PHOTO: Harmony of the Seas floats out at the STX France shipyard. (Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International)
What likely will be the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International's Harmony of the Seas, floated for the first time and moved to an outfitting dock for the final stage of construction.
The line's third Oasis-class ship, the 227,000-ton Harmony of the Seas will surpass the size of its sister ships, the 225,282-ton Oasis and Allure of the Seas. The final size measurement is usually taken when the ship is complete, so the numbers could still shift after the ship is delivered in May 2016. Harmony of the Seas will carry 5,479 guests at double occupancy.
Now that its exterior is complete, the ship left its dry dock on June 18 at STX France shipyard in Saint-Nazaire and moved to the outfitting dock. "Floating out and transfer of Harmony of the Seas ran perfectly," the shipyard proclaimed on its website. "Under perfect weather conditions, the maneuver was directed by four pilots on board and eight tugs."
Harmony of the Seas will include many of the features introduced on its sister ships as well as the newer Quantum-class ships, including the Bionic Bar with robotic bartenders and Virtual Staterooms with video ocean views.
The Harmony also will have the seven neighborhoods on the Oasis-class ships, including the Central Park with thousands of live trees and the Boardwalk with its carousel.
What's noteworthy is Harmony of the Seas is that it will be the first Royal Caribbean ship with waterslides. Three waterslides in the ship's Pool and Sports Zone will zip passengers through a series of twists and turns over Central Park and three decks down.
The big ship will spend its inaugural season in the Mediterranean, operating seven-night Western Mediterranean round-trips from Barcelona in summer 2016. But, it also will let passengers embark at Civitavecchia, Italy, for seven-night round-trips from the port for Rome.
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