Video: Spectrum of the Seas Gets Its Azipods

Building a large cruise ships is far more complex than one might imagine. It takes a lot of ingenuity, precision, engineering and man hours to complete these floating cities sailing the seas.

Cruise liner major Royal Caribbean released a video proving just that. The company’s new ship intended for Asian market, Spectrum of the Seas is currently taking shape at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

The vessel just got its two azipod propulsion systems installed, which will provide the cruise ship with a total of 41 Megawatts of power. Each azipod weighs 200 tons and takes 1.5 days to install. The ship’s propellers are set to follow suit in February, thus completing the ship’s propulsion system.

The first steel parts for the Spectrum of the Seas were cut at the Meyer Werft shipyard in August 2017. The completion of the ship is planned for spring 2019.

The ship is scheduled to set sail from Shanghai, China in June 2019. Specifically designed for the Chinese market, Spectrum of the Seas will be the next evolution of the cruise line’s Quantum-class of ships which will have a capacity of about 4,200 passengers.

Once completed, it will be one of the five largest cruise ships in the world with a gross tonnage of 168,800 tons.

Image and video courtesy: Royal Caribbean