Re-Attraction and Conversion create a new shipbuilding experience
The reattraction and design of the visitor centre at Meyer Werft has been ongoing since November 2014, although the planning and design ac-tivities began already in 2012. Meyer Werft, Papenburg Tourismus and the Bremen company 'Erlebniskontor' devised the conceptual plan for the redesign.
Visitors to the MEYER WERFT visitor centre can now look forward to a new world of experience. The modern shipbuilding process is presented in a total of nine exhibition areas, laid out over an area of 3,500 m2. The tour of the new experience world lasts for about two hours and commences with an information film about MEYER WERFT. Visi-tors are then immersed in the history of the shipyard, accompanied by a visitor guide. The sea of small ocean giants shows visitors twenty model ships at a scale of 1:100, all built by this tradition-rich company. The highlight is the interactive maritime map, which shows in real time where each of the ships, built in the MEYER WERFT shipyard, is currently located.
The shipyard theme area presents the company itself, which meanwhile operates in-ternationally, and its sites, and explains its importance to Papenburg and the surround-ing region. Visitors experience 3D construction techniques on an oversized screen dis-playing a CAD drawing of a pipe unit, which becomes reality behind the monitor.
They can also discover the inside of a faithfully reproduced block, and learn the princi-ples of block construction. The main highlight is the chance to glimpse inside shipbuild-ing hall 6, in which a cruise ship is actually being built.
With the three original cabins of various cruise ships and a range of exhibits based on the themes of restaurants and entertainment, the shipping companies Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Royal Caribbean International (RCI), Disney Cruise Line and TUI Cruises give visitors their first fascinating taste of a range of different cruise ships. In the ship details area, an original-size pod engine is on display, illustrating the ex-traordinary dimensions encountered in cruise ships.
In the Ems exhibition area, visitors can experience the float out of a huge ocean liner and its spectacular passage through the Ems, with an impressive media installation on floor screens along with a wall projection. Finally, they arrive in the visitor centre shop, where they can conclude their visit searching out the perfect souvenir.
Currently, the Norwegian Escape is under construction for the Norwegian Cruise Line shipping company. Its undocking and Ems passage are planned for the autumn of 2015. MEYER WERFT already has orders taking it up to the year 2019. Its orders over the next five years include four cruise ships for NCL (USA), two cruise ships for RCL (USA) and two cruise ships for Star Cruises (Asia).
Visits by individual and group visitors are possible all year round. Price and booking in-formation is available from Papenburg Tourismus GmbH, by telephone at 04961-83 96-0 and online at www.papenburg-tourismus.de.