GENOA, Italy — Oceania Cruises floated out its first new ship, the Marina, during a ceremony at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente shipyard on Friday, and then revealed that the name of its second new ship will be Riviera.
The shipyard then held a ceremony to begin construction on the Riviera, a sister ship to the 1,258-passenger, 65,000-ton Marina. The Riviera is slated to debut in April 2012, Oceania Chairman Frank Del Rio said.
"The only thing better than one new ship is two new ships," Del Rio told a group of press, travel agents and Oceania customers invited to the event. Executives from Oceania and Fincantieri also attended.
Del Rio, Oceania President Bob Binder and board members of Prestige Cruise Holdings (Oceania's parent company) pressed a button to set in motion the ceremonial first cutting of the steel on the Riviera.
The Riviera steel-cutting was a surprise during an event that was originally to be only a float-out for the Marina, which is under construction and scheduled to debut in February 2011.
A priest blessed the Marina, and a bottle of champagne was broken on its bow to commemorate the first time the ship will touch water.
As for whether Oceania will exercise the option for a third Oceania-class vessel, Del Rio was cryptic.
"Great things come in three," he said. "But who knows?"
Oceania Cruises has seven more months to decide if it wants to build a third Oceania-class ship at a price of $500 million.