World’s Largest Cruise Ship Arrives at Port Everglades ( Video )
- There’s a new largest cruise ship in the world, and it just reached the United States for the first time. Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas arrived in Fort Lauderdale yesterday evening after being conveyed to the cruise line roughly three weeks ago. The massive ship — coming in at 237,000 gross tons and 1,188 feet long — just completed its journey from Europe across the Atlantic to Port Everglades in Florida. At that size, the ship is the largest of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class vessels, making it officially the largest cruise liner on the planet. All told, Wonder features 18 decks, can carry nearly 7,000 guests when completely full, and is home to 2,300 crew members.
- The ship arrived in port last night after sunset, giving a chance to wow those lucky enough to see her by
Wonder features 18 decks, can carry nearly 7,000 guests when completely full, and is home to 2,300 crew members.
The ship arrived in port last night after sunset, giving a chance to wow those lucky enough to see her by being completely lit up bow to stern.
The wonder of the Seas will mark her inaugural cruise with passengers on March 4, 2022, with a seven-day trip to Labadee, San Juan, Nassau, and CocoCay before returning home. And if you want to sail on her first cruise, cabins are still available, starting at around $800 per person on RoyalCaribbean.com.
There’s plenty of excitement about the new ship. Not only is it the largest in the world, but it also features favorites of Oasis-class vessels such as the Aqua Theater, Central Park, The Ultimate Abyss slide, and the FlowRider.
Royal Caribbean is also adding a number of new features, such as The Mason Jar southern restaurant, a new Wonder Playscape for kids, and a cantilevered bar known as The Vue Bar with ocean views.
The ship will offer week-long cruises from Port Everglades for several months before heading back to sail Europe beginning in May.
Don’t be disappointed if you aren’t able to take a cruise before this summer. After a season in Europe, Wonder of the Seas will again make her way back to Florida to homeport in Port Canaveral near Orlando beginning in November 2022.
There are several design alterations visible on close observation were the earlier ships of the class. Royal Caribbean is highlighting the addition of an additional neighborhood as they call areas of the ship with the new one devoted to suites with a private lounge and restaurant. It is the first time that Royal Caribbean has created a suite enclave on this class of cruise ship although they also created one aboard the Spectrum of the Seas, which like her larger sister was also originally designed for the Chinese cruise market. Royal Caribbean is also highlighting new on-deck attractions for adults in children in the play area and waterslides as well as a new specialty restaurant
The cruise line’s original deployment plan had anticipated that the Wonder of the Seas would cruise in the Chinese market when she was delivered in 2021. The vessel was delayed by the pandemic and the Chinese cruise market remains closed to international travelers as part of the country’s strict COVID-19 policies. The revised deployment plan for the cruise ship will see her operate a few weeks to the Caribbean before returning to the Mediterranean for the summer and then late in 2022 to shifting to Port Canaveral, Florida which will be her year-round homeport.
Currently, the cruise line has a sixth sister also on order from the French shipyard. The unnamed ship is scheduled for delivery in mid-2024. The cruise line is evolving to a newer class of ships that will be slightly smaller and built-in in Finland that will also be its first to operate with LNG as its primary fuel.
Main Characterizes of Wonder of the Seas:
Length: 1,188 feet
Width: 210 feet (max) / 154 feet at hull
Draft: 30 feet
Gross Tonnage: 236,857
Number of Passengers: 6,988 (maximum)
Number of cabins: 2,876
Decks: 18
Crew: 2,300
Flag: Bahamas
Propulsion: Azipod with 4 bow thrusters
Speed: 22 kno
