MS Thomson Celebration

The MS Thomson Celebration was a cruise ship owned by TUI UK, and last operated by their United Kingdom-based Marella Cruises. She was built in 1984 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France for Holland America Line (HAL) as MS Noordam. On 29 April 2020, Marella announced that the ship would be retired from the fleet and sold for scrap.[7] The ship beached for scrap in Aliaga, Turkey in 2022.

For other ships with the same name, see List of ships named MS Noordam.

Thomson Celebration
Thomson Celebration in Alanya, Turkey
History
Name
  • 1984-2005: Noordam
  • 2005-2017: Thomson Celebration
  • 2017-2020: Marella Celebration
  • 2020-2022: Mare
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique
Yard numberX27[1]
Launched21 May 1983[1]
Sponsored byBeatrijs van De Wallbake[4]
Completed1984
In service8 April 1984
Out of service2020
Identification
FateScrapped in 2022
General characteristics
TypeCruise ship
Tonnage
Length214.66 m (704.27 ft)[3]
Beam27.26 m (89.44 ft)[3]
Draught7.50 m (24.61 ft)[1]
Decks9
Installed power
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[3] (other sources claim 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph))[1]
Capacity1,254 passengers[3] (1,350 maximum)[6]
Crew520 crew[3]

History
Noordam at Helsinki in 2003.
Thomson Celebration in 2010
Marella Celebration at Argostoli.

Marella Celebration was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 1984 for Holland America Line as Noordam at a cost of $160 million and became the third HAL vessel to bear the name.[8] She was originally furnished with a $1 million art collection, some of which, including a 17th-century Oriental screen, can still be found on board.[8] Her sister ship, Thomson Spirit, also originally operated for HAL as Nieuw Amsterdam.

After Noordam's last sailing with HAL, the ship was taken out of service and chartered to Thomson Cruises and later rechristened as Thomson Celebration.[1]

On 9 October 2017, Thomson Cruises announced to be renamed Marella Cruises. TUI Group renamed Thomson Celebration to Marella Celebration at the end of October 2017.[9]

On 14 September 2022 the ship left Eleusis towards Aliaga, towed by the tug Vernicos Sifnos.[10][11]

References
  1. Fakta om Fartyg: MS Noordam (1984) (in Swedish), retrieved 8 December 2007.
  2. Faergelejet – Noordam (in Danish), retrieved 20 May 2010.
  3. Thomson Cruises – Vital statistics for Thomson Celebration, retrieved 20 May 2010.
  4. Ward, Douglas (1995). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Oxford: Berlitz. ISBN 2-8315-1327-8.
  5. fleet online, GL-Reg-No : 142168 - IMO-No : 8027298
  6. Ward, Douglas (2006). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz. pp. 615–616. ISBN 981-246-739-4.
  7. "Marella to Retire Celebration". 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  8. 'Life Onboard' brochure - published by Thomson Cruises - pg 10
  9. Williams, Helen (11 October 2017). "Thomson Cruises Changes Name to Marella Cruises". Planet Cruise. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  10. "Marinetraffic: Vernicos Sifnos". Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  11. "Τελευταίο ταξίδι για το Celebration" (in Greek). 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
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