A sneak peek at the year's hottest new cruise ship
PAPENBURG, Germany — Eager for a glimpse of what some are calling the decades' hottest new cruise ship? USA TODAY is one of a handful of media outlets today getting early access to Royal Caribbean's soon-to-debut Quantum of the Seas, and we're posting photos from the vessel in the carousel above and on Twitter.
Nearing completion at Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard, the 4,180-passenger ship boasts such innovative new features as the first skydiving simulator at sea and a glass capsule on a mechanical arm that will rise high above the ship for bird's-eye views. Also new is Two70, an unusual, multilevel entertainment space with floor-to-ceiling windows that features live aerial performances as well as digital performances projected on moving screens.
As the photos above show, much of Quantum of the Seas remains a construction zone. Yet several major areas of the vessel are nearing completion, and some cabins are completely finished.
Click HERE to see the photos in larger format.
Quantum of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's first new ship in four years. The first of a new class of vessel at the line, it's not quite as big as the company's 5,400-passenger Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ships. Yet it still will rank among the 10 largest passenger vessels in the world and feature all of the signature amenities for which Royal Caribbean is known, from a 30-foot-high rock climbing wall to a FlowRider surf simulator to an H20 Zone kids water park. Look inside Oasis of the Seas.
Quantum of the Seas will sail to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of the New York area starting in mid-November.
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