While growing up on Helgoland, a small archipelago in the North Sea off the coast of Germany, Wybcke Meier often had to take the ferry to the mainland. However, her brief experiences of life at sea were far from positive.
“The sea was often very rough, so I didn’t enjoy the trips,” she says. “As a child, I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to go sailing or work at sea.”
Today, her perspective has changed significantly – she is now CEO of Germany-based TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI Group and Royal Caribbean Group that operates eight premium cruise vessels. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, which operates two luxury and three expedition ships, has also been been part of TUI Cruises since 2020.
“Although I didn’t enjoy ferry trips, I loved travelling and began my career in the tourism industry,” says Meier. “Cruising became more popular in Germany in the early 2000s when the market was launching lots of new ships, and I could see how it might be an exciting way to see the world. I also found it very interesting that cruise lines could take a holistic approach to designing a holiday experience from A to Z and create a full product for their guests. In the following years, I had a few positive experiences in the cruise industry, so when I was approached about the CEO role by TUI Cruises during the ITB Berlin travel fair in 2014, I decided to take on the challenge.”
Not long after joining TUI Cruises, Meier embarked on one of the brand’s metal music-themed voyages and saw firsthand the positive impact a holistically designed holiday experience has on guests.
“Metal and hard rock aren’t my favourite music genres so I wasn’t sure I would enjoy myself, but it was amazing,” she says. “Everybody was so happy to be onboard the ship and having fun together across the ship. It was funny to see big groups of guests dressed in black leather and metal t-shirts getting off the ship to explore cultural sites in destinations like Barcelona and Lisbon. It’s a special memory.”
Meier and her team continue to curate memorable experiences for guests sailing on all TUI Cruises ships, including its two new InTUItion-class vessels, Mein Schiff Relax and Mein Schiff Flow.
At 333 metres and 160,000gt, the InTUItion ships are the brand’s largest-ever vessels and can accommodate up to 3,984 guests and around 1,400 crew members. In a break from tradition, they were ordered from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, rather than TUI Cruises’ long-term partner Meyer Turku, which constructed the first seven ships in the Mein Schiff fleet at its yard in Finland. Mein Schiff Relax began service in the Mediterranean in April 2025, while Mein Schiff Flow is set to debut in mid-2026.
TUI Cruises reworked the general arrangement of Mein Schiff Relax, which enabled it to introduce new venues like the Captain’s Bar
TUI Cruises’ objective for the InTUItion-class was to create “intuitively explorable ships” with a multitude of onboard amenities and spaces designed to promote relaxation, generate the “feel-good factor” and empower guests to “experience wellbeing in a new way”.
“Our existing vessels are very popular with guests but we wanted to raise the bar even further with the new InTUItion-class ships,” says Meier. “We kept many of the elements our guests love, but as the newbuilds are slightly larger, we took the opportunity to look at what we could do differently too. Our aim was to improve everything from the layout to the onboard facilities and guest experiences.”
TUI Cruises collaborated with a team of renowned cruise ship design and architecture firms – including 3Deluxe, JOI-Design, Tillberg Design of Sweden and Wilson Butler Architects – to rework the general arrangement and create the interiors. Drawing on guest feedback, the brand has grouped related venues together across Mein Schiff Relax, creating dedicated areas for entertainment, sports and wellness, suite guests and more. It also reconfigured existing spaces to facilitate easy movement throughout the ship – for instance the reception is now directly connected to the boarding area and the deck above via an escalator.
“Changing the layout has greatly improved the flow throughout the ship and made it easier for guests to find what they’re looking for,” says Meier. “We’ve also played around with the locations of some of our signature spaces. This helped us maximise our use of outdoor decks and add more expansive windows in areas such as the atrium to bring in as much natural light – and as many sea views – as possible.”
One signature venue that has been moved is the main restaurant Atlantik. The restaurant and its adjoining bar are now situated at the aft of decks four and five. “We were able to incorporate floor-to-ceiling windows that provide sweeping views of the path the ship has sailed,” says Meier.
Atlantik is just one of 14 restaurants and bistros on Mein Schiff Relax, which also has 17 bars and lounges. Many were previously introduced on the existing Mein Schiff vessels, such as Italian eatery Osteria – Pizza e Pasta. New additions include industrial-style Street Art Bar, Alpine-inspired eatery The Chalet, French restaurant Sur Mer Bistrot, indoor/outdoor Greek dining venue Taverna Dionysos, the Harbour Market buffet, and Scandinavian-themed diner Høfde. There is also an Asian restaurant named Fugu, which was created in partnership with Chef Tim Raue. Here, “space-changing projections and soundscapes” take guests on a “sensual journey through the cuisine and culture of Japan” as they dine on a five-course meal.
