This Week in the Harbour: September 12th-September 19th

This week was busy in the Narrows! Let’s keep the introduction this week to a minimum because we have a lot of ships to cover.

M/S Amadea

Nationality: Bahamas
Length: 190m
Beam: 24.7m
Weight: 28,856 tonnes
Draught: 6.2m
Capacity: 624 passengers
Crew: 292
Speed: 21 knots
Year: 1991

Built in a shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan, the Amadea went into service in December 1991. Originally holding just over 600 passengers, she went through a refit in 2006 adding more cabins and more passenger space. She was visiting St. John’s on the end of her “Greenland and the New World”, cruise, which involved two transatlantic crossings.

National Geographic Explorer

Nationality: Bahamas
Length: 112m
Beam: 16.5m
Weight: 6,471 tonnes
Draught: 5m
Capacity: 148 passengers
Speed: 15.3 knots
Year: 1982

I love all things National Geographic; I’m just going to say that right off the bat. So when I found out that the NatGeo Explorer was going to be in, I was very excited. She was finishing a circumnavigation of Newfoundland, and finishing her cruise in St. John’s. She was in port from Wednesday to Thursday, leaving for another cruise to the Azores and Morocco. She has 81 cabins and is outfitted with a chart room, a fleet of 39 kayaks, an observational lounge and an ROV capable of diving to 1000ft. The Explorer is the flagship of the National Geographic fleet, and is one of six ships in the fleet. Additionally, she is specially fitted for ice-excursions with a reinforced hull and travels routes through Antarctic, Arctic, Norway, Greenland, and the Canadian Highlands.

M/V AIDAbella

Nationality: Italian
Length: 251.9m
Beam: 35m
Weight: 69,203 tonnes
Draught: 7.5m
Capacity: 2,500 passengers
Crew: 646
Speed: 19.5 knots
Year: 2008

Sister to the AIDAluna, the AIDAbella arrived in the afternoon on Wednesday, bringing with her a group of international tourists. The windowed area amidships can double as a nightclub on board, and she even has a nude sunbathing area near her stern (if you’re into that sort of thing). The bonus to her arriving so late was that when she left, it was already dark and she looked even more stunning against the city skyline. From here she was heading for Halifax, and then onto New York a city, completing her transatlantic crossing.

M/S Ruby Princess

Nationality: Bermuda
Length: 288.6m
Beam: 36m
Weight: 113,000 tonnes
Draught: 8m
Capacity: 3,080 passengers
Crew: 1,200
Speed: 23 knots
Year: 2008

The final ship of the week was the Ruby Princess of Princess Cruises. Larger than any of the other ones we had seen this week, she towered over the buildings of the city. She usually sails Norway, the North Sea, and the rest of the area. This particular cruise had her going to Norway, over to Newfoundland, and then to New York City. In 2015 she will start sailing out of Seattle along with the Crown Princess. She caters mostly to couples, and was actually christened by a couple from The Bachelorette.

We had a couple of other ships come in this week, but I’m saving them for later on! Hope you all have a fine weekend.

Images this week are my own.