The times when only wealthy people could afford vacations on cruise ships are long gone. Today sea cruises offer tourists the opportunity to visit several countries in the shortest possible time for a very reasonable price, and the ticket price usually includes food and all kinds of entertainment. In order to accommodate staff, passengers, recreation areas, restaurants and other attributes of a sea cruise on board the ship, the dimensions of the liner must be appropriate. It is not surprising that almost every year information about another record holder in terms of size appears in the headlines. In our article we will tell you about the fifteen largest cruise ships today.
Symphony of the Seas
The largest cruise ship today is the Symphony of the Seas Royal Caribbean company. The giant 18-deck ship is an Oasis class ship with 22 restaurants, 24 swimming pools, 2,759 cabins and a huge park with tropical plants. In addition, the ship boasts the world's tallest water slide, which is operated in open waters. The total carrying capacity of the liner is 228,081 register tons, and the length is 362 meters.
Symphony of the Seas is divided into seven “cities”, arranged in a certain style of areas - this organization of space is a unique feature of the Oasis class, and passengers really enjoy exploring the features of each “city”. The maximum passenger capacity of the ship is 6,680 people, and both the staff and the ship itself are well prepared for such a large number of passengers.
Symphony of the Seas' maiden voyage took place in April 2018, but its days as the world's largest cruise ship are numbered: in 2021, the fifth ship of the Oasis class will launch, the dimensions of which promise to be even larger.
Harmony of the Seas
The predecessor of the modern record holder was Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, which also belongs to the Oasis class. The ship launched in 2016 and can accommodate 6,687 passengers. One of its signature features is the Ultimate Abyss water slide, which allows vacationers to slide down 10 decks at 15 km/h. Harmony of the Seas has a cargo capacity of 226,963 gross tons and a length of 362 meters, similar to Symphony of the Seas.
Allure of the Seas
Allure of the Seas was introduced in 2010 and is also part of the Oasis family. The ship's 6,687 passengers can choose between 25 restaurants, 4 swimming pools and 10 Jacuzzis. The crown jewel of this cruise ship is the huge 1,380-seat theater, where award-winning shows are staged. international awards Broadway musicals like Chicago.
Royal Caribbean actively cooperates with DreamWorks Entertainment, which is why you can meet famous cartoon characters on board Allure of the Seas and other ships of the same family. The total carrying capacity of the liner is 225,282 register tons, and the length is 360 meters.
Oasis of the Seas
Oasis of the Seas is the first ship in the Oasis line; it was on it that in 2009 the system of organizing space in the form of “cities” was first used; today this concept is a kind of standard.
At the time of the ship's first launch in 2009, its passenger capacity was considered a record - 6,780 people. The ship also featured the deepest swimming pool ever built on a floating vessel. In addition, vacationers on Oasis of the Seas could become spectators of exclusive screenings of the Broadway musical “Hairspray.”
MSC Meraviglia
This liner became the first representative of the Meraviglia class of MSC - Mediterranean Shipping Company. Meraviglia launched in 2017, and a second vessel of the same type will enter service in 2019. It can accommodate 5,714 passengers, and the most unusual entertainment is Cirque du Soleil, which performs 12 times a week under an exclusive agreement with MSC.
Most of the MSC Meraviglia cruise routes pass through the Mediterranean, so vacationers are offered mainly local cuisine, for example, there is a restaurant on board of the Eataly chain, popular in Italy. The liner also has an indoor promenade, available to vacationers around the clock - on its ceiling there is a huge LED screen with an area of 480 square meters. m, on which a variety of images are broadcast, creating a unique atmosphere in the room.
Norwegian Bliss
Norwegian Cruise Line's Breakaway-Plus class ship Norwegian Bliss entered service at the end of April 2018. NCL ships are easily recognizable from afar by their bright hull design; today there are three Breakaway-Plus class vessels, the fourth will be launched in 2019.
