At Sea with Doug Newman

TUI Cruises, the new German-market joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and TUI AG, has announced that Celebrity Cruises’ 77,713 GT, 1,896-berth Celebrity Galaxy will enter service as its first ship in May 2009. The ship, built in 1996, will undergo a 50 million Euro, two-month-long refit before beginning her new career. Her new name has not yet been announced.

TUI Cruises also announced the first details of its product philosophy. Describing itself as offering “premium cruises at affordable prices”, it aims to become the first German cruise brand in what it calls the “contemporary premium” segment, contemporary describing the style of on-board product and premium the price range. AIDA, the largest German cruise brand, is described as being in the “club premium” segment, while the “traditional premium” segment is occupied by operators like Peter Deilmann Kreuzfahrten. While it says it will be the first contemporary premium German brand, TUI places many of the largest international brands in this segment, like Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. TUI Cruises will offer German consumers a “middle ground” between what many see as “old”, overly-formal traditional brands or “loud”, overly-casual club brands, a market segment that so far has been served in Germany only by international operators.

The TUI Cruises dining concept will differ from AIDA’s buffet-centric product by offering open seating with waiter service in the main dining room; there will also be a sushi bar, steakhouse, pasta restaurant, bar restaurant and buffet wellness restaurant. The “Vitality through Water” concept will put an emphasis on healthy foods and beverages.

Major changes will be made during the refit that will tailor Celebrity Galaxy to the TUI product. The ship’s capacity will increase to 1,960 passengers, and new balconies will be added to outside cabins and the balconies of existing balcony cabins will double in size. The number of balcony cabins will nearly double to 428, or 44% of the ship’s cabins. The spa will also be doubled in size, taking over the space currently occupied by the Hemisphere observation lounge, and will feature spa suites with balconies. “Meditation islands” will be built on deck; semi-private balconies where passengers will be able to relax and enjoy the view. . the pool deck and casino are also on the agenda for the refit. TUI has already hired the Hamburg-based firm CM Design, who will work alongside Royal Caribbean’s newbuilding and design team.

Perhaps the most unique feature announced by TUI Cruises is its hammock concept. Yes, that’s right: every passenger will be issued a hammock in the ship’s colors, and there will be hooks throughout the public rooms on which they’ll be able to hang their hammocks. They’ll also be usable in the meditation islands. I must admit I’m rather skeptical about the hammock idea — I hope it’s better than it sounds! (Will all the hammock space replace the furniture in the public rooms? Will columns have to be able to be built all over the place to hang the hammocks from? Will it make the inside of the ship look like a troop transport? Only time will tell!)

Hammocks aside, TUI sounds like it has come up with a very interesting product, and it’s identified a market segment that might even allow it to overtake AIDA as the biggest German cruise line. (TUI itself describes AIDA as a “niche product” and suggests that its cruise line will have a broader appeal.) Indeed, rapid expansion is planned, with the company hoping to introduce its first newbuilds in 2011 and 2010. In the meantime, the former Celebrity Galaxy will sail the Baltic and Northern Europe from May to September 2009, the Western Mediterranean from September to November 2009, and the Caribbean from November 2009 to March 2010. Celebrity Galaxy’s last Celebrity cruise will be a Caribbean cruise round-trip from San Juan departing on 2 March 2009 and returning on 13 March 2009.

For more information on TUI Cruises, see its new web site here (in German only). There’s also a press release from Royal Caribbean here.