MV Werften lays keels for two luxury river cruise vessels
The sections of NB 123 (Crystal Mahler, left) and NB 120 (Crystal Bach) were simultaneously lowered on keel blocks
The Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler are the first two of altogether four luxury river cruise vessels to be built in the completely covered dock shop.
"This keel laying marks an important milestone for us. We're excited to build these high-end vessels for our brand Crystal River Cruises in our very own yard," said Tan Sri Lim, chairman of Malaysia's Genting Group, which acquired the shipyards in April.
The seven-star, 3,100gt ships – about 135m long and 11m wide – will operate on the European rivers Rhine, Main, Moselle and Danube after their delivery in 2017. As many as 110 passengers will travel in 55 cabins – all luxury suites – up to 70.5m2 in size. There will also be 39 crew cabins.
The order book of MV Werften includes a total of ten vessels in the next five years, among them the so-called “Wismar-max class”, the world’s biggest cruise liner in terms of passenger capacity.