A distinctive feature of NCL liners is that the restaurants are not located indoors, as in most ships, but on the open part of the deck, so vacationers can simultaneously enjoy a delicious dinner and a view of the sea surface. Norwegian Bliss accommodates 4,004 passengers, has a total cargo capacity of 168,028 gross register tons and is 329 meters long. The vessel holds records in the categories “largest kart on a watercraft” and “largest open-air laser tag field.”
Quantum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean's Quantum family consists of three identical ships. Quantum of the Seas launched in 2014 and can carry up to 4,180 passengers. Although this ship is much smaller than the Oasis class ships of the same company, your vacation on it promises to be no less eventful. This ship was designed specifically for the Asian market and mainly sails from China, so its style, entertainment and cuisine are tailored to local ethnic characteristics.
In addition to the large casino, Quantum of the Seas also has its own racing track, a circle for those who want to get acquainted with circus art, numerous promenades and open areas. Vacationers can also choose between 18 restaurants, and for thrill-seekers there is a very realistic skydiving simulator “North Star” and an attraction in the form of a glass capsule that rises 90 meters above the upper deck of the liner - from there there is a stunning view of both the ship itself and to the waters surrounding it. Don't forget the Bionic Bar, where a robot bartender will mix a cocktail for you.
Anthem of the Seas
The second ship of the Quantum class Anthem of the Seas is the only ship of this family that sails in the waters Atlantic Ocean. The liner's first voyage took place in April 2015: it was an eight-day cruise from British Southampton to the ports of France and Spain.
Anthem of the Seas accommodates 4,180 guests and has a gross cargo capacity of 168,666 gross register tons - in 2016 it became the largest ship ever to enter Halifax Port in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Ovation of the Seas
Ovation of the Seas is currently the last Quantum-class vessel in service, but the line is planned to be expanded in the future. The liner is used for cruises around Alaska in summer time in the Northern Hemisphere, and spends the rest of the year in Australia.
The Ovation of the Seas' passenger and cargo capacity are no different from its siblings. 
The Quantum series is known for the carefully designed design of staterooms and common areas, and Ovation of the Seas was the first liner on which windowless interior cabins were equipped with virtual balconies - images from cameras surrounding the ship’s deck are transmitted to them in real time.
Norwegian Joy
Another NCL liner, the 334-meter Norwegian Joy, was built to order from China, the interior was designed in accordance with the preferences of the majority Chinese tourists, and the design of the case was done by the famous artist Tan Ping. The total carrying capacity of the vessel is 167,725 register tons.
Since 2017, Norwegian Joy has been sailing between China and Australia, carrying up to 3,883 holidaymakers. Unlike other ships on our list, this ship does not use the standard official language - English - but Mandarin Chinese or Mandarin Chinese.
Norwegian Escape
In 2015, the Norwegian Escape became the first NCL ship to be equipped with an exhaust gas cleaning system, also known as a scrubber, which removes impurities such as sulfur oxide from gases. Installing such a system allows ships to sail in regions with strict environmental restrictions, such as Alaska.
Norwegian Escape accommodates up to 4,266 guests, is 326 meters long and has a total cargo capacity of 165,300 gross register tons. Most of its cruise routes are in the Caribbean and Bahamas, and the base port is in Miami.
Liberty of the Seas
Another Royal Caribbean heavyweight on our list is Liberty of the Seas, which was previously a Freedom class launched in 2007. In 2012, the ship was reconstructed and reorganized according to the already proven Oasis class system. The ship's total cargo capacity remained at the class standard level - 154,407 register tons, but passenger capacity increased to 4,960 people.
The 339-meter-long ship offers entertainment for every taste, including an attraction with artificial waves for surfing “Flow Rider”, a climbing wall, an ice track, a cinema with 1350 seats, etc. The designers paid special attention to the development of a three-story dining area, each floor of which is named in honor of the Renaissance artist.
Norwegian Epic
The NCL Norwegian Epic liner can carry up to 4,200 passengers, its length is 325 meters, and the total carrying capacity is 134,500 register tons. Since 2010, the ship has been based in the port of Nassau in the Bahamas.
In 2016, Norwegian Epic received an award as one of the ships with the best entertainment on board. At the local theater, vacationers can watch Broadway shows like “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” Tourists craving a cool break in the warm waters around the Bahamas can head down to the ice bar, where the temperature is maintained at -8°C.
