Marella Explorer is a Century-class cruise ship owned and operated by Marella Cruises. Before joining TUI she cruised as MV Galaxy with Celebrity Cruises, and later as Mein Schiff with TUI Cruises. She was laid down at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, on 25May 1995, was launched in May 1996, and was delivered to Celebrity Cruises on 10October 1996. She entered service on 21December 1996. In 2008, after some twelve years of service as Galaxy, she was renamed Celebrity Galaxy. In May 2009, she was transferred to the fleet of TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Celebrity Cruises' owner Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. She was renamed Mein Schiff () on 15 May 2009, Mein Schiff 1 in November 2010, and Marella Explorer in 2018. Service history Concept and construction In March 1993 Celebrity Cruises had placed an order with the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany for a new ship that was eventually delivered as . The contract also included an option for two additional vessels of the same design. Celebrity Cruises decided to utilize the option for additional vessels, but changes to the overall design were made to the subsequent ships compared to the Century. Therefore, the second ship, MV Galaxy, was given a longer hull compared to the Century, and the galley and pantry areas were completely redesigned. The keel of the Galaxy was laid on 25 May 1995, she was launched from drydock in May 1996 and delivered to Celebrity Cruises on 10 October 1996. Following a promotional visit to Southampton, the ship sailed across the Atlantic Ocean without passengers. Further promotional visits in Boston, Philadelphia and Port Canaveral followed, after which the ship sailed to Port Everglades to begin her commercial career with Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity Cruises Galaxy entered service with Celebrity Cruises on 21 December 1996 on a week-long cruise from Port Everglades to the Caribbean. Alongside her near-sister ship Century she operated week-long alternating western and eastern Caribbean cruises. During the 1997 northern hemisphere summer season the Galaxy relocated to the west coast of North America to operate week-long cruises to Alaska from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This pattern was repeated from 1997 up until 2000. In 1998, Galaxy was the setting of BBC television's docusoap The Cruise, which made Jane McDonald famous. For the 2001 summer season, Galaxy was replaced by the brand-new in the Alaskan service. As