Royal Caribbean Cruises Orders Three More Ships
by Daniel McCarthy /Royal's latest ship, Harmony of the Seas.
The biggest cruise ship in the world is getting a sister.
Fresh off the debut of the 5,479-passenger Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. has announced plans to build three new ships, including a fifth mammoth Oasis-class vessel scheduled for delivery in 2021.
Besides Harmony, the Oasis class includes Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and an as-yet-unnamed ship set to debut in spring 2018.
The two new Edge-class ships are scheduled for delivery in 2021 and 2022.
At the other end of the size spectrum, the first two ships in the Edge Class are due to debut in 2018 and 2020, The ships are designed to offer “small-ship itineraries with large-ship amenities,” for their 2,900 guests.
All three new ships will be built at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, which this month successfully delivered Harmony, its first order from Royal Caribbean in recent times, on schedule. (For comments from the engineering team that brought that project to fruition, see Harmony part 2 story.)