2 New Icon Class Cruise Ships Ordered By Royal Caribbean

Posted on 11 October, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Photo of Anthem of the Seas under construction.

Royal Caribbean has announced that it has agreed to order two liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered cruise ships from Meyer Turku in Finland. Even though it is early stages the ships will accommodate around 5,000 passengers each.

The newly designed vessels which are currently known as Icon Class are scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2022 and 2024. The ships will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions with LNG technology.

Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd said:

“With Icon class, we move further in the journey to take the smoke out of our smokestacks.”

“We are dedicated to innovation, continuous improvement, and environmental responsibility, and Icon gives us the opportunity to deliver against all three of these pillars.”

The Icon class ships will mainly be powered on LNG but will also use distillate fuel for ports which can’t accommodate the infrastructure. The cruise line will be announcing further details including design, tonnage and specific details in the future. Until then, Royal Caribbean must still focus on new Oasis and Quantum class ships which are currently on order.

Image By: Royal Caribbean

Lifeboat Drill Accident: One Killed, Four Injured in Fall Aboard Harmony of the Seas

Posted on 16 September, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

The Harmony of the Seas (Oasis 3) class ship leaves the STX Les Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, France, May 15, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Story by: https://gcaptain.com

One crew member was killed and four others were injured Tuesday in an accident during lifeboat drill aboard the world’s largest cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean confirmed that a Harmony of the Seas crew member had died of injuries sustained during a lifeboat drill conducted in Marseille, France. For other Harmony of the Seascrew members are receiving medical treatment, the cruise company said.

BBC reports that the five crew members were inside the lifeboat when it became detached from the fifth deck during a safety drill and fell 10 meters into the water below. Two of the injured suffered life-threatening injuries, BBC reported.

Harmony of the Seas is the world’s biggest cruise ship at more than 227,000 gross tons. The ship has capacity to carry 5,479 guests and is home to about 2,100 crew.

The cruise ship was delivered in May following 32 months of construction at the STX France shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France.

“We’re keeping our colleagues & their families in our thoughts & prayers,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement posted to Twitter.

The incident is the latest accident to occur during lifeboat safety drills on board cruise ships. In July, one crew member was killed and three others were injured aboard the Norwegian Breakaway were injured during a rescue boat drill in Bermuda. In 2013, five crew members died and three were injured during a drill aboard the cruise ship Thomson Majesty in the Canary Islands.

Accidents such as these have prompted the Cruise Lines International Association, the largest trade organization serving the international cruise industry, to adopt a policy requiring that “the loading of lifeboats for training purposes is to be performed only while the boat is waterborne and the boat should be lowered and raised with only the lifeboat crew onboard.”

The policy calls for at least one lifeboat on each ship to be filled with crew members equal in number to its certified number of occupants at least every six months for ships with more than 300 crew members.

New photos of Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas

Posted on 20 January, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

photos by Jad Estuaire.

Royal Caribbean has released the latest construction photos of Harmony of the Seas from the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. Even though the huge 227,000 gross ton vessel looks complete on the outside there is still lots to do inside.

All the interior spaces are being put together so that guests first walk onboard this May they will feel the WOW factor. Crew members are starting to set up their departments and get the ship ready for sailing.

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas will be the line’s third Oasis class cruise ship and she is launching in Spring 2016, but already, people are getting really excited about this new ship.