Color Line’s new 1300 million flagship Color Fantasy is not just any ordinary ferry. The owners prefer to call her the world’s largest cruise ship with car decks. By the very high standards of her interiors she is indeed a cruise ship, but when it comes to traffic she is also a ferry, sailing regularly with passengers, cars and cargo between Oslo and Kiel.
The delivery of Color Fantasy puts an end to an era within Finnish shipbuilding. She is the last newbuilding completed by Kvaerner Masa-Yards. Due to a restructuring process, the shipyard started operating under the name Aker Finnyards from December 7, 2004.
Short building time
The Color Line-project has been extremely busy for the Turku shipyard. The contract was signed on December 16, 2002, just two years before delivery. The keel was laid on November 25, 2003 and already on April 30, 2004 the newbuilding was launched.
Color Fantasy replaces Prinsesse Ragnhild on the Oslo–Kiel route. Color Line has exercised an option for a sister vessel to Color Fantasy.
Huge promenade
When boarding Color Fantasy, it immediately becomes obvious that the vessel is very special. Measuring more than 75,000 GT, the spaces on board the vessel are simply huge. The interiors and solutions on board have much in common with the very large Voyager-type cruise vessels, which have been delivered by the same shipyard.
The passengers embark on deck 7 and enter the mall called ‘Fantasy Promenade’. The first vessels to be designed with a several deck high promenade were Silja Line’s sisters Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony. After that, several cruise vessels have been built with that feature. The promenade is something of a ‘main street’, a place to stroll about, do some shopping or slip into a pub. In addition to housing many activities, this concept also allows the construction of considerably more seaside cabins than in a conventional design. On two levels above the street there are cabins with windows facing the promenade.
The promenade on Color Fantasy is the largest so far on a vessel with a length of 163 m. On the street there are shops, restaurants, bars and a children’s playroom. In the fore end there is an atrium with panoramic view lifts.
On board Color Fantasy there are in all eight restaurants, all with their own concepts from fast food to gourmet à la carte menus. The two main restaurants are the ‘Grand Buffet’ midships on deck 6 and the ‘Oceanic à la Carte’, aft on the same deck.
Interesting features
All public spaces and lounges on Color Fantasy are on a very high standard and many of them are designed in quite a spectacular way. There are also a lot of interesting details and works of art around the ship. In all, 55 artists from 17 countries have participated in the decoration, resulting in a total of 3,232 works of art.
In the fore part of deck 6 there is the ‘Casino’ and further forward the ‘Fantasy Show Lounge’, reaching through two decks. In the show lounge shows will be produced in co-operation with 2Entertain.
Decks 12 and 13 are also public areas. The 1,600-sqm ‘Color Conference Centre’ has a large auditorium and several conference rooms in different sizes, seating a total of 850 persons. In addition to that, at off-peak seasons the 1,400-sqm upper car deck on deck 5 can be used for exhibitions.
In the aft part of deck 12 there is the ‘Aqualand’, a water park with many attractions, which certainly will be a hit especially among the children. In the forward part of deck 13, above the wheelhouse, there is the ‘Spa & Fitness Centre’, where the guests can work out while enjoying the beautiful scenery in the Oslofjorden or Kieler Förde.
Other special features are the ‘Tower Nightclub’ on deck 14 with a medieval atmosphere, the non-alcoholic teenager disco ‘Teens Plaza’ fore of the funnel on deck 13 and the magnificent ‘Observation Lounge’ at the top of the vessel with large panoramic windows facing forward.
High-class cabins
The passenger cabins are situated on decks 8 to 11. Of the 966 passenger cabins 604 are equipped with a large window, facing either the sea or the promenade. A TV and a minibar are also included in the cabin standards. In the total number of cabins, 34 staterooms are also included.
For truck drivers there is a separate compartment on the starboard side of deck 5, including a driver’s lounge.
Crew cabins are mainly located on decks 3 and 4. In all, there are 250 cabins for the crew and officers. All cabins on Color Fantasy are manufactured as ready-to-install modules by Piikkiö Works.
All accommodation and public areas are fire-protected by a sprinkler system from Marioff Corporation. The fire alarm and detection system was delivered by Autronica Fire and Security.
Silent vessel
Color Fantasy is an extremely silent vessel and one of very few to fulfil Det Norske Veritas’ class notation Comfort Class 1. The vessel also incorporates environment friendly design solutions according to the classification society’s Clean standards.
The main car deck is located inside the crew areas on decks 3 and 4. It is equipped with hoistable decks for private cars. On deck 2 there is also a lower trailer hold and the inner part of deck 5 is a combined car deck for private cars and an exhibition space.
The total ro-ro-capacity for cargo is 1,280 m lane metres. If only private cars are carried, the max capacity is about 750. All ro-ro-equipment has been supplied by MacGregor.
Machinery
The propulsion power is provided by diesel-mechanical machinery, consisting of four Wärtsilä medium-speed engines with an output of 7,800 kW each at 500 rpm. The four auxiliary engines were also delivered by Wärtsilä and are connected to generators from ABB. The output of the auxiliary engines is 1,950 kW each at 1,000 rpm. Service speed is 22 knots.
The large vessel has three powerful bow thrusters of 2,200 kW each and two stern thrusters of 1,000 kW each. Electrical power for the thrusters is generated by two 4,800 kW shaft generators during manoeuvring. The two CP-propellers and the thrusters were supplied by Rolls Royce Kamewa, while ABB delivered the electrical thruster motors.
A cockpit type bridge layout provides an ergonomic working environment for the officers on watch. The integrated bridge system was delivered by Litton Marine Systems.
Pär-Henrik Sjöström
Date: 2005-06-06