The World Had A New Record Cruise Ship

Harmony of the Seas – Royal Caribbean's newest ship, the Harmony of the Seas, it's the world's largest cruise ship. makes its debut recently in Southampton, England. Imagine a Miss America pageant where the same country keeps winning every year. That's what we're seeing in the cruising world this week. Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Harmony of the Seas, debuts Friday on its pre-inaugural sailing out of Southampton, England. Weighing 226,963 gross registered tons with a passenger capacity of 5,479 guests at double occupancy (it fits 6,780 guests total) and 2,100 crew members, Harmony is officially the world's largest cruise ship.

She takes that enviable title away from another Royal Caribbean ship, Allure of the Seas, which in its 2010 debut dethroned another Royal Caribbean ship, Oasis of the Seas. It may seem Royal Caribbean is determined to keep that "world's largest" crown in the family. But as they prepare for Harmony's debut, Royal Caribbean executives insist they're more concerned with pleasing passengers than bagging more bragging rights. "We're literally down to the wire and having hourly and daily and weekly meetings just ensuring that not only is [Harmony] the world's largest but she literally is the world's best cruise ship," says Mark Tamis, Royal Caribbean International's senior vice president of Hotel Operations.

Royal Caribbean has added a bunch of bells and whistles to Harmony, the cruise line's 25th vessel. One of the big ones: The Ultimate Abyss, which the cruise line calls "the tallest slide on the high seas." Anyone who steps onto the slide will enjoy a 100-foot, 10-deck drop -- from the Pool and Sports Zone on Deck 16 to the Boardwalk all the way down on Deck 6. "The reports back, and of course the top secret videos that we're seeing, are just literally thrilling," says Tamis.

This being a cruise ship, there are bars galore -- including Royal Caribbean's popular Bionic Bar, which is staffed by a pair of robot bartenders capable of mixing, shaking and stirring 1,000 drinks a day. After its pre-inaugural sailing in England this weekend, Harmony will began its official maiden cruise on May 29th. She'll spend the summer doing seven-night western Mediterranean sailings from Barcelona before shifting to the United States in November to make Caribbean runs out of Fort Lauderdale.

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