Disney Cruise Line takes the helm and prepares for the journey home to Florida

PAPENBURG / BREMERHAVEN, GERMANY, (Feb. 9, 2012) - Disney Cruise Line took possession of its newest ship - Disney Fantasy - today from the Meyer Werft shipyard in a traditional maritime ceremony aboard the ship. The Meyer Werft flag was lowered, while the Disney Cruise Line flag was raised, transferring ownership from the shipbuilder to Disney.

This final milestone closes the book on the ship's construction journey and signals her readiness to welcome guests on her maiden voyage, set for March 31, 2012, from Port Canaveral, Florida. The Disney Fantasy is the second of two newly designed Disney ships that take the family cruise experience to new heights and features many of the innovations found on her sister ship, Disney Dream.

"Today we celebrate the culmination of a wonderful partnership, as we take possession of the Disney Fantasy and prepare for the journey home to Florida. This ship is the result of the superb craftsmanship from the master shipbuilders at Meyer Werft and the innovation, imagination and ingenuity of the Disney team, who have partnered together so beautifully to bring this ship to life," said Karl Holz, president of Disney Cruise Line. "We are eagerly anticipating our guests, who will experience storytelling in enchanting new ways onboard the Disney Fantasy while making magical memories that will last a lifetime."

Known for establishing the family cruise market when the business launched in 1998, Disney Cruise Line continues to build upon this success with a focus on the legacy and heritage of The Walt Disney Company's most known assets - master storytelling, world-class entertainment and legendary guest service.

"The Disney Fantasy, along with her sister ship, the Disney Dream, are the largest ships that Meyer Werft has ever built," said Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft. "Over the last five years we have developed an outstanding partnership working with Disney, and together, we have seen two magnificent ships become reality. The collaboration among Disney Cruise Line, Meyer Werft and its suppliers has been exemplary."

Meyer Werft and Disney first signed a contract to build two new ships in April of 2007. Shortly thereafter, planning for the design of the ships began and construction started on the Disney Dream, the first of the two new ships, with the first steel cutting on March 2, 2009. Since the recent completion of the ship's float out and conveyance on the River Ems, the test-and-adjust period has been in full swing. The ship will remain in Bremerhaven for another week while additional crew members board, and supplies and provisions are loaded. The Disney Fantasy is scheduled to depart on Feb. 16 for its transatlantic voyage to the U.S., with an expected arrival to its homeport in Port Canaveral, Florida on March 6.

Captain Tom Forberg will officially take the helm of the Disney Fantasy for Disney Cruise Line. As part of the Disney Cruise Line ship construction team, Captain Forberg has been with the company for more than 15 years and was responsible for launching Disney's first three ships, the Disney Dream, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.

Expanding Itineraries

With the addition of two new ships, Disney Cruise Line is able to expand its itineraries, adding new homeports and new destinations, bringing the Disney family cruise vacation to more guests than ever before.

The Disney Fantasy will sail seven-night alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries beginning in 2012, from Port Canaveral, Fla., where she will join sister ship, Disney Dream, sailing three-, four- and five-night cruises to the Bahamas. New in 2012, the Disney Magic will offer eight-night cruises to the Bahamas and five-night cruises up the New England coast sailing from New York, and seven-night western Caribbean itineraries departing from Galveston, Texas. The Disney Wonder will continue sailing seven-night Mexican Riviera cruises from the Port of Los Angeles, while spending its second summer sailing Alaskan itineraries from Seattle.

Based in Celebration, Fla., the Disney Cruise Line experience is focused on providing a setting where families can reconnect, adults can recharge and kids can immerse themselves in worlds of fantasy only Disney can create. Most recently, the company was honored by the Themed Entertainment Association for the new "Animation Magic" show set to debut in Animator's Palate onboard the Disney Fantasy, while the Disney Dream received top honors as the "Best New Ship" by Cruise Critic.

Conveyance likely to start Friday night

Papenburg, 17 January 2012 - The Disney Fantasy is expected to leave Papenburg Friday night, 20 January 2012 to be conveyed down the river Ems to the North Sea. She is scheduled to arrive in Eemshaven on Saturday afternoon. After a short stop in port the test-and-adjust period will begin.

The conveyance will take place in one go, assisted by the Ems barrier. Depending on the weather conditions the following time schedule, which may change at short notice, will apply:

Friday, 20 January 2012: approx. 10.30 pm ship waiting in front of harbour lock

Saturday, 21 January 2012 approx. 1.00 am passage of harbour lock (Papenburg) approx. 4.00 am passage of Friesenbrücke (Weener) approx. 6.00 am passage of Jann-Berghaus-Brücke (Leer) approx. 10.00 am passage of Ems barrier (Gandersum) approx. 12.20 pm passage of Ostmole Emden approx. 4.00 pm arrival in Eemshaven

After the sea trials the Disney Fantasy will go to Bremerhaven.

!! All details are subject to wind and weather conditions and water levels, and can hence not be warranted. The time schedule may change !!

The Disney Fantasy will be conveyed down the river backwards for the sake of better manoeuvrability.

Marks start of construction on next generation Freestyle Cruising ship

PAPENBURG, GERMANY - September 22, 2011 - The first piece of steel was cut today at MEYER WERFT in Papenburg, Germany for the construction of Norwegian Breakaway, the first of two new Freestyle Cruising® ships for Norwegian Cruise Line, set for delivery in April 2013. The first plate of steel took four minutes to cut by a plasma torch in the yard's state of the art facility. This plate will become a supporting part of the double bottom in the middle of the new ship.

"Today's steel cutting marks the start of construction for Norwegian Breakaway, our next generation Freestyle Cruising ship, that will captivate and amaze our guests," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian's chief executive officer. "We are extremely pleased with the progress we have made so far in planning this incredible vessel. We now look to the capable and talented team at MEYER WERFT to bring this ship to life."

The Breakaway class ships, Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, will each be 144,017 gross tons and will have approximately 4,000 passenger berths. These ships represent an opportunity for the Norwegian guest to "break away" from the routine of work, school, and daily stress, and find a true respite at sea. The new ships will take the best of the best from all of Norwegian's existing ships, drawing on the line's experience of having launched 10 ships in the past 10 years - starting with Norwegian Star and Sun in 2001 and culminating with the launch of Norwegian Epic in 2010. The ships' names were chosen from 230,000 entries received in "Norwegian's Cruising for Names" contest held in conjunction with national newspaper USA Today.

The shipyard's managing directors Bernard Meyer and Lambert Kruse, as well as Aloys Meemann, project manager, attended the steel cutting ceremony in the laser center. "We are very happy to build these innovative ships for Norwegian and to continue our long lasting relationship," said Meyer. "We can guarantee to deliver a cruise vessel with an exceptional interior design, extremely comfortable staterooms and the highest technical standards."

To date, the company has revealed details on all of the ships' staterooms which combine the form and function of the line's Jewel class ships' staterooms with the modern and contemporary design touches of Norwegian Epic. A rich mix of stateroom options will be available including the innovative Studios, designed and priced for solo travelers, the re-introduction of Oceanview staterooms, Balcony and Mini-Suites, along with Spa Balcony, Mini-Suites and Suites in close proximity to the spa. The ship also features The Haven by Norwegian, comprised of 42 suites at the top of the ship and 18 additional suites located throughout the ship.

Fifth Ship of the Series Begins to Take Shape

Papenburg, 13 September 2011 - Today, the keel laying of Celebrity Reflection was celebrated at the MEYER WERFT. The ship is the fifth in a series the shipyard is building for the cruise line Celebrity Cruises. Doing the honors of placing the obligatory coins under the first block in the grand hall of building dock II was Mr. Jarmo Laakso, the cruise line's Project Director. Said block, with a weight of about 500 tons, a length of 20 meters and a width of 36 meters, was lifted into the building dock with an 800 ton crane.

Celebrity Reflection's energy balance is on par with the other ships of the series: All electric consumers operate with high energy efficiency, while special underwater paints with greatly improved resistance reduce the required propulsion power. Heat exchangers make use of the generated warmth, and the extensive heat- and cold recovery system implemented on the predecessors can be found on this ship as well. For the lighting, highly efficient illuminants and a large number of LED lights will be used.

The predecessors Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Eclipse and the recently delivered Celebrity Silhouette are successfully established in the market and are still pioneers in the energy efficiency sector.

With the keel laying of the fifth ship in the Solstice series, MEYER WERFT and Celebrity Cruises celebrated the tenth ship the yard is building for the cruise line. Their collaboration started in 1988 with the new building of the Horizon. It is taken as a good sign that the first and- for now- last ship have the same yard numbers: Horizon has S 619, Celebrity Reflection S 691.

Photo: v. l - Manfred Knoop Head of Group (Meyer Werft), Jarmo Laakso Project Director (Celebrity Cruises), Uwe Wulf Project Manager (Meyer Werft), Lambert Kruse Managing Director (Meyer Werft).