And don't forget:
Coming to Pier 35?
In a Finnish shipyard, the 250,800-ton sister of Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, is in the final stages of construction. We got an inside look.
By Ceylan Yeğinsu
Nov. 8, 2024 - NY Times
The valves were opened and more than a thousand workers gathered at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland to watch the “float out” of Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas. The nine-hour process — which involves flooding a special dock with more than 92 million gallons of water to push the 250,800-ton mega-ship onto a pier for the final stages of construction — had begun.
Like its sister ship, Icon of the Seas — the world’s largest cruise ship — the Star measures 1,196 feet long and towers 20 decks high. Capable of carrying nearly 8,000-passengers, the behemoth is scheduled to launch on Aug. 31, 2025, from Port Canaveral, Fla., and will have many of Icon of the Seas’ features: eight “neighborhoods,” six water slides, seven swimming pools and more than 40 dining, drinking and entertainment venues.
How to Build the World’s Largest Cruise Ship (or One of Them, Anyway)
Greg