TUI Cruises has its second ship. Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Mercury is it and will join the cruise brand, which was established in 2008 through a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and TUI AG and tailored for the German market. The new ship, which join TUI in May 2011, will be named Mein Schiff 2 and be the sister ship to Mein Schiff (the former Celebrity Galaxy), which set sail in May 2009.
The 77,713-ton 1,898-guest Celebrity Mercury joined the Celebrity Cruises fleet in November 1997. It will undergo extensive refurbishments resulting in additional verandas, an expanded spa and fitness area, inclusion of a teen bar, and a host of design elements and other attributes consistent with those found on Mein Schiff.
Celebrity Mercury will complete its scheduled sailings through the February 14, 2011 itinerary. Guests with individual bookings and named group bookings on Celebrity Mercury on or after February 26, 2011 have the option to either cancel their booking or move to any Celebrity Mercury sailing from Baltimore from October 18, 2010, through February 14, 2011, with the exception of the December 20, 2010 itinerary.
Guests who pursue this option will receive an onboard credit of $75 per stateroom for inside or ocean-view accommodations; $100 per stateroom for veranda or Concierge Class, and $200 per suite.
Guests with reservations affected by the transition will be contacted by Celebrity Cruises. Guests with questions specific to impacted bookings are welcome to call 1-888-281-9343.
Mein Schiff 2 will spend its first cruising season in the Baltic and Nordic regions. Full itinerary details will be published when bookings open June 1, 2010.