Concept and Construction
The Homeric was planned during the first half of the 1980s as a replacement for the aging SS Oceanic in the Home Lines' fleet. Meyer Werft in Papenburg, West Germany was chosen as the shipyard to build her. The ship was named in honour of the company's earlier SS Homeric, a popular ship that had been destroyed by a fire in 1973. The new Homeric was launched on 28 September 1985. She performed her sea trials between 26 December and 30 December 1985, but was not delivered to Home Lines until 6 May 1986.
Following the sale of the ship to Holland America Line (and the sale of HAL itself to the Carnival Corporation), the ex-Homeric, now named Westerdam, returned to Meyer Werft on 30 October 1989 for a $84 million refit. The ship was lengthened by36.9 m (121 ft 1 in) and many of her interiors were rebuilt. The refit was completed on 12 March 1990.
In 2002, prior to entering service as Costa Europa for Costa Cruises, the ship received a £5 million refit, with some of the public rooms redecorated and six balcony suites added.
Read more about this topic: MS Thomson Dream
Famous quotes containing the words concept and/or construction:
“The concept of a person is logically prior to that of an individual consciousness. The concept of a person is not to be analysed as that of an animated body or an embodied anima.”
—Sir Peter Frederick Strawson (b. 1919)
“There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)