Freedom of the Seas
Like most of the ships we list, Freedom of the Seas was the largest cruise ship in service when it was introduced in 2007. For a long time the ship was based in Florida, but it recently changed its home port to Puerto Rico and now operates seven-day cruises in the Southern Caribbean.
Freedom of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's Freedom class and can accommodate 4,370 people. Passengers can take part in the FreedomFest, during which they will learn about all the entertainment offered on the ship, including an ice skating rink, a climbing wall, a water park and floating pools located on special structures outside the ship.
Independence of the Seas
Before the introduction of the Oasis class, the ships of Royal Caribbean's Freedom family held the title of the largest cruise ships. The Independence of the Seas, the last on our list, was commissioned in 2008 and can accommodate up to 4,356 passengers in 1,815 cabins on 15 decks. With a length of 339 meters, its carrying capacity is slightly higher than that of its classmates - 160,000 register tons. 
IN winter time Independence of the Seas operates cruises from Port Everglades, Florida, and in the summer the ship operates in the Southampton area. Among the entertainment available to vacationers are a theater with 1,200 seats, shopping promenades with shops and bars, an ice track, various sports fields, a climbing wall, swimming pools and much more.
Imagine going on a free cruise on the largest ship in the world. There is a whole metropolis of entertainment and services inside, and everything is free. Fantastic? Yes. But one day, when a parade of planets takes place, the company launches a new ship, this fairy tale becomes reality. Tour operators, the media and everyone who will subsequently sell trips to this liner are invited to the first flight.
Harmony of the Seas is by far the largest cruise ship with a capacity of 8,200 people, of which 2,200 are crew. The height of the ship is comparable to the height of a 20-story building. The length is 362 meters, which exceeds the length of Red Square in Moscow. The construction of the liner cost Royal Caribbean more than 1,000,000,000 euros.
But the most impressive thing is not the measurements, but the filling of the liner - Helipad, swimming pools, water slides, a casino, a theater, an ice skating rink, a garden with 12 thousand different plants and much, much more. There is even a Bionic bar on board, where robots work as waiters. Let's see what it looks like inside...
General plans of the liner. This is a really huge thing, a giant Noah’s Ark with a displacement of 227,500 tons:
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We left the port of Barcelona. Two fire ships saw us off: in honor of the first voyage, they staged a “salute” of water cannons:
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The first place you go on a cruise is, of course, your cabin. I won’t give the footage, I’ll just mention that my cabin had a separate dressing room:
Common areas of the ship. On the right in the photo is a giant head sculpture that rotates in layers in different directions:
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There are pedestrian streets on board. There is a complete feeling that it is not a ship that has gone out to sea, but a piece of the mainland. There are a lot of people. After a number of incidents on cruises, Royal Caribbean installed an advanced facial recognition system that can, if necessary, identify each passenger in a crowd:
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Many sculptures and works of modern art:
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Let's go up to the upper decks. There are two types of decks - indoor, comfortable in windy weather, and outdoor:
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There are 16 decks on board. 6 main pools and 10 giant Jacuzzis:
The upper deck is replete with public areas:
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Plenty of sunbeds. Pay attention to the slides behind the pool:
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On the other side of the golf course:
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Waves for surfing:
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Rope crossing at seven floors:
There is a huge aqua theater at the stern of the ship. There are two pipes leading down from the upper deck, through which you can go down with your clothes on. It feels very fast, very scary and very dark. You overcome almost 30 meters of height in 13 seconds, making two 360-degree turns along the way:
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To the right of the aquatheater is a pedestrian area called Central Park:
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Naturally, there is a gym, and it is gigantic. Lots of training equipment and equipment:
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There are 20 restaurants on board Harmony of the Seas. The main one occupies three floors, where daily dinners are held:
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And this is the same Bionic bar where robots work. The mechanical arms have 30 alcohol components in their arsenal. The range of cocktails they can make is endless. One cocktail takes 30 seconds. Looks fantastic:
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Another memorable restaurant is called “Wonderland” and is based on the famous work of Lewis Carroll:
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Hall decoration:
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Instead of a menu, they bring an empty picture that needs to be painted with water. After these manipulations, words appear. It might seem like a small thing, but it leaves a lasting impression:
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Molecular cuisine restaurant. The dish is called “Vegetable Garden”, and the “ground” is made from bread with the addition of cuttlefish ink:
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A dessert made from a ball that is poured over hot chocolate. After a minute, the ball melts, revealing the ice cream inside. Delicious:
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Every week, the liner's restaurants consume 4,500 kg of chicken and almost 7,000 kg of beef. Total on board 4900 seats in restaurants and bars. The assortment of desserts again confused me:
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Central Park has dozens of stores to suit every budget:
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You won't be bored in the evening. Rather, on the contrary, you will need to run from one view to another:
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At the theater there is a Broadway production of “Grease”. The film of the same name, based on this musical, made Travolta a star already in 1978:
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Ice show. Just pay attention to the quality of the costumes that were prepared for the performance.
