Oceania Cruises yesterday held the keel laying ceremony to mark the start of construction of its new 1,252-passenger ship, Marina, at the Sestri Ponente shipyard of Fincantieri near Genoa.

During the ceremony, attended by members of both Oceania Cruises' and Fincantieri's management teams, Frank Del Rio, chairman and CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings and founder of Oceania Cruises, welded a US silver dollar and a pre-Castro silver Cuban peso into the keel of the new ship. Del Rio is a Cuban-American.

The welding of the coins into the keel is long-standing maritime tradition, believed to solicit good fortune for the ship, its crew and its passengers during its seagoing life. After the coins were welded into the keel, the first of the 55 steel blocks that comprise Marina was lowered into the building dock, thus marking the official start of the construction of Oceania Cruises' first purpose-built ship.

"This is a momentous day in the history of Oceania Cruises, one which will only be eclipsed on the day we take delivery of Marina in 2010. We want to express our sincere thanks to our loyal guests, travel partners and the entire Oceania Cruises team for all their dedication and hard work in making this new ship become a reality," stated Del Rio.

Marina, the first of the new Oceania Class, represents an evolution of the line's extremely popular Regatta-Class ships.

Designed to operate worldwide itineraries, the new ships will boast a cruising speed some 20% faster than the Regatta Class. The Oceania-Class ships will accommodate 1,252 guests in 626 staterooms and suites, 96% with private teak verandas. Guests will dine in their choice of six open seating restaurants.

Additional details on the Marina's suites and staterooms, restaurants, guest facilities and itineraries will be released in the coming months.