'It's certainly a moniker that Royal Caribbean owns,' Royal Caribbean's vice president for product development, Laura Hodges-Bethge, told TPG.

While Royal Caribbean has been coy as to just how big Wonder of the Seas will be, a top executive at Royal Caribbean hinted to The Points Guy last year that the newcomer (and another Oasis Class ship on order for 2023) are likely to set new size records. The first block of Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas is lowered into a dry dock at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. They've said they would rather keep the new ships and eliminate older ships if they need to cut capacity in the short term. While lines have been permanently retiring some older ships in recent months in anticipation of a slow restart to cruising, the leaders of the biggest cruise companies have said they have no plans to cancel orders for new ships. Related: The ultimate guide to Royal Caribbean ships and itineraries But cruise companies expect the cruise industry to resume growing at a significant pace once the crisis has passed, resulting in demand for additional vessels.

It may seem odd that cruise lines are continuing to build new ships even as most of their existing ships aren't sailing due to the coronavirus crisis. It's considered a significant turning point in the building of a vessel. Once the exterior of a vessel is complete, the dry dock is flooded and the ship is floated to a wet dock facility where construction continues.

The early stages of the construction of a cruise ship take place in a dry dock facility. Wonder of the Seas had been scheduled to debut in 2021, but Royal Caribbean recently said the vessel's debut would be pushed back by around 10 months, citing the coronavirus pandemic. The 18-deck-high vessel - the latest in the line's giant Oasis Class of ships - will transfer to a 'wet dock' where finishing work will continue into next year.įor more cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's new cruise newsletter. Nazaire, France, where it has been under construction for more than a year. Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas will touch water for the first time as it's 'floated out' from a dry dock at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. The biggest cruise ship ever built will hit a major construction milestone this weekend.

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