Mein Schiff Herz

Mein Schiff Herz (formerly MV Mercury, Celebrity Mercury and Mein Schiff 2) is the second of two Century-class cruise ships operated by TUI Cruises. Built for Celebrity Cruises at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, she was launched on 11 July 1997, and was christened and entered service as MV Mercury on 27 October 1997.

Mein Schiff Herz
Mein Schiff Herz (as Mein Schiff 2) docked at Argostoli, Kefalonia
History
Name:
  • 1997–2008 Mercury
  • 2008–2011 Celebrity Mercury
  • 2011–2019 Mein Schiff 2
  • 2019 onwards Mein Schiff Herz
Owner:
Operator:
  • 1997–2011: Celebrity Cruises
  • 2011 onwards: TUI Cruises
Port of registry:
Builder: Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany
Yard number: 639
Launched: 11 July 1997
Christened: 27 October 1997[1]
Maiden voyage: 27 October 1997
In service: 1997
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Century-class cruise ship
Tonnage: 77,302 GT
Length: 866 ft (264 m)
Beam: 105.6 ft (32 m)
Draft: 25.5 ft (8 m)
Decks: 12
Speed: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Capacity: 1,912 passengers

In 2008, after some eleven years in operation as Mercury, she was renamed Celebrity Mercury. In 2011, she was transferred to the fleet of TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Celebrity Cruises' owner Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. At the same time, she was renamed Mein Schiff 2.

In January 2019, she was again renamed, as Mein Schiff Herz.[2] Her sister ship Marella Explorer is the former MV Galaxy, also previously operated by Celebrity Cruises.

History
As Celebrity Mercury in 2006, docked in Seattle being inspected

On May 19, 2006, just prior to Mercury's planned departure for an Alaska cruise, Seattle-based inspectors from the U.S. Coast Guard arrested the captain of the Mercury for intoxication during a routine safety inspection. Celebrity Cruises arranged for a replacement, and fired the original captain.[3][4]

Mercury departing from Cabo San Lucas in 2005

While cruising from Charleston, South Carolina to the eastern Caribbean in February 2010, the ship was struck with a major outbreak of norovirus, affecting nearly 500 people on board, out of a total of just over 1,800. According to Celebrity Cruises, those taken ill were treated with over-the-counter medicine. Additionally, a doctor and two nurses joined the ship midway to assist with the outbreak.[5]

TUI Cruises
Mein Schiff 2 in the Chinese Dock in Valletta (2016)

In February 2011 Celebrity Mercury left Celebrity Cruises to be renovated by Imtech and join TUI Cruises' fleet as Mein Schiff 2, alongside Mein Schiff 1, her sister ship, the former Celebrity Galaxy. In May 2015, TUI Group announced that as part of their modernization strategy, TUI Cruises' Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 would be transferred to Thomson Cruises over the next few years.[6]

In March 2018 TUI Cruises announced that Mein Schiff 2 would remain in the fleet and sail under a new name. In October 2018 the name was announced as Mein Schiff Herz. It was also announced that Mein Schiff Herz will be handed over to Marella Cruises in April 2022.[7]

References
  1. "M/S MERCURY (1997)". www.faktaomfartyg.se.
  2. "Mein Schiff Herz Set for Drydock Upgrades". Cruise Industry News. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  3. "Periklis Petridis / Drunk Captain Celebrity Cruise Lines - Mercury". cruisebruise.com. May 19, 2006. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  4. Sullivan, Jennifer (May 23, 2006). "Lawyer says ship captain arrested, fired over drinking was off duty". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  5. "Cruise ship back in U.S. after 435 get sick". CNN. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  6. "2001-02-01". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  7. User, Super. "Mein Schiff Herz: Premierenfahrt mit spektakulärem Programm". Mein Schiffsexperte - TUI Cruises (in German). Retrieved 2020-08-18.


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