MS Bahamas Celebration

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Career
Name: 1981–2008: MS Prinsesse Ragnhild
2008 onwards: MS Bahamas Celebration
Owner: 1981–1990: Jahre Line
1990–2008: Color Line
2008 onwards: Celebration Cruise Holdings[1]
Operator: 1981–1990: Jahre Line
1990–2008: Color Line[1]
2009 onwards: Celebration Cruise Line[2]
Port of registry: 1981–1990: Sandefjord,  Norway
1990–2008: Oslo,  Norway
2008 onwards: Nassau,  Bahamas[1]
Builder: Howaldtswerke Kiel, West Germany
Yard number: 164[1]
Laid down: March 1980[1]
Launched: 1 August 1980[1]
Acquired: 31 January 1981[1]
In service: 1981[1]
Identification: IMO number: 7904891[1]
Status: In service
General characteristics (as built, 1980)[1]
Type: cruiseferry
Tonnage: 16,631 GRT
Displacement: 3,210 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 170 metres (557 ft 9 in)
Beam: 24 metres (78 ft 9 in)
Draught: 5.80 metres (19 ft 0 in)
Ice class: 1B[3]
Installed power: 2 × Stork-Werkspoor 20TM410 diesels
combined 18,600 kW
Speed: 21 knots (38.89 km/h; 24.17 mph)
Capacity: 892 passengers
892 passenger berths
603 cars
General characteristics (as rebuilt, 1992)[1]
Tonnage: 35,483 GT (gross tonnage)[3]
Displacement: 3,826 DWT
Length: 205.25 metres (673 ft 5 in)
Beam: 26.60 metres (87 ft 3 in)
Draught: 6.10 metres (20 ft 0 in)
Depth: 13 metres (42 ft 8 in)[4]
Installed power: 2 × Stork-Werkspoor 20TM410 diesels
4 × Stork-Wärtsilä 9FEDH240 diesels
2 × Stork-Wärtsilä 9FEDH240G diesels
combined 3,6356 kW
Capacity: 1900 passengers
1875 passenger berths
700 cars
Notes: Otherwise the same as built

MS Bahamas Celebration is a cruiseferry owned by Celebration Cruise Line.[1] Since March 2009 she had been operating two- and three-day cruises from Port Everglades to the Bahamas.[5] In March 2010 she started operating two-day cruises from the Port of Palm Beach.[6] The ship was built in 1981 by HDW Kiel, Germany as MS Prinsesse Ragnhild for Jahre Line. In 1990 she was transferred to Color Line fleet. In 1992 she was extensively rebuilt at Astilleros Españoles, Cadiz, Spain. She was withdrawn from service with Color Line on 6 May 2008.[1]

Service history

Princesse Ragnhild

From 1981 to 2004 MS Prinsesse Ragnhild operated on the Oslo–Kiel route, first for Jahre Line and, from 1990 onwards, for their successor Color Line. In 1992 she was radically rebuilt at Astilleros Españoles, Cadiz, increasing her length by 35.25 meters, passenger capacity by 858 and tonnage by 19,224 GRT.[1] On 8 July 1999, there was a fire in the engine room, resulting in a complete evacuation of the ship.[1] With the Scandinavian Star disaster fresh in mind, a full emergency was called and all ships in the area came to the rescue. Helicopters and firecrews from Norway, Sweden and Denmark all participated in the rescue effort,and the evacuation was described by most passengers as "controlled".[citation needed] However, one woman died after the fire as a result of a heart attack.[7] After repairs at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany, the ship resumed operations on the third of September. On 1 March 2002, the ship suffered another engine room fire, which was quickly extinguished.[1]

In 2003 Color Line spent 60 mil NOK on upgrading the on-board interior.[citation needed] In 2005 she was transferred to the new Bergen—Stavanger—Hirtshals route, when Color Line introduced the new MS Color Fantasy on the Oslo-Kiel route.[1] On 8 January 2008 Prinsesse Ranghild was moved to Oslo–Hirtshals route, replacing MS Color Festival that was sold to Corsica Ferries.[1][8] In April 2008 Color Line announced that due to "negative financial development" in the service, the Oslo–Hirsthals route was closed down on 6 May 2008, and the Prinsesse Ragnhild was placed for sale.[9] Following closure of the route the Prinsesse Ragnhild was laid up at Sandefjord.[1] On 3 September 2008 Color Line reported the Prinsesse Ragnhild had been sold to the United States-based Celebration Cruise Holdings for €23 million.[10][11] The ship was delivered to her new owners on 1 October 2008, renamed Bahamas Celebration and left Sandefjord on the same date for Freeport, Bahamas.[1]

Bahamas Celebration

Celebration Cruise Line’s MS Bahamas Celebration The cruise line began operation in March 2009. In 2010, Celebration Cruise Line announced it would be moving to the Port of Palm Beach due to being overshadowed by larger cruise lines at Port Everglades. The Port of Palm Beach has a passenger terminal that was built to accommodate smaller cruise ships. As of March 15, 2010, they no longer sail to Nassau, their two-night cruises now depart every other day at 5:30 pm.to Freeport Grand Bahamas.[12] The Ship is available for cruises to be purchased directly from Celebration Cruise Lines; however, it is primarially used as a lure by time share companies to attract clientel. The time share vacation packages are often comparable in price to traditional cruise lines. It has not had very many good reviews probabally due to this association.