Guests can enjoy similarly immersive entertainment in La Cage, a new 1920s-style bar and casino that hosts burlesque dancing and live music performances, as well as workshops and culinary tastings. Alternatively, they can visit the new Blaue Flora – Stage & Bar to watch small-stage drama performances, radio plays, readings and lectures. There is also a redesigned main theatre spanning three decks.
“Typically, cruise ship theatres are designed with fixed seating to host big shows attended by lots of people, but we wanted to provide a varied programme of entertainment,” says Meier. “We designed a hexagonal theatre with a multifunctional space in front of the stage that can be easily reconfigured to accommodate everything from large productions to concerts, fashion shows, dinner theatre, lectures and yoga classes. This gives us much more flexibility.”
Other onboard highlights include a 220-metre-long jogging track, a gym, a dedicated space for fitness classes, a partially shaded 25-metre outdoor lap pool, and a covered sports arena with facilities for indoor cycling, basketball, volleyball and football. The ship also features a spa, which offers TUI Cruises’ first onboard cryotherapy chamber and a new Finnish sauna, as well as a steam bath, separate herbal and salt saunas, a lounge, and a relaxation area with expansive windows and an outdoor terrace.
“Sports and wellness are very important to our guests, so we’ve given them more choice of activities and amenities on Mein Schiff Relax,” says Meier. “As our guests really love being outside and taking in the sea views while they exercise or relax, we’ve moved many of these facilities to the open decks. The spa, for example, is now one deck higher than on other Mein Schiff vessels.”
TUI Cruises has repurposed the uppermost deck to provide guests with another outdoor space for fitness activities, socialising and relaxing. “On our other vessels, this deck is a technical space but now it has been renamed the Mistral Deck and features comfortable seating, a bar, an area for fitness activities, and a barrel sauna,” says Meier. “We’ve also introduced a new Greek island-inspired outdoor space on deck 16 called Agora, which has an infinity pool, a whirlpool, sun loungers and a bar.”
Maximising sea views and outdoor space was also a key priority when designing the ship’s accommodation. “Building a larger ship has enabled us to meet high guest demand for additional balcony cabins – they now account for 85 per cent of the cabins on Mein Schiff Relax,” says Meier. “We’ve dedicated some of these cabins to solo travellers for the first time too, giving them more accommodation choices.”
In addition, Mein Schiff Relax offers five suite categories, including the new Loft and Grand View suites. The two 88-square-metre Loft Suites span two decks, accommodate up to six people and feature two private verandas (one per deck), a living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Meanwhile, the 45-square-metre Grand View Suites are designed for four people and have a living area, bedroom and a bathroom. The Junior Suites have been redesigned for Mein Schiff Relax, and suites in all other categories have been decorated with a refreshed colour palette.
Mein Schiff Relax has multiple outdoor decks with sports and fitness facilities, including a 25-metre lap pool
For the first time, all suites are located at the stern of the ship, alongside an exclusive lounge, bar, two new restaurants and a sun deck with daybeds and a whirlpool. “These indoor and outdoor spaces are only open to suite guests, allowing them to relax and unwind in a comfortable, luxurious setting,” says Meier. “Moving the suite area to the stern has allowed us to maximise the panoramic sea views and introduce a new two-deck Captain’s Bar with expansive forward-facing windows above the ship’s bridge.”
Together, these onboard amenities make the newbuild an “exciting destination in its own right”, according to Meier. “Mein Schiff Relax offers all the amenities and experiences guests would find at a premium contemporary holiday destination on land,” she explains. “Importantly, we have a good balance of large communal areas where guests can have fun together, and smaller, quieter spaces where they can relax by themselves. This ensures every guest has the cruise experience that best suits their individual needs.”
Mein Schiff Relax is also the first LNG-powered ship in the TUI Cruises fleet, taking the brand another step closer to reaching its decarbonisation goals. The company, together with TUI Group brand Marella Cruises, has committed to climate reduction targets validated by the Science-based Targets initiative (known more commonly as SBTi). Thus it aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 27.5 per cent by 2030 (compared to a 2019 baseline). Further goals include sailing its first climate-neutral cruises by the same year and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
“We’re investing in multiple areas to achieve these goals,” says Meier. “Solutions such as shore power, newly designed propellers, and hull paints that reduce drag have already significantly lowered our emissions. We’re also using data platforms, artificial intelligence and other digital tools to optimise route planning and boost energy efficiency onboard our ships. Every small change we make takes us closer to carbon-neutral cruising.”
