It floats! New Royal Caribbean ship takes to the water
Cruise giant Royal Caribbean's next ship took to the water over the weekend for the first time.
The 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas was "floated out" on Saturday from a dry dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The vessel is scheduled to debut in April 2015.
The initial stages of a cruise ship's construction take place in a dry dock facility. Once exterior outfitting is completed, the dry dock is flooded and the ship is floated to a wet dock where construction continues (click through the carousel above for photos of Anthem's float out and the ship under construction).
The 168,666-ton Anthem of the Seas is a sister ship to Royal Caribbean's much-ballyhooed Quantum of the Seas, which debuted in October with a number of first-for-the-industry features including a deck-top ride into the sky and a bar with robot bartenders. Both concepts also will appear on Anthem.
The ships are being billed as the most technologically advanced cruise vessels ever. They boast super speedy Internet (a first for the cruise industry) and an all-digital check-in process that is cutting sidewalk-to-ship boarding times to under 10 minutes. Other gee-whiz features include the first skydiving simulators at sea and the first bumper cars at sea.
Anthem and Quantum are the third and fourth largest cruise vessels ever built, smaller in size only to two other Royal Caribbean ships: Four-year-old Allure of the Seas and five-year-old Oasis of the Seas.
Paste BN Cruise reported live from Quantum's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Click on the carousel below for our "first look" tour of the ship. For more of our coverage of Quantum's debut, including nearly a dozen videos, follow the links at the bottom of this page.
Live from Quantum of the Seas
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Five things to love about the new Quantum of the Seas
Video: First look at Quantum's two70 lounge
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Video: Michael's Genuine Pub brings artisanal flavors to sea
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Video: Bumper car fun on a cruise ship
Latest gee-whiz cruise attraction: skydiving
New giant cruise ship sets sail on maiden voyage
Living large: New cruise ship's swanky mega-suites
Video: The coolness of 'virtual balconies' on Quantum of the Seas
Video: The epic mega-suites of Quantum of the Seas
Photos: Inside the super suites on Quantum of the Seas
First look: Inside the year's hottest new cruise ship
Photos: Inside our exclusive first ride on North Star
Video: Jamie Oliver brings 'neighborhood Italian' to Quantum
Robot bartenders? This cruise ship has them
Video: Quantum's Bionic Bar mixes perfect drinks
Video: Time-lapse view as Quantum of the Sea sets sail
Video: Soaring on Quantum's skydiving ride
Video: Watch Quantum's Bionic Bar mix a drink
Photos: First look at Quantum of the Seas
Video: Experience Quantum's North Star in 60 seconds
Exclusive: Inside the hottest new ride at sea
Video: Quantum's North Star gives sky-high views