Cruise ships are often called cities at sea, and this description is most accurate for them. To understand how huge such ships can be, a comparison can be made with the infamous Titanic. If it had been built in our time, it would not even be in the Top 50. In this list, I will tell you about the 10 largest cruise ships in the world, all of which were built relatively recently, after 2000. Many of them also have twin brothers, who are equally large in size.
Royal Carribean. Oasis of the Seas
This vessel weighs 225,282 tons, is 361.7 meters long and has an official capacity of 5,400 passengers in maximum luxury and comfort. Oasis of the Seas is one of the few ships that cannot sail through Panama Canal. Not only is it too long for the canal, but it is also too tall and wide. On board you can feel like you are in a huge amusement park. Large-scale shows are held here, not inferior to Broadway, and sports fans can do anything, even rock climbing. The crew serving the ship and passengers numbers 2,400 people. 
Queen Mary II
This ship weighs 151,400 tons and is 345 meters long. The official capacity is 2640 passengers. To get an idea of how huge this ship is, you could put 80 large tourist buses bumper to bumper - that would be comparable in length to the Queen Mary II. At each end of the ship you can place football field, and there will still be room to install a whole Big Ben on the deck. At the time of construction in 2004, it was the largest ship in the world. 
Disney Dream
This ship weighs 130,000 tons and is 340 meters long. Disney Dream seats 2,500 people and is a miniature version of Disneyland at sea. There is a huge cinema and many other entertainment options, including a water park. 
Freedom of the Seas
The ship weighs 160,000 tons and is 339 meters long. The ship can accommodate 3,634 passengers. It is sometimes compared to a floating water park, there is also waterslides, and many pools, Jacuzzis, and a wave emulator. There is also a water park for children called H2O and even a skating rink for ice skating enthusiasts. 
Splendida
This cruise ship weighs 137,936 tons and reaches 338 meters in length. Its capacity is 3274 passengers. The volume of space on board is simply colossal - it is one and a half million square meters, which exceeds the total volume of space, for example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 
Norwegian Epic
This vessel weighs 155,873 tons and is 329 meters long. Capacity - 4100 passengers. This cruise ship was launched in 2010 and is so huge that 5 lifeboats had to be removed to enter New York Harbor. On board you will also find a lot of entertainment, restaurants, and attractions. There is even 24-hour pizza delivery to your room. We have already mentioned this ship, like many others, in our selection of the largest ship propellers in the world. 
Celebrity Eclipse
The weight of this vessel is 122,000 tons, and the length is 315 meters. Even if you lined up four Boeing 747s, they would still not exceed the length of this cruise ship. The ship has 19 decks, including a lawn deck where you can play croquet and bocce. 
Voyager of the seas
This vessel weighs 138 tons and is 311 meters long. It can accommodate 3114 passengers. This is one of the first supergiant cruise ships, here is everything you need for comfortable rest- own television studio, ice skating rink, mini golf course with nine holes and much more interesting things. 
