How Cruise Ships Are Built: Planning a tiny city is similar to building a new cruise ship. With as many amenities and activities as a small town, modern cruise ships can accommodate as many guests as possible.
Modern passenger ships are quite large, but they don’t take as long to build as you might think.
A cruise ship takes one to two years to build. When a cruise ship is turned over to the cruise line or sets out on her first voyage, the construction process comes to an end. It starts with the steel-cutting ceremony and keel-laying.
At the Navantia shipyard in Cadiz, Spain, Oasis of the Seas comes to start her $165 million expansion.
Many things need to happen before paying passengers may enjoy their stay on the newest cruise ship. Continue reading to find out more about how long it takes to construct a cruise ship.
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How Much Time Does a Cruise Ship Take to Build?
A cruise ship takes between 12 and 24 months to build. When a new cruise ship is being built, its construction typically starts with the keel being laid and finishes when the ship is floated out or turned over to the cruise line.
Naturally, this does not account for the years of planning and design that must pass before building can start.
Planning a tiny city is similar to building a new cruise ship. There are many different amenities and activities available for passengers to enjoy on cruise ships.
They also have to accommodate all of the amenities that guests and staff will require throughout the voyage, such as engines, fuel, freshwater, laundry services, sewage treatment, entertainment venues, pools, and a ton of other things.
The size of the ship, the shipbuilder, the cost of the materials, and other variables all affect how long it takes to build a new cruise ship.
It’s amazing how rapidly cruise ships are built, especially given how large they are.
How much time does it take to construct the biggest cruise ship in the world?
The largest cruise ship ever built took almost three years to complete.
Wonder of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, measures an incredible 1,188 feet in length and has an internal volume of 236,857 GT.
The fifth cruise ship in Royal Caribbean’s oasis-class was constructed at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
Wonder of the Seas was built starting in April 2019 and delivered in January 2022, almost three years later. On March 4, 2022, Wonder of the Seas sailed from Port Everglades on her inaugural trip.
The Covid-19 epidemic caused significant delays in the construction of Wonder of the Seas. The shipbuilder had projected that construction would take two years before the delays.
How much time did it take to construct the Titanic?
The building of the Titanic took three years. with building starting in 1909 and ending in 1912.
The RMS Titanic, arguably the most well-known ship in history, formerly held the title of largest ship in the world.
There is no similarity between the Titanic and a contemporary cruise liner. The size, variety of amenities, and onboard activities of modern cruise ships much surpass those of the Titanic, mostly due to technological developments.
The Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, has the distinction of building the Titanic for White Star Line. Three years of construction before her ill-fated maiden trip in April 1912, which started in 1909.
At 882 feet 8 inches long, the ship was kept together by more than 3 million rivets.
The design, elegance, and build of the ship captivated the public’s attention. a still-romanticized picture now.
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The Cruise Ship Building Process in Nine Steps
Keel-laying ceremony for the Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany
Before a cruise ship is deemed seaworthy, it goes through nine main stages of construction. The procedures for constructing a cruise ship are as follows:
- Ordering: Making an order with the shipbuilder is the first stage in building a new cruise ship. Several years of engineering and design have already been completed by this point.
- Steel Cutting Ceremony: The shipbuilders have a unique ceremony to mark the cutting of the ship’s first piece of steel at the start of construction.
- Laying Down the Keel: The first section’s lowest point is the keel. It is therefore the first section of the ship to be laid. Today’s cruise ships are so large that precise keel laying needs GPS coordinates.
- The public frequently sees a new ship for the first time at the launch. The ship is relocated to a different area of the shipyard during the floatout to provide space for future ships to be built.
- Sea trials: These are a crucial phase in the building process. The ship is tested to the furthest during a sea trial in order for officials and government organizations to confirm that the vessel is seaworthy.
- Handover event: The cruise ship is turned over to the cruise line at this event.
- Shakedown Voyage: The ship is moved from the shipyard to its homeport following the handover ceremony.
- Christening Ceremony: The godmother of the ship declares the vessel’s name.
- Maiden Voyage: The brand-new cruise ship is prepared to take paying passengers on its inaugural trip.
Interesting fact: The coins were nowhere to be seen when Icon of the Seas floated out! The coins were discovered by divers who were cleaning the ship’s hull in advance of the second sea trial, proving that they had never truly been lost. Rather, they had become attached to the ship’s bottom.
Christening ceremony
Indeed, an additional ceremony! The most well-known is perhaps the christening ceremony. This is the final significant achievement before the ship welcomes paying guests.
Representatives from the cruise company, shipyard, and media are frequently in attendance.
This is the formal christening of the ship by the well-known godmother or godfather. Even while the individual may not be considered “famous,” they are typically well-known in some way. To mention a few, the godmothers of Norwegian Prima, Disney Dream, Captain Sandy Yawn, and Celebrity Ascent are Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, and Michelle Dunham, respectively.
