Mein Schiff Relax: Construction progress and christening details announced

Von lappino - https://www.shipspotting.com, CC BY 4.0, Link
In the night before midnight, the new cruise ship Mein Schiff Relax, which is being built by the Fincantieri shipyard for TUI Cruises, left the shipyard in Palermo, Sicily. Construction of the ship has not yet been completed. A week earlier, on October 11, 2024, Mein Schiff Relax had reached the dry dock of the shipyard in Palermo after its first sea trial in Monfalcone.

During the week-long stay, important checks and any repairs were carried out on the ship to rectify any problems from the first trial voyage. The ship's hull was fully accessible in the dry dock, which also provided the opportunity for final cosmetic work on the exterior of the newbuilding.

With the departure from Palermo, Mein Schiff Relax started its second sea trial, the so-called “Seatrials”. Here, special maneuvers are carried out that go well beyond those that occur during normal cruise operations. These tests serve to comprehensively check the ship. A team of shipyard experts, TUI Cruises and a classification society accompany these demanding tests. On the TUI Cruises side, start-up captain Thomas Roth is also on board.

The return to the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone is scheduled for Monday morning, October 21, 2024. During the ongoing sea trials and after the return to Monfalcone, work will continue at full speed to complete the cruise ship in order to keep to the schedule. The handover to TUI Cruises and the commissioning of Mein Schiff Relax is scheduled for spring 2025.

The first official voyage of the new InTUItion class flagship is currently scheduled for March 16, 2025 from Palma de Mallorca. Whether there will be special preview voyages in advance, as was the case with previous ship launches, remains unclear.

Just yesterday, TUI Cruises announced comprehensive information about the upcoming christening of Mein Schiff Relax. On April 9, 2025, the ship will be christened in Malaga as part of a grand ceremony. On this occasion, the two sister ships Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 7 will also be on site and act as godmothers. Special christening cruises will be offered for all three ships, which can be booked from October 23, 2024 at 09:30 a.m.