Delayed delivery! The world’s largest cruise ship may become "the most expensive exhibit"

Because "the shipyard is affected by the COVID-19" Royal Caribbean Cruises plans to deploy the world's largest cruise ship in China next year, the "Marvel of the Seas", had to postpone the delivery time.

Royal Caribbean Cruises recently stated that the construction of the "Wonder of the Seas" luxury cruise ship of the Oasis series was postponed due to the epidemic hindering the normal operation of the shipyard. Therefore, Royal Caribbean Cruises has postponed the deployment plan of the "Marvel of the Seas" in China. "But we Looking forward to the arrival of the "Marine Miracle" after the epidemic is brought under control as soon as possible."

The "Marvel of the Sea" was built by the French Atlantic Shipyard (Chantiers de l'Atlantique) and started construction in October last year. Clarkson's data shows that the cruise ship is scheduled to be delivered in March 2021. However, Royal Caribbean Cruises did not disclose the new delivery schedule of the "Marvel of the Sea".

In the first half of this year, due to the rapid spread and escalation of the epidemic in Europe, the Atlantic Shipyard began to temporarily close on March 20. It was not until April 27 that some manufacturing workshops, shipyard manufacturing facilities and shipboard production were initially restored, and the number of employees after the resumption of work Maintained at half of the normal level, and will resume full operation in mid-May.

It is understood that the "Marvel of the Sea" is the largest cruise ship in the Royal Caribbean Cruises fleet and will also be the world's largest cruise ship, with a cost of 1.2 billion euros (approximately RMB 9.617 billion). The ship is 362 meters in length, 47 meters in width, and has a gross tonnage of 228081 tons. It can carry up to 6,370 passengers, which exceeds the current largest active cruise ship "Symphony of the Seas" (built in 2018, carrying 5518 passengers).

According to Royal Caribbean Cruise's plan, the "Marvel of the Sea" will be deployed in Shanghai after delivery, providing year-round home port cruise routes for Chinese and foreign tourists from all over the world. When disclosing this plan, Royal Caribbean Global President and CEO Michael Bayley said that the "Marvel of the Sea" has epoch-making significance, marking that Royal Caribbean will open a new page for the development of China's cruise industry.

"Ocean Miracle" will integrate the iconic seven community concepts of sister cruise ships, as well as a series of novel and interesting experiences, imaginative cuisine, unparalleled entertainment activities and cutting-edge technology, refreshing cruises for cross-generation family tourists The perfect holiday experience.

In November last year, Royal Caribbean appeared at the China International Import Expo as the only international cruise brand participating in the exhibition, and the "Ocean Miracle" also became the "most expensive exhibit" of the second CIIE, attracting attention. As the latest and largest cruise ship of Royal Caribbean, the mission of "Marvel of the Seas" is to lead the Chinese cruise market towards another golden decade.

However, the new crown epidemic has hit the cruise market severely and completely disrupted the plans of major cruise companies. Experts in the industry said that the epidemic is still developing, especially the US epidemic is still not under effective control. According to the current situation, the large-scale resumption of global cruises is still far away. Therefore, Royal Caribbean Cruises has not announced the new delivery time of the "Marvel of the Sea", and the shipyard's delayed delivery seems to be an excuse. Experts said that even if the epidemic is lifted, the global cruise market will still have a long time to fully recover. Therefore, the "Ocean Miracle" can be described as untimely, and whether the world's largest cruise ship can be put into market operation in the future remains a question.