Inside
the world's largest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas
The
giant vessel, which features a 1,400-seat theatre, a park with 12,000
plant species and a 10-storey water slide, will house 8,500
passengers and crew
Agence
France-Presse
Friday
13 May 2016 00.30 BST
The world’s
biggest-ever cruise ship, the 120,000-tonne Harmony of the Seas, has
opened its doors to reveal a vast floating town as it was handed over
by a French shipyard to its American owners.
At 66 metres
(217ft), it is the widest cruise ship ever built, while its 362m
length makes it 50 metres longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower.
The huge vessel,
which cost close to $1bn to build, has 16 decks and will be able to
carry 6,360 passengers and 2,100 crew members.
The ship was built
for the US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited by the STX France
yard in Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast, where a ceremony marked
the handover on Thursday.
The casino area on
the cruise ship. Photograph: Jean-Sebastien Evrard/AFP/Getty Images
“It’s not only
the biggest cruise ship in the world, it’s also the most expensive
ever built,” said Richard Fain, head of RCCL, during a ceremony
which featured blaring music and tightrope walkers performing splits
over the aquatheatre at the back of the ship.
Among the onboard
attractions are “The Ultimate Abyss”, a 10-storey slide from the
top deck to the main deck which RCCL bills as the world’s biggest
ship-mounted waterslide.
The auditorium
inside the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship. Photograph:
Jean-Sebastien Evrard/AFP/Getty Images
A giant climbing
wall, a rope slide, mini-golf, surf simulator, floating jacuzzis,
casino and 1,400-seat theatre playing Broadway musicals are among the
other attractions.
The ship even has
its own shopping street and a “Central Park” deck featuring
12,000 plant species.
“Creating this
ship in 40 months is an extraordinary feat – it’s the achievement
of thousands of people,” said Laurent Castaing, head of STX France.
The giant
waterslide seen on the Harmony of the Seas. Photograph: Stephane
Mahe/Reuters
Harmony of the Seas
will produce 20% less CO2 emissions than the two largest ships in its
class, partly thanks to air pumped into the hull to lighten its load.
It took 2,500
workers at STX France around 10 million work-hours to complete the
enormous vessel after work began in September 2013.
The contract marked
a major boost for the boatyard after several lean years.
STX has built 120
cruise ships over its 150 years, and has another 11 lined up for the
next decade.
Several hundred
workers were still busy putting finishing touches to Harmony of the
Seas before it leaves the port on Sunday, weather permitting, for
Southampton in southern England.
One of the open
spaces on the Harmony of the Seas. Photograph: Stephane Mahe/Reuters
From there, it will
embark on its official maiden voyage on 22 May to its new home port
of Barcelona, after which it will begin regular cruises through to
late October.
RCCL already
operates two giant sister liners to the Harmony of the Seas called
Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas. They are marginally smaller
than the new ship.
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