''Horizon'' was a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

that sailed from 1990-2020, and was the first new build for

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 19 ...

. She was sent for scrapping in Aliaga in 2022.

Service history

The vessel was ordered on April 28, 1988 at

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

by Chandris Cruises as a replacement for in the Chandris Fantasy fleet. However, upon the formation of

after an agreement with the government of Bermuda, it was transferred while under construction, and entered service for the new upscale brand. The ship was significant as it was the first new build ordered by parent company Chandris and the new Celebrity brand, both of which only had operated second hand ships prior. The exterior of the ship was designed by

Jon Bannenberg Jon Bannenberg, RDI (1929 – 26 May 2002) was an Australian-English yacht designer. Biography Bannenberg was born in Sydney, Australia, and educated at Canterbury Boys High School and later at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In the earl ...

while the principal designers for the interiors were Athens based Michael Katsourakis, Patricia Hayes & Associates, and British Designer John McNeece. The ship was christened by Myrto Chandris, the wife of company founder

Dimitri Chandris Dimitri John Chandris ( el, Δημήτρης Ιωάννη Χανδρής; born January 1921 - August 1980) was a Greek shipowner who established Chandris Line, a large passenger shipping line, with his brother Anthony Chandris. Dimitri Chandris w ...

, and was delivered on on April 11, 1990. The ship was built for New York to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

cruises sailing in tandem with the ''

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

,'' calling at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and St. George's during the summer, and spent the winter sailing Caribbean cruises. The ''Horizon'' was joined by an identical sister ship, the ''

Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

,'' in 1992. The ''Horizon'' would continue the Bermuda routes, and would also be Celebrity's first ship to sail Alaska cruises. The vessel's service with Celebrity ended after 15 years in September 2005, when it was transferred to

Island Cruises Island Cruises was a cruise line that was founded as a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and First Choice Travel PLC, each of whom owned 50% of the company. The company operated in Europe, the Caribbean, and South America, aiming ...

a then subsidiary of Royal Caribbean. The ship underwent refits over the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006 and was operating out of

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

as ''Island Star'' in summer and from Caribbean in winter season of 2008. It advertised cruising as "relaxed, friendly, and informal". On 6 October 2008,

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival C ...

(RCL), the owner of ''Island Star'', sold their 50% interest in Island Cruises to

First Choice Holidays First Choice Holidays Limited (trading as First Choice) is a British online travel agency and tour operator, headquartered in Luton, England. It is a subsidiary of TUI UK, itself a subsidiary of TUI Group, and its holidays are sold in TUI stores ...

. ''Island Star'' was reported to be transferred to the fleet of RCL's

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

-based subsidiary

Pullmantur Cruises Pullmantur Cruises was a cruise line headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It began operations in the late 1990s as an offshoot of the Madrid-based travel agency Pullmantur. In 2006, Pullmantur Cruises, through its parent company, was purchased by U.S ...

, although reports in May 2009 said that the ship would go to another Royal Caribbean company,

CDF Croisières de France CDF Croisières de France was a cruise line that catered to the French cruise market, with French as the primary language used on board. CDF was a subsidiary of Pullmantur Cruises, and offered cruises to the Mediterranean operating from mid-March ...

. Pictures in May 2009 showed the ship in Pullmantur Cruises colors and renamed ''Pacific Dream'', although the trademark “X” of Celebrity Cruises, while painted-over, could still be seen. ''Horizon'' sailed European and Caribbean itineraries. In November 2010, it was reported that ''Pacific Dream'' would be replacing their ship . She was renamed ''L'Horizon'' in 2012. In late 2016, it was announced that the CDF Croisières de France brand was to be discontinued, with ''Horizon'' returning to the fleet of Pullmantur Cruises. An anonymous crew member of the ''Horizon'' reported on 28 March 2020 that a member of the crew had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on 26 March 2020. With about 250 crew members and contractors aboard, the ship had docked at

Port Rashid Mina Rashid ( ar, ميناء راشد; ), also referred to as Port Rashid, is a man-made cruise terminal in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was Dubai's first commercial port; in 2018 cargo operations moved to Jebel Ali Port. It currently serves as ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

on 15 March 2020, and the crew has been isolated and placed under lockdown. In June 2020, as a result of the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Pullmantur Cruises filed for financial reorganization under Spain's insolvency laws. The following month, Royal Caribbean International's CEO Richard Fain stated that ''Horizon'', along with the other ships in Pullmantur's fleet, had been or will be sold. Since 18 August 2020, the ship was laid up in Elefsis Bay,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. On 25 August 2022, the ship left Eleusis towed by the tugs ''Vernicos Sifnos'' and ''Christos XL'' towards Aliaga for scrapping.

Gallery

File:Model horizon2.jpg, A model of the ''Horizon'' as built. File:"Horizon" - Norfolk.jpg, ''Horizon'' In

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Image:Pacific Dream in Saint Lucia.JPG, ''Horizon'' in

Castries Castries is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city stretches o ...

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

while still with Pullmantur cruises. File:Islandstaratbrazil2008.JPG, ''Horizon'' as ''Island Star'' in

Ilhabela Ilhabela (Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The largest isla ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. File:Horizon in the Port of La Guaira.jpg, ''Horizon'' In Pullmantur Cruises livery before being transferred to CDF Croisieres de France.

References

External links

*
Horizon
at

*
Professional photographs
from shipspotting.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Horizon 1989 ships Ships built in Papenburg Ships of Celebrity Cruises Ships of Royal Caribbean International Ships of Croisières de France Cruises

Service history

Gallery

See also

References

External links