Here’s some news that’s either awesome or frightening, depending on your point of view. Royal Caribbean has just launched the biggest cruise ship in the world, the new Symphony of the Seas, which is 1,188 feet long and weighs in at 228,081 gross tons (about 1,000 tons more than its older sistership, Harmony of the Seas).
The new Symphony of the Seas has 18 decks (including 16 for guests), and it holds 6,680 guests in 2,759 staterooms. It also carries 2,200 crew, and cruises at 22 knots. The liner is the first to have a two-deck-high family suite, the Royal Loft Suite, that measures 1,744 square feet and has a slide between floors. The ship also has a ten-story slide for everyone else, a rock climbing wall, surfing simulator, aqua theater and water park for kids.
Built at the huge STX France yard in St. Nazaire, the liner will start its maiden voyage on April 7 in the Med. Next November it will move to its winter home port in Miami for the season.
Read more and see lots of pictures in this USA Today story below:
