The Celebration was our first ever cruise ship. We booked a Mediterranean cruise for a fortnight and fell in love with cruising! The Celebration will always hold a special place in my heart.
The Celebration was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 1984 for Holland America Line as 'Noordam III' at a cost of $160 million becoming the third HAL vessel to bear the name.
On 30 November 2004, after sailing for HAL for two decades, the ship was acquired by Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines and was immediately placed on a long-term charter to British tour operator Thomson Cruises who renamed her Thomson Celebration.
In 2000, the well thought of British travel company Thomson Travel was acquired by Preussag AG, an industrial and transport conglomerate. Although Preussag AG (which was re-named as TUI AG in 2002) retained the Thomson brand for a while, it was retired completely in 2017. Therefore on 9 October 2017, Thomson Cruises announced the cruise part of the company was to be renamed 'Marella Cruises' and the Thomson Celebration changed its name to Marella Celebration at the end of October 2017.
On 29 April 2020, Marella announced that the ship would be retired from the fleet and sold for scrap. On 14 September 2022 the ship left Eleusis towards Aliaga, towed by the tug Vernicos Sifnos.The ship then sadly beached for scrapping....
|
| History |
| Name |
1984–2005: Noordam
2005–2017: Thomson Celebration
2017–2020: Marella Celebration
2020–2022: Mare |
| Owner |
1984–2018: Holland America Line
2018–2020: TUI UK |
| Operator |
1984–2005: Holland America Line
2005–2017: Thomson Cruises
2017–2020: Marella Cruises |
| Port of registry |
1984–1996: Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles
1996–2005: Rotterdam, Netherlands
2005–2009: Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles
2009–2022: Malta |
| Builder |
Chantiers de l'Atlantique |
| Yard number |
X27 |
| Launched |
21 May 1983 |
| Sponsored by |
Beatrijs van De Wallbake |
| Completed |
1984 |
| In service |
8 April 1984 |
| Out of service |
2020 |
| Identification |
Call sign: 9HUI9
IMO number: 8027298
MMSI number: 249544000 |
| Fate |
Scrapped in 2022 |
| General characteristics |
| Type |
Cruise ship |
| Tonnage |
33,933 GT (gross tonnage)
4,243 DWT (deadweight tonnage) |
| Length |
214.66 m (704 ft 3 in) |
| Beam |
27.26 m (89 ft 5 in) |
| Draught |
7.50 m (24 ft 7 in) |
| Decks |
9 |
| Installed power |
2 × Sulzer RLB66 diesels
combined 21,600 kW (29,000 hp) |
| Speed |
21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Capacity |
1,254 passengers (1,350 maximum) |
| Crew |
520 |
|
 The ship had been originally furnished with a $1 million art collection, some of which, including a 17th-century Oriental screen, could still be found on board when we sailed in her. The screen was positioned on the top deck - just outside the Horizon's bar.
Click here for a record of our journeys on the Celebration.
|
The Celebration