Marella Explorer 2
Marella Explorer 2 in 2024 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner | Celebrity Cruises (1995–1997)
Royal Caribbean Group (1997–2019) TUI Group (2019–present) |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | |
| Builder | Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany |
| Yard number | 637 |
| Laid down | January 1994 |
| Launched | 18 May 1995 |
| Completed | 30 November 1995 |
| Maiden voyage | 20 December 1995 |
| In service | 1995–present |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| Notes | |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Century-class cruise ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 248 m (813 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 32 m (105 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) |
| Decks | 12 |
| Speed | 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph) |
| Capacity | 1,814 passengers |
| Crew | 843 |
| Notes | |
Marella Explorer 2, formerly Celebrity Century and SkySea Golden Era, was the lead ship of the Century class of cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises, and the co-flagship of the Celebrity fleet, along with Millennium-class ship Celebrity Constellation, and the newest Solstice class, Celebrity Reflection. Other ships belonging to the Century class include Marella Explorer (formerly Celebrity Galaxy) and Mein Schiff 2 (2011) (formerly Celebrity Mercury).
In March 2018, it was announced that Royal Caribbean Cruises and Ctrip were to close the SkySea Cruise Line brand and that the line's sole ship, SkySea Golden Era would join the Marella fleet in place of Mein Schiff 2 which would stay with TUI Cruises. Skysea Golden Era would take her final voyage on 29 August 2018. It was a 4-night sailing from Shanghai with a call at Fukuoka, Japan.
SkySea Golden Era underwent a major refurbishment in Cadiz, Spain, in order to become Marella Explorer 2. Its first sailing for Marella Cruises was in April 2019.