Photo: Royal Caribbean
After three years in the making, the Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, dubbed the world’s biggest cruise ship, is now ready to open its doors to passengers.
The Wonder of the Seas, standing at 1,188 feet, was delivered last month. It is set to begin its maiden voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Caribbean on March 4.
The 18-deck cruise ship can hold 6,988 guests and 2,300 crew members. It was built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
Mark Tamis, the senior vice president of hotel operations at Royal Caribbean International, tells CNN Travel, “We’re excited to introduce guests across the world to Wonder of the Seas and its world-class features after a six-year-long process.”
“From planning to delivery, we’ve utilized our expertise across Royal Caribbean, as well as incorporating our guest’s suggestions and travel partner feedback to create something truly awe-inspiring.”
Five-to-seven-night cruises will start from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the Caribbean in March. Afterward, the ship will launch Western Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona and Rome in May.
There are eight neighborhoods on Wonder of the Seas. One of these neighborhoods contains over 20,000 real plants. Additionally, on-board features include the “tallest slide at sea,” a 10-deck-high zip line, and a poolside movie screen.
Disruptions due to COVID
Tamis adds, “We’ve always prided ourselves on offering guests the best and most innovative ships to give them a truly extraordinary experience. Wonder encompasses all of that.”
Initially scheduled for 2021, the ship’s delivery had to be pushed back due to the pandemic.
Due to the coronavirus, there have been constant disruptions in the cruise line industry over the past two years. In addition, cruise travel was pushed up to the highest-risk level in late December by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This indicates that the risk of contracting COVID-19 was “very high” among cruise passengers and crew following the breakthrough of the Omicron variant.
The CDC’s COVID guidance became optional for many cruise ships in January 2022. This month, the risk level was lowered from Level 4 to Level 3, which advises people to be updated with their COVID vaccinations before traveling.
