At 362 meters (1,187 feet) long, the 16-deck ship is bigger that the Eiffel Tower and holds the record for being the widest cruise ship ever built - boasting a 6,5-passenger capacity.
Photo: Harmony of the Seas at the time of departure, Saint-Nazaire port, France.
The first passengers will board the Harmony of the Seas in the UK - from France to the British port of Southampton the ship went almost empty, only with crew members.
So, the first Mediterranean cruise of the world's largest liner began from the UK.
The construction of the ship took about 2.5 years, and the shipowner's costs reached one billion euros. “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.
Harmony of the Seas's infrastructure includes several dozen cafes, swimming pools, a theater for one and a half thousand seats and etc.
Photo: More than 70,000 people watched from along the coast how the massive boat pulled away from a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, where it was built on France's Atlantic shore.
The French town of Saint-Nazaire became popular with tourists during the construction of the ship – people came to the shipyard to appreciate the grandeur of Harmony of the Seas.
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 liner's attractions. The ship even has its own shopping street and a “Central Park” deck featuring 12,000 plant species.
Photo: Harmony of the Seas's concert hall for 1,5 thousand people.
Photo: Harmony of the Seas's casino hall.
Allure of the Seas was the world's largest cruise ship – for six years – before that title was stolen by sister Harmony of the Seas. The two ships are actually identical in practically all measurements and dimensions - the current champion is longer than his iron fellow for only a couple of centimeters.
Photo: Harmony of The Seas left its shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
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