Work starts on world’s largest cruise ship
The milestone keel-laying ceremony has taken place for Royal Caribbean International’s Project Genesis, the world’s largest cruise ship.
The first blocks constructing the ship have now been laid into the bottom of the dry dock at Aker Yards shipyard in Turku, Finland.
Some 40% larger than any other cruise ship, Project Genesis is scheduled to enter service in autumn 2009.
The ship is 1,180 feet long, 154 feet wide, and 240 feet high and will accommodate over 5,400 guests.
Costing $230,000 per berth, Project Genesis is also the most expensive cruise ship ever to be ordered.
It will be based year-round from Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale in Florida.
Jo Rzymowska, managing director, Royal Caribbean International, UK and Ireland said: “A leisure resort development of the scale of Project Genesis is confirmation of the rate at which cruising is growing as a holiday option.
“Over 1.55million Brits are forecast to take a cruise in 2008, and the pace of growth is accelerating faster than anticipated by industry body the Passenger Shipping Association. With ships like Project Genesis the options at sea really are giving land-based holiday resorts a run for their money.”
Royal Caribbean International has a second ship of this scale, Project Genesis II, on order from Aker Yards. It is scheduled to be completed in August 2010.
The company currently operates Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, and a third ship in this Freedom-class, Independence of the Seas, will take her first ever paying guests from Southampton in May 2008.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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