Royal Caribbean’s fleet has grown to 26 as it took delivery of Spectrum of the Seas.
The first in a new class of ship dubbed Quantum Ultra, Spectrum of the Seas comes in at 1,139 feet long and 168,000 gross tons. That makes it slightly larger than the three Quantum Class ships already sailing.
Just like Quantum-class ships, Spectrum of the Seas features the North Star, the capsule that takes riders 300 feet above the ocean. Other features on board will be RipCord by iFly skydive simulator, FlowRider surf simulator an SeaPlex, an indoor sports and entertainment complex that features bumper cars, roller skating and basketball.
New to the class is Royal Caribbean’s first ship-within-a-ship concept, something cruise lines like MSC and Norwegian Cruise Line have championed on their latest builds.
Unlike the other Quantum-class ships, Spectrum of the Seas features the new Sky Pad virtual reality bungee trampoline attraction that recently debuted on Mariner of the Seas and Independence of the Seas (but is currently closed on those two ships because of a reassessment of safety). The Spectrum of the Seas version, with an enhanced design, will be open beginning April 18. Also on board will be a karaoke venue that’s new to the line called Star Moment.
Spectrum of the Seas, which is headed to China later this year, can carry 4,246 passengers at double capacity. It was built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
"We started out to make sure that we had the best that China had ever seen and would ever see," said Royal Caribbean Cruises Chairman Ltd. and CEO Richard Fain. "It has those extra touches and those extra things that make it super special to our Chinese guests."
A sister ship, Odyssey of the Seas, is also under construction at the shipyard and due in 2020.
So far, no Quantum-class ship has ever home ported in Florida, although the North American market can sail from New York on board Anthem of the Seas including stops at Port Canaveral. Both Ovation of the Seas and the original Quantum of the Seas serve the Asian and Australian markets, but Ovation will make its way across the Pacific this summer to sail Alaska.
Spectrum of the Seas debuts this month and will begin service with a 46-night voyage from Barcelona to Shanghai with stops in 13 countries.
By Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel
Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more
For more cruise news and articles go to https://www.cruisecrazies.com
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.