New "Millennium" Begins

Alstom's Chantiers de l'Atlantique delivered the Millennium cruise ship to Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. The new ship is the largest passenger ship ever built in France, and is significant in that it is the first to feature gas turbines (General Electric make) and steam turbine as its main propulsion. In fact, facing increased scrutiny from environmental concerns, companies such as Royal Caribbean are striving to ensure the environmental "friendliness" of their vessels. To this end, Millennium is the first cruise ship that has earned the Clean Design label by Det Norske Veritas. Its propulsion package is also comprised of a Mermaid podded propulsion system, jointly developed by Alstom and Kamewa. The 294-m ship - which was designed and built in just 27 months - is designed to accommodate up to 2,450 passengers in 1,019 cabins.