The cruise ship is a massive vessel of over 75,000 tonnes, 259 meters long and can accommodate more than 2,600 passengers. She was built in Germany in 1996, and has been sailing the Caribbean and between Alaska and Canada.
 
In March 2009, she was sold by Royal Caribbean Cruises to the German shipping line TUI AG, primarily to be for cruises around the Baltic for the German market.

She was renamed Mein Schiff and underwent a major refit and extension at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany, at a cost of nearly EUR 50 million.

400 balconies

Apart from generally being smartened up, there was extensive extension work where balconies were built on to three of the decks. With over 400 new balconies, the passenger area has increased by 1,000 square meters, and the standard of the existing cabins and suites has been improved significantly.

Adding the balconies involved a special technique and a building method developed by Finnish company, LSK-Project OY, in cooperation with Hydro.

420 mm-wide extrusions

The method involves cutting the hull of the ship of the outside cabins and replacing the wall with an aluminium section that can be opened. A steel console is then fitted externally, onto which is placed an aluminium balcony platform and an aluminium and glass railing.

These extensions have been made on three decks. LSK’s platform construction consists of four large floor extrusions and one external cover extrusion. The main extrusion used in the platform is a hollow extrusion for maximum strength and low weight.

This is 420 mm wide and is made using a press with a massive force of 7,000 tonnes. The great extrusion width gives a larger area with fewer extrusions, greater strength and shorter assembly times.

The outer extrusion of the platform is designed to be easily fitted to the railing and is equipped with an external drainage channel for rain and wash water and also serves as a cover extrusion for the platform's consoles.

Unique cooperation

“Hydro has been an active partner during the development of our balcony system,” says LSK managing director Juha Hiirsalmi. “They have assisted us with static calculations and extrusion optimization for design, function, tolerances  and characteristics.”
 
With LSK, Hydro has developed close collaboration and a unique logistics system in which LSK runs its own production line of prefabricated balcony platforms in Hydro’s factory at Forssa.

Strong and corrosion-resistant

LSK chose aluminium extrusions for the platform construction because of the optimal strength-to-weight ratio.

The components are also easy to work and handle, and have good corrosion resistance to withstand the elements, as this is really a case of exposed constructions! Aluminium extrusions also give the balconies a high quality finish and elegant design.