The largest cruise ship in the world – measuring more than four football pitches in length with a maximum capacity for 6,780 passengers – has docked in Southampton for final preparations before its maiden voyage.
A small crowd of well-wishers, including some dressed in their pyjamas, welcomed the £800million Harmony of the Seas as it arrived just after dawn today, but tens of thousands of people are expected to visit the coastal city this week to catch a glimpse of the gigantic vessel before it carries paying customers for the first time.
After sailing from a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and spending the day yesterday cruising the English Channel, Harmony of the Seas sailed up Southampton Water and arrived at Southampton shortly after 6:15am.
It will depart on a short cruise on Sunday – a four-day taster voyage to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands – and on 29 May will make its maiden voyage to Barcelona, where it will be based for 34 seven-night tours of the western Mediterranean this summer. It will sail between Florida and the Caribbean this winter.
Royal Caribbean International’s 18-deck ship has set new records for length (1,1188ft), gross tonnage (227,000), width (215.5ft), passenger capacity (5,479 at double occupancy or a maximum of 6,780) and staterooms (2,747).
With a crew of 2,100 from 77 countries, the floating city boasts seven 'neighbourhoods', a 10-storey slide that is the tallest at sea, 23 swimming pools, 20 dining venues, 52 trees, surf simulators, robot bartenders, a casino and climbing walls.
Welcome: A small crowd turned out to wave in the Harmony of the Seas as it sailed into Southampton shortly after 6am this morning
The Harmony of the Seas, pictured arriving into Southampton, is the biggest cruise ship in the world, with a length of 1,188ft
The largest cruise ship in the world measures more than four football pitches in length with a maximum capacity for 6,780 passengers
Stunning aerial photos of Harmony of the Seas' arrival in Southampton reveal the scale of the 227,000-ton cruise ship
Harmony of the Seas is slightly larger than Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas, two sister ships from Royal Caribbean International
Well-wishers, still wearing their pyjamas, rushed out of bed to welcome the ship as it sailed up Southampton Water, the tidal estuary
The gigantic vessel's amenities include the 10-storey Ultimate Abyss (pictured at the back of the ship), the tallest slide at sea
Harmony of the Seas (right) dwarfs many other vessels of its kind. Royal Caribbean now has the world's six largest cruise ships
Royal Caribbean says 2,500lbs of fresh salmon and 2,100lbs of lobster tails will be eaten on board on an average seven-night cruise
Harmony of the Seas: The impressive ship will spend the week in Southampton for final preparations ahead of its maiden voyage
It took 32 months to build Harmony of the Seas, which is the 25th cruise ship in Royal Caribbean International's fleet
Miami-based Royal Caribbean International ordered Harmony of the Seas in December 2012 and it took 32 months to build the ship
Harmony of the Seas represents a shift by cruise lines to push the boundaries when it comes to size, passenger capacity and amenities
The Ultimate Abyss, a 10-storey slide that is the tallest ever built on a cruise ship, takes thrillseekers on a 100ft plunge
Tens of thousands of people are expected to visit Southampton this week to catch a glimpse of the ship before its inaugural cruise
Harmony of the Seas will spend a few days at port in Southampton before paying customers are taking on two brief cruises
Harmony of the Seas left a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, on Sunday and spent the day yesterday sailing in the English Channel
In addition to the tallest slide at sea, the massive ship boasts 23 swimming pools, 20 dining venues, a casino and two surf simulators
The 18-deck ship has set new records for staterooms (2,747) and passenger capacity (5,479 at double occupancy or a maximum of 6,780)
Harmony of the Seas will make its maiden voyage on Sunday – a four-day taster cruise to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and back
On its seven-night tours of the western Mediterranean, Harmony of the Seas will stop at destinations such as Marseille, Rome and Naples
After short cruises to the Netherlands and France, Harmony of the Seas will leave Southampton and head to Barcelona, its summer base
From Barcelona, the cruise ship will spend the summer sailing the Mediterranean before moving to Florida and the Caribbean for winter
Harmony of the Seas's port of registry is Nassau, Bahamas. It will make its debut there after it sails across the Atlantic in October
Stood on its stern the Harmony of the Seas would soar above London's Shard, Paris' Eiffel Tower and the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai
From September 2013, it took 2,500 workers at STX France a total of some 10 million work hours to complete the enormous vessel
Harmony of the Seas will go on a pair of short cruises from Southampton before its maiden voyage to Barcelona on 29 May
The cruise ship that makes Titanic look a minnow and as it docks in Britain, our man braves its thrilling (and terrifying) 100ft slide
By Mark Palmer for The Daily Mail
What on earth will these cruise ship companies conjure up next? Not so long ago, they were busy launching floating cities with an improbable number of pubs, restaurants, swimming pools and even adventure playgrounds.
Then along came theme parks, shopping malls, surf simulators, aqua theatres, robotic barmen, zip lines and faux forests with canned birdsong.
Now? Well, I am standing on a glass platform on Deck 17 of the newest and biggest cruise ship the world has ever seen — and I’m about to crawl into a stainless steel tube and hurtle down the tallest slide at sea, arriving (hopefully) on the boardwalk 100 ft below.
Royal Caribbean has invited me to be the first member of the public to experience the Ultimate Abyss before the 1,188 ft cruise ship Harmony Of The Seas is due to dock at 5.30am today at Southampton in preparation for her maiden voyage next week.
Tube strike: Mark Palmer is 100 feet above the boardwalk as he climbs into the mouth of the Ultimate Abyss, the tallest slide at sea
The slide's adrenaline-fuelled 12-second descent is hair-raising. The Ultimate Abyss takes the form of a ferocious anglerfish with a huge dorsal fin and two spindly bodies
Tens of thousands watched from the shore and from a multitude of little boats as she left Saint-Nazaire in Brittany yesterday. The ship’s three pilots have been trained on simulators to cope with the job of manoeuvring her into port.
‘All set?’ shouts the slide’s German project manager, Dr Stephan Spiller. ‘Absolutely!’ I shout back with bravado.
It reminds me of the scene in the movie Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid when, just before the two outlaws leap off a cliff into a swirling river, Sundance (Robert Redford) turns to Butch (Paul Newman) and says: ‘I can’t swim.’ For me, it’s: ‘I can’t do heights.’
No matter, I tell myself. Just enjoy the views across the Loire in Saint- Nazaire, where the ship has been built, and marvel at the engineering of this 227,000-ton sea monster.
The Ultimate Abyss takes the form of a ferocious anglerfish with a huge dorsal fin and two spindly bodies.
The Ultimate Abyss: To reach the double tubes, you walk past the aptly named Wipeout Bar and climb some stairs that take you through the fish’s open mouth, complete with 40 giant pointed teeth, until you reach the glass floor
There are nearly 3,000 cabins (sorry, staterooms) — for which prices start at around £900 per person for a week’s cruise up to £2,760 for a luxury suite — some with bunk beds for families with children, and most have balconies
To reach the double tubes, you walk past the aptly named Wipeout Bar and climb some stairs that take you through the fish’s open mouth, complete with 40 giant pointed teeth, until you reach the glass floor.
You are handed a black mat with an open sack at one end into which you place your feet.
You then lean back while holding on to a strap and wait for the ‘Go’ sign to turn green.
Anyone less than 3 ft 8 in tall or weighing more than 23st is not allowed down the Ultimate Abyss.
I am short, but unfortunately not that short, and I’m overweight, but can’t claim to top the scales quite to that extent. In other words, there’s no escape.
The 227,000-ton sea monster: The £800million cruise ship as it set sail from the STX Saint-Nazaire shipyard in France on Sunday
So I am reduced to delaying tactics by asking all sorts of nerdy questions. The green ‘Go’ light keeps flashing, but I’m going nowhere.
‘How long does it take to get down?’
‘12.5 seconds is the record, but 14 seconds is normal,’ says Dr Spiller in that wonderful matter-of-fact Germanic way.
‘How fast do you go?’
‘You can reach speeds of 35kph [22mph].’
‘Is it completely dark in there?’
‘There are a number of light options, with three colour modes and one variable mode. You will also hear a lot of different sounds — but do feel free to scream.’
Many thanks. Actually, I can’t wait to get off this windswept platform at the stern of the ship — 150 ft above sea level — even if it means twisting and turning down a tube with minimum head room. So I shuffle forward on the mat, holding on to the strap as if clinging to life itself.
‘A little further,’ advises Dr Spiller, and it strikes me this must be how the cartoon Road Runner felt when he sprinted off the edge of a cliff and hung in mid-air, knowing he was about to plunge to his doom.
The auditorium: In the 1,300-seater main theatre, there will be West End performances of Grease, and the indoor ice rink should be a good place to cool off if the excitement becomes too intense elsewhere
The ship also has 16 restaurants, including Jamie’s Italian, swimming pools in all shapes and sizes, and the 1,300-seat main theatre
Less is never more: New York’s Central Park is on board, with more than 10,000 plants and 52 trees, flanked by shops ranging from Kate Spade and Bulgari to Cartier and Hublot (pictured departing Saint-Nazaire, France)
And suddenly I’m off! The first turn is steep and dark, then there’s a straight section with bright, silver lighting. Quite pleasant, in fact — until I plunge again sharply, my weight lending momentum to the downward spiral.
As I plummet, I can’t sit up when I try because the forces press me against the sides.
I have a good old scream as the seconds tick by and close my eyes as I roar towards Deck 5.
This helter skelter on steroids spits me out on the boardwalk — panting, but exhilarated — where I come to a gradual stop on the flat of the deck and find myself sandwiched between a hamburger joint called Johnny Rocket and a tequila bar called Sabor.
I can see a quaint and gentle carousel in the distance and behind me is the Aqua Theatre, where professional divers will perform dare-devil stunts of the kind that would make Tom Daley’s double pike with twist look tame.
Job done — and I’m ready to rumble in the jungle of Harmony’s seven separate ‘neighbourhoods’ and explore what £800 million buys you in the world of humungous cruise ships.
Stand this one up on its stern and it would soar way above the Shard in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel in Dubai. It is 330 ft longer than the Titanic and can carry a human cargo of 8,880, of whom 6,780 will be paying customers and 2,100 crew from 77 countries.
The finishing touches are applied to the Ultimate Abyss last week. The tallest slide at sea takes passengers from deck 16 to deck six
Harmony of the Seas is essentially a floating city, with nearly 2,750 staterooms over 16 guest decks, 20 dining venues and 23 pools
Passengers won't run out of activities on the ship, which has a casino, giant climbing wall, rope slide, minigolf and floating Jacuzzis
Getting lost is not an issue because you are given GPS-style wristbands that track your whereabouts. If little Johnny wanders into the Bionic Bar and orders a double mojito or wants to vanish into the Adults-only Solarium, his parents will quickly be alerted.
There are 16 restaurants, including Jamie’s Italian — and Jamie Oliver himself will be on board for the first official sailing on May 22.
One restaurant is called Wonderland and is themed on Alice In Wonderland. Built on two floors, it invites you to ‘venture down the rabbit hole’ and then pick from the ‘molecular’ menu (in other words, a clever fusion of science and cooking), where instead of courses you order from categories — ‘fire, ice, earth, water and dreams’.
Swimming pools are everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, with three water slides (one features a huge champagne bowl that whizzes guests around before dispatching them through the final flume). This is in the Perfect Storm zone near Splashaway Bay, where younger children can, well, splash away.
In the 1,300-seater main theatre, there will be West End performances of Grease, and the indoor ice rink should be a good place to cool off if the excitement becomes too intense elsewhere.
Harmony of the Seas, the widest cruise ship ever built, boasts 18 decks in total, with 16 dedicated to passenger staterooms and suites
The gigantic cruise ship was ordered in December 2012 and was built for Royal Caribbean at a cost of more than £800million
New York’s Central Park is on board, with more than 10,000 trees and plants, flanked by shops ranging from Kate Spade and Bulgari to Cartier and Hublot.
Size matters on the Harmony Of The Seas. Less is never more.
There are nearly 3,000 cabins (sorry, staterooms) — for which prices start at around £900 per person for a week’s cruise up to £2,760 for a luxury suite — some with bunk beds for families with children, and most have balconies.
Those without windows or a port hole have ‘virtual balconies’ — real-time footage of the views outside, streamed through the TV.
Back at the Ultimate Abyss, Dr Spiller tells me the speed and scariness of the ride is affected by the weather and by how warm the steel becomes. The hotter it is, the less friction — and the faster you go.
Nearly a couple of hours have gone by since my descent — and the weather has improved. Apparently, the ride is speeding up nicely.
‘So,’ he says, ‘would you like another go?’
‘Very kind, but I think I might try the carousel instead.’