To make major decarbonisation progress, however, cruise lines must transition from fossil fuels to low-emission alternatives, says Meier. TUI Cruises is already preparing for this switch by forming partnerships with fuel providers, trialling biodiesel and installing dual-fuel engines on its ships.
“Mein Schiff 7, which debuted in 2024, was one of the world’s first cruise ships with a methanol-capable propulsion system and we’re working with Hamburg-based energy company MB Energy (formerly Mabanaft) to set up a green methanol supply in Germany,” says Meier. “Both InTUItion-class ships will initially run on LNG, but will be able to switch to bio-LNG or E-LNG as soon as they’re available at scale.” TUI Cruises marked another important step on the road to climate-neutral cruising in 2025. At the end of July, Mein Schiff Relax was supplied with 1,875 cubic metres of bio-LNG for the first time – as part of a ship-to-ship bunkering operation via a barge.
Building the infrastructure and supply chains for the large-scale production and distribution of low-emission fuels will require cross-sector collaboration. “The cruise industry is a front-runner in developing, testing and implementing innovative environmental solutions, but we can’t cut emissions or solve the fuel challenge on our own,” says Meier. “We must all work together to decarbonise the shipping industry.
“Cruise operators are clearly committed to investing in low-emission fuels – many of us have already built (or are building) ships that are technically capable of using them – but we need fuel providers to make them commercially available. With widespread access to low-emission fuels, we could hit our decarbonisation target before 2050.”
Ports must play a role in decarbonising the cruise industry too, says Meier. Like many other cruise brands, TUI Cruises has equipped most of its fleet with shore power connectors, but it is unable to use them in many European ports due to a lack of infrastructure.
“Connecting to shoreside electricity enables us to switch off our engines and operate almost emission-free while in port, so we are using it wherever possible,” says Meier. “Although the European Union has mandated that every major port in the region must provide shore power for cruise ships by 2030, there hasn’t been much progress. We’ll continue to provide early call forecasts to give ports the certainty that shore power facilities will be used regularly if they build them.”
From left, Ralf Pastleitner, who is responsible for public policy at TUI Group, joined Jens Gieseke, Member of European Parliament, Wybcke Meier and Dr Reinhard Lüken, managing director of the German Shipyards Association
In June 2025, Meier joined other cruise executives, shipyard representatives, EU policymakers and regional stakeholders at TUI Group’s Policy Breakfast in Brussels, Belgium, to explore how the cruise industry can help to drive decarbonisation in Europe. As part of this, the group discussed how the EU’s Sustainable Transport Investment Plan could be used as a vehicle to mobilise investments in green infrastructure and sustainable fuels.
Participants also considered how the cruise sector could help drive industrial innovation and economic growth in Europe, given that 97 per cent of the world’s cruise ships are already built at European shipyards during projects that provide over 400,000 jobs.
“The cruise sector is more than just an important part of European tourism, it’s a strategic industrial asset,” says Meier. “Cruise lines are long-term industrial partners. Every vessel ordered in Europe strengthens local supply chains, drives environmental innovation and supports European jobs. We are consistently focusing on energy efficiency and have equipped our ships with advanced propulsion technologies and other pioneering sustainable innovations that benefit other sectors.”
The cruise sector has a positive economic impact on tourism and local communities too. “There is a misperception that cruise lines and their guests don’t spend much in destinations, but it’s actually the opposite,” says Meier. “TUI Cruises’ economic contribution to European tourism destinations from port fees and shore excursions alone amounts to €53 million ($41 million) per year. Guests spend more money on top of that in places such as shops, restaurants and bars. Cruise lines must have close dialogues with ports and local communities to overcome these misperceptions and share best practices to ensure cruise tourism works for everyone.”
With stakeholders across the cruise industry and other sectors working together to drive change, Meier believes there is “tremendous room for growth” in the cruise market in Europe and other regions around the world.
“Cruise Lines International Association predicts 37.7 million passengers will cruise globally in 2025, but this is still only around two per cent of global tourism, so there’s a lot of potential for us to attract new guests,” she says. “Cruise lines are building more ships, but they’re also phasing out older, less efficient vessels so the industry is growing in a modest, yet healthy and sustainable, way. It’s still a niche form of travel but more people are recognising that cruises offer a safe, comfortable and cost-effective way to meet new people and explore the world.”
Discover more insights like this in the Autumn/Winter 2025 issue of Cruise & Ferry Review. Don’t miss out – subscribe for FREE and get the next issue delivered straight to your inbox.