The ship offers four distinct restaurants, a Las Vegas type casino, a two-deck nightclub, multiple lounges, live shows and entertainment throughout the ship, dancing, a complete spa, and deck area with pool, jacuzzis, tiki bar and live music. For kids, there are three supervised and age-appropriate kids clubs with a variety of electronic games and activities. On deck there's also a kids' water park area with a 180-foot water slide.

The two-night cruises (departing Monday and Wednesday) includes a full day in Freeport Grand Bahamas, where passengers can take advantage of a wide range of excursions including snorkeling, or a horseback riding tour where you ride along the beach and actually take the horses into the water, or glass bottom boat ride or a day at Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort.

Onboard

This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

Restaurants and cafés

  • Crystal Dining Room
  • Rio
  • Trattoria Di Gerry
  • The Cove

Activities

  • Wynmore Casino
  • Fountain of Youth Spa
  • Mussel Beach Gym
  • Poolside

Bars, nightclubs and entertainment

  • The View
  • Sky Bar/Sundeck Bar
  • Karaoke lounge
  • Piano Lounge

Shops

  • Tax free supermarket

Conference

  • Color Conference Center[13]

As Bahamas Celebration

Restaurants

  • Crystal Dining Room (Menu based Fine Dining)
  • The Cove (Premium/Up Scale for an additional fee)
  • Rio's (Themed Buffet)
  • Trattoria Di Gerry (Italian)

Bars and entertainment

  • The Wynmore Casino
  • The View (after dinner shows and dancing)
  • Clubs or Pubs for Everyone’s Taste
  • Cyber Cafe (Internet Cafe)
  • Ocean Breeze Lounge
  • Pub 437

Children

  • Island Coconuts Club (for ages 3–10)
  • Club Wave (for ages 11–13)(contains 1 Xbox 360 for up to 4 players, 2 Nintendo Wiis, 1 PS2 with Dance games, and 1 PS3 With Guitar Hero 3 as of 1 September 2009 (2009 -09-01))
  • Club Open Water (for ages 14–17)(contains 1 Xbox 360 for up to 4 players, 1 Nintendo Wii for up to 2 players, Guitar Hero for up to 2 players, Dance Dance Revolution for up to 2 players, and 2 computers for computer games only)
  • 180-foot slide in the Kids of The Caribbean area

Pools

  • 2 Jacuzzis
  • Adult pool
  • Children's pool

Shops

  • Treasure Chest Gift Shop
  • Island Memories Photo Gallery

Spa & fitness

  • Fountain of Youth Spa & Salon
  • Mussel Beach Gym

Conference

  • Meeting rooms
  • Theater accommodates up to 600

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Prinsesse Ragnhild (1981)" (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/prinsesse_ragnhild_1981.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  2. ↑ "Celebration Cruise Line". Celebration Cruise Line. http://www.bahamaships.com/. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Vessel info: Prinsesse Ragnhild: Summary". DNV Exchange. Det Norske Veritas. https://exchange.dnv.com/Exchange/Main.aspx?EXTool=Vessel&VesselID=12433. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
  4. ↑ "Vessel info: Prinsesse Ragnhild: Dimensions". DNV Exchange. Det Norske Veritas. https://exchange.dnv.com/exchange/main.aspx?extool=vessel&subview=dimensions&vesselid=12433. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
  5. ↑ "Eyewitness Everglades". Maritime Matters. 28 February 2009. http://www.maritimematters.com/shipnews.html. Retrieved 1 March 2009. 
  6. ↑ Paul Quinlan (22 January 2010). "Cruise ship to move to Port of Palm Beach, offer sails to Bahamas". The Palm Beach Post. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/cruise-line-plans-service-from-port-of-palm-189896.html?cxtype=rss_news. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
  7. ↑ Boyle, Ian. "Prinsesse Ragnhild". Simplon Postcards. http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/PRagnhildPCs.html. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  8. ↑ (Norwegian) Color Line press release 21. 11. 2007: Color Line selger Color Festival for 400 mill kroner, retrieved 2007-11-21.
  9. ↑ "Color Line to focus on its engagement in cruise and transport". Color Line press release. Color Line. http://www.colorline.com/servlets/page?section=4015&item=27183. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
  10. ↑ "M/S Prinsesse Ragnhild has been sold". Color Line press release. Color Line. 2008-09-03. http://www.colorline.com/servlets/page?section=4015&item=27483. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  11. ↑ "Color Line sells Prinsesse Ragnhild to Celebration Cruises for €23 million". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 2008-09-03. http://www.cruisebusiness.com/cbr_old/news.php?u=20080903170143. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  12. ↑ Celebration Cruise Line Website
  13. ↑ www.bahamascelebration.com

External links

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