World's Largest Cruise Ship to Set Sail as Industry Rebounds

Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas will be the world's largest cruise ship. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas will be the world's largest cruise ship. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
TT
20

World's Largest Cruise Ship to Set Sail as Industry Rebounds

Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas will be the world's largest cruise ship. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas will be the world's largest cruise ship. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

With cruise bookings seeing a resurgence after the Covid pandemic caused luxury liners to mothball, a Finnish shipyard is putting the final touches on what will be the world's largest cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas is nearing completion in the Turku shipyard on Finland's southwestern coast, its maiden voyage scheduled for January 2024, AFP said.

"This ship is, as of today, as far as we are aware of, the biggest cruise ship in the world," said Tim Meyer, CEO of shipbuilder Meyer Turku, tasked with the construction.

While some have labeled 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.

Resembling a village more than a ship, the mammoth vessel boasts colorful waterparks, more than 20 decks and can carry nearly 10,000 people.

A distinct feature of the new ship, which went into construction in 2021 and entered sea trials in June, is a gigantic glass dome that covers part of its front section.

The pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the industry, raising questions about whether it would ever recover.

Cruise companies are now seeing customers return.

The Cruise Lines International Association has predicted that passenger volume will surpass pre-pandemic levels with 31.5 million passengers in 2023.

"After the restrictions are gone and the situation has eased up, we are seeing that the market is coming back very strong," Meyer said.

Bigger is better?
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.

Meyer Turku also has two more similar sized Icon-class vessels in their order books.

"We have seen over the last decade that cruise ships have become bigger," said Alexis Papathanassis, professor of Cruise Management at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences.

Papathanassis noted that "there are obvious economic benefits" to mega-sized ships, reducing the cost of individual passengers.

With its seven pools, a park, waterslides, shopping promenades, ice skating rink and "more venues than any other ship", larger vessels like the Icon of the Seas also offer more options for spending money on board.

This "in turn enables cruise companies to be more profitable," he added.

The extra income is welcomed by the cruise lines -- in order to survive Covid lockdowns the cruise lines "had to take a lot of credit" they now have to pay back.

"It's going to be a challenging time with financial austerity for cruise companies," Papathanassis said, adding that he expected ticket prices to rise.

What is too big?
While "the tendency towards increasing the size of the ship is not going to stop", Papathanassis believes "it will certainly be slowed down".

The reason behind this is not engineering but rather the financial equation.

"The bigger the ships are, the higher the investment cost and the required technology know-how. And technological know-how does not come cheap," Papathanassis explained.

Similarly, larger vessels come with their own unique challenges, such as port overcrowding, he noted.

This "in turn enables cruise companies to be more profitable," he added.

The extra income is welcomed by the cruise lines -- in order to survive Covid lockdowns the cruise lines "had to take a lot of credit" they now have to pay back.

"It's going to be a challenging time with financial austerity for cruise companies," Papathanassis said, adding that he expected ticket prices to rise.

What is too big?
While "the tendency towards increasing the size of the ship is not going to stop", Papathanassis believes "it will certainly be slowed down".

The reason behind this is not engineering but rather the financial equation.

"The bigger the ships are, the higher the investment cost and the required technology know-how. And technological know-how does not come cheap," Papathanassis explained.

Similarly, larger vessels come with their own unique challenges, such as port overcrowding, he noted.

Often hailed as a bridge towards more climate-neutral options, LNG has lower emissions than traditional marine fuels, but T&E has voiced concern over potential methane leaks.

"LNG does have dramatic consequences for the climate because it leaks methane," Dijkstra said.

A typical component of LNG, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that can have a much worse impact on the climate than carbon dioxide.

"The problem is when you use LNG as a marine fuel, you are encouraging the development of the gas industry."



New Searches Underway in Portugal Near Where Madeleine McCann Disappeared in 2007

 A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)
A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

New Searches Underway in Portugal Near Where Madeleine McCann Disappeared in 2007

 A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)
A Portuguese official during a search operation in a vast area between the cities of Lagos and Praia da Luz for Madeleine McCann, in Lagos, Portugal, 03 June 2025. (EPA)

Police investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann searched near an abandoned rural building in southern Portugal on Tuesday as they launched fresh probes near the holiday resort where she was last seen 18 years ago.

The case received worldwide interest for several years, with reports of sightings of McCann occurring as far away as Australia, while books and television documentaries were produced about her disappearance.

German investigators and Portuguese police officers and firefighters were searching in the countryside several miles from the Praia da Luz resort, where the 3-year-old disappeared from her bed while on vacation with her family on May 3, 2007.

The teams were seen using pickaxes, shovels and chainsaws to clear dense vegetation and dig near a derelict building. Firefighters pumped water out of a well.

Almost two decades on, investigators in the UK, Portugal and Germany are still piecing together what happened on the night the toddler disappeared. She was in the same room as her brother and sister — 2-year-old twins — while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends outside.

Portuguese police said Monday that detectives were acting on a request from a German public prosecutor as they carry out “a broad range” of searches this week in the area of Lagos, in southern Portugal.

The main suspect is a German national identified by media as Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.

He is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn’t been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of the child’s disappearance. Brueckner has denied any involvement.

The last time police resumed searches in the case was in 2023, when detectives from the three countries took part in an operation searching near a dam and a reservoir about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the resort.

McCann's family marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month, and expressed their determination to keep searching.