Papenburg, Germany, is a small town of roughly 30,000 whose main street of picturesque small shops, restaurants and bars is divided down the middle by a small canal. But it’s here where some of the biggest and most intricate cruise ships in the world are built. You see, Papenburg is also home to Meyer Werft, the shipbuilding company whose gigantic sheds dwarf any other structure in town. And it’s here last week where the Celebrity Equinox, the second ship in Celebrity’s Solstice class, made its debut.

No, this wasn’t the christening but instead what’s called a “conveyance.” That’s when the ship sails -- very, very slowly and with the aid of two tug boats -- down the Ems River from Papenburg to a point nearer to the North Sea so it can begin sea trials. The ship wasn’t exactly finished this past weekend as workers scurried about adding paint, completing floors, walls and ceilings, and many of the cabins and public rooms were still unfinished. For the residents of Papenburg, however, the event was cause for celebration.

I’m not sure what else goes on a Friday night in Papenburg, but at 11 p.m., as the Equinox cast off from the dock, people were lining the banks surrounding the first lock leading to the shipyard. They were there just to get a look at the giant ship, the largest (along with its sister Celebrity Solstice) ever to be built by Meyer Werft. The shipyard is building three more Solstice class ships in the next three years, including Celebrity Eclipse, due next April. It also has started construction on Disney Cruises’ new vessels, one of which will debut at the end of 2010.

As Celebrity Equinox waited for the right tides and water level, it took nearly two hours to get through the first lock just a few hundred yards from the shipyard. But to the accompaniment of loud German and American pop music (pretty noisy for 1 a.m.), the Equinox slowly made it through to the Ems River with just a few meters to spare on both sides of the lock. And did I mention, the whole process of taking the ship through the lock and down the river is done stern first, with the aid of two tugboats .

I have to admit that after staying up to nearly 2 a.m. to watch this spectacle, I didn’t have the energy to watch much more as the ship sailed further down the Ems River. But at 3 a.m., as we passed a large and well-lit drawbridge, I woke up and ventured out on my balcony to see even more people lining the banks of the river to watch the Equinox pass by. Then again, maybe it was the loud Andrea Bocelli music our vessel was playing that woke me up to see what was an almost surreal scene.

At dawn’s light (which comes pretty early in northern Germany), I opened the door to my balcony again, this time to be greeted by only a few cows and some sheep as we passed by green fields and farmland. At that point it seemed to me that the Equinox was effectively the largest river cruise ship in the world. Then at around 1 p.m., roughly 13 hours after the ship left the Meyer Werft shipyard, and after passing several other drawbridges and locks, we reached Emden, where we disembarked. The entire process was very much like a birth, complete with 14 hours of labor (our slow, 26-mile ride down the river) and a narrow birth canal (the Ems River and its locks).

And what of the ship itself, you might be asking. Well, the 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Celebrity Equinox is not that much different from its sister Celebrity Solstice, which drew rave reviews when it was introduced November. Indeed, Celebrity executives say they didn’t feel a lot of pressure to make any major changes in Equinox, since the Solstice was so well received by passengers and travel agents alike. “Solstice surprised us,” says Celebrity President Dan Hanrahan. “We were convinced we had something special, but didn’t fully understand it until the ship’s conveyance last year. We also underestimated how quickly the crew would adapt to the new ship.”

With Celebrity Solstice such a success, Celebrity Equinox was not changed dramatically, especially since it is being introduced just nine months after Solstice. What is different about Equinox is more in the décor and cosmetics of the ship. The Tihany-designed main restaurant, for example, is now called Silhouette instead of Grand Epernay. But the other restaurants all remain the same, including Oceanview Café, the ship’s casual restaurant with serving stations instead of buffet lines; as well as such specialty restaurants as Silk Harvest, featuring Asian fusion cuisine; Murano, offering classic and continental cuisine; Tuscan Grill, the Italian steakhouse; and Blu, the dining room for AquaSpa category guests only.

Popular bars and lounges have been slightly redesigned or expanded, such as Michael’s Club, Martini Bar and the Sky Lounge. Tastings, a bar on Solstice next to the art gallery, is being revamped on Equinox as a venue backed by Liquid City, which offers what Celebrity executives call “muddled” drinks (basically over-the-top, exotic and flavored alcoholic drinks). Also still in place on Equinox is Café Al Bacio & Gelateria, a coffee bar with ice cream, and Bistro on 5, a somewhat redesigned restaurant offering bistro cuisine and a showcase crepes.

Celebrity’s signature half acre of grass lawn, known as the Lawn Club, is still on Deck 14, although the grass on Equinox is designed for a more Mediterranean climate in keeping with the ship’s itinerary. There’s also the Hot Glass show by Corning, a demonstration of glass blowing, which now has a somewhat larger viewing area for the audience, which previously had been trampling the grass surrounding the stage. Similar to Solstice, there’s another live tree hanging in the ship’s atrium, though its pot is layered with an intricately designed mosaic that is quite different from the one on Solstice. Indeed, all the artwork on Equinox is unique to the ship.

Also revamped on Equinox is the Equinox Theater, the ship’s main entertainment venue, which has a somewhat different décor (chocolate- and maroon-colored seating) as well as three new shows designed exclusively for the ship. The themes will remain similar to shows offered on Solstice, including a signature aerialist performance. Also remaining on the entertainment is Celebrity Central, the late night comedy club and theater; Quasar, a slightly redesigned disco and nightclub; and Fortunes Casino, a slightly redesigned gaming venue.

Cabins remain as spacious on Equinox as Solstice – and even roomier if you consider that the safe has been removed from the closet and put under the vanity in order to provide guests with even more storage space. Hanrahan admits it was his idea to put the safe in the closet to begin with, but guests pointed out the need for a bigger closet.

Celebrity Equinox’s christening will take place in Southampton, England, on July 29, with the first revenue cruise departing July 31. The ship will offer 10- and 12-night sailings of the Mediterranean out of Rome this summer before it moves to the Caribbean in November. Unfortunately for the folks in Papenburg, it will never return to the Meyer Werft shipyard. Come to think of it, I’m not sure it could get back up that river anyway!  James Shillinglaw Editor in Chief, TravelPulse