THEY imagined the unimaginable
to make it a reality and now
cruise ship passengers are about
to find that the grass really is
greener on the next generation
of cruise ship which arrives in
Southampton next year.
In the future, guests voyaging across the world's
oceans will be able to enjoy the unique, fresh smell
of a newly cut lawn and experience the feel of cool
grass between their toes.
The luxury vessels, now under construction in
Germany, will boast an open top deck covered in 200
tons of specially drained and irrigated earth which
will be laid with half an acre of immaculate turf.
High above the waves, guests on Celebrity Cruises'
premium Solstice class of ships will be able to step
out onto a pristine lawn where they can practise
their putting skills, play a gentle game of croquet,
out-wit friends on a giant chess board, try their hand
at boule or just sit under the shade of an elegant
verandah and soak up the vessel's country club
atmosphere.
The Lawn Club will be the ships' most obvious
green attraction but behind the scenes the latest and
most advanced technology has been incorporated to
make the ships some of the most environmentally
friendly and fuel efficient vessels afloat.
In just a few months time Celebrity Cruises will
take delivery of the 122,000-ton Solstice, the first in
the class, now being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard
in Papenburg, Germany.
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Alongside Solstice, under the enormous roof of a
vast covered construction berth, the second ship,
Equinox, is taking shape and it is this vessel that will
arrive in Southampton during the summer of 2009.
Work has also begun on Eclipse, the third in the class
ordered by Celebrity Cruises.
When Equinox makes her way up Southampton
Water at the beginning of a glittering series of inaugural
events on the city's waterfront, before heading
to her base in America, more than 200 huge solar
energy panels will be incorporated in her superstructure
to help provide power for the ship's sophisticated
systems and services.
Behind the scenes, dozens of innovative changes,
including adjustments to the design of the propellers
and to the shape of the hull, all add up to improved
performance and reduced fuel consumption.
Eventually, if these refinements can be further
tuned for even great efficiency, there are suggestions
that fuel savings of up to 30 per cent could be
obtained.
These days cruise companies have to meet strict
environmental regulations and Celebrity Cruises is
no exception with its ships recycling most of the
waste generated on board the vessels.
Bottles are crushed, cans flattened, special materials
such as batteries are sorted and separated while
other waste is held in special freezers to prevent bacteria
growth. Incinerators burn rubbish such as
paper and plastics and no solid material is ever
thrown overboard.
Richard Fain, chairman of Royal Caribbean
Cruises, the company formed when Celebrity Cruises
merged with Royal Caribbean International in 1997, said: "There is one obvious, but practical,
reason why we work so hard to protect the
environment.
"This company, and the cruise industry as
a whole, has an extremely strong self-interest
in preserving the world's oceans. We
derive our livelihoods from them. If we
don't protect them, we most assuredly will
lose our jobs, our way of life and our very
quality of life. We are not about to take that
chance.''
Royal Caribbean International, which
operates Independence of the Seas, the
largest cruise ship in the world, from
Southampton has announced that its future
vessel, at this stage codenamed Genesis and
which is also expected to visit
Southampton next year, will feature a large
open air park with extensive lawns, flower
beds, trees and pathways.
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