The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship Readies Itself for Passengers

This Royal Caribbean’s new cruise ship, carried out her sea trials on Thursday, March 10^th, leaving from Saint-Nazaire, France—with the help of six tugboats— and returned to port on Sunday, March 13, 2016.

The 500 crewmembers, her first on-board passengers, made sure that the vessel’s electric power plant works well and that it can be maneuvered properly. The captain had the help of three pilots, who worked on a simulator for more than a year, to steer the ship out of the Saint-Nazaire port.

Royal Caribbean reported that the ship’s performance was as expected.  The next trial will take place in April and if it also goes according to plan, the ship will take its first passengers in May, heading to Southampton, UK.

Her construction of started in September 2013 and she is the sister of some other cruise ship superlatives in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, namely the Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.

What’s so special about her?

Harmony of the Seas has a capacity of 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crewmembers on its 16 decks, thus being the largest cruise ship in the world. Bear in mind that if the Eiffel Tower was laid down next to her, the ship would still be longer!

Not only her size is colossal, but its value, too; she costs a little over a billion dollars.

Her passengers will have the chance to enjoy cocktails served by robot bartenders at the ship’s “Bionic Bar” and take on the "Ultimate Abyss,” a water slide that Royal Caribbean claims is the tallest slide at sea.

The ship will also house a casino, a movie theater, and an ice skating rink.

Sources:

http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/99-days-of-harmony

http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/harmony-of-the-seas-begin-sea-trials