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Ovation of the Seas Overview

From Cruise Critic

Ovation of the Seas, the last of Royal Caribbean’s three 167,800-ton, 4,180-passenger next-generation Royal Caribbean cruise ships, will launch April 2016 in China.

Like Quantum and Anthem of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas will feature many first-at-sea innovations including RipCord by iFly, a skydiving simulator; North Star, a jewel-shaped glass capsule that rises 300 feet above sea level, providing 360-degree views from high above the ship; and SeaPlex, the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea with attractions ranging from bumper cars, roller skating and video gaming to a circus school complete with flying trapeze classes.

Currently under construction at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, Royal Caribbean has confirmed that Ovation of the Seas will be specially built with the Chinese cruise market in mind and will spend most of its time in China, with a short season sailing from Australia.





Shields ‘forgotten’ Freda ferry found in Ireland

A forgotten ferry which transported passengers between North Shields and South Shields for more than 20 years has been discovered in Ireland.

March 5th 2016

Fred Cunnincham
                    Freda  Cunningham

The Freda Cunningham, which worked on the River Tyne from 1972, was taken out of service in 1993 and sold.

Ferry operator Nexus said its fate had remained a mystery until the new owners contacted them.

Since 2006, the vessel, now named Mystic Waters, has been operating between west Cork and Sherkin Island.

Carbery Isle Ferries Ltd carried out research into the vessel’s service history and found her previous job was on the River Tyne.

Owner of the Sherkin Ferry, Rosaleen O’Driscoll, said: “It’s always lovely to find out about the history of the boats that we operate.

“She’s a great little vessel.”

Mystic Waters
                           Mystic Waters

Nexus has operated the Shields Ferry service, which transports more than 500,000 people each year, since 1972.

Shields Ferry Manager, Carol Timlin, said: “It’s really wonderful to see that the Freda Cunningham is still carrying passengers after all these years.

“We had wondered for a while what had become of her. It became a bit of a mystery.

“It’s always really nice to see a former Shields Ferry being put to good use and long may that continue.”