Southampton: The largest cruise ship in the world, Harmony Of The Seas — measuring more than four football pitches in length with a maximum capacity for 6,780 passengers — has docked in Southampton for final preparations before its maiden voyage.
A small crowd of well-wishers welcomed the £800million Harmony of the Seas as it arrived just after dawn today, but tens of thousands of people are expected to visit the coastal city this week to catch a glimpse of the gigantic vessel before it carries paying customers for the first time.
After sailing from a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and spending May 16 cruising the English Channel, Harmony of the Seas sailed up Southampton Water and arrived at Southampton shortly after 6:15 AM.
Harmony Of The Seas is 330 ft longer than Titanic. With a gross tonnage of 227,700 GT, MS Harmony Of The Seas is the largest passenger ship in the world.
It will depart on a short cruise on Sunday – a four-day taster voyage to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands – and on 29 May will make its maiden voyage to Barcelona, where it will be based for 34 seven-night tours of the western Mediterranean this summer. It will sail between Florida and the Caribbean this winter.
Royal Caribbean International’s 18-deck ship has set new records for length (1,1188ft), gross tonnage (227,000), width (215.5ft), passenger capacity (5,479 at double occupancy or a maximum of 6,780) and staterooms (2,747).
With a crew of 2,100 from 77 countries, the floating city boasts seven ‘neighbourhoods’, a ten-storey slide that is the tallest at sea, 23 swimming pools, 20 dining venues, 52 trees, surf simulators, robot bartenders, a casino and climbing walls.
Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas is 1,187 feet high, which simply means that the cruise ship is 124 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower.
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