TUI Cruises, the joint venture between German TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises, will be homeporting its first ship in Kiel on its Baltic Sea and Scandinavia sailings, according to a company spokesperson. The 10-night cruises will run from May through September.

The ship, currently sailing as Celebrity Cruises’ Galaxy, will also sail 11-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean from Majorca from September through November, before repositioning to the Caribbean, where she will sail two alternating seven-day itineraries from Santo Domingo.

The 1996-built Galaxy can currently accommodate approximately 1,900 passengers. However, the ship is slated to be converted for the German market – which will include the addition of more staterooms – at a cost of 50 million euros. TUI is also expecting to introduce two 100,000-ton, 2,500-passenger newbuilds in 2011 and 2012.