The 226,963gt Harmony of the Seas departed STX Europe’s St. Nazaire Shipyard on 15th May and she arrived off the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight on the afternoon of 16th May. The ship made her debut at Southampton at 0615 on the morning of 17th May (above), leading the AIDAprima and MSC Splendida in to port.

She berthed starboard side to at the City Cruise Terminal to begin her inaugural celebrations after 32 months of construction. During the handover ceremony at St. Nazaire on 12th May the shipbuilding team and 2,100 crew members (77 nationalities) were honoured aboard the 362m long cruising behemoth, officially the largest cruise ship in the world. She has been intricately built with more than 500,000 individual parts and combines the distinct seven neighbourhood concept that Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class of ships are known for, with a line-up of the most modern and ground breaking holiday amenities. Innovative features include Ultimate Abyss, the tallest slide at sea with a 10-storey plunge, robot bartenders at The Bionic Bar, powered by Makr Shakr, virtual balconies with real time views of the destination and VOOM (the fastest internet at sea) so that guests can stay connected, stream their favourite entertainment and share their adventures with family and friends back at home. Costing more than $1billion, the Harmony of the Seas is the 25th ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Her pre-inaugural VIP cruise departed Southampton on 20th May. The inaugural cruises departed on 22nd and 26th May with the maiden voyage to Barcelona taking place on 29th May.

She arrived in Barcelona on 5th June to officially launch her inaugural summer season with the first of 34 seven-night western Mediterranean sailings on 7th June. In November 2016, the Harmony will arrive at her homeport of Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from where she will offer seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings. The newest member of the fleet will join sister ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, homeported in Port Canaveral and Port Everglades respectively, on the east coast of Florida.