WorldTraveler151208 Posted August 5, 2020 #1 Share Posted August 5, 2020 As already known, the German Tui Cruises, a subsidiary of RCCL is the first large cruise line back at sea. Their two ships Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 offer short panoramic voyages from Germany to Norway without getting off in any port. Unfortunately, it turns out that the interest is not that great as expected. I found out that on the 4-day trip from Kiel to Oslo, which started last Monday, there are only about 1,000 passengers on board. Normally, the ship could take about 3,000, and after reducing the capacity due to the situation, they could take 60% of that, so almost 1,800 passengers. I know that in the case of huge cruise ships the break even point is achieved even with only 30-40% occupancy, but is Mein Schiff 1 one of those ships? With only about 30% occupancy on this trip, will Tui Cruises be able to cover the cost at all? Especially since there is no additional income from shore excursions and shuttle services, and I suppose that on such a short cruise people do not have enough time to use many extra paid attractions on board either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 11, 2020 #2 Share Posted August 11, 2020 at least they are back in business, thats more than all other lines can say. now they are running 7 day tours, planned to Norway, unfortunately Norway has blocked the 12 miles zone to all cruiseships so the ships goes to "the Schären" and Finland now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldTraveler151208 Posted August 11, 2020 Author #3 Share Posted August 11, 2020 7 hours ago, MarkusToe said: now they are running 7 day tours, planned to Norway, unfortunately Norway has blocked the 12 miles zone to all cruiseships so the ships goes to "the Schären" and Finland now I know and I must admit that I am impressed with the good logistics in Tui Cruises. Norway refused in the last moment, and yet Tui found alternative destinations to provide some nice views, and not only sail the open sea. I assume that it was not easy to get necessary approvals and find pilots for 2 huge ships for arrival in Stockholm and Turku in such a short time and in such an extraordinary situation. By the way, if I may ask, are those your own photos? Are you now on board, on one of the Mein Schiffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 11, 2020 #4 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Got it from a friend, I'll be on MS 1 end of the Month. Hopefully to Norway then... I'll write a short report if there is interest here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldTraveler151208 Posted August 11, 2020 Author #5 Share Posted August 11, 2020 24 minutes ago, MarkusToe said: Got it from a friend, I'll be on MS 1 end of the Month. Hopefully to Norway then... I'll write a short report if there is interest here... Have a wonderful cruise. And if you will find a moment for a short report, or maybe you will have some nice photos, I'll be grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldTraveler151208 Posted August 11, 2020 Author #6 Share Posted August 11, 2020 I saw this morning on MyShipTracking that MS1 and MS2 were playing around together near from Turku in Finland. It must have looked great when they were so close together. I wish I could be there and see it. In my opinion, family meetings like this are great and should be much more frequent, but unfortunately, under normal conditions, cruise lines don’t want to waste fuel and time for such things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 12, 2020 #7 Share Posted August 12, 2020 (edited) This was the sec time the've done that. on the first cruise there was a meeting of MS 1 to 4 - all in a row on high see…. this time there is a (partial drone) video available on FB from meyer shipyard turku Edited August 12, 2020 by MarkusToe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 12, 2020 #8 Share Posted August 12, 2020 don't know if I'm allowed to refer to an external forum, but here is the link to the famous pictures of this dance…. https://forum.pooldeck24.de/forum/thread/19362-panorama-fahrt-07-08-14-08-2020-durch-die-fjorde-norwegens-oder-jetzt-doch-nach/?pageNo=12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipgeeks Posted August 13, 2020 #9 Share Posted August 13, 2020 On 8/11/2020 at 4:15 PM, MarkusToe said: Got it from a friend, I'll be on MS 1 end of the Month. Hopefully to Norway then... I'll write a short report if there is interest here... There is interest!! Please do report. Thanking you in advance. Have a wonderful cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 13, 2020 #10 Share Posted August 13, 2020 We have the panoramic suite on Deck 6. As for now, we do not know where we are going to. Booked ist Norway, p.e.Geiranger, but unfurtunately Norway has blocked there Waters to Cruise ships. The actual Cruise goes to Finland and sweden....lets see..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseMH Posted August 15, 2020 #11 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Today i booked the trip to Greece end of September. Stopping in Athens and Corfu. Leaving the ship in port is allowed,but only on excoursions booked via the shipping line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted August 17, 2020 #12 Share Posted August 17, 2020 On 8/12/2020 at 9:50 AM, MarkusToe said: don't know if I'm allowed to refer to an external forum, Very few things are blocked on CC -maybe some Facebook ones. What app did you use for ship tracking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 19, 2020 #13 Share Posted August 19, 2020 marinetraffic.... https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:5438002/zoom:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapstam Posted August 24, 2020 #14 Share Posted August 24, 2020 Hi @MarkusToe, would you mind, dropping me a direct message? The feature is disabled for me but I hope I could reply to yours. You are writing you have booked a MeinSchiff 1 cruise at the end of August. Is this the "Blaue Reise" from Kiel on August 28th? I am thinking of the same trip, but still waiting where exactly it will cruise to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 25, 2020 #15 Share Posted August 25, 2020 yep on this cruise to ???? nobody knows actually…. direct message is disabled…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapstam Posted August 25, 2020 #16 Share Posted August 25, 2020 5 hours ago, MarkusToe said: yep on this cruise to ???? nobody knows actually…. direct message is disabled…. Not finally decided yet but probably yes. Having holidays and already on my way to Kiel. And simply missing cruise ship holidays. But also unsure whether seven days without a stop won't become too boring - Norway would have brought at least some scenic views. Are Stockholm's "Schären" really comparable? Apart from that never have been on a MeinSchiff and eager to explore them. Thought it might be a good possibility now while they don't sail with full capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 25, 2020 #17 Share Posted August 25, 2020 so, decision from TUIC Norway is out. Route goes to Stockholm and Schären Schären are some small islands, some trees on it, that's it. By far not comparable with Norway Looks like we will go….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapstam Posted August 25, 2020 #18 Share Posted August 25, 2020 8 minutes ago, MarkusToe said: so, decision from TUIC Norway is out. Route goes to Stockholm and Schären Schären are some small islands, some trees on it, that's it. By far not comparable with Norway Looks like we will go….. I wonder when TUIC will update their website... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 25, 2020 #19 Share Posted August 25, 2020 at least on booked passengers its done Blaue Reise - Panoramafahrt 2 vom 28.08. bis 04.09.2020 ( Fr., 28.08. Kiel Sie haben noch nichts vor. 19:00 UhrAbfahrt Sa., 29.08. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. So., 30.08. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. Mo., 31.08. Stockholm (Technischer Stopp) Sie haben noch nichts vor. 14:30 UhrAnkunft 15:30 UhrAbfahrt Di., 01.09. Fahrt durch die Schären Sie haben noch nichts vor. 10:00 UhrAnkunft 10:30 UhrAbfahrt Mi., 02.09. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. Do., 03.09. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. Fr., 04.09. Kiel Sie haben noch nichts vor. 06:30 UhrAnkunft 19:00 UhrAbfahrt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapstam Posted August 25, 2020 #20 Share Posted August 25, 2020 47 minutes ago, MarkusToe said: at least on booked passengers its done Blaue Reise - Panoramafahrt 2 vom 28.08. bis 04.09.2020 ( Fr., 28.08. Kiel Sie haben noch nichts vor. 19:00 UhrAbfahrt Sa., 29.08. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. So., 30.08. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. Mo., 31.08. Stockholm (Technischer Stopp) Sie haben noch nichts vor. 14:30 UhrAnkunft 15:30 UhrAbfahrt Di., 01.09. Fahrt durch die Schären Sie haben noch nichts vor. 10:00 UhrAnkunft 10:30 UhrAbfahrt Mi., 02.09. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. Do., 03.09. Seetag Sie haben noch nichts vor. Fr., 04.09. Kiel Sie haben noch nichts vor. 06:30 UhrAnkunft 19:00 UhrAbfahrt Thank you Markus! Let's see if we are on board as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapstam Posted August 26, 2020 #21 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Hey Markus, I booked the cruise now as well - nearly. I switched to the one on Mein Schiff 2 from and to Hamburg. I thought this may be slightly more interesting as sailing from the North Sea into the Baltic Sea around Denmark. Although we might not see anything at all from the shore we get to see the sailing out of Hamburg and maybe the crossing under one of the Great Belt bridges if it doesn't happen in the middle of the night 🙂 Please enjoy your cruise as much as we will do - and wave over from Mein Schiff 1 in Stockholm 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 27, 2020 #22 Share Posted August 27, 2020 you may see us in PS Deck 6 backboard Drawback of the HAM cruise is: most of the time ship is running high speed....and weather forecast is: no summer anymore... Have a great cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted August 27, 2020 Members #23 Share Posted August 27, 2020 Markus and jaapstam -- If you have time, please create a thread and tell others about your experience once you are onboard. We are all excited to hear! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MarkusToe Posted August 29, 2020 #24 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Startet small report... Today slightly summer...Sunny, Pool Time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapstam Posted September 4, 2020 #25 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Hello everybody, I just finished my one week "Blaue Reise" cruise with TUI Cruises "Mein Schiff 2" from and to Hamburg. Our disembarkation slot was from 8:30 to 9:00. We actually left the ship, which was docked at Steinwerder Cruise Terminal at around 8:40 - and managed to catch a train from Hamburg Central Station at 9:24 (!). As perfectly as the disembarkation and transfer process was organised, so was the whole cruise. We definitely enjoyed it - it was our first cruise with TUI Cruises after already knowing Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and MSC. Of course we would have liked it to sail to the norwegian fjords. This had not been possible due to well-known circumstances. The alternate programme with Sweden's "Schären" and the short visit to Stockholm's "old harbour" and through Finland's "Schären" next to Turku have been very nice - as has been the whole time on the ship. We met with TUI Cruises "Mein Schiff 1" in Stockholm and again near Turku. I don't want to write a full cruise report but I am open to answer all of your questions - as far as I can. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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