MS Thomson Spirit
Encyclopedia
MS
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Thomson Spirit is a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
owned by the Holland America Line
Holland America Line
The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company , a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line...
and operated under charter by the United Kingdom-based Thomson Cruises. She was built in 1983 at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
shipyard in France for Holland America Line as MS Nieuw Amsterdam. Between 2000 and 2001 she sailed for United States Lines
United States Lines
United States Lines was a transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously the SS United States.-1920s:...
, a subsidiary of American Classic Voyages
American Classic Voyages
American Classic Voyages was an American-based cruise ship holding company cruise line, headquartered in Chicago, that operated between 1993 and 2001. The company attempted to take advantage of federal loans and other incentives to build and grow a US-flagged passenger ship industry. The company...
, as MS Patriot. In 2002 she returned under Holland America Line ownership and reverted to the name Nieuw Amsterdam, but was not used in active service. During the same year she was chartered to Louis Cruise Lines
Louis Cruise Lines
Louis Cruises is a Cyprus-based cruise line that operates cruises from Cyprus, France, Italy, India and Greece . The company also charters several ships to Thomson Cruises...
, who in turn sub-chartered the ship to Thomson Cruises, with whom she entered service under her current name in 2003.
Concept and construction
The Nieuw Amsterdam was the first in a pair of identical cruise ships built by Chantiers de l'AtlantiqueChantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
at St. Nazaire, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for the Holland America Line
Holland America Line
The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company , a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line...
(HAL) with North-American cruising in mind. She was launched from drydock on 20 August 1982. While in final stages of construction a fire destroyed the ship's main switchboard on 24 June 1983, which delayed her delivey to her owners by three weeks. She was delivered to HAL in July 1983.
1983—2000: MS Nieuw Amsterdam
The Nieuw Amsterdam entered service with Holland America Line in July 1983, doing a transatlantic crossing from Le Havre to New York. Following her maiden voyage she was used for cruising in the Caribbean during the northern hemisphereNorthern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
winter seasons and cruises out of Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
to Alaska during the summer seasons. In April 1984 she was joined in service by her sister , which operated similar iteneraries. As the HAL fleet grew from the late 1980s onwards, the Nieuw Amsterdams iteneraries widened to various destination around the world. In 1989 the Holland America Line was acquired by the Carnival Corporation, but HAL remained a separate entity.
In late 1999 the Nieuw Amsterdam was sold to American Classic Cruises, with delivery planned for October 2000. The ship finished her final cruise with HAL in Vancouver on 24 August 2000. Subsequently she sailed without passengers to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, where she was moored as a hotel ship for the duration of the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. On 2 October 2000 the ship left Sydney for San Francisco where she was handed over to her new owners.
2000—2002: MS Patriot
On 18 October 2000 the Nieuw Amsterdam was taken over by America Classic Cruises in San Francisco and renamed MS Patriot. American Classic Cruises had decided to revive the historic United States LinesUnited States Lines
United States Lines was a transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously the SS United States.-1920s:...
brand for cruises operated out of Honolulu, and the Patriot was to be the first ship of this new venture. Unusually for a ship built outside the United States, the Patriot was registered in Honolulu. By terms of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (also known as The Jones Act), only ships built in the United States may be registered in the United States, and only ships registered in the United States may be used in intra-United States traffic. American Classic Cruises planned to have two brand-new ships (codenamed "Project America
Project America
Project America was the designation for a contract between American Classic Voyages and the Litton Ingalls Shipyard of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The contract was to build two cruise ships, with a each, with an option for a third vessel. The contract had the initial potential value of $1.4...
") built for United States Lines at the Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
yards in Mississippi. This scheme was given generous support by the United States government with hopes that the project would help restart passenger ship construction in the United States. As a temporary measure United States Lines was allowed to register the Patriot in a US port to begin operations before completion of the Project America vessels, thereby allowing her to cruise around the Hawaiian Islands without the need to make calls at ports outside the US. The Patriot was the first oceangoing passenger ship since 1958 to enter service under the United States flag.
Following a refit the ship left San Francisco on her first cruise with her new owners on 2 December 2000, arriving in Honolulu on 8 December and commencing normal service around the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
the same day. The United States Lines cruise venture proved to be short-lived. The 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks caused a slump in US tourism and on 18 October 2001 American Classic Cruises declared bankruptcy due to massive debts owned to the US government. Following the bankruptcy of her owners the Patriot was laid up in Honolulu.
2002—2003: Nieuw Amsterdam/Spirit
Holland America Line repurchased their old ship on 27 January 2002 and she reverted to her old name Nieuw Amsterdam. She did not re-enter service with HAL, but remained laid up, first in Honolulu and later in Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. In May 2002 the Nieuw Amsterdam was chartered to the Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines
Louis Cruise Lines
Louis Cruises is a Cyprus-based cruise line that operates cruises from Cyprus, France, Italy, India and Greece . The company also charters several ships to Thomson Cruises...
, renamed MS Spirit and sailed to Perama
Perama
Perama is a port city and a suburb of Piraeus that lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains. It creates the western terminus of the Port of Piraeus and there is also a port that provides ferry services to Salamis. The town has only one main road connecting Lambrakis and Ralli Avenues,...
, Greece for a refit.
2003 onwards: Thomson Spirit
Following a lengthy refit at Perama, Louis Cruise Lines sub-chartered the Spirit to Thomson Cruises from 3 May 2003 onwards. Upon entering service with Thomson the ship's name was amended into MS Thomson Spirit. She was initially used on Western Mediterranean cruises out of Palma, Majorca and has continued making cruises on the Mediterranean during the northern hemisphere summer seasons and cruises on the Red Sea during the winter seasons. Throughout summer 2012, the Thomson Spirit will be operating a variety of cruises to northern Europe from Harwich and Newcastle (North Shields), England.As Thomson Spirit
Thomson Spirit has nine decks.- C deck - Engine roomEngine roomOn a ship, the engine room, or ER, commonly refers to the machinery spaces of a vessel. To increase the safety and damage survivability of a vessel, the machinery necessary for operations may be segregated into various spaces, the engine room is one of these spaces, and is generally the largest...
, crew spaces, Outside & inside cabins, self service laundry - B deck - Outside and inside cabinsCabin (ship)A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a "deckhouse."-Sailing ships:...
, Self-service laundry - A deck - Medical centre, Outside and Inside cabins
- Main deck - Sirocco's restaurant, The Compass Rose Restaurant, beauty salon, Outside and Inside cabins
- Broadway deck - Broadway Show Lounge, Explorers' Lounge, Card/reading room, Lido restaurant, Pool, Raffles Bar & Casino, Broad Street shops, Cinema, Browser's Corner
- Promenade deck - Mezzanine Bar and Lounge, High Spirits, Self-service laundry
- Mariner deck - Kidzone, Suites, Deluxe cabins, Grafitti's, Cabins adapted for wheelchair users, Self-service laundry
- Bridge deck - BridgeBridge (ship)The bridge of a ship is the room or platform from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is underway the bridge is manned by an OOW aided usually by an AB acting as lookout...
, Pool, Suites, Deluxe cabins, Oceans Health Club - Eagle - Horizons, Presidential Suite, Deluxe cabins, Sports Deck
External links
- Company Website for Thomson Spirit
- Video Clip of Thomson Spirit
- Track the current position of the Spirit in Real time (Just click the numbers after "Latitude/Longitude" to access the tracker)