MS Navigator of the Seas

Navigator of the Seas docked in Galveston, Texas
History
Name: Navigator of the Seas
Owner: Royal Caribbean International
Port of registry: Nassau,  Bahamas
Ordered: 24 May 2000[1]
Builder: Kværner Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland
Yard number: 1347[1]
Laid down: 27 September 2000[1]
Launched: 25 January 2002[1]
Completed: 18 November 2002[1]
In service: 2002-present
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Voyager-class cruise ship
Tonnage: 139,570 GT
Length: 311.1 m (1,021 ft)
Beam:
  • 38.6 m (127 ft) - Waterline[2]
  • 48 m (157 ft) - Max[3]
Draft: 8.6 m (28 ft)
Depth: 21.3 m (70 ft)
Decks: 15
Installed power: 6 × Wärtsilä 12V46 (6 × 12,600 kW)
Propulsion:
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity:
  • 3,276 passengers (double-occupancy)
  • 3,807 passengers (maximum)
Crew: 1,213
Notes: 12th largest passenger ship

MS Navigator of the Seas is the fourth Voyager-class cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International, and the first second-generation Voyager-class ship. She was once the largest ship in the fleet and still ranks among the largest passenger ships in the world.

Concept and construction

Constructed at Kværner Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland, the ship originally measured 138,279 GT and carried 3,807 passengers plus additional crew.[4] A refurbishment in 2014 added 81 additional staterooms, increasing the ship's gross tonnage to 139,570 GT.[1] Her length is 1,020 feet with a beam of 157.5 feet.[4]

The ship contains US $ 8.5 Million dollars in art, displayed in stairwells and public areas. Navigator of the Seas' main Atrium sculpture spans over seven decks and is based on the bubbles a scuba diver makes when swimming under water. Her promenade also features lighting that changes color based on the time of day and with events occurring on the ship.

Navigator of the Seas is the first of the second generation of Voyager-class vessels. She also was from 2002-2005 the worlds largest cruise ship. Major differences include the addition of the "Jade" Asian fusion buffet and a larger Windjammer buffet area, which extends out over the aft of the ship. The second-generation ships also feature glass balconies that extend out from the side of the ship. (The first-generation ships had metal-walled balconies recessed into the superstructure.) In addition, the saltwater aquarium in the first-generation Schooner Bar was replaced with a piano and additional seating. These design changes were carried over for Mariner of the Seas as well as for the ships in the later Freedom class.

Technical

Main propulsion

The ship has a diesel-electric powertrain that uses three Azipod azimuth thrusters. Each propeller is driven by a double-wound 3-phase synchronous motor with 4-bladed fixed-pitch bronze propellers. The motors are mounted outside the hull directly on the propeller shaft inside the pod. The three propellers are arranged so that the center propeller is a pushing on–azimuthing Fixipod-type and the two wing ones are of pulling-azimuthing–type steering propellers.

Generators

Six Wärtsilä Diesel 12V46 generators producing 12,600 kilowatts each for a total of 75,000 kilowatts or 103,000 bhp. All gensets are monitored by the Wärtsilä CBM (Condition Based Maintenance) group by using Wärtsilä automatic data sending concept.

Fresh water production

The ship has three ways in which to produce fresh water—Two Alfa Laval Desalt Flash and Energy Recovery Evaporators and one Pall Rochem seawater desalination unit (reverse osmosis) "Rosmarin" 80404-50/300-A-SW

Operations

As of November 2014 Navigator of the Seas was sailing Caribbean itineraries year-round out of Galveston, TX. Navigator of the Seas was sailing Mediterranean cruises based out of Civitavecchia, Italy until November 2012. In November 2012, she began to depart from New Orleans, Louisiana where she sailed 7-night Western Caribbean cruises until early April 2013. She returned to Civitavecchia for the Summer of 2013 before moving to Galveston, TX to sail 7-night Mexico cruises.[5]

In January 2014, Navigator of the Seas spent a month in drydock to receive "Royal Advantage" upgrades, including installation of a Wave Loch FlowRider surfing simulator, an outdoor movie screen, digital signage, ship-wide Wifi, new Concierge and Diamond lounges, a nursery, and the changeover of the Cafe Promenade and Portofino restaurants to the Park Cafe and Giovanni's Table concepts first introduced on the Oasis class cruise ships.[6][7] 81 new staterooms were added throughout the ship, including 38 cabins added to the front of Deck 12 in front of the spa and 43 cabins built in the space formerly occupied by the Dungeon nightclub, the boardroom, and the photo gallery.[8] 98 inside staterooms received a "virtual balcony", an 80-inch floor-to-ceiling high-definition television displaying live views from outside the ship.[9]

In November 2015, after two seasons sailing from Galveston, Navigator of the Seas began sailing winter itineraries out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she sailed 6- and 8-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, and summer itineraries out of Southampton, England, where she sails to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.[10] From November 2016, Navigator of the Seas will transition to sailing her winter itineraries out of Miami, Florida.[11]

Images

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Navigator of the Seas (22759)". DNV GL Vessel Register. Det Norske Veritas. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  2. ↑ "Royal Caribbean Takes Mariner of the Seas". Maritime Reporter and Engineering News. New Wave Media. March 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Navigator of the Seas". Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Navigator of the Seas Fact Sheet". Royal Caribbean Press Center. Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Cruise Calendar". Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "NOW OUR BEST SHIP IS EVERY SHIP." (PDF). Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S NEWLY REVITALIZED NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS TO WOW GALVESTON WITH YEAR-ROUND SAILINGS STARTING WINTER 2013". Royal Caribbean Press Center. Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "ALMACO to build 81 new cabins on Navigator of the Seas". Seatrade Insider. Seatrade. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Stieghorst, Tom. "Navigator of the Seas to get virtual balconies". Travel Weekly. Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "ROYAL CARIBBEAN ANNOUNCES 2015-16 DEPLOYMENT FOR NEW YORK AND GALVESTON". Royal Caribbean Press Center. Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Satchell, Arlene (23 December 2015). "Royal Caribbean's Empress of Seas returning to Miami". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
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