Carnival Dream
The weight of this liner is 130,000 tons, and the length is 306 meters. Capacity - 3646 people. This ship is a real floating amusement park; there are even several cinemas with screens of different sizes. 
Princess Diamond
Rounding out the top ten largest cruise ships is a ship weighing 116,000 tons and 294 meters long, accommodating 2,670 people. Despite being in tenth place, it is several times larger in area than, for example, Buckingham Palace, or five times larger than the Taj Mahal. There are more than seven hundred high-class cabins with balconies. 
Currently, almost 400 cruise ships ply the seas. They can carry about 650,000 passengers. Their comfort is ensured by 222,000 crew members. Their average tonnage is 57,200 tons. For comparison, the tonnage of the legendary Titanic was 40,000 tons. In the next 10 years, 36 cruise companies Another 118 liners worth $66.5 billion were ordered from 17 shipyards, with an average tonnage of 97,726 tons and a capacity of 2,440 passengers.
By size, cruise ships are divided into:
Very big. Tonnage over 130,000 tons. These are real giants. There are only 36 of these ships, with 23 more planned. The record holder is Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class Symphony of the Seas, with a displacement of 228,081 tons - currently the largest ship in the world. It can carry up to 6,500 passengers. No company in the world is yet planning to build even larger vessels.
Big ones. Tonnage from 50,000 to 130,000 tons. The most popular size. There are 125 such liners. An important parameter of these liners is the width. For most of them (88) it does not exceed 32m. This allows them to pass through the Panama Canal.
Average. Tonnage from 25 to 50 thousand tons. Liners of this size are typical for premium and luxury class companies. Popular companies of the standard class practically do not have them.
Small ones. Tonnage from 5 to 25 thousand tons. Such vessels are mainly used by expedition and luxury companies. Among the latter, such liners are often called “boutique liners”. Due to the small number of passengers and high level service.
Very small. Displacement up to 5000 tons. This size is typical for expedition and sailing companies. They can hardly be called liners. Essentially, these are yachts designed for several dozen passengers.
Cruise ships can be either unique, built in one copy, or a mass series (project). The most numerous project at present is the Grand class, the ships of which form the backbone of the Princess Cruises fleet (9 ships). P&O Cruises has 2 more ships of this project.
The project liners are very similar in appearance and design Destiny, Conquest, Concordia. Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises operate a total of 15 of these ships. 11 class airliners Vista sailing under the flags of Holland America, Cunard, Costa, P&O Cruises.
Clue– if you do not have enough information on the liner, we recommend looking at the descriptions of other ships of this project. Typically the cabins and layout are identical. Interiors may vary slightly.
Like the companies that own them, cruise ships are divided into classes according to the level of service:
- standard
- premium
- lux.
There is also an intermediate class Upper Premium, which includes liners from Oceania, Azamara and Viking Ocean Cruises.
Moreover, ships of the same design (identical structurally) can be of different classes. For example, Queen Elizabeth belongs to the premium class, and Arcadia belongs to the standard class. Although these are identical liners.
On cruise ships no official star rating. If on any website you see “stars” on the liners, this is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
Service factor– the number of passengers is divided by the number of crew members.
It is believed that the fewer passengers there are per team member, the higher the service should be. The best service is available on ships with no more than 2 passengers per crew member.
For most liners it is in the range of 2-3 and does not exceed 4. This is a rather controversial coefficient, because The newest liners, due to automation and the introduction of new technologies, have a smaller crew. But this does not mean that the service on them is worse than on ships of earlier construction. An example is the innovative modern Quantum of the Seas, whose service coefficient is 3.22.
You can find out which ports the liner has visited recently and which ships have called at the port on the websites
On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the Titanic sank. At that time it was the largest ocean liner in the world.
Today, the Titanic would not be included in the top 50 largest passenger ships. Modern airliners are much larger and more luxurious.
If you are looking for vacation ideas, we suggest you think about a sea cruise. We have prepared the top of the largest and coolest cruise ships in the world.
Queen Mary 2
Length: 345 meters
Capacity: 2620 passengers
Year of manufacture: 2004
Cost: $900 million
Cruise cost: $380 - $95,149
Queen Mary 2 is the oldest ship on our list. It was built in 2004 and updated in 2016, spending $117 million on renovations.
On board Queen Mary 2 there are fifteen restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a theatre, a cinema, the world's first marine planetarium and the largest marine dance hall. There is a strict dress code on the ship: you can only wear swimsuits near the pools.
On the company's website they offer more than two hundred cruises on Queen Mary 2: from a two-day trip on the route Southampton - Hamburg to a trip around the world in 113 days.
Freedom of the Seas
Length: 338 meters
Capacity: 4370 passengers
Year of manufacture: 2006
Cost: $800 million
Cruise cost: $520 - $41,926
From 2006 to 2008, Freedom of the Seas was the largest passenger ship in the world. In 2007 and 2008, two more of the same were built: Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas. These three ships held the title of largest until 2009.
Freedom of the Seas features an ice skating rink, boxing ring, water park, climbing wall, wave simulator for surfing and a 120-metre shopping area with shops, bars, restaurants and arcade games. A distinctive feature of such ships are swimming pools with a transparent bottom that protrude from the ship’s hull and hang over the water.
The most popular destination- cruises for 3–7 days Caribbean Sea and the Bahamas. There are two-week cruises on Mediterranean Sea and travel around Norwegian fjords for 8 nights.
Disney Dream
Length: 339 meters
Capacity: 4000 passengers
Year of manufacture: 2011
Cost: $900 million
Cruise cost: 1516 - $59,500
Disney Dream is the first of the two largest cruise ships of the Disney Cruise Line, which is part of the Walt Disney Company empire. In 2012, another similar ship was built - Disney Fantasy.
These ships have a mini-golf course, sports simulators, a full-fledged basketball court that can be transformed into a football field, volleyball and tennis courts. Disney Dream is the first ship in the world to have a water slide. This attraction is called AquaDuck - a slide 233 meters long and the height of a five-story building.
Both ships are based in Florida and sail in the Caribbean and Bahamas. Cruises last from three days to a week.
Quantum of the Seas
Length: 348 meters
Capacity: 4905 passengers
Year of manufacture: 2014
Cost: $935 million
Cruise cost: $549 - $14,746
The first of three twin ships that gave the Quantum series its name. Anthem of the Seas was built in 2015, and Ovation of the Seas was built in 2016.
Quantum of the Seas has a unique attraction - North Star. Observation deck in the form of a glass ball for 14 people, it rises 91 meters above sea level - that's like a 30-story building in height. Quantum of the Seas is the first ship on which a vertical wind tunnel was installed - a free fall simulator. On board there is a roller skating rink, a climbing wall, table tennis and billiards, a theater with Broadway productions, and a casino.
Interior cabins that do not overlook the ocean have large floor-to-ceiling screens that show the view overboard. They are called “virtual balconies”.
The ships operate flights to Asia and Australia. There are five-day cruises to China and Japan, and longer, two-week cruises to New Zealand and Australia. There is also a very exotic one - 11 days in Alaska.
Symphony of the Seas
Length: 362 meters
Capacity: 6680 passengers
Year of release: 2017
Cost: $1.35 billion
Cruise cost: $308 - $11,082
Now Symphony of the Sea is the largest passenger ship in the world. There are three more similar ships in the Oasis series: Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas. But Symphony of the Seas is still larger than its twin brothers, although not by much.
These ships are the most luxurious ones in existence. They have tropical parks and two-story cabins on board, as well as volleyball and basketball courts, two climbing walls, an ice skating rink, a carousel, bowling alley and a theater - that is, all possible entertainment.
Casino Royale on Oasis of the Seas is one of the largest marine casinos in the world. The world's first Starbucks at sea opened on Allure of the Seas. And on Harmony of the Seas they built a water slide as tall as a 10-story building.
Royal Caribbean has many destinations, but the most popular of them are three-day cruises in the Bahamas and Europe, week-long cruises in Caribbean Islands, and a two-week cruise from Florida to Barcelona.
If sea cruises are not your thing, read other articles from our travel series:
