The UK’s second Excellence-class cruise ship, and the sistership to Iona, will enter one of the final stages of her construction on Saturday as she will be floated out of the dock. P&O Cruises’ Arvia is under construction at the world-famous Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany.
The float-out procedure will start at around 09:00 AM and marks the start of the interior outfitting stage and when the shipyard will be able to fit the masts and the funnel to the P&O Cruises cruise ship.
Arvia to Float Out August 24
The UK’s second mega cruise ship, P&O Cruises Arvia, will enter one of the last stages of her construction tomorrow, Saturday, August 24, as she will be floated out. Starting at 09:00 AM, the vessel will be towed out of the massive construction terminal in Papenburg.
Arvia will then be moored at the outfitting pier in the shipyard harbor, where the masts and funnel will be lifted onto the ship by crane. Workers will also be able to start the process of interior outfitting, which will be done partly at the yard in Germany.
Rendering Courtesy: P&O Cruises
The majority of the interior outfitting will be done at the Eemshaven shipyard in the Netherlands. However, before workers can start their work in earnest, Arvia will need to perform the conveyance down the river Ems, an important and well-known tradition for ships built at Meyer Werft.
Like her sister Iona, which entered service last year, Arvia measures just over 180,000 gross tons. She is part of the same class of ships as Carnival’s Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration, Costa Toscana, AIDAnova, and others which are all powered by environmentally friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Arvia to Sail in Warm Climates Starting December 2022
At 344 meters long, Arvia has space for 5,200 passengers. Although identical in most ways to her sister Iona, there are some differences. Iona was constructed to operate in cold weather, while Arvia was built with the sun in mind. She will be operating in the Caribbean and southern Europe.
Rendering Courtesy: P&O Cruises
Her first cruise will set sail on December 9, 2022. Sailing from Southampton in the United Kingdom, Arvia will be visiting several ports in Southern Europe. Stops include Funchal, Madeira; Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Arrecife, Canary Islands; Cadiz, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal. From January, she will sail a series of Caribbean fly-cruises from homeport Barbados.
Arvia Makes Space for Carnival Jubilee
With Arvia being floated out from the dock, the Meyer Weft shipyard is creating space for the next construction stage for Carnival Jubilee. With the room that will open up in the construction hall, shipbuilders will be able to fit the floating engine room module (FERU) for Carnival Jubilee.
This important piece of equipment arrived in the shipyard last week. The FERU was built at Neptun Werft in Rostock, Germany, and was transferred to Papenburg a week ago. It will be maneuvered into place in the coming days and then fitted to the front part of the vessel.
Carnival Jubilee will enter service in 2023. From Galveston, Texas, she will operate seven-day cruises to the Western Caribbean starting November 18, 2023.
