ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S WONDER OF THE SEAS SET FOR ST. THOMAS DEBUT NEXT MONTH
ORLANDO — And then there were five. Royal Caribbean took delivery of the latest of its fleet of world’s largest cruise ships, Wonder of the Seas, which is set to debut at Port Everglades on March 4 and tapped to move to Port Canaveral this fall. It will make its St. Thomas debut on March 22.
2022-02-01 12:31:07 - VI News Staff
The ship comes in at 1,188 feet long, 217 feet wide with 18 decks and 2,867 staterooms. Its gross tonnage is 236,857 with a 6,988-guest maximum capacity, the highest among all Oasis-class ships.
The other four ships in the class each held the title of world’s largest cruise ship starting with Oasis of the Seas in 2008 followed by Allure of the Seas in 2009, Harmony of the Seas in 2016 and Symphony of the Seas in 2018. In reality, the first four ships have been only incrementally larger, according to Royal Caribbean President and CEO Michael Bayley.
The original, Oasis of the Seas, is only seven feet shorter than her sister, Wonder, measuring 1,181 feet in length; and tips the scales at 226,832 gross tons, 10,025 less than her sister. Put in perspective, the difference accounts for just a little more than your average NBA player in length and nearly 2,000 African elephants.
Wonder of the Seas debuts four years after Symphony of the Seas, and has some new design features while keeping much of what has made its sister ships popular.
“Taking delivery of Wonder of the Seas is the culmination of 30 months of ingenuity and partnership across more than 2,000 committed crew members and workers who are among the best at what they do,” said Bayley. “Along with taking the revolutionary Oasis Class ships to a new level of wonder, innovation and adventure, Wonder sets the stage for the spring and summer vacations families and all travelers alike are looking forward to in the new year.”
The ship was handed over from officials with shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique to Royal Caribbean officials at a traditional flag-changing ceremony in Marseille, France, on Thursday.
Wonder of the Seas had its first steel cut in April 2019 with its keel-laying in October of that year. A sixth Oasis-class ship, also to be built at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, is slated to debut in 2024.
The company originally planned to send Wonder of the Seas to China, but shifted strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. It’s now set to make its official debut from the Fort Lauderdale port in just over a month where it will sail into April on seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries including stops at Royal’s private Bahamas island Perfect Day at CocoCay.
At the end of April, the ship will migrate back to Europe for voyages out of both Barcelona and Rome in the Mediterranean through October.