
The launch of Marella Cruises’ latest addition to the fleet, Marella Explorer 2, has been a landmark event in more than one way. Previously the SkySea Golden Era, Explorer 2 was announced to be Marella Cruises’ first exclusively adults-only ship. In order to prepare her to join the fleet Explorer 2 docked in Cadiz, Spain and underwent the cruise lines’ largest-ever refurbishment. The main outfitter on board, Trimline, has described the scale of their job as “equivalent to four refits”.
Cruise Critic logged some serious numbers for the equipment, supplies and people it took to get Explorer 2 ship-shape and ready for her debut. Reportedly around 43 square kilometres of carpet and over 70 kilometres of network cabling was laid by around 1,520 contractors, partners and Marella Cruise team members in the course of the refurbishment. The Trimline team alone included on board and quayside logistics managers together with 300 tradespeople.
Trimline’s remit for the refurbishment project included the majority of the public spaces, including Indigo, buffet venue The Marketplace, Coffee Ports, pub Squid & Anchor, Broadway & Broadway Bar and restaurants Latitude/Vista. In order to ensure the success of the project Trimline reporting keeping a structured management team onsite, in addition to a team in the UK.
Cruise refits and refurbishments always necessarily run on a tight timeline and involve multiple stakeholders and with the scale so increased for this task, Trimline credited the success of the project to collaboration and detail-orientated planning. Trimeline’s COO Ross Welham said, “The sheer scale of this project meant that meticulous planning was crucial. Each team was responsible for their key area of the refit and worked closely with their trades to ensure the refit was completed on time. I am so proud of what our team has achieved, the end result speaks for itself.”
Explorer 2 marks the latest in a continued collaboration between Marella Cruises and Trimline, following the successful interior rebrands carried out by Trimline on Marella Explorer in 2018 and Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2 prior to that.
Nick Hughes, Head of Technical Operations at Marella Cruises commented on Trimeline’s previous work on their fleet and their delivery of the refurbishment of Explorer 2, “We are delighted with the results of this project. Trimline has a proven track record in delivering high spec interiors for us and have met the brief again with this mammoth refit. The transformation of the public spaces is remarkable, and we are looking forward to welcoming passengers on board to enjoy the results. We are sure they will respond positively and can’t wait to see what they think when they take to the seas for the new season of sailing”.
Trimline, the longest-established interior refit specialist totally dedicated to the marine industry and who have completed work across the ocean cruise industry, will be exhibiting at Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe this December. Visitors to the free-to-attend exhibition will be able to visit them on Stand #418. For those who are keen to hear more insights into the refit process can attend the conference session ‘Streamlining the Refit Process’ featuring Michael Oliver, Co-Owner & Co-Chairman of Trimline. Both the exhibition floor and the conference are completely free to attend. Find out about the next Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe event and register here.