16 Boating New Zealand
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oasting more cabins than any other vessel afloat and with
room for 6,680 passengers, the just-launched, 228,081-ton
Symphony of the Seas is the world’s largest ocean liner.
She’s a slightly larger version of the third ship in Royal
Caribbean’s Oasis Class, the 22-month-old Harmony of the Seas.
Harmony, in turn, was a bit bigger than the first two Oasis Class
vessels, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
Designed for vacationers who love big, bustling mega-resorts, the
Oasis Class vessels have made waves in the cruise industry since they
began debuting in 2009. All of the Oasis Class ships currently at sea
are in excess of 225,000 tons — more than 30 percent larger than the
next biggest cruise vessels.
Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley says the line’s focus is
on building vessels with an ever-growing array of attractions and
activities for vacationers – and this inevitably results in ever-bigger
ships. “We design for maximum fun, entertainment and vacation
experience, and end up with big ships.”
Symphony eclipses Harmony by more than 1,000 tons and ofers
several new features including a revamped Boardwalk amusement
area and a new laser tag attraction. The ship also has a first-of-its-
kind, two-deck-high family suite with a slide between floors.
The ship was built at the giant STX France shipyard in St. Nazaire,
France – the same shipyard that built Harmony.
Symphony will spend her first few months sailing in the
Mediterranean out of Barcelona before moving to Miami to operate
cruises to the Caribbean.
She won’t be the world’s biggest cruise ship for long. Bayley says a
new vessel scheduled for launching in 2021 will be even bigger. LUXURIOUS
BEHEMOTH
All of the Oasis
Class ships
currently at sea
are in excess of
225,000 tons...ABOVE LEFT Activities on
board the mammoth vessel
include a flying fox over the
central atrium.