2024-01-27 17:32:00
Data map: On May 30, 2023, the construction site of Royal Caribbean’s new cruise ship (cruise) “Icon of the Seas” is located at the Turku shipyard on the southwest coast of Finland. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, January 27, 2024](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Li Yan) The world’s largest cruise ship (cruise ship) will set sail from the Port of Miami on Saturday (January 26) for its maiden voyage.
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is nearly 1,200 feet (365 meters) long from bow to stern. On Saturday, she will depart South Florida for her first seven-day tropical island-hopping cruise.
The ship was officially christened on Tuesday with the help of soccer legend Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates, according to the Associated Press. (Click here to watch related videos）
According to Bloomberg, Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty said earlier this week that the cruise ship will usher in a “new era of vacation.”
“Mark of the Seas is the culmination of more than fifty years of dreaming, innovating and living our mission to deliver the best vacation experiences in the world in a responsible way. She is the perfect multi-generational family vacation The ultimate choice that will change family travel forever and make vacation dreams come true for all ages on board.”
According to Royal Caribbean, when the “Mark of the Seas” debuted in October 2022, it set records for the largest single-day bookings and the highest single-week bookings in the cruise line’s 53-year history.
Made in Finland, the “Ocean Mark” is divided into eight areas and spans 20 decks. The ship has six waterslides, seven swimming pools, an ice rink, a 55-foot waterfall, a theater and more than 40 restaurants, bars and lounges. The cruise ship can carry up to 7,600 passengers and has a crew of 2,350.
Just a few years ago, the future of cruise travel seemed in dire straits. At the time, Covid-19 travel restrictions had halted cruise ship sailings for months, and industry insiders were concerned that passenger interest would be slow to recover. But Stella Bartolini Cavicchi, ocean policy adviser at OceanMind, said that once the restrictions were lifted, “people stopped thinking about it”.
Cruise ship information map. (Shutterstock)
“In January 2021, the Oceania World cruise sold out in one day,” he said. “People can’t wait to get back there.”
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) says its members account for approximately 95% of global cruise travel. The association expects passenger traffic to reach 36 million this year, up from nearly 32 million in 2023 and 30 million in 2019.
Editor in charge: Lin Yan#
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