Blue Dream Star

Blue Dream Star as Explorer in Lerwick
History
Name
  • 2001–2004: Olympia Explorer
  • 2004–2015: Explorer
  • 2015–2016: Celestyal Odyssey
  • 2016–2020: Glory Sea
  • 2020–present: Blue Star Dream
Operator
Port of registry
BuilderBlohm + Voss, Hamburg, Germany
Yard number962
Launched19 May 2000
Completed2001
Maiden voyage2001
In service2001
Identification
Statusin active service
General characteristics
TypeCruise ship
Tonnage24,318 GT[1]
Length180 m (590 ft 7 in)[2]
Beam25 m (82 ft 0 in)[2] or 26 m (84 ft)
Draft7.3 m (24 ft)
Decks7 total, 6 passenger
Propulsion4 × Wärtsilä 9L46C, 45,360 bhp (33,820 kW) (11,340 bhp, 8,460 kW per engine) [3]
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Capacity836 passengers

Blue Dream Star was a Liberia-registered passenger ship. The ship was built in Germany in 2001 by Blohm + Voss and originally named Olympia Explorer. The ship was later renamed Explorer when it began sailing for the Semester at Sea program in 2004 and remained with them until 2015.

In May 2015, the ship was renamed Celestyal Odyssey and began sailing for Celestyal Cruises, under the flag of Malta.

Explorer departing from Southampton on 17 June 2013

In September 2015 it was announced that Celestyal Cruises had terminated their three-year contract of owning Celestyal Odyssey. The ship left the fleet in late October 2015.

The ship was replaced with MS Gemini, renamed Celestyal Nefeli. In March 2016 it was reported that Celestyal Odyssey had been sold to be used as the first ship of Diamond Cruises International, a China-based cruise line, and due to enter service in April as Glory of the Seas.[4] The ship entered service in July 2016, named Glory Sea, with cruises from several Chinese ports, with destinations in eastern Asia.[5] In March 2019 the ship was arrested following claims for unpaid crew wages and sold at auction in 2020 to Blue Dream International Cruise.[5][6]

When group travel restrictions in China were relaxed after the Covid-19 pandemic in August 2023, Blue Dream Cruises immediately began their cruise programme with Blue Dream Star, sailing from Shanghai.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Explorer (9183518)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Vessel's Details". Explorer.
  3. ^ Explorer
  4. ^ "Latest Chinese Cruise Line: Diamond Cruise". 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b "China's Glory Sea arrested over unpaid crew wages". Cruise News. Colchester: Seatrade. 16 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  6. ^ Boonzaler, Jonathan (16 January 2024). "CDB Financial Leasing buys former Carnival Corp ship on behalf of Chinese cruise operator". Tradewinds. London. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  7. ^ "China's first international cruise sets sail after group travel relaxation". Reuters. 15 August 2023. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Explorer (ship, 2001) and IMO 9183518.


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