TURKU, Finland: With cruise bookings seeing a resurgence after the COVID-19 pandemic caused luxury liners to mothball, a Finnish shipyard is putting the final touches on what will be the world's largest cruise ship.
While some have labelled the colossal structure a"monstrosity", citing its vast climate footprint, others are in awe of the sophisticated engineering integrated into this floating holiday destination and flocking to buy tickets. "After the restrictions are gone and the situation has eased up, we are seeing that the market is coming back very strong," Meyer said.With a gross tonnage of 250,800 - five times the size of the Titanic - Icon of the Seas will snatch the title of the world's largest cruise ship from Royal Caribbean's current flagship, Wonder of the Seas.
"It's going to be a challenging time with financial austerity for cruise companies," Papathanassis said, adding that he expected ticket prices to rise.While"the tendency towards increasing the size of the ship is not going to stop", Papathanassis believes"it will certainly be slowed down"."The bigger the ships are, the higher the investment cost and the required technology know-how.
"But that's not what's happening. We are witnessing more and more vessels that are bigger than ever."