the test.

During dry dock, the hotel director will have walked on average 19,339 steps onboard a day and a total of 109,672 meals would have been served to teams onboard.

Some Additional Marella Voyager Facts:

2300 plants will be mounted to create an indoor plant wall in the new Summer House venue.
Approximately 14,000 planks of vinyl herringbone pattern flooring has been laid in The Kitchens venue, with a total of 130 metres of counter worktops
Approximately 12,500 square metres of tiling has been installed across the ship
Around 11,000 new signs have been hung up, in and around the ship
9,000 linear metres of stainless-steel raw material has been fitted in the kitchen areas and various bars surfaces
3,000 square metres of wallcovering has been installed
Sample Marella Voyager Itineraries/Prices

Highlights of the Mediterranean

Marella Cruises offers a seven-night Highlights of the Mediterranean round trip from Palma, Majorca on Marella Voyager from £1094 per person. Price based on 2 adults sharing an inside cabin on an all-inclusive basis. Calling at Palma, Majorca; Ajaccio, Corsica; Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy; Livorno (for Florence and Pisa), Italy; St Raphael (for St Tropez and Cannes), France; Palamos, Spain and Palma, Majorca. Includes flights from London Gatwick on 1st July, 20kg of luggage per person, transfers, tips, and service charges.

Coastal Gems

Marella Cruises offers a seven-night Coastal Gem round trip from Palma, Majorca on Marella Voyager from £1435 per person. Price based on 2 adults and 2 children sharing a Grand Suite Cabin with Balcony and Premier Service on an all-inclusive basis. Calling at Palma, Majorca; Propriano, Corsica; Piombino (for Siena and Pisa), Italy; Cannes, France; Marseille, France; Ibiza Town, Ibiza and Palma, Majorca. Includes flights from Manchester on 22nd August, 20kg of luggage per person, transfers, tips, and service charges.

For details of all itineraries during Marella Voyager’s inaugural season, see my related post Marella Voyager Itineraries 2023/24.

All prices quoted are correct to the particular product package at the time of TUI issuing the price package/packages to the publication. Price was quoted on 15/05/2023. Prices provided are subject to change and have limited availability. Terms and conditions apply.

Marella Voyager - What Does it Take to Launch a Cruise Ship?