Royal Caribbean Group now has five of the world's biggest passengerships by gross tonnage, having taken delivery of the Wonder of the Seas last week as the latest ship in the Oasis class for Royal Caribbean International.
The 6,296-berth, 236,857-gt vessel is due to leave Chantiers de l'Atlantique's shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France, on Friday for Marseilles, where it will receive final touches for its scheduled March debut.
"At our yard, we are aware that we have designed and built one of the most exceptional ships in the history of the cruise market," Chantiers de l'Atlantique general manager Laurent Castaing said.
"The Wonder of the Seas is a unique synthesis of innovation, state-of-the-art technologies, and savoir-faire of thousands of engineers and skilled workers.
"This splendid ship is really a symbol of the faithful and fruitful partnership we have established with Royal Caribbean International for nearly four decades."
Royal Caribbean began owning the world's biggest cruiseships in 2009 when it took delivery of the 6,780-berth, 225,282-gt Oasis of the Seas (built 2009) from Meyer Turku Shipyard as the first Oasis ship.
The New York-listed cruise major followed that vessel, which was later enlarged to 226,838 gt, with the 2010 launch of the 6,780-berth, 225,282-gt Allure of the Seas (built 2010), also constructed by Meyer Turku.
Royal Caribbean then took delivery of the 6,687-berth, 226,963-gt Harmony of the Seas (built 2016) in 2016 from STX France shipyard.
Three years ago, Chantiers de l'Atlantique delivered the 6,680-berth, 228,081-gt Symphony of the Seas (built 2018) to Royal Caribbean as the fourth Oasis ship.
Royal Caribbean ordered a sixth Oasis-class ship in February 2019 from Chantiers de l'Atlantique and expects to take delivery of that yet-to-be-named vessel in 2024.
The owner was in negotiations with Chantiers de l'Atlantique last year for a seventh Oasis vessel, to be delivered in 2026, but those talks stopped as a result of the pandemic.
Royal Caribbean posted its seventh straight quarterly loss on Friday, but it expects to turn a full-year profit for 2022.
The Richard Fain-led owner of 61 cruiseships reported a $1.4bn net loss for the third quarter versus a $1.3bn net deficit for the same period